Ekklesia Muskogee

A. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. (John 4:24; Ps. 147:5; Ps. 90:2; James 1:17; Rev. 4:8; Ps. 89:14; Exod. 34:6,7; 1 Tim. 1:17)

God is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in holiness.

I. LET US UNDERSTAND THE HOLINESS OF GOD

I) God is Holy

1 John 1:5 “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

John MacArthur: “God’s holiness is His inherent and absolute greatness, in which He is perfectly distinct above everything outside Himself and is absolutely morally separate from sin.”

Isaiah 6:3 “And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’”

Revelation 4:8 “Day and night [the angels] never cease to say, ’Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’”

God the Father is Holy
Jesus, in John 17:11: “Holy Father.”

God the Spirit is Holy
Again, Jesus ,in John 14:26: “The Holy Spirit.”

God the Son is Holy
Paul, in Acts 13:35 (quoting Psalm 16:10): “You will not let your Holy One see corruption.”

II) God’s Works are Holy

Exodus‬ ‭15:11‬ “Who is like [the LORD], majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?”

Psalm 145:17 “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.”

III) God’s written Word is Holy

Romans 1:2 “[Jesus was] promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,”

IV) God’s Commands are Holy

Romans 7:12 “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”

V) God’s Promises are Holy

Psalm 105:42 “For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.”

VI) God’s Covenant is Holy

John the Baptist’s father Zechariah calls God’s covenant, “his holy covenant” in Luke 1:72.

II. LET US APPLY GOD’S HOLINESS

I) You will not be accepted by God unless you are perfectly holy

Habakkuk 1:13 “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?”

II) You will not escape God’s wrath if you stand before Him in your unholiness (sin, wickedness)

Nahum 1:3-5 “3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; . . .5 The mountains quake before him; the hills melt.”

III) You must go to Christ in faith so that God will count you holy

Colossians 1:21-23 “21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel…”

IV) In Christ, you must sanctify God as Holy

Leviticus 10:3 “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’”

V) In Christ, you must be Holy

Leviticus 14:44-45 “44 For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. . . 45 For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” (The Apostle Peter repeats this in 1 Peter 1:16)

VI) In Christ, you must worship God in Holiness

1 Chronicles 16:29 “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.”

VII) In Christ, you must be motivated toward holiness by God’s promises

2 Corinthians 7:1 “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

A. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, POWER, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. (John 4:24; Ps. 147:5; Ps. 90:2; James 1:17; Rev. 4:8; Ps. 89:14; Exod. 34:6,7; 1 Tim. 1:17)

GOD IS…INFINITE, ETERNAL, AND UNCHANGEABLE…IN POWER

PSALM 147:5 “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power.”

JEREMIAH 32:17 “Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”

THE SCRIPTURES SPEAK OF GOD’S POWER IN THREE WAYS: 

1) POSITIVELY: Genesis 17:1 “I am God Almighty.”

2) NEGATIVELY: Luke 1:37 “Nothing is impossible with God.”

3) COMPARATIVELY: Matthew 19:26 “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

God’s infinite, eternal, and unchangeable power is clearly set forth in at least 5 ways: His I) Creating, II) Preserving, III) Governing, IV) Redeeming, and V) Judging.

I. CREATING POWER

Psalm 33:9 “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.”

Romans 1:20 “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

He breathed out planets and stars; he spoke oceans and mountains into existence; He exhaled man, beasts, and birds!

II. PRESERVING POWER

Hebrews 1:3 “[Jesus] upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

III. GOVERNING POWER

1) Elements

Deuteronomy 4:36-38 “And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power.”

Mark 4:37-41 “37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’ 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’”

2) Men

Proverbs 16:9 “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

Proverbs 21:1 “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.”

Exodus 9:16 “But for this purpose I have raised you up (Pharoah), to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”

3) Demons

Matthew 8:31 “And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.”

4) Wicked men

Isaiah 37:29 “Because you have raged against me and your complacency has come to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came.’”

Daniel 4:35 “all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

IV. REDEEMING POWER

I) The virgin birth of Jesus Christ

Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.’” 

II) Jesus’ resurrection from the dead

Romans 1:4 “[Jesus Christ our Lord] was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead”

III) Taking dead sinners and converting them to living saints through the preaching of the gospel

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”

1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

IV) Empowering Christians to be witnesses for Jesus

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

V) Guarding Christians through faith

1 Peter 1:5 “who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

VI) In giving His saints resurrected bodies

1 Corinthians 6:14 “And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.”

Philippians 3:20-21 “20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

V. JUDGING POWER

I) In judging unrepentant sinners

Romans 9:22 “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction.”

Romans 2:4-5 “4 …do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”

Answer: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. (John 4:24; Ps. 147:5; Ps. 90:2; James 1:17; Rev. 4:8; Ps. 89:14; Exod. 34:6,7; 1 Tim. 1:17)

GOD IS INFINITE, ETERNAL, AND UNCHANGEABLE IN WISDOM

ROMANS 16:27 “to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.”

I. GOD’S WISDOM IS SEEN IN HIS INFINITE INTELLIGENCE

PSALM 147:5 “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.”

DANIEL 2:28 “there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.”

PSALM 94:11 “the LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath.”

II. GOD’S WISDOM IS SEEN IN HIS WORKS

We see the wisdom of God as we consider his works of I) Creation, II) Redemption, and III) Providence.

I) CREATION

PSALM 104:24 “O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”

II) REDEMPTION

ROMANS 3:23-26 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

ROMANS 11:33-36 “33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’ 35‘Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’ 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

III) PROVIDENCE

EPHESIANS 1:11 “God works all things according to the counsel of His will.” 

GENESIS 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

ACTS 2:23 “[Jesus], delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”

ROMANS 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

ANSWER: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. (John 4:24; Ps. 147:5; Ps. 90:2; James 1:17; Rev. 4:8; Ps. 89:14; Exod. 34:6,7; 1 Tim. 1:17)

Q. What do you believe about God?

I. GOD IS A SPIRIT

JOHN 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

II. GOD IS INFINITE

PSALM 147:5 “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.”

ISAIAH 40:28 “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”

ROMANS 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”

JEREMIAH 23:24 “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.”

JOHN 1:16 “For from [Jesus’] fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”

III. GOD IS ETERNAL

PSALM 90:2 “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

IV. GOD IS UNCHANGEABLE

PSALM 102:25-27 “25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, 27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.”

JAMES 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

MALACHI 3:6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”

HEBREWS 6:17-18 “17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”