HF113 - What is God Really, Really Like
To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Fri, February 20, 2004
Subject: Bible Study HF113 - What is God Really, Really Like
Hebraics,
Since things are rather quiet on the forum let's move on to another study. In this study we want to find out what God is really like. Perhaps it will help us cut through a lot of theological red tape. However, I want to point out that the study is not about the various views on the Godhead. Rather it has its emphasis on Jesus Himself. At the end of the study I'll share a short testimony on how I found out what God is really like.
This is Bible Study HF113 - What is God Really, Really Like.
As a prelude to the study I want to share an incident where a woman caught in adultery was being placed before Jesus. The Scripture portion is John 8:2-12:
“Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?’
"They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’
"Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.’ Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’”
Jesus was not like anyone the people had ever met. The leadership could not figure Him out. Neither could they ignore Him. Why did He not come to them? Why did He contradict the traditions of the elders? Why did He mix with known sinners? And so Nicodemus came by night; “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with Him.” The Lord went straight to the issue at hand; a person had to be born again. The birth would be from heaven. The birth would be mysterious.
Actually Nicodemus was one of the more godly leaders. However, it wasn’t simply signs and miracles that caught the attention of the leaders and of the people. It was the way Jesus taught. Jesus taught as the One having full authority. The Pharisees considered this an offense against their religious traditions. Yet there was another thing. When Jesus spoke it created stirrings of the heart. When the temple soldiers had been ordered to apprehend Jesus, they returned empty handed. Their response was, "Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.
"What the people were finding out is that God is nothing like the pictures that had been painted by their religious leaders. And if the truth were known, God is not always like some of our own pictures. However, there is a way to find out what God is really, really like. We will talk about that shortly.
Now back to our Scripture portion. The woman was brought before Jesus. Of course ‘brought’ is a kind word. The Greek term ‘ago’ means to lead but with an implication of ‘to drive.’ This lady was being herded by a group of bearded leaders. She had no one to defend her. There she stood encircled by men. In front of her was a Man she didn't know, but had probably heard things about Him. "Why was she before Him?"
The Pharisees and scribes began pressing Jesus. He simply stooped down and began writing on the ground. They persisted; “In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”
Let's short cut through this. The truth of the matter is that the woman herself wasn't on trial that day. The whole religious system was on trial. This becomes evident when Jesus straightens up, and says, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Suddenly there is silence. What an affront? The Pharisees considered themselves the very epitome of holiness. But not now. Those words penetrated too deeply. They started drifting away with the older ones, then the younger ones.
But there is a problem. How do we reconcile what Jesus said in another place that, "Not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is fulfilled?" Yet we hear Jesus converse with the lady, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” “No one, Lord.” “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”
How could Jesus not condemn her? She stood condemned before the Law! The answer is that this lady was standing before her Savior, the very One of whom the Law kept pointing to.
Only the Lord God has the right of judgment. In another place we read that the Father has given all judgment to the Son. He Himself is the fulfiller and the fulfillment of the Law. He Himself fulfills the Law in our walk with Him. (A subject of its own.)
We still need to understand the primary purpose of Law. It was never intended to save anyone. It pointed to man's need of a Savior. The Law could never remove sin. It constantly served as a reminder that sin was very active in the lives of all men. It is as John said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."
The Law had as one of its essential purposes to expose the human heart. This is why the Law had a curse attached to it. To break one tiny Law makes you guilty of breaking all. But who could live such a life, without breaking the Law? Some thought that putting a hedge around the Law was the answer. But this only complicated things. All the hedge could do was distort the Law. It really kept the people away from the truths of God.
Concerning judgment, it is as the apostle wrote, "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." The world itself was already under condemnation. Only a Savior could change this.
Who was really on trial that day? Was it the woman? Was it the men who brought her before Jesus? Yes, on both counts. The woman stood without defense. Yet she was exactly where she needed to be. The men? They were likely upset over having been caught in their own trap. Yet they had much to think about.
Now back to the question of, 'What is God really, really like?' Do you know the answer? Sure you do. If anyone wants to know what God is really like, study the gospels. Study the Man Jesus. Everything Jesus did on earth was an absolute reality of the heart of the Almighty God. This is why the Bible speaks of Jesus as the glory of the Father.
Hebrews 1:1-3 says, "God, after he spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world. And he is the radiance of His glory AND THE EXACT REPRESENTATION OF HIS NATURE..." (Caps for emphasis only.)
Jesus is exactly who God is. What of the Pharisees who claimed that God was their father? Jesus said of them, "You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also." (John 8:19) The apostle said that the one who had the Son had the Father also. This is because the Father actually came to us in the Person of His Son.
When the prophet of old told of the coming Messiah, He used terms that spoke of God. Isaiah called Him 'Immanuel,' which means, God is with us. In another place the prophet said, "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." (Isa 9:6)
Yes, Jesus became the stumbling block for many of the Jews of His time. God said it would happen. But not for the Jews alone. Many yet stumble over who Jesus really was and is. Let me round out this study with my own search for God.
Here is a short testimony --- Try as much as I could, I could not seem to make a connection with God. My life was empty. The one thing I struggled over was Jesus. Who was He? Why did I need to believe in Him? One day I am reading the Scriptures, when something mysterious happens. I was reading questions the apostles were asking of Jesus. Seems I wasn't alone with my questions. I was in pretty good company.
The Lord said to them, "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me." I kept reading. Their questions were becoming my questions. Thomas said, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?" Boy, did God ever have my attention at that point. "Way to go Thomas!"
Jesus responds, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have know My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him."
Did I understand Jesus correctly? I stopped. Philip then asks, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." "Yeah," I thought, "Show me the Father and I'll be satisfied. I am thoroughly confused."
It is at this point that the Shepherd spoke to my heart. He said, "Buddy, have I been with you so long, and yet you have not come to know Me? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?"
I was transfixed. I couldn't move. Tears rolled down my cheeks onto my shirt and onto the pages of my Bible. Something was happening in my heart. I didn't understand it, but knew Jesus has spoken to me. It would be years later before I understood what really happened that day. The Lord was placing a seal upon my heart. From that moment on I would began a discovery of what God is really, really like. I'm still finding out.
Perhaps the apostle said it best; "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation." (2Co5:29)
The lady caught in adultery found out what God is really like. God is love. God forgives. God gives new life. God overflows our life with His graces. God seeks us out. God corrects us. God leads us in paths of truth and righteousness. And God does all this through and in His Son Jesus Christ.
Is it hard to grasp? It can be, especially if we are trying to process it solely with our head. It is a heart thing. So for nigh 40 years now I've been preaching the gospel of a Man that has shown me what God is really like. And my prayer remains; "Lord, help me to be more like you."
Think about it. The study is open.
Blessings,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.christianchallenge.org/
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)