Enlightening Article on God's Divine Qualities

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GOD

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God (Hear mp3 sermon on God) is the supreme being with the natural attributes of omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, eternity, constancy, self-existence, perfection, infinite holiness, truth, love, holy scriptures (Bible) and mercy, with the functions of creation, preservation and destruction. God is invisible, incomparable and indivisible.

That there is a God who is the cause of creation and preservation of all things is generally acknowledged by everyone except a few fools who are not amenable to reason and they deny the very existence of God. It is with the intention to erase such wrong notions that we present below the following reasoning.

1. Without cause there is no effect. It is clear that there ought to be some cause for the several things and happenings that we see in this world. That cause is God. Just as two and two do not add up to three, just as nothing can come out of nothing, and just as it can be inferred that there cannot be smoke without fire, it is logical that since there are innumerable creations, there ought to be a creator. For, every house is built by someone; but he who built all things is God (Rom 1:20; Heb 3:4).

2. The perfect harmony one sees in this vast universe, for example, the various creations depending on each other and complementing one another, all indisputably point to the existence of God. The idea that, this universe came into being accidentally appears foolish. If we pick out all the leaves of a book, shuffle and throw them on the ground, will they all align themselves automatically to make a coherent reading? Never. Is there ever a house that came into being accidentally? That being the case, can this wonderful and orderly universe arrange itself so well without the touch of a creator? The remarkable degree of orderliness one could easily perceive among the moon, the sun, the earth and the stars could not be the outcome of a freak accident but the work of a being with supreme wisdom. That supreme being is God.

3. The very fact that the things that we find on earth have been formed for a definite purpose and with a certain objective does point to the presence of God.

Nothing has been created in vain and without purpose. Some beings display wisdom and some do not. Even in those beings that possess wisdom, we find certain functions being performed by a few organs without any external inducement. For instance, while eating, man does not direct his intelligence in planning for digestion of food and distributing the nutrients among the various organs of the body. These are all marvelous involuntary actions and there should be a cause to this effect and that cause is God. To the question whether these things cannot happen naturally, the answer is 'No'. The process of autonomy exhibited by a creature is not an external but an inherent function of that creature which could have been conceived and incorporated only by somebody with great wisdom and that somebody is God.

4. When we analyze the human body which is a world by itself, we find the intricate movements of various organs within, which unfailingly remind us of God. It can be said that either the body is eternal and self-existing or it should have been made by someone else. The body considered separately, does not have the ability to move on its own nor it is capable of sensation or thinking. Therefore assigning the lofty attributes of eternity and self-existence to it appears foolish. On the other hand if the body had been created in the beginning by 'somebody' else, then that 'some body' is God. Besides, the marvelous movements noticed within the human body, by virtue of being such a wonder , can not lead one to assume that it could have come into existence of its own accord. The logical inference shall be someone should have created it and that someone is God. Besides body does not possess the ability to move on its own much less to move an external object. Therefore doubtless it has to be activated into motion by an external force. That force is God having boundless wisdom and power.

5. As one reflects on the qualities of the amazing soul within the body, one would readily admit the existence of God. It can be said that either the soul has been existing forever or it is something created by the body or made by somebody else. Obviously intelligent people would not subscribe to the view that the soul has no beginning. It is certain that the soul has a beginning. The idea that soul is the product of the body also is foolish, since body is not nobler than soul. Can an inferior object be the cause of creation of a noble object? How can the body which does not have life and knowledge bring forth the soul possessing both? The soul can think, reason and ponder about the whole universe. Further the soul can discriminate between the past, present and future, can conceive and implement many marvelous things, and above all can probe and explore not only the earth but also the heaven and the God. How can the soul so powerful be created by the body which is much inferior to it? Therefore, it can be concluded that the soul should have been created by some far superior force. That supreme force is God.

6. Our own conscience bears witness to the existence of God. Whenever we think of committing some offense, a fear grips our mind and the conscience which is our being's internal speaker, declares us an offender and hence liable for punishment. Thesayings that 'there can be no unconscious lie' and 'one will invariably be trapped by his own sin' are true and our conscience is a standing testimony to the existence of God. Where is the need of fear for sins, if there is no God?

7. God's existence is further proved by the fact that people all over the world do worship God. Though there are differences in their methods and principles, nearly all accept that there is a God. There are people who do not have education or knowledge of scriptures. But even among them there is seldom anyone who denies the existence of God. Though they have no knowledge of the true God, realizing that there ought to be a God, they make things out of stone, soil, trees, clouds, etc. and worship them as God. What is believed by nearly all to be existing should really be existing. Therefore, there need be no doubt about the existence of God.

God is in the form of spirit and therefore He does not appear to our senses. We can never comprehend His divinity with the limited knowledge we possess. By His marvelous works, we understand some of His attributes. However, we can gain knowledge of His flawless attributes with the help of the Bible, the wonderful book given by God. The Holy Bible declares emphatically that God is one because it is clear to everybody that God exists. The blessings enjoyed by the Israelites, the miracles seen and heard by them and the unfailing prophesies uttered by their great prophets offer conclusive proof that He alone is the true Supreme Being.

The Holy scriptures explains God in three different perspectives namely His names, His works and His attributes.

1) Because God is one and is peerless, with no variation whatever in His nature, there are no names referring to His nature. However since He is in no way void of qualities, there are some derivative names attributed to Him to signify His characteristics, for the sake of human understanding. In the Old Testament, Jews gave a wonderful name in Hebrew, Jehovah (Lord) to God which means Self-existent or Eternal one (Isa.42:8). As Jews were afraid to pronounce this name they referred the eternal God by various appropriate names such as Elohim (Gods) (Gen 1:1) meaning Triune God , Adonai (Gen 15:2) meaning Lord, El (Gen 17:1) meaning Almighty, Elyon (Gen 14:18) meaning most high God., Shaddai (Gen 17:1) meaning the supplier of all needs of His people, Eheyeh (Ex 3:14) meaning 'I am' or the 'Self-existent one' ( Ex 34:6-7). In the New Testament God has been referred in Greek as 'Theos' meaning the Supreme God and 'Kurios' meaning Lord. In English Bible, the word 'God' is used with a connotation of goodness.

2) Bible reveals God to us through His works. It teaches us that God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing by the power of His word and made all those things in them. It also teaches us that the God who could create all things must be eternal; He who could infuse life into other things must be Self-existent; He who created numerous amazing planets must be Almighty; and He who created the whole universe in perfect order must be Omniscient and because all His works are beneficial, He is All-beneficent. Besides, when men became sinners, God's love and compassion were revealed in an amazing manner. The Bible proclaims God's works through many verses in a way comprehensible to our small intellect, in languages understood by us, that God created man with His hand; He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and that He was grieved in His heart. Because God is in the form of spirit, these verses must be appropriately interpreted.

3) His attributes become evident through His works which can be illustrated. Bible declares that God is one (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 44:6; I Cor 8:4,6); God is Spirit (John 4:24); God is Light (I John 1:5); God is Love (I John 4:8); He is the King eternal, immortal and invisible and that He is the wise God (I Tim 1:17). The Bible declares that the divine being is only one and there are many proofs for that in the world.

Among the creatures, the characteristics and features exhibited by members of the same species are alike. In this world wherever we go and whatever object we see, the commonality and relation one perceives among these various objects indicates a single prime cause. This being is referred in the Bible as Divine Trinity consisting of three separate and distinct persons in the Godhead. Because they perform the works of creation , preservation and destruction, with one accord, all the objects in the world exhibit the same characteristics.

One man's wisdom is sufficient to make a watch. But the same watch can also be made by three persons working with one accord. The Bible tells that, the Triune God performs the acts of creation and preservation in a similar manner. We will explain Trinity in another place.

There are some vain people who oppose the above facts about God. Of these vain people, atheist ranks first. He stubbornly denies the existence of God. When we say that without cause there is no effect and the cause of all things is God, he will object it saying 'Doesn't a child come into being because of a father and a clay pot because of the potter?'. True, nevertheless, if we ask him again, 'How does a tree come up in a jungle not trodden by man?', he will reply that just as worm comes up from dung, trees also come up in a jungle through natural process. If we ask him further 'How can they multiply without seed? And can a child be born without a father?', the atheist can not give proper reply but will say that 'Everything occurs naturally'. If so, what is 'nature'? Is it an external or internal matter of a thing? Which is that nature? If it is an internal matter of things, will it not appear that these things can breed by themselves? We don't see such an ordinance. On the other hand if we take that 'nature' to be an external matter of things, then certainly it is the omniscient God who can create such a matter. Even then, there are differences between those who believe 'nature' to be the cause of all creatures and those who believe God to be the cause of all creatures. Since each creature exhibits a different nature, those who believe that nature is the prime cause suggest multiple creators corresponding to the different nature of the creatures; the one who proposes that God is the prime cause of all creation, establishes with certainty that there is a single Creator who is the maker of all creatures and their different natures.

Atheists deny the existence of God since He is invisible. Aren't such remarks amount to plain foolishness?. Man has not seen man. For what we see as the man's body is not the matter that identifies itself as 'I' and guides that body. Nevertheless we claim to have seen that matter called 'I' because it is the inner self of the man residing in his body and guiding him. Likewise the truths about the invisible God is known through the visible world. If we believe only what can be seen, then, many facts of the world may have to be concluded as false.

The believers of 'Advaita' (a form of Hindu philosophy) admit the existence of supreme God. However they say that He is everything in the universe and all that we see is an illusion and that everything in this world will appear and disappear like bubbles in the ocean and like a dream that we see. If everything we see is illusory, can the truth which is God be proved on the basis of falsehood which is an illusion? Can falsehood result in truth ? It is not possible. One who maintains that everything is false will try to establish his own word as truth. If everything is false, then what one tries to establish firmly as truth also must be false. In attempting to elevate the Supreme Being, such people foolishly deny what is existing and end up showing that the omnipresent God is nowhere present.

This belief creates great arrogance in the mind of man and encourages him to say that man is God and soul is part of God. Can the indivisible Supreme Being be divided? Can souls of little intellect and full of sin become part of God? Where is the proof for that? If soul is a part of God, does it possess divinity in any measure? Can it create grass or sand? Can the soul atleast know how it is bound with the body? In the beginning it was made in the image of God and not with the attributes of God. It lost the perfect image it had on account of the arrogance of sin. Besides, if soul is God by itself, why should there be another God to be worshipped by it? This principle is the result of the inability to know oneself because of lack of wisdom. It is true that one who knows himself shall know the Chief. When a man clearly understands himself to be an object not having the power to create himself, he is certain that there should be a person other than him, who is God, the First Cause. Because he finds various proofs, internal and external to himself, to strengthen this conviction, he believes it without any doubt. 'Knowing oneself is the true knowledge and the converse is the devilish knowledge'.

With this conviction, when man sees power and wisdom in himself in some measure, he realizes that the one who created him should possess infinite power and unlimited wisdom; When he sees himself having love and compassion in a little measure, he realizes that his creator must have immeasurable love and immeasurable compassion. Knowing this , he understands the purpose of his creation and is determined to praise in his heart, the God who is discernible to his mind. There is a reason for the people to have such different views of God.That reason is the absurdity arising out of arrogance resulting from sin. In the beginning, when man had good knowledge of God, Satan told him that if he ate the forbidden fruit, he would be like Gods (Gen 3:5). Man believed that lie and was ruined. Since then, man goes on blabbering about God's divinity such as he himself is God or there is no God or God is evil and so on under the assumption that God is one like him. Besides thinking of God in various ways like this, when the most high God who is the prime cause being visible to nobody and is without form, they went against His commandments as given in Ex 20:4 and Deut. 4:15. They exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is forever praised (Rom. 1:25). This is the devilish knowledge.

The knowledge of God is acquired through the word of God just as sun is seen by its own brightness. Because the word of God is truth, all that it speaks of God deserves acceptance.

There is an eye by which one can view the invisible God. That eye is faith. The umbilical cord of that faith is the scriptures. Without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Heb 11:6). All the good deeds of man results from the truth of this faith and all his evil deeds are the consequence of lack of this faith. Understanding God is wisdom; To worship Him is righteousness and loving Him is the blessing. The knowledge of God:

Apart from the saying, 'One who knows himself knows his Leader', it is also true that one who knows God knows himself. There is a close relationship between these two kinds of knowledge. The knowledge of knowing self and God is the true knowledge. But man should necessarily know himself in order to know God well. Also he should necessarily know God in order to know himself well.

When we contemplate deeply about ourselves, we can't help thinking of God who created us. We should necessarily think about Him who provides for us continually. Could we create our five senses by ourselves or could we infuse life into ourselves? It is absolutely impossible. Therefore we can not help thinking about God who has granted us so many good things essential for our living. The evil inherent in our characteristics and attributes itself induces us to seek God. Abhorring evil, we long to obtain the good things from God. We seek God this way through our faith that He will remove our poverty, weakness and defect and grant us the true knowledge, wealth, strength and righteousness.

Knowing oneself:

To know oneself, first one ought to know God. We should know how we look in the sight of God. By virtue of his pride, man usually evaluates himself to be wise and pure. But when we measure ourselves against God's flawless purity, it will be evident that our knowledge is foolishness and our purity is soiled. When we compare ourselves with God who is acclaimed as the holy holy holy Lord, it will be clear that we are just pretenders. The evil that surrounds us stains our mind. Therefore even some appallingly evil acts also appear good to us. We must realize that in God's pure sight, even our righteous acts appear like filthy rags, our strength appears like weakness and our knowledge appears like foolishness.

Even the saints who stood in the holy presence of God were filled with fear and awe and trembled. Manoah, the father of Samson said to his wife, "We have seen God. We shall surely die" (Judges 14:22.). Likewise Isaiah on seeing the Holy Lord cried "Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips" -Isa. 6:5. Similarly see Ezek. 1:28 and Dan. 8:18, 10:16-17. The people who saw the majesty of God invariably felt their insignificance.

What is meant by the knowledge of God?

It is not sufficient to be aware of the existence of God. Many ungodly people too admit the existence of God though they had not known God rightly. Even being aware that the omnipotent God created everything and preserves all, is not sufficient. The understanding that God is a loving, wise and righteous ruler is admittedly better knowledge but even that is not sufficient.

We can only understand God as He is when we realize that we don't possess wisdom, understanding, righteousness, power and holiness unless granted by God. Realizing that all good gifts come from Him, let us thank Him. As He has created us and looks after us continually, let us realize that we belong not to ourselves but to Him. If we were His true children, we will act according to His will. We will abhor sin and keep away from it. Not out of fear or punishment but out of love for God, we shall refrain from evil and do only what is good. We will not then want to wound the Lord of boundless love.

All sections of people realize the existence of God. That is why religions came into being. Even idol worship offers proof of the existence of God. The idol worshippers admit that there is someone greater than themselves, who deserves to be worshipped. Therefore they make idol and worship it.

A few may say that some masters have fabricated myths of various religions with the intention of defrauding the people. It is true that in some countries, a few have used religion for erroneous purposes. However the priests could not have cheated them this way unless the people possess by nature some inherent realization of God. Even the atheists who deny the existence of God cry out to Him fearing hell. This natural awareness of God is not something that was taught but something that was born with us.

Therefore this awareness can not be removed from one's mind even if he tries to remove it. This instinct is blunted and spoiled by foolishness and wickedness. It is undeniable that all people possess knowledge of God naturally. However only a few people take God as their sole wealth and yearn for Him. Many worship God blindly. A few others deliberately deny the existence of God with evil intention. This is not mere foolishness, but a deliberate and arrogant rebellion against God. Also holding wrong opinions about God, they do not honour Him though they are aware of His existence.

"Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools" (Rom. 1:22)(NIV).

Wherever the term 'God' is mentioned in the Bible, it refers to God, who isthe Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. It always stresses the fact that there is only God. The Bible was written when polytheism was prevalent with the intention of emphasizing and pointing to the Jews who were then living in the midst of aliens that there is only one God. At the same time it was occasionally explained that the God exists in three different persons.

Trinity:

Though it is discernible through common knowledge that God exists and that He possesses various attributes, common knowledge alone is not sufficient to comprehend His essential Being or Nature. Although the existence of God is not a doubtful matter, understanding the nature of that unity is difficult. Understanding the being of God and His essence will be beyond the reach of common knowledge. "Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His son's name, If you know?" (Prov. 30:4)(NKJV).

It is very difficult to comprehend by our small intellect the nature of God. But we should acknowledge faithfully and judiciously what God discloses about Himself through the scriptures. Of His nature, He declares thus: "Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?" (Job 11:7). "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!" (Deut. 6:4). "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). "To the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen" (I Tim. 1:17).

God said, "I AM WHO I AM" (Ex. 3:14). Since the same God who has declared concerning His Unity and also has revealed His existence as Tri-unity, then it is our duty to accept this heavenly mystery with great humility, faith and love. Otherwise who can understand the Nature of God, the great light passing the awareness of this universe? The common faith is to worship the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity. The persons in the Godhead should not be mixed or separated. God the Father is one, God the Son is one, God the Holy Spirit is one. But the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have the same divinity, are equal in glory and eternal honor.

Referring the Athanasian creed: The early Christians explained the Trinity through various examples. They explained it in a way comprehensible to our small intellect like, just as three persons with similar characteristics and qualities may be found among human beings, Trinity also exist in three persons with different natures but with same essence. They allegorized further that just as the three attributes namely person, knowledge and will originate from the same mind and just as the sun possesses the characteristics of motion, light and heat, the Trinity also exist in three different persons.

Some others said that by virtue of His works of creation, salvation and sanctification, God exists in three persons. However these are just examples and not illustrations of His Nature. The Lord says, "To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?" (Isa. 40:18, 46:5). As many fail to understand that the Trinity consists of three persons, some give absurd explanations. The term 'person' bears the attributes of first person, second person and third person. Though there can be differences in the works of the Trinity, there is no such differences in the divinity, because such difference would negate the doctrine of Trinity. And this view would not be in accordance with the scriptures that God is one and also that He exists in the form of Trinity. Trinity does not mean that there are three Gods. On the other hand we understand through numerous passages in the bible that God is one.

1. Before ascending to heaven, Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize the believers in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). Through baptism we consecrate ourselves to be servants of God. This verse mentions that we should consecrate ourselves to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Therefore God should be three persons of same essence. If it were not so, we might be called upon to consecrate ourselves not only to God but to others as well, which we can not do.

2. St.Paul wrote, "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Cor. 13:14). This verse also mentions that God exists in three persons. Otherwise it would mean that someone other than god is conferring grace and further it would mean that we can be in fellowship with someone other than God. Such thought is improper.

3. In 2 Thes. 3:5, St.Paul wrote, "May the Holy Spirit (Lord becoming Father in your hearts), direct you into the love of God and into the patience of Christ", shows that God exists in three persons.

4. Lord Jesus Christ has told, "I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me. When the Holy Spirit comes, He will testify of Me" (John 8:17-18, 15:26; I John 5:6). Through these verses also we come to know that God exists in three persons.

5. We read in Isaiah 34:16 that, "Search from the book of the Lord, and read: For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them". Through this verse weunderstand that one among the three had spoken concerning the Father and His Spirit. Thus we understand that God exists in three persons.

6. The Lord says, " the Lord God and His Spirit have sent Me" ( Isaiah 48:16). Here, Christ the Word has spoken. Through this also we understand that God exists in three persons.

7. David said, "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth" (Psal. 33:6). In this passage, 'the word' refers to Christ and 'the breath of His mouth' refers to the Holy Spirit. Further it is written that both belong to God.

Therefore we understand that God exists in three persons.

8. Apart from the above verses, the Hebrew word "Elohim" which refers to the attributes of God, is a plural term. In some places, this plural name appears combined with plural verb. Example, Gen. 35:7. In some other places this word appears combined with a singular verb. Example Gen. 1:1, 15:6. In the beginning, God had often spoken of Himself in plural terms.

Examples are: "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness" (Gen. 1:26). Since in other places, He has spoken of Himself in singular terms, we can not think that God spoke of Himself in plural terms like some haughty people in this world who refer to themselves in plural terms.

God is not haughty. There is no doubt that God spoke of Himself to refer to His natural state. Besides when man sinned and acquired the knowledge of good and evil, God said, "the man has become like one of Us" (Gen. 3:22).

Moreover in the early days, when mankind were using in one language and were of the mind to transgress against God, He said, "let Us go down and confuse their language"(Gen. 11:6-7).

In numerous other places, God had spoken of Himself in singular term. Since God had spoken of Himself in plural terms in the above mentioned verses, doubtless God also reveals Himself that He exists in three persons.

This heavenly mystery is a boundless and immeasurable ocean of blessing and this has to be acknowledged as something of matchless glory and beyond human comprehension. Jesus said, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, I will love him and manifest Myself to him" (John 14:21). Therefore we understand that God is Triune and let us worship Him the same way.

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