Who is God?: A Biblical Treatise for the Contemplative Christian

By A. B. Leaver

Who is God? It is a question that has been asked throughout the expanse of human history and has been answered in a myriad of ways. Answers have ranged from the worship of inanimate objects, nature's wonders, and fictitious characters to the worship of the true and everlasting God as revealed in the Bible. However, even using the Bible as a common reference, there have been a multitude of different interpretations of who God is, what His character is, what His desire is for us, and how we relate to Him. This book draws from the biblical record a view of God that is supported by Scripture rather than from conjecture and outside sources. Where there seem to be inconsistent perspectives present in the Scripture, I have tried to identify them but conclude with the predominate perspective as the most tenable. It makes sense that God, in communicating to people, would help us by making the correct view predominate. In drawing from the Bible, I have found that God is a loving Father in heaven; that all people are His children; that He loves His children and desires that all be saved; that He has provided a means by which all may be saved—through His Son Jesus Christ; that in our day God reveals himself through the Holy Ghost (among other ways); and that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost comprise one God. You will find that the bulk of this work is a quotation of scripture, organized by topic in relation to the identity of God. Commentary has been added in an attempt to summarize the concepts I believe are conveyed in the scriptures; however, the commentary comprises a lessor portion of the work. The work may almost be thought of as a topical concordance concerning the identity of God with limited commentary. At any rate, the reader is invited to review the cited scriptural references, in addition to all others contained in the Scriptures, and draw his or her own conclusion based on the content and on the witness of the Holy Ghost. The scriptures declare that the Holy Ghost is the testator of all truth and that when we sincerely seek the truth, we shall find it. I have found the references cited in this work helpful in aiding my own search for the answer to the question: who is God? I am confident that they will do the same for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9781644240946

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Who is God?

A Biblical Treatise for the Contemplative Christian

A. B. Leaver

Copyright © 2019 A. B. Leaver

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

New York, NY

First originally published by Page Publishing, Inc. 2019

ISBN 978-1-64424-092-2 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64424-095-3 (Hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-64424-094-6 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

About the Cover

The cover depicts God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost as revealed in the following scriptures:

And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. (Ezekiel 1:26-27)

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (Matthew 23:37)

And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. (Luke 3:22)

Dedicated with all my love to my wife of 40 years, whose example of Christian living and knowledge of God motivated me to explore Christendom and the scriptures, which thankfully led me to my own faith in God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.

Chapter 1

God the Creator

Overview:

A. There must be a God.

B. God created all things.

C. God chooses to communicate with His creation.

A. There must be a God.

To the believer, almost nothing is more straightforward than accepting God as the creator of all that we observe and experience. Yet there are so many who do not comprehend and accept the source of all things as revealed in the Bible.

The Bible tells us that God is the creator of all things. The sheer magnificence and majesty of this earth, the life we observe on it, and our glimpse of our corner of the universe testify of the existence of a supreme Creator. Man has always had an innate desire to better understand his observations of the universe, but he has not always had the explanations as revealed by God.

All people have had some witness of God through their conscience, hearts, and bestowed grace as explained in the following scriptures:

"For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another." (Romans 2:13–15, [italics added])

"One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." (Ephesians 4:6–7, [italics added])

In the beginning, God walked and talked with Adam, so the first man had a correct understanding of God, but as the earth was populated, groups split off and concepts of God became distorted. On innumerable occasions, God brought the knowledge of Him and His gospel to the people through His chosen prophets, who were frequently rejected by the people.

In their own attempt to explain the wonders of our environment, man developed countless viewpoints of God: the Greeks developed an elaborate scheme of gods with Zeus as the ruling God. Likewise, the Romans developed a system of gods with Jupiter as its king. Venus was a major goddess in Roman mythology, who started out as the goddess of gardens. Later the qualities of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of fertility and love, were ascribed to her. The Egyptians defined numerous gods, whom they believed influenced nature and human activities. They worshiped Re, the sun god, and Isis, who represented the devoted mother and wife.

Some may say, There is no evidence that there is a God, or Prove to me that there is a God, or If there is a God and He showed me a sign, I would believe. In reality, the situation is the opposite. The more appropriate question is, What evidence is there that there is no God? Indeed, all things testify that there is a God: the earth in all its splendor—its geographic variety, the beautiful vegetation, the wide range of animal life, and all these in balance by nature. Even the earth and moon in their regular motion; the sun, stars and other observed astronomical bodies observed in our limited view of the universe; the sun gives its light by day, the moon and stars give their light by night. All these things are witness of a Supreme Creator.

While disputes continue regarding creationism versus evolution, it seems likely that God used science in the process of creation with scientific principles that are not completely understood at this time. There is clear logic to the belief of survival of the fittest in adaptation to an environment, yet the concept of evolution from one species to another requires a bigger leap of faith. However, when one considers the vast expanse of time apparent in the formation of geologic features such as the Grand Canyon from river erosion, it is difficult to say what did or did not take place in the progression of life-forms during such lengthy time periods. What we do know is that both secular and religious records of human history only establish the existence of written language for several thousand years—just a minuscule fraction in the estimated age of the earth of about 4.5 billion years (about the last hour of an eighty-year life span).

As we behold all we perceive in our universe, we see God in His majesty and power. If you have ever done any hiking in the mountains, you can understand why many prophets of old would go to the mountains to draw close to God. There is a magnificence and majesty there that defies description. In days of old, just getting there would prepare the seeker; prayer, strenuous physical exertion, limited food intake, and possibly fasting all heightened spiritual sensitivity. Then the spectacular views of just a small portion of God’s creation are awe-inspiring. One can only imagine the breathtaking perspective Moses and perhaps other prophets received as they beheld visions regarding creation of the world and more.

In addition to our own observations of our environment, we have the witness of all believers and of all the holy prophets as recorded in Scripture . In my mind, the evidence is clear.

B. God created all things.

The following are some biblical references to God as the creator of all things:

In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth,. (Genesis 1:1)

And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’ (Genesis 1:26)

And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (Genesis 1:31–2:1)

And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said, ‘O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.’ (2 Kings 19:15)

He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD. By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. (Psalms 33:5–9)

The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors. (Proverbs 26:10)

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. (Isaiah 40:28)

Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein. (Isaiah 42:5)

Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself. (Isaiah 44:24)

I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. (Isaiah 45:12)

For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:18)

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. (Isaiah 65:17)

"But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them." (Jeremiah 10:10–14 [italics added])

For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and created the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, the LORD, The God of hosts, is his name. (Amos 4:13)

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:1–5 [italics added])

Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things? (Acts 7:49–50)

And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein. (Acts 14:15)

"For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." (1 Corinthians 8:5–6 [italics added])

"And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 3:9 [italics added])

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. (Colossians 1:16–17)

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. (Colossians 3:10)

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." (Hebrews 1:1–2 [italics added])

"And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail." (Hebrews 1:10–12 [italics added])

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Hebrews 11:3)

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11)

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:6–7 [italics added])

C. God chooses to communicate with His creation.

It is clear that God has chosen to communicate with His creation. The Bible itself is proof of the same. While it was written by prophetic men, the believer knows, through the witness of the Holy Ghost (see Chapter 6), that the Bible is the Word of God given for the benefit of His creation. It speaks of what has been and what is to be. It provides guidance for those who have ears to hear (Mark 7:16 listed below). There is nary a page that does not command or give counsel in some way intended to influence the behavior of the believer. God loves His creation and communicates with us to help us achieve His desire for us (see Chapter 7).

Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and