The Nature of God

Will say the computers happily produce computer Dr. Tony Evans is truly appreciating who God is only begins once we realize nothing can occur apart from God created the visible world of nonexistent celebrating 40 years of faithfulness. This is the alternative Dr. Tony Evans authored speaker, pastor of hopeless Bible Fellowship in Dallas Texas and president of the alternative, trying to contain the idea of an infinite God and of finite brain is like trying to pour a swimming pool into a sippy cup is just not going to fit with the Bible does give us some important insights into God's nature. Dr. Evans will help us explore them today. Let's join God is totally perfect creator and sustainer of all things was comprised of three coequal persons father-son Holy Spirit.

While one in essence, while remaining distinct impersonality, meaning father and son. The son is not the spirit. They all comprise the one being of God. What this means is that all three members of the Trinity share the same attributes of what I say about God will apply to God the father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit because they all make up the one Godhead even though the distinction so using that as a starting point, we want to begin by by starting with God's nature of the Bible never tries to convince people about the existence of God. Psalm 41 says the fool has said in his heart there is no God, so to be in any fears you must also be a fool, you have to become educated in the AP is because that's not natural not natural because we created the image of God is not natural because Psalm 119 says that the heavens and earth declare the glory of God. So the Bible says it is good to believe in the existence of God. Now God tries to help us understand them through and throw pour more fake language of the big word anthropomorphic language is simply using human language to describe God for possible anthropology means may human anthropomorphic language is human language that God will apply to himself. So since he isn't invisible being and we operate in a visible world uses visible language to describe himself to help us to grasp and so the Bible talk about the face of God or the hand of God or the eyes of God roaming to and fro the earth. It will give descriptions using things we can relate to this great God so God exists at the core of the existence of God is he is and his cool and immaterial and material being in John four versus 23 and 24 God is a spirit that works from, as was whispered to hear the spirit is not a physical being in his and his Courtney became a man had to become a man, because that's not in his eternal state is not a man. He is a spirit okay which is why we must be able to relate to him spiritually because he is a spirit who became a man in Christ. But at his essence at his core he is a spirit we said in the definition that God is the one who created creator. In fact, we describe them as we keep totally uncreated Creator, the Bible makes it clear that there is never a time when God did not exist from everlasting to everlasting dialogue God.

This statement is best, not some you can think about for load you drop out of Excedrin PM headache. If somebody would ask you where to God come from. That is a question that has no answer, but I have an answer. The answer is even come from anywhere because it was never a time he didn't exist. Okay now even evolutionist have a problem because you still gonna come up with first cause you gotta come up with when the first things come from that started the creation so everybody has to come up with with something what the Christian worldview yesterday God worldview is that our first cause God has never not been so you will either start with something in. That created something superior evolution sought was something superior that created something that was less than him because God is is the big statement he is greater than the sum total of his creation to think about God created the heavens and all the galaxies all all realms, all the stars all you know you read Genesis 1: in the beginning God so God created everything that exists. So if God just by his words can create everything that exists, then he must be greater than what he created. Okay, the God we exist exist in person. He is not an impersonal force for you Star Wars fans is not before he is he is a person that is interlocked. He thinks he has emotions he feels about about the well-being God being glad God be angry. You know God being disappointedabout his feelings K emotion intellect and will. He can choose to act or not act, sweetest choice, intellect, emotion will mid consciousness, God bear self-consciousness you have self-consciousness because nobody here that doesn't know that you're here, but the reason that you know that you hear you have self-consciousness you conscious of your own reality. Okay, so what God gave us was what he himself possesses that an infinite level but he possesses self-consciousness so he is a person because he is a person even though he is a spirit person.

He can be related to communicated with interacted with because he bears the same thing. We have a lower level we have it, but he is a person so therefore, as we go through the Lord's prayer we can talk to him as father because he bears personhood.

Therefore, we can relate to him but we gotta do it spiritually because at his court at the nucleus, if you will, of his being.

God is spirit, now the problem here with this being we called God is the transcendent nature of his being.

We say he is transcendent with saying he sits outside of time and space K in the beginning God.

God preceded the beginning and created the beginning so before that was the beginning there was God. So how can you have a being to exist before there was a beginning to exist. So God sits outside of time, which helps us understand something that because he is transcendent.

That is, he is not limited to time and space can operate outside then that should help us understand why his ways are not our ways his thoughts about our thoughts as high as the heavens are above the earth. That's that's continuing that he gives the distance from where we are, where he is so this is why Revelation God disclosing himself is so important because you would never be able to figure him out on your own because he is transcendent, even whole number so but while these transcendent way out there beyond time and space.

He is simultaneously eminent transcendent way out there time and space. Eminent means. Up close, and involving his creation. So he is way out there and wait out here, both at the same time Jake is both transcendent and immanent. Let's look at Exodus 3 we looking at God's nature which want to just identify his essential being Exodus 3 God's commissioning Moses. Then Moses said to God. Verse 13 behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, God of your fathers has sent me to you.

Now they may say to me what is his name what shall I say to them, God said to Moses, I am. I said thus you shall say to the sons of Israel.

I am has sent me to you.

Moses says go tell these folks out in the middle think I've lost.

You lost your mind.

Who who who commissions you who commissions you to do this. He says you tell them I am that I am has sent you.

Let me break down this designation in this. This designation is important because it's God telling you who years. So God is telling Moses, who years. What is my name.

I am that I there are number of features in this self designation that God makes about his own identity. First of all, God establishes in this phrase is any tonality because I am is an eternal present tense. Okay so let's talk about that.

I mention any tonality in a moment ago for going a bit further. God lives in the present tense which means he has no past. His name is I am. It also means he has no future because I am is present tense I am right now. God has no yesterday, and he has no tomorrow. Now he can't talk like that because we have yesterday and we are moving to tomorrow so yes to talk to us in the language of our historical realities. Remember, he's transcendent choices outside of history so he says you tell them I am in the present tense. So what this the implications of his return tonality and Psalm 90 versus one into a quota ago from everlasting to everlasting you are God. He always lives in the current state of reality independent of time.

He sits above time and he sees everything as one hold is like looking at a parade from the Goodyear blimp versus looking at it from one group to another. Passing you by, with the band and in the different floats and stuff we see it progressively recall that linearly we see it moving in time. The Goodyear blimp can see the whole parade because it's sitting way up here God lives in the eternal now so whatever God says about the future future to be huge for us. Not for him is in his reality right now. Now when you get the habit and time is no more words about us. It would be no night there will be no son to be no sleep.

I noticed oppressing many of you don't review sleep is because it is night you get tired but none of that that will be happening so so you will you will get tired will be dealing with earth to earth and sky, but everything in heaven is existing in this eternal mental status so so everything is now so if somebody says something about the future it's the future for us. It's now for him because he exists in an eternal present. Everything is now Dr. Evans will have more on the nature of God when he continues her message just a moment but first I want to let you know about a brand-new book that can help you better understand God's character and qualities even as it helps you seek his guidance and support is called prayers for knowing God and into Dr. Evans provides a number of prayers that can be prayed Word for Word or used as a springboard for your own dialogue with God book goes hand-in-hand with God's heart revealed the name of Tony's current teaching series that you been learning from today for a limited time will send you out 12 full-length messages from this series on CD and digital download as well as the prayers for knowing God book is her way of saying thanks when you make a contribution to support Tony's ministry here on the year. We are completely listener supported.

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You can make all the arrangements@tonyevans.org or give us a call at 1-800-800-3222 again that's 1-800-800-3222, or online at Tony Avenue and start or Dr. Evans will come back with more of today's lesson right after this. It's beyond the Sunday sermon a chance to really dig into the Bible and the kingdom in a new way anytime and anywhere because it's all online. Tony ever's training center. In-depth courses all kinds of topics cultural transformation intro to expository preaching you John, Hebrews, Old Testament, New Testament, and so much more. These are sermons their teaching courses to help you engage understand Scripture and not just to hear about, but to explore the kingdom of God in your own find out more@tonyevanstraining.org Tony Evans to.org. He goes on to state, and I am that he is self sufficient notice he says you tell them I am that I am so. He stated twice.

You can say that I can say that number one you all because of your mom and your daddy without your mom and your dad you you are dependent on something outside of you to be you parents food, whether we need a lot of things so you are who you are because of a lot of factors that have to be in play for you to be who you be okay God says I am simply because I am in other words, I don't need anything out side of me to be me. Everything that I need for me is already intrinsic to me. He is the only truly independent, being in the universe so he has total confidence in himself.

Why does he have told himself to be the map go outside of himself to doing what's done is all built-in, so he is self-sufficient I am because I not bad news about that if you don't need you.

It only me with you or me. I saw to get the be here God's as you talk about me then you he's eternal present tense always.

He self-sufficient time that he self existent. He self existent.

You don't need to keep the sun for it to be hot. It is self generated generated for thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands a year. 24 seven coming with Saturday or do you feel about, but is there 24 seven.

So a great way to look at God self generating is to think about the sun it generates its own heat.

You don't have to help it get hot.

Not like the stove. Okay, so God is self existent because he self generating me food on the water because it's all built in the confusing part of God and the computer parts God, but the computer but I God is this a try.

Human nature is Trinitarian nature. And that's what makes the Christian God, distinct from any other God. That's called God because God is a Trinity illustration heard me give it a prayer like a pretzel with three holes. The first holds that the second hole. The second hole is not the third hole.

All three holes are tied together by the same double still only one pretzel father is not the son son is not the spirit but they all tied together by the same nature all bear the characteristics of deity about the characteristics of the divine nature and so the Bible declares that God is one. Deuteronomy 64. Yet the Bible declares that there are three that are called God about that name singular of the father and son and Holy Spirit. While the proper English would be to put some of the word name names of the fathers of Guthrie pronouns.

That is a Leslie 301 first Corinthians 1314 chapter 13 verse 14. Again, also affirms the triune God so God is is a try you being who is eternal, self-sufficient, self existent, he defines himself by himself so the idea is to come to know God as he reveals himself to be the envy of anybody in your life who tries to tell you who you are and you know they don't know what they talk about. Have you read about it you have to say you don't know me know convey what they thought they knew what you knew was not true about you but that's what a lot of people try to do about God.

They want to take that humanity and define God in terms of it so they were regular talk about what they think and how they feel about God or God would do this do that rather than letting God define who God is to us, which we call revelation God disclosing his reality to us now this God. This creates for who is not been create, but he was responsible for all the creation in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. You cannot have a watch without a watchmaker. You cannot have a building without a builder. Things do not exist by chance or luck did not have a painting without a painter. So many theories of evolution is exactly what they should be Theories I call up a theistic evolution fairytale for adults that would fairytale and one of one of them is the Big Bang theory, Big Bang theory that there was this explosion of energy that spun off these different planets and all that so expensive. I tell you about the Big Bang. Some exploded, and out of that evolving universe as one of the last on the Cinnabon blowup and after the explosion, something orderly result of the lack necessary for you have the cellular structure of your human body links scientist Medical Center is still trying to figure the billions of cells that have been intricately to produce life in the human body evolved by chance mutations that that for any intelligent person to believe that is the thinking of. That's what the Bible calls fools that we have done this by only so so a creation I need to create or when when the archaeologists go by. They find something some foreign place. They find tools that people constructed when they do they try to figure out who live. I don't think that tool happened by itself that I know to go back to monkeys and apes in all I can. But if the human brain can design a computer and the question is who design the human brain will say the computers happened.

We said it was intellect to produce a computer web capacity and have intellect come from intellect to build computability intellect the brain about the computer. The knowledge of God's status was past understanding. I know you will want to file an airplane is been locked together all mankind has learned to do is rearrange God's already existing creation to create new things what they cannot do is create out of nothing. They got half of raw materials. The work with that.

A computer that makes me think of Hebrews 11 Hebrews 11 verse three by faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen wasn't made out of things which are not visible. So God created theology. Another phrase is called X Lilo X Lilo means out of nothing, and what God created the visible world out of nonexistent material. You don't know anybody who's ever made any creation of something that didn't already exist except God just try to give you a feel for the greatness of God but because the transcendent God wanted to be intimate with his creation on he built himself a second home.

He existed outside of time and space because he created time and space, but he wanted to hang out with his creation. So he built himself a second home in the third heaven as the throne room of God in history. The third heaven. Jesus, when he rose, he went to his father in the third heaven where he seated now so so God has a house in creation, although he simultaneously exists outside of creation. Then he decided to get 1/3 home. So what did he do we build a tabernacle earth that was called a mobile home that moved along with the Israelites. Then I decided to make the mobile home permanent temple then decided to make it personal. He becomes a man and dwelt among us John chapter 1 verses 14 verse 18 and even got more personal, for he is now in us in us by his Spirit, Dr. Tony Evans talking about how the creator of the universe chooses to be near to us. And if that's a gift you've never experienced.

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