Are You Fit for God's Kingdom?

By Donald Werner

What’s the main theme of the Holy Scriptures? It is ultimately a story of God’s quest for gathering subjects for His soon coming eternal Kingdom. At the end of time God will establish His earthly Kingdom. However, unlike earthly kings, God will handpick who will be in His kingdom. It’s at the final Judgment that God will separate the ‘sheep’ for eternal life in His Kingdom from the ‘goats’ who will receive their eternal destruction. How does God decide who are the ‘sheep’ or the ‘goats’? God is testing all people, and based on the results of a lifetime of testing, God will hand pick who He wants in His kingdom. What character types is God seeking? Imagine that you are a king and you need subjects for your kingdom, what qualities would you be looking for? A king will be looking for loyal subjects who love the king, someone who honors the King, obeys the King, loves his neighbors, does acts of mercy, kindness to those in need, etc. It's very important for us to understand who God wants in His kingdom, because He is testing us daily and we need to pass the test. I will share with you, from Scriptures, insights that the churches have neglected to teach. I believe you will be amazed and your relationship with God will be changed, forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: May 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781667104188

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Don

CHAPTER 1 – THE FIRST STEP IN FITNESS

Before we can hope to be fit for the Kingdom of God we must complete the prerequisite to make sure that we are prepared to pass our fitness test.  If we have the premise of our understanding wrong, we will come to wrong conclusions and fail our test.  Before we can be fit to serve God, dedicate ourselves to Him, honor Him, serve Him, worship Him, praise Him, thank Him, honor Him, fear Him, respect Him, love Him and be righteous people according to His will, we have to know who precisely who God is as defined in the Scriptures.  Any misunderstanding of who God is, which is contrary to what the Scriptures teach us, will result in us having the wrong god, and therefore committing idolatry.  God is not pleased by those who practice idolatry.  According to Jesus, idolaters are not fit to inherit the Kingdom of God, in Revelation 22:15. Paul also confirms that in 1Corinthians 6:9-10.  Paul also wrote; …The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God…  (2 Thessalonians 1:8). So we can’t afford to get this wrong, we have to know the God of the Bible. 

When we read about the Biblical incident where Israel worshiped the golden calf, we can learn some things about the proper worship of God.  In reading that account, it’s was clear that Israel was worship the correct God, ‘Yahoveh’. However, they distorted God’s image by making a physical image of how they wrongly perceived God.  They had the correct God but the wrong image of God, so they were found to be guilty of idolatry and put to death.  People aren’t always put to death for idolatry, but through this incident we learn of how God will judge those who commit idolatry in the final judgment.  So we can’t afford to get this wrong. We need to know the God of the Scriptures.  Until we know the God of the Scriptures, we can’t truly worship Him, glorify Him or properly offer His praise and thanksgiving.

We can do everything else right, but if we don’t accept God as He is revealed to us in the Scriptures, we have the wrong god.  And if we have the wrong god, our worship is idolatry and we have no hope of being fit for eternal life in the Kingdom of God. 

So, the first step in the fitness that will get us eternal life is to know the true God and to know Jesus the Anointed Messiah – who he really is, and not just what church tradition says about him.  So in this first chapter it is question and answer. I will ask a question and then answer it from Scripture verses. I will systematically go through hundreds of verses in the Old and New Testament to share and identify the nature of the God from the Scriptures. I don’t necessarily expect anyone to read all of the verses that I used to answer each question, but please read enough of them, perhaps several under each questions, or however many you need to read to understand what the Scriptures are saying to answer the question.  I know I could have used a lot less verses, but I want to emphasis that what I’m sharing is not just a few selected verses pulled out of context, what I’m sharing is common through the Scriptures.  You could read the question and skip to my summation of the answer, and if you’re not sure how I arrived at that answer, go back a read some of the verses between the question and the answer.

Question 1 : What is God’s name?

Genesis 14:22, But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have raised my hand to Yahoveh (YHVH), God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth".

(The ancient Hebrew text had no vowels, so they used the four Hebrew consonants letters, equivalent to YHVH, to spell the name of God, it is believed to be pronounced YAHOVEH). YHVH has been changed to LORD by the Bible translators, as to not offend the Jews who highly reverence that name to the point that they will not say it, and to help prevent the vain use of God’s name. Abram said Yahoveh is God Most High (singular). (Much more on the importance of the sacred name of God will be shared in the last Chapter of this book.)

Exodus 20:2a-3, "I am YAHOVEH your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 You shall have no other gods before Me." This is the First Commandment.

Deuteronomy 4:35, to you it was shown, that you might know that YHVH Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.

Deuteronomy 6:4, Hear, O Israel: Yahoveh our God, Yahoveh is one!  Repeated and affirmed by Jesus in Mark 12:29.

Deuteronomy 4:39,  Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that YHVH Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.

Psalm 18:31, For who is God, except YHVH? And who is a rock, except our God?

Psalm 83:18, "That they may know that you, whose name alone is YHVH, Are the Most High over all the earth."

1 Kings 8:60, that all the peoples of the earth may know that YHVH is God; there is no other

1 Chronicles 17:20, "O YHVH, there is none like you, nor is there any God besides You".

Isaiah 45:18, "for thus says YHVH, Who created the heavens, who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited: "I am YHVH, and there is no other."

Isaiah 45:21b-22, "who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time?  Have not I, YHVH? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior;    there is none besides Me.  22 Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Jeremiah 10:10,  "But YHVH is the true God;  He is the living God and the everlasting King.  At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation."

Matthew 4:10, "Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship Yahoveh your God, and Him only you shall serve.’

Mark 12:29, "Jesus answered him, "The first (or chief) of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, Yahoveh our God, Yahoveh is one."

John17:3 (NKJV), "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

Ephesians 4:6 (NKJV), "one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

1 Timothy 2:5 (NKJV), For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.

Answer 1: God’s name is YHVH (or YAHOVEH or YAHWEH or Jehovah), Translated as ‘the LORD’ in the Bible.  According to these verses He is one, and there are no other gods according to the New and Old Testaments.

Question 2 : If YHVH is God, who is ‘Our Father’?

Exodus 4:22, "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says YHVH: Israel is My son, My firstborn.  (Having a son makes YHVH a Father)

Deuteronomy 32:6, "Do you thus deal with YHVH, O foolish and unwise people?  Is He not your Father, who bought you?  Has He not made you and established you?"

Deuteronomy 32:18-19,"Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, and have forgotten the God who fathered you.  "And when YHVH saw it, He spurned them, Because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters."

1 Chronicles 29:10, "Therefore David blessed Yahoveh before all the assembly; and David said: Blessed are You, Yahoveh God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.

Isaiah 63:16, "Doubtless You are our Father, Though Abraham was ignorant of us, And Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Yahoveh, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name."

Isaiah 64:8, "But now, O Yahoveh, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand. "

Jeremiah 3:19,20b,  "But I said: ‘How can I put you among the children And give you a pleasant land, A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’  "And I (YHVH) said: ‘You shall call Me, My Father, And not turn away from Me…says YHVH’

Jeremiah 31b:9-10a, "… for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn…Hear the word of YHVH…"

Malachi 1:6a, (NKJV) "A son honors his father, And a servant  his  master.  If then I am the Father, Where is My honor?..."

Malachi 2:10a, (NKJV), ‘Have we not all one Father?  Has not one God created us?"

John 8:42 (NIV), "Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me.

John 17:1a,3, "Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come… And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

John 20:17, "Jesus said unto her, touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God and your God."

Ephesians 4:6 (NKJV), "one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

2Corinthians 1:3 (NKJV), "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort".

1Peter 1:3 (NKJV), "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,"

Revelation 3:21, (Jesus speaking) "To him who overcomes I (Jesus)will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."

Also 2Sam 7:14; 1Chron 17:13, 22:10, 28:6 ; Psalm 68:5; 89:26.

Answer 2 : According to these verses, and others, YHVH is God Our Father, whom Jesus prayed to and told us to pray to. Jesus is not YHVH, but said Our Father (YHVH) is the only true God, His God and His Father. (Mark 12:29, John 17:3, 20:17).

Question 3 : Are there Gods other than the Father?

Exodus 20:2a-3, I am YHVH your God…You shall have no other gods before Me (this is 1st of the 10 Commandments, etched in stone with the finger of God).

Deuteronomy 4:35, To you it was shown, that you might know that YHVH Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.

Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel: YHVH our God, YHVH is one." (Not three!)

Isaiah 44:6, "Thus says YHVH, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, YHVH of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God."

Isaiah 45:6, "That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am YHVH, and there is no other;"

Isaiah 45:18, "For thus says YHVH, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: "I am YHVH, and there is no other."

2 Kings 19:15, "You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth."

1 Chronicles 17:20, "O YHVH, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You"

Nehemiah 9:6-7, "You alone are YHVH...You are Yahoveh God"

Psalm 18:31, "For who is God, but YHVH? And who is a rock, except our God"

Psalm 83:18, "That they may know that You, whose name alone is YHVH, Are the Most High over all the earth."

Isaiah 37:20, "You alone, YHVH, are God."

Isaiah 45:5-6, "I am YHVH (YAHOVEH), and there is no other; There is no God besides Me.  I will gird you, though you have not known Me,  6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am Yahoveh, and there is no other;"

1Samuel 2:2, "No one is holy like YHVH, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God."

Hosea 13:4, "Yet I am YHVH your God Ever since the land of Egypt, and you shall know no God but Me; For there is no savior besides Me."

Joel 2:27, "Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel:  I am YHVH your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame."

Matthew 4:10, "Then Jesus said to him, Be gone, Satan!  For it has been written, You shall worship Yahoveh your God (our Father), and Him alone shall you serve."

Matthew 6:9, (Jesus said) In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

John 17:3, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God (YHVH, the Father), and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

Ephesians 4:6, "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

1 Timothy 2:5,  For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

Answer 3 :  According to the Holy Scriptures, these verses and others tell us that YHVH (Yahoveh) is the only true God, He is Our Father, and there are no other Gods.

Question 4 : Does the New Testament speak about the plurality of God?

Mark 12:29,   Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, YHVH our God,  YHVH is one.’

John 17:3, (Jesus praying to our Father), "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God (YHVH, the Father), and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

Acts 24:14,  "However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets...." (Paul did not forsake the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or the Law of Moses, to worship a Trinity.)

Romans 15:6, "That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ". (This phrase, God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ appears 14 times in Paul’s letters-‘God’ is the Father of Jesus)

1 Corinthians 8:5-6, (NKJV), "For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live."

Ephesians 4:6. (NKJV), "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

James 2:19, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!"

James 3:9, Therewith bless we God, even the Father, and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

Romans 3:30, Since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

Answer 4 : The Old Testament and the New Testament agree; There is one God and God is one.  He is also known as the Father, and His name is Yahoveh (YHVH). Thirty eight times in the Bible we read the phrase ‘YHVH my God’ – which eliminates all other gods.  All New Testament writers agree that God is one – therefore not three.

Question 5 :  Is Jesus ever referred to as God?

Or is there a distinction made between ‘God’ and ‘Jesus’?

Matthew 16:27, For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Mark 8:38, "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

John 14:1 (NKJV), "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.

John 17:3 (NKJV), Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Acts 2:32, This Jesus, God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

Romans 1:8, "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world."

1 Corinthians 1:3, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:3, But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

James 1:1, James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.

1 Corinthians 8:6, yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live

Jude 25, "the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

1 Timothy 2:5, (KJV), For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Acts 7:55, But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,

Acts 10:38, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

1 Corinthians 12:3, Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 13:14, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

1 Peter 2:5, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

(There are many more examples in the New and Old Testaments)

Answer 5 : No, Jesus, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter and Jude each made a clear distinction between God and Jesus. God is Our Father. Also notice that the name ‘Jesus’ and the title ‘Holy Spirit’ are never included in the term GOD – as clearly seen in these verses, listed above and below.  According to these verses Jesus is not God and the Holy Spirit is not God – Only the Father is God.

Question 6 :  Did Jesus ever claim to be God?

Or did He deny that He is God?

Matthew 4:10, Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship Yahoveh your God, and serve him only."

Mark 10:18, So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but, that is, God.

Matthew 19:17, So He said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.

Luke 18:19, So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good But One, that is, God.

John 17:3,  And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God (YHVH, the Father), and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

John 14:1, (NKJV), Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

John 20:17, (NKJV), Jesus said to her, Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’

In John 1:18, Jesus told all those who standing around Him that ‘no one has seen God’, so those looking at Jesus we’re not seeing God.  John, even though he ministered with Jesus for three years, he said, ‘no one has seen God at any time…’

1John 4:12. No one has seen God at any time…

Matthew 22:36-37, Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?   Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love Yahoveh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

Many times Jesus referred to the ‘Father’ as ‘His God’, and ‘His Father’.

Answer 6 : NO, Jesus never called himself God, and always made a clear distinction between himself and God – speaking of God using the 3rd person singular masculine pronouns.  Jesus denies that he is God Almighty, by acknowledging that God is someone other than himself.

Question 7:  Does Jesus have a God?

Micah 5:2-4, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, although you are small among the tribes of Judah, from you will come forth for Me one who will be ruler over Israel. His origins are from of old, from ancient days. 3 Therefore He will give them up, until the time when she who is in labor has given birth, and the rest of his brothers will return to the children of Israel. 4 He will stand and shepherd in the strength of YHVH, in the majesty of the name of YHVH his God; …." If Micah 5:2 is referring to the Messiah being born in Bethlehem, then Micah 5:4 is saying that Messiah has a God - YHVH.

Matthew 27:46, And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying Eli, eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God why has thou forsaken me?

Luke 10:21, …I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…  Jesus, praying to YHVH, the Father, considered Him to be the Lord of Heaven and Earth.

John 4:22, (NKJV), You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  According to Jesus’ own words, he worshiped the God of the Jews, YHVH, Our Father.’

John 20:17, Jesus said unto her, touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God and your God.

Ephesians 1:3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

Ephesians 1:17, That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

1Corinthians 15:28, Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

2Corinthians 1:3,  "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort"

1Peter 1:3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Revelation 3:12, (Jesus said) Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Revelation 3:14, And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: Jesus called himself the ‘beginning of the Creation of God’.

Answer 7 ; Jesus said He had a God, Micah, Paul, Peter, and John agree. Jesus said he has the same God as we do (John 20:17). Jesus cannot be God if he has a God, whom he worships (John 4:22) and prays to (Matthew 6, John 17).

Question 8 :  According to the Bible, who are we to worship?

Exodus 20:1-3, And God spoke all these words, saying:  I am YHVH your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.

Exodus 34:14, for you shall worship no other god, for Yahoveh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God

Deuteronomy 6:13-14, You shall fear Yahoveh your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths His Name. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you.

Psalm 148:11-13, "Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth; 12 Both young men and maidens; Old men and children. 13 Let them praise the name of YHVH, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven."

Matthew 4:10,  "Then Jesus said to him, Be gone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship Yahoveh (the Father) your God, and Him alone shall you serve."

Luke 4:8,  "And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship Yahoveh your God, and Him only you shall serve.’

John 4:22, "Jesus speaking, You worship you know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.  (Jesus worships the God of the Jews, YHVH)

John 4:23, (NKJV),  "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. "

Acts 24:14, "But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers (YHVH), believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets."

Answer 8 : Jesus said that he, along with the rest of the Jews, worship Yahoveh, God of the Jews (John 4:22), and he tells us to worship Yahoveh God, Our