Sunday: A Clearer Picture of God
Daily Lesson for Sunday 5th of April 2026
The Bible gives the truest, clearest, and most consistent picture of God. The entire Bible seeks to peel back the unseen veil between our visible world and the invisible; to show us where we’ve come from and where we’re going; and, ultimately, to show us who is in control and what God is like.
From Genesis to Revelation, we read about the one true God, who makes Himself known to us through the Bible and through Jesus Christ, God incarnate. We can read about God’s omnipotence (Job 1:12), His omniscience, His all-knowing nature (Isaiah 46:9-10), His justice (Isaiah 30:18), His mercy (Deuteronomy 7:9), His loving-kindness and patience with us (Romans 2:4), His wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:7), His grace (2 Corinthians 12:9), His forgiveness (Matthew 6:14), His will for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11), His power to defeat death (John 11:25), His kingship (Psalms 47:8), His eternal nature (Deuteronomy 33:27), and many other characteristics that give us abundant reasons to love and have an abiding relationship with Him. The more we know about God and what He is like, the more we will love Him and desire a close and abiding relationship with Him.
Image © Jeff Preston at Goodsalt.com
It was Lucifer who first doubted God’s character. His doubts about who God is ultimately led to the greatest battle in the history of our universe. Ever since that time, “it is Satan’s constant study to keep the minds of men occupied with those things which will prevent them from obtaining the knowledge of God.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 740. Satan doesn’t care what kind of picture of God we have (pantheism, polytheism, deism, etc.), as long as it’s not an accurate one.
Read Genesis 3:1-5. What was Satan’s goal in his conversation with Eve? What lies did he tell Eve about God’s character?
Ultimately, Satan’s message to Eve was this: _God is keeping secrets from you. God does not want what is best for you. You can’t trust Him. _Ellen White expands on this when she says, “From the opening of the great controversy it has been Satan’s purpose to misrepresent God’s character and to excite rebellion against His law.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 338.
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How is God’s character misrepresented in our world? More important, how might you, at times, have misrepresented His character to others? If you have, what can you do to change with the Holy Spirit’s help? How can you show God’s love to the people around you? |
The author states; “The Bible gives the truest, clearest, and most consistent picture of God.”
I am very wary of such statements because I have a picture in my mind of Vernon Howell (David Koresh) visiting Avondale College before he became infamous. I saw a podcast of him with his well-worn Bible in his hand expounding to our students his version of God, prophecy and his, Vernon’s interpretation of the grand scheme of things. What bothers me is that some of my students were convinced of his sincerity and followed him to the USA.
The problem is this. We read Scripture with our glasses on and end up seeing what we want to see about God. While Vernon’s view is an extreme one and we know the consequences of his reading of scripture. I am also mindful of that we have our own glasses on, and it is very easy for us to believe what we think we see.
Remember that last week we talked about the importance of networking. I said that we should guard against individual isolation because when we connect with others we provide opportunities for the Holy Spirit to work through them. I also said that we needed to avoid cliques where we feed each other with the same ideas without the challenge of contrary views.
In NSW we have two sets of astronomic observatories. At Wee Waa is the Australia Telescope Compact Array. It is a radio telescope array working in the microwave region. The Siding Springs Observatory is a couple of hundred kilometres away in the Warrumbungle mountain. It is a 3.9m optical telescope. Both observatories look at the universe, returning different sets of data about the same objects. Putting the two observations together gives us a better understanding of our universe. There are differences in the views, and they need to be worked out, but it’s not a case of the optical astronomers saying that their view is better than the radio astronomers. Each recognises the limitations of their own set of glasses.
In a spiritual sense there is really no room for being elitist about our view of God in the Bible. That does not mean we accept every view, but if helps if we treat our own view with a touch of humility and respect the views of others. By keeping the conversation going we learn from one another.
I appreciate the point you made about connectedness in our quest for truth. Even the scriptures say “in the multitude of counsellors there is safety” Proverbs 11:4. However at the same time we must not forget the role of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Godhead who is presently on Planet Earth to guide us into all truth ; and whilst His guidance is collective in a sense ; it MUST be always primarily personal.
I understand what you are saying Steve, but the problem I have is that so many people who claim to have personal guidance by the Holy Spirit use that as leverage, trying to get me to change my mind about something. My response to them is that the Holy Spirit does not run an advertising program for itself. I like to think of the Holy Spirit as part of the network, connected to me and to others as well. When they work together that is when we can be confident in the outcome. I should probably mention that I am currently reading about the church for 1890 – 1910, which is arguably the most spiritually turbulent period in our history. All I can say is that the Holy Spirit took its time to work. Maybe we are a bit impatient!
Adding to your point Maurice- Google counts over 40,000 denominations all claiming Sola Scriptura as their rule of faith. How is this possible? The Scripture tells us that no Scripture is of any private interpretation. Either the Bible contradicts itself or there is a lot of private interpretation going on.
1 Corinthians 1:10 KJV
“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
Without the Holy Spirit, we will surely come to wrong understandings in our relationship with God.
Also Michael there are (if I remember, approximately 400 Bible versions/translations) in the modern English. In my humble opinion this creates confusion and division. In Sabbath School this past week my 13 year old precocious grand daughter, who had called me and wanted to attend church on Easter, sat beside me as the Message to the Laodiceans was read from Rev ch. 3. She was trying to follow the reader from her KJV but could not…! I could see her index finger moving back and forth in the chapter and I tried to help her find her place at least 3 times. The teacher was reading from his preferred version which was very wordy and added a lot of “explanatory” text. I have 3 advanced degrees and often get lost in Sabbath school class when trying to follow along.
To me, this is a serious problem that does not bond the brethren together but brings confusion and disunity.
This may be contributing to the 40,000 denominations in the world. Just sayin’
There are some paraphrases or very loose translations that can be confusing in a corporate situation. However, if you stick to more literal translations there aren’t as many differences as you might think.
I am thankful for the many versions – I have read many and am blessed by them. There was a unifying factor of the KJV, but it is difficult for most people to understand, especially those without a church background. We need to accept that those days are over.
Christina the old caveat that “The KJV is harder to read and understand” does not hold up under a reading analysis. Diffulty in reading comprehension and understanding can actually be determined by plugging and chugging sentences from different versions and cranking out a reading/grade level. I did this in college and found that the KJV reads on a lower level than many newer versions. The main reason is that the newer versions use much longer and wordier sentences to convey the same meaning that the KJV does in a concise manner. This allows the poetical and concise KJV to more easily to be memorized.
I realize however in the recent “deconstruction” movement in our church that reading and memorizing scripture can be frowned upon.
I am not accepting that “the old days are over”.
That “The KJV is harder to read and understand” is not “an old caveat” but reality supported by both practical experience and formal reading analysis. The chief problem for modern readers, especially younger ones, is its use of archaic language, with many words currently having drastically changed meanings and some meaning the exact opposite of what they used to mean. How many people know that the biblical “prevent” used to mean “to go ahead of” or “go before”? (Did you know that?)
I just asked for a quick AI summary and got this:
I hope you explained to your grand-daughter that God didn’t inspire the exact words of the Bible, but He inspired the writers with thoughts that they wrote down in their own words. Since God inspired writers who spoke, Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, our English Bibles are translations, and translations may use different words. That will help her understand why her Bible uses different words.
If she understands that she needs to follow the thought of the Bible reading, rather than the exact words, I’m sure her experience will be enriched. And if you’ll give her a more recent translation, she’ll also find the Bible easier to understand.
I went to an evangelical school for grades 1-9 and we did a lot of memorizing. Not just verses either. Big passages by the time we were in grade 6 and up. Romans 5, Philippians 2, James 1, the armor of God in Ephesians. We used the NIV. It is definitely possible to memorize using other versions.
I have read the King James. I read it through cover to cover when I was in university. I probably will again one year. And yes, I understand the very familar verses. But I will tell you that when I was reading Jeremiah or Leviticus, I had to regularly consult another version to help me figure out what it was saying. And I am university educated. It is not an easy version and is even harder for people not familar with it.
If you are blessed by the King James’ version, read it. I support you greatly. But please be tolerant of those who benefit from other versions.
May I add: I have a solution for the father who has a problem with his son unable to follow the teacher, or pastor who reads out of a translated Bible other than KJV, NKJV, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition(AMPC), or English Standard Version, and therefore cannot follow. Tell the Pastor, Teacher to use the KJV, NKJV, AMPC, or the ESV when standing up front. The loss of follow happened to me in prayer meeting. I must confess that it was not the pastor. He always reads in prayer meeting out of His Amplified Bible, Classic Edition and lets us know. Now one member who previously read out of her Clear Word is currently reading out of her Amplified Bible Classic Edition. Then when it came time for another to read as we went around the table, I lost the verse because a member read out of the New Living Translation. Modern technology can solve this for everyone who has a smart phone. I used my app and switched to the pastor’s AMPamlified, Classic edition.
I am a teacher/moderator of Sabbath School lesson. From time to time, I read the Word of God from the General Conference app, using modern technology not as to be a bad example to children rather to have instant access to the verse, which is needed for our class. I always keep it on the NKJV.
Inge, I guess I’m not supposed to reply to your response re: the difficulty of the KJV since the reply button isn’t there.
I used the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Analysis on multiple verses from the KJV and other versions and the KJV, as I remember, was 4th grade level vs other versions as 6th grade and higher.
Yes there are thees and thous and some archaic words but I still maintain the KJV flows better and is much easier to memorize.
In a group setting such as Sabbath School it devolves into great confusion when 4 or 5 versions are read. My personal experience is that people continually ask questions such as; “What version is that?”, “Where are you?”, “Am I in the right chapter?”, My Bible doesn’t say anything like that.!”
Aren’t we striving for unity not chaos and division?
I don’t think it’s just me. Maybe I’m the only person who feels that way.
By the way, I thought we weren’t supposed to cut and paste.!
I am not Inge, but I have had a long-term interest in the history of the English Bibles. Firstly the Flesch-Kincaid scale is regarded as a bit of an outlier when it comes to comparing old documents with modern ones. The criticism is made that it is skewed by the small size of the vocabulary. On scales less affected by vocabulary size the KJV rates at about Grade 12 level, while the more modern ones are about Grade 7 or 8. The other issues are the archaic language, including the changed meanings of a number of words. This highlights the problem we have when comparing reading scales for documents where the language and semantics are about 4 centuries apart. Reading scales are not really designed for that. A true comparison is rather difficult.
It is worth going back and reading the mandate the translators were given for developing the KJV. One of the main directions was to write it in a way so that it could be read in churches. This was a time when many people were illiterate and ownership of a Bible was limited mainly to churches and academic institutions (Monastries) Nowadays we read the Bible for ourselves and it is probably fitting that we read it in a language we understand.
I add the disclaimer that I am 80 years old and grew up learing memory verses, doctrinal texts and large passages of Scripture from the KJV. It is essentially my native Biblical language. I appreciate the fact that my grandchildren are never going to commit as much scripture to memory as I have. I hope and work towards the idea that they learn how to use search engines properly so they can find the scriptures they need to. But, more importantly I hope that they find Jesus. I am mindful of the fact that I have a relative (who will probably read this so I had better be careful what I say) who had great difficulty in memorising texts. That has not stopped her from being a loving and caring Christian who sets me an example, reminding me there is no memory test for entry into the Kingdom of God.
I have found that having different Bible versions in a lesson class has often been the source of fruitful discussion. Sometimes we enjoy alternative renderings of a text because it gives us a new insight into its meaning.
Here are a couple of links to earlier posts I wrote on these topics:
A Short History of the King James Version of the Bible
https://ssnet.org/blog/transmission-and-translation-english-bible/
Finally, the best translation is the one you read. It does not help to just have it sitting on your shelf.
Edmund,I have little to add to what has already been said.
However, I notice you did not answer my question.
Unity doesn’t come from everyone using the same words. (How boring!) It comes from worshiping the same God and working together towards the same goals.
I have memorized a lot of KJV Scripture, and I am thankful for that. I’m not great at remembering numbers, but before digital Bibles, a concordance helped me find what I had memorized.
I like to read the Bible through in different versions. They sometimes help me see things I might otherwise miss. (That’s how I accumulated Bibles before the digital age. Now the different versions live on my Kindle.)
I find that using different versions in Sabbath School stimulates thought and discussion. And I would again like to encourage you to teach your grand-daughter about how the Bible came about – that God inspired ordinary humans with thoughts to speak and write down for us. Teach her about how translation works. That’s one way we old folks (I’m 82) can serve the younger generations.
And I would also like to challenge you personally to read a modern Bible translation through within the next one to three years. I recommend the NLT, which I’ve read twice (once in family worship and once in private worship). It’s even good for your brain!
Maurice, thank you for the background information used to establish your conclusion that we should be open to other views and interpretations of the Bible so that we can gain the best explanation of what God is trying to communicate to us. That sentiment is supported in scripture (1 Thes 5:21) and is one that I agree with personally. However, I do believe — as a Christian — that the author’s claim that the Bible gives the truest, clearest, and most consistent picture of God is accurate and should not be viewed with skepticism. Clearly in the example of David Koresh that you provided, the problem was not with the “picture of God” presented to Koresh but with his interpretation — which I believe is what you clearly understand. I believe the author was contrasting the Bible’s “picture” of God with “pictures” from other non-Biblical sources (e.g. nature and other religious texts such as the Quran, Book of Mormon, The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witness). After all, if someone plays Beethoven poorly, we don’t blame Beethoven — we blame the performer. And if someone has a faulty interpretation of the Bible, we don’t blame the Bible (not saying that you did — this is just a general comment). Understanding that nuance, the author probably should have stated that “An ACCURATE interpretation of the Bible gives the truest, clearest, and most consistent picture of God.” This, in my mind, would have addressed your concerns about the author’s statement.
In the context of Maurice’s full post, I think he meant “other views” in our community of faith, not “other views” such as deism, pantheism, Buddhism, etc. The Lord’s design for us is a faith community. We have a demonstration of the Hebrew faith community in the first portion of our Bibles. And after Christ went back to heaven, His disciples established faith communities over much of the known world, admonishing believers not to neglect their assembling together. (Heb. 10:25) The counsel to “exhorting one another” presupposes a down-to-earth relationship where we are not afraid to speak out but are also humble enough to submit to one another. And that is totally counter-cultural in today’s society.
I remember a book called Caring Enough to Confront, published in the 1980’s. You don’t need to read the book. The title is the most important part. We need to remember that the opposite of love is not hate, but apathy. Are we practicing godly exhortation in our faith community, or are we afraid to offend or be offended?
I hear what you’re saying – humans can and have misinterpreted scriptures. At the same time, if we don’t get our picture of God from the Bible, where else can we get it? From nature? Nature reveals God, but if it’s all we have, some not so nice pictures of God are going to develop. If we get it from philosophy of any sort, we are actually creating God and becoming a god of our own.
I don’t think the issue is the Bible. The issue is that people focus on certain parts of the Bible to the exclusion of others. You will definitely get false pictures of God that way. However, when we look at the Bible as a whole, these false pictures are much less likely.
I don’t discount the need for dialogue – this helps us avoid faulty interpretations. However we do have to be careful in how we frame this. If other people are necessary to understand the Bible, those people are not so different from the Church Fathers and tradition that we often criticize.
I am not sure why the lesson writer decided to use the word “picture” in today’s lesson (“A Clearer Picture of God). The words we use about or for God greatly shape or influence how we understand God. The Bible does not give us the “picture” of God because God is spirit (John 4:24). God does not exist in physical form and hence it is impossible to capture His “picture”. This might create an impression that God is something that can be clearly captured or defined. God is infinite, and He cannot be picturised. However, God reveals Himself in the Bible by His nature, character, and power. All these are the manifestations of the essence of God. The clearest revelation (not picture) of God is the life and character of Jesus while He was on this earth. Even when Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), He did not mean the physical form but the nature, character and power of God. Any effort to create a “picture” of God is inherently inadequate and distorted.
God is misrepresented in the world today because humans have created their own different “pictures” of God. Many have shaped a “picture” of God that fits their culture, inclinations and suitability. “…they became futile in their thoughts… and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image…” (Romans 1:21-23). For instance, some people have created an image/picture of God as one who judges no one because God is love. Therefore, God will accept me no matter what I do. This is completely distorting the nature of God. God of love is the same God of judgment. Unless God is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, the best we can ever manage to do is to picture a “God” who fits our imagination. Paul (Saul), before his conversion, had a “picture” of God in his mind, until God was revealed to him by Jesus. As we seek God in His Word, we must submit to the Holy Spirit to bring the revelation and understanding of who God is.
God want to reveal Himself to us if only we are willing to receive Him in our hearts. “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” (Revelation 3:20, NLT). Even so, God is inviting us to seek Him, and He has promised that He will be found. Let it be our dearest desire to seek God, and we shall find the greatest treasure in heaven and on the earth.
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13, NIV).
My brother in Christ Omwenga, one major law of Psychology states that “the Unknown can only begin to be understood by what is Known.” You have been the first “picture” of God to your children. When they utter the words- “Our Father who art in Heaven” It is your “parental image ” that they behold.
Pictures are important. For a lack of a better term some of us think in pictures.
If I remember correctly, the famous American Pastor, Harry Emerson Fosdick encountered a young man who was an Atheist. Pastor Fosdick requested of the young man to describe what he meant by the term God. After the young man finished his description. Pastor Fosdick explained you are correct when you say there is “no God” for “no God” that fits your description, exists.
The truth is that we may never have , especially this side of Heaven have a perfect picture or concept of God, however it is critical that these pictures are foundationally Biblical. Also that we dramatise these pictures and concepts of God in our daily lives that others might “see God.”
I love this reply
I remember thinkong “I don’t believe in that god either” when reading Richard Dawkin’s description for God in The God Delusion. That’s what I would have said in person, but I like the reply you quoted.
I think it’s often the case that atheists and agnostics reject a false picture of God when they doubt God exists or reject the concept of God altogether.
God is looking for a people who will show, not just tell, what God is really like. Are we ready for that demonstration?
I think picture is meant metaphorically. The verses mentioned all relate to God’s character. I understood it that way without any trouble and probably the author did too.
I always think in terms of pictures, without which I can’t think.
That is an interesting observation Mark. There are two extremes of thinking, visual and abstract. Most of us like pictures or visualisations to help us, but some people can think abstractly. My son is a mathematician and I know that some of the problems he works on have no real visualisation, so he must be thinking abstractly (and he can beat me in games where I rely heavily on visualisation.)
I think in our spiritual understanding, it helps if we have pictures. Jesus taught in parables, which are essentially word pictures.
Shalom my fellow Saints,
meditation song by Acapella: We Have Seen His Glory –
https://youtu.be/daYVcEKyI4o?si=p6zPyi36QjpOEIsF
Whether we like it or not, our lives reflect what we know about God. In every heart and mind there is a picture of God formed over the years through interactions with family, friends, neighbors, church leaders, and the wider culture. These influences shape how people live their lives and how they relate to Him. What is clear is that any view of God comes with consequences.
At times, distortions have crept into hoe we view God, with the negative effects becoming evident in our lives. Some view God as an impersonal force and tend toward a cold, vague relationship with Him. Others see God as a heavenly tyrant who intends to punish anyone who wanders outside His laws; such people rarely abandon themselves with joy to the purposes of His kingdom. Still others imagine God to be a serious and mean bookkeeper, determined to maintain up-to-date accounts of every personal sin and shortcoming; they seldom acknowledge their inner contradictions and struggles in His presence. There are also those who regard God as a divine ATM machine—just say a prayer and get what you want—yet this outlook often leads to disillusionment.
The foundation of Christian faith rests on the amazing truth that God has stepped into human history through Jesus Christ. In Jesus, God has come closer and shown us His face. The boundless mystery of God is no longer vague but personal. Paul confidently declares, “He is the image of the invisible God… For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:15, 19). Through Christ, our understanding of God is clarified, inviting us into a living, joyful, and authentic relationship with Him.
I am getting very uncomfortable with these questions that the author of the lesson is asking. If you notice last week’s lesson “Reality Check”. How is my relationship with God! Not being asked about this in a while makes me quakes in myself. is this something that should concern me, or no? Here, for this week’s lesson ‘To Know God’. Is this saying all these times I just know of God, but I do not know of Him Personally?
I think it’s good when a preacher or a pastor makes us feel uncomfortable. I remember a book from my younger days, The Comfortable Pew. It was not meant as high praise.
It looks like Jesus aimed to make us uncomfortable when He said,
Fortuntely the message doesn’t end there. He gives us the remedy in the full message of Rev. 3:14-22.
If this quarter’s lessons make more of us feel uncomfortable enough to re-examine our relationship with Jesus, perhaps we will be moved to re-dedicate ourselves to Him so that our lives may help others to see God as He really is. May it be so!
I think it is good to feel uncomfortable and assess yourself. I think the challenge is that the message to the Laodicean church really is harsh. I was talking to a fellow church member about my feelings that applying the message to everyone might not always be appropriate and he said none of us are perfect so it still applies. And in a sense I agree but Jesus said He was about to spit the Laodiceans out of His mouth. That message suggests the church was actually lost! It’s not that they need to grow some more but they actually needed to be converted.
That’s why it makes me uncomfortable to always be given this message because it does almost make God seem like a harsh critic who can never be pleased, like a parent that is never happy with anything. Sometimes it does start to feel like no matter what changes you make, Jesus is just ready to spit you out of His mouth. Well, there’s no assurance in that and not a whole lot of joy either.
I don’t doubt that some (maybe even many) in the church need a Laodicean wake up call, but it’s still hard for me to accept that it applies to everyone.
The thing is that the message doesn’t end with the “harsh” diagnosis. A cancer diagnosis may sound “harsh” but still be factual. The patient will likely die without making lifestyle changes.
But Jesus doesn’t stop with the diagnosis. He tells us that He provides the diagnosis because He loves us. He wants us to live! And He provides the remedy:
And not only that, but the Lord of Heaven and Earth, the Creator of the Universe says this:
Not only will He come in and share a meal with us, but He will share His throne with us!! How much more positive could He possibly be?!
I agree. There is a lot that is positive there. But when you hear the message constantly, it does start to feel like Jesus is impossible to please. I don’t mean that He actually is, but surely He doesn’t want to spit everyone out of His mouth all the time!
I guess that is my beef with the Laodicea message. It is important and appropriate in many situations. But if we quote it constantly, does it give a balanced picture of how God relates to us? That is my issue.
Christina, when I first read your comment, this stood out
and I thought we have no business applying this to anyone but ourselves.
Ronald, you have to remember that the lessons are written for a broad group of people. Some have had a relationship with God for many years. Some are only just getting to know God (and maybe haven’t even been baptized). There may be some who have been going through the motions of faith but never really developed a relationship with God. Sadly, I have seen people like that.
Some of the lessons probably apply more to one group than another. I feel that there are things to know and grow in, but please don’t doubt your relationship with God unless it becomes very clear you don’t have one. We are secure in Jesus and nothing can take us out of His hands (see John 10:28). But we can always grow in our knowledge of God personally. See where you can grow without fearing that you’ve never been saved.
This lesson prompted me to explore the various pictures of God that exists, and indeed they are varied. The author mentioned deism, pantheism etc that are certainly not align with the biblical script. Human beings are fundamentally flawed in our perception, hence I believe the author reminds us from the get go of the perception safety valve – the Bible. The Holy Spirit is the agency through which we are to understand the character of God to the extent our human fragility allows. It is through the agency of the Holy Spirit as we study the Bible that we form a picture of God.
I believe we getting it wrong the bible say we. See through a glass darkly..
But there will come a time when we shall see clearly clearly
The devil intentionaly misrepresented God’s protection of Adam and Eve (through the avoidance of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) as a restriction on their rights to knowledge of what is best for them.
As a parent, there are times when I feel my instrctions,guidance,directions,and guardianship are misrepresented as restrictions on my children’s freedom to enjoy life.
It is true that, as children of God, we often misrepresent Him to world. But,it is not intentional. As we we struggle to survive in this world, we stumble and fall.
It is my prayer that God will sustain us and provide our needs so that we are not overwhelmed by the cares of this world.
Does loving the Christian’s God give the believer utmost confidence when pursuing his/her life in Christ? It should! Many ‘gods’ glamour for attention. Is it not incredibly important to know to have choosen the ‘right’ God? To know to have chosen the ‘right’ God, do we not need to first understand His nature and character before entering into a relationship with Him? Is there any other way to understand God then to look to Jesus Christ, His Son, who lived out for us the character and nature of His Father – our God?
Col.2:8-11 – We have been cautioned not to be taken captive through philosophy – empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of this world -, but rather be taken ‘captive’ by Jesus Christ. ”For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form” Therefore, completeness for man is only found in/by/through the ‘Spirit of Christ’.
Why would man want to find the true God in the first place? Are we fully beyond doubting to have found the one and only true God? Are we truly happy now that we have found the right God to form a trusting relationship with? I believe a deep, abiding longing within man is waiting to once again be united in fellowship with our Maker in Who’s Image we are formed and Who’s Truth and Light we need! It is He who draws us to Himself! John 6:44.
Are we excited, ready, and happy to fully immerse our life of faith in our Fathers Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ? Have we fully turned our hearts and minds to living and exploring our new allegiance within Him to form a lasting, loving trust-relationship with our heavenly Father? John 15; 1 John 4:12-14; John 17:21-24.
As we all know, we cannot give what we do not have. To give love to others, we must be full of it. Thus, it must be our job to search for God every day, because He is the source of true love.
I think from the beginning of time, Gen 3:1-5, when Satan told Eve, “Did God really say…” There’s been an attempt to change our picture of God.
I think the Bible is so important because it reveals what God “says,” so we don’t have to focus only on what we think. I love the part in the lesson that says, “Satan doesn’t care about the picture of God as long as it’s not an accurate one.”
I think whatever version of the Bible we use, what will be clear is the life of Jesus. When you see his love, compassion, justice, teaching, and more importantly, the reminder that if you see me, you have seen the Father is powerful.
When all else fails, use whatever version of the Bible to study Jesus. He’s an accurate picture of God.
If one wants to really study the words of God it is necessary to study a version that correlates with a Hebrew and Greek concordance, like Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. As far as I know only the KJV and maybe the NKJV have this capability.
Hi ,
‘God is a Spirit’.(John 4 :24 ).
Moreover HE has soul, too,
‘ Flesh & blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” ( 1 Corinthians 15:50.)God has spiritual body ,:_
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a) God has face ( These are 2 verses)
1)(Leviticus 20:6)states :God said, ” I will set my face against that man”.
2) (Psalm 18:8).states:’ There went up a smoke out of his nostrils & fire out of his mouth devoure’.
b) God talks 🙁 2 vs. )
1,,( Genesis 1: 26) says:‘ And
God said, Let us make man in our image’.
2,(Exodus 33:11) states :’And
the LORD spake unto Moses
face to face, as a man speaks unto his friend.’
c) God has eyes :(2 vs. )
1)(Deuteronomy 11:12 ):says,
‘The eyes of thy God are always upon the land.’
2)( Proverbs 15: 3) says ‘The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.’
d) God breaths.
( Genesis 2:7 )says :‘He
breathed into man’s nostrils.’
e) God hears.
(Jeremiah 4:21) says :‘God said, “How long shall I see the standa rd, & hear the sound of the trumpet ?’
f) God has hands 🙁 4 vs. )
!) (Exodus 7: 5)states :“And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, & bring out the children of Israel from them.’
!!) ( Isaiah 40 :10 ) states, ‘Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, & his arm shall rule for him.’
!!!) (Psalm 110: 1) says :’God said unto my Lord, Sit thou at
my right hand, until I make
thine enemies thy footstool.’
! v) God’s fingers _:
( Exodus 31 :18 ) says : ‘God
gave unto Moses, two tables
of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of Him.’
God has Soul. He Himself said ‘My Soul’ _:( 7vs. )
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1) ( Isaiah 42:1):‘God said,”Behold
, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. ”
2) (Jeremiah 5:9):‘Shall I not visit for these things? shall not my soul be avenged on such a
nation as this?’”, saith God.’
3) (Jeremiah 32:41):“I will rejoice over them to do them good & will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart & with all My soul”.
4) (Hebrews10:38 ):‘My righteous
one shall live by faith & if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.’
5) ( Zechariah 11:8):‘Three shepherds also I cut off in one month & my soul lothed them.’
6) (Leviticus 26:11, 30):‘ l will make my dwelling among you & my soul shall not abhor you. I will destroy your high places & cut down your incense altars & cast your dead bodies upon the dead bodies of your idols & my soul will abhor you.’
7) (Matthew 12:18):‘ Behold, my servant whomI have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.’
These are properties of Soul
of God _:
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i ) Pity
( Psalm 103:13) says :‘Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.’
ii ) Anger.
( Ezekiel 5:13 ) :says : God said,
‘Thus shall mine anger be accomplished. I will cause my fury to rest upon them. ‘
iii ) ‘And my soul lothed them.’ (Zechariah 11:8 )
!v) God weeps.
( Jeremiah 13:27)states :‘But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride, mine eye shall weep sore & run down with tears.’
v) God grieves.
(Judges 10:16 ): says:“They put away the strange gods from among them & served the LORD & his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.”
vi) GOD’S heart pains.
( Jeremiah 4:19):says: “My bowels, my bowels ! I am pained at my very heart; my heart make th a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. ‘
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When we read the Bible, we need to consider the context of the whole Bible. The Bible does not contradict itself.
John 4:24 is correctly translated as “God is Spirit.” The word “is” is added in the KJV. (See BlueLetterBible.org) *That is important because otherwise we might think that God is “a spirit” among other spirits.)
The Bible nowhere says that “God has soul.”
“Soul” in Old English simply meant “person.” And, yes, God is a Person.
Many of the texts you mention are figurative/poetic representations and not intended to be taken literally. They suggest qualities of God’s character and, together, they can give us a “picture” of God’s character.
I’m a little late to the party and conversation of what Bible translation to use. There were many excellent comments and points made.
Pastor Mark Finley was asked what was the best Bible translation to use. His response was simple and straight to the point. He said, “the one that you will read.”
So very true! What good is studying and having no understanding of what you just read? Someone will find fault in most every version because they were written by faulty humans. It’s not like God dictated every word and it was written verbatim. The inspiration of scripture was thought inspiration by the Holy Spirit, not necessarily word inspiration.
If you have a translation that works for you then go with it. There is no sense in forcing something that doesn’t work or fit. It’s like trying to force your feet into shoes that you really don’t fit. Find one that works for you. Personally, I enjoy reading the more modern NASB, NKJV, or ESV versions. I also enjoy using the parallel feature in Bible programs to see how a verse is conveyed in multiple translations side by side. To me it’s a personal thing. To believe that everyone has to use the KJV is to imply that perhaps God was or is an English man. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our God knows and understands all languages and can speak through any and all of them. The only remaining question is, are we ready to listen?