Bible Study (Theology)

By Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson III, BA, MA, DD

GOLDEN TEXT.

1 Timothy 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

LESSON NOTES:

I.                        ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE; THE SUPREME REVELATION OF WHO GOD IS, IS SHOWN IN JESUS CHRIST, THE SON JESUS CHRIST. 

Hebrews 1:1-2 ¹In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ²but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

Colossians 2:9 ⁹For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

II.                        THE BIBLE IS ALSO TREMENDOUS AT DESCRIBING GOD’S CHARACTERISTICS.

A.             HIS ATTRIBUTES.

1.               NATURE. He is the only God.

Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

2.               CHARACTER. God is all knowing; yet He can ask questions or change His mind if He chooses. 

1 John 3:20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

Genesis 3:9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"

Genesis 3:11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

Exodus 32:14 Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

                                                               a.            BUT YET THERE ARE TIMES THAT HE WILL EVEN HAVE OTHERS TO STATE THEIR OPINIONS ON DECISIONS HE IS MAKING.

Genesis 18:17-18 17Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.

1 Kings 22:19-23 19Micaiah continued, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. 20And the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?' "One suggested this, and another that. 21Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.' 22"'By what means?' the LORD asked. "'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said. "'You will succeed in enticing him,' said the LORD. 'Go and do it.' 23"So now the LORD has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you."

3.               DOMINION. Everything is under His authority. 

Psalm 103:19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

4.               COMPREHENSIVENESS. All creation speaks to His mightiness. However, the infallible, authoritative work that speaks of Him is the Word of God. 

Psalm 19:1-3 1The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Psalm 119:89 Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.

5.               OMNIPOTENCE. He has all power. 

Jeremiah 32:17 "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

6.               MAJESTY. He is not just God; he is a magnificent and illustrious God. 

1 Chronicles 29:11 Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.

7.               INCOMPREHENSIBLE. The Bible implies that God is so great that you really will not be able to fully understand Him.

Job 11:7 "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?

a.         NO THEOLOGY COURSE OR DOCTRINE WILL EVER FULLY EXPLAIN GOD. It is impractical to think that we can fully understand Him or His Nature 

Psalm 139:1-18 

¹ You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

B.       HIS MANY NAMES. In the Old Testament the greatness of God was not contained in one name, so several are used to show His acts in each particular experience. 

1.               El. It means God.

2 Samuel 22:31 "As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD's word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.

            2.              Eloah. It also means God.

Job 11:5-7 Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you 6and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin. 7"Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?

3.   Elohim. It is the plural of God; denoting majesty and splendor.

Psalm 109:26 Help me, LORD my God; save me according to your unfailing love.

4.                  El Shaddai. God Almighty. 

Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.

5.               I am that I am. Means I will be what I will be. 

Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I am has sent me to you.'"

6.               Yahweh. The eternal covenant name of God.

Exodus 3:15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob-has sent me to you.' "This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.

a.                     WHILE THIS WAS THE COVENANT NAME THAT HE WAS TO BE KNOWN BY FOREVER; THAT ONE NAME IS SUMMED UP IN A NAME THAT IS ABOVE EVERY NAME. Yahweh is in the name of Jesus. 

Philippians 2:9-11 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.

III.            JESUS REFERRED TO HIM AS HIS FATHER. As in the Godhead (a fancy word for God’s nature) there is the Father and the Son (and the Holy Ghost). 

John 14:20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

John 15:8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

IV.            THEN JESUS LET US KNOW THAT GOD IS OUR FATHER AS WELL. He emphasizes that distinction of Fatherhood (in referring to God) to all believers. God is our Father!

Matthew 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

V.            JESUS TAUGHT THAT GOD IS A SPIRIT AND IS INVISIBLE; OTHER SCRIPTURES ATTEST TO THIS FACT AS WELL. True worshippers understand this. 

John 4:23-24 ²³Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."

A.             YET THERE ARE TIMES WHERE HUMANS HAVE SEEN A MANIFESTATION OF GOD. A fancy word theological term for this is, “Theophany.”

Genesis 26:2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.

Genesis 12:7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 35:9 After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.

Genesis 18:1 The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.

1 Kings 9:2 the LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

VI.            JESUS TAUGHT THAT GOD REIGNS OVER THE EARTH; SOMETIMES USING THE TERM KINGDOM OF GOD AND KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. The word “Kingdom” is not complicated; it simply means the realm and authority of a king. Both those terms are simply implying that God rules over everything. The entire universe is under His dominion and authority. 

Matthew 6:33 - But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Romans 14:17 - For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Matthew 7:21 - Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 5:3 - Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

VII.            JESUS TAUGHT THAT GOD IS ETERNAL AND HE IS NOT THE GOD OF THE DEAD BUT OF THE LIVING. So even departed souls are yet living somewhere (Heaven or Hell) and He is over all of them. 

Mark 12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!"

V.            PRAYER FOR SALVATION. As we close, if you have not received this Jesus pray this simple prayer:

"Father, I know that I have sinned against You. Please forgive me. Wash me clean. I promise to trust in Jesus, Your Son. I believe that He died for me—He took my sin upon Himself when He died on the cross. I believe that He was raised from the dead. I surrender my life to Jesus today.

"Thank You, Father, for Your gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Please help me to live for you. In Jesus' name, Amen."