Who can fully understand God?

 
When God took me into His forever family, my sister told me to read John’s gospel five times, then Romans twice. This was good advice. The first Bible words I read as a believer reveal a basic truth that is believed by all who are reborn and trust Jesus:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

Knowing that Jesus is God is foundational to being a Christian. At least one cult tries to avoid this truth. They put an “a” in front of the last God, as if He is one of many, despite the many verses in the OT that say there is only one God. Not only that, the original Greek language of the NT does not have the word “a” in it!

How can there be one God yet both Father and Son, and add the Holy Spirit who is also God? This is humanly not understandable. We make analogies that try to explain it, such as ice, water, and steam are all different yet all H2O. But even that falls short.

This truth was His way of revealing Himself to the people He created and introducing me to Himself. God simply says it and I need to believe it. There is much more:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high… (Hebrews 1:1–3)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Colossians 1:15)
For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily… (Colossians 2:9)
…though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped… (Philippians 2:6)
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:3–6)

This truth is difficult for Christians, yet we are told to believe it, not to fully understand it. However, that Jesus is God is totally impossible for those who do not have faith in God or confess their sins to Him. They are blinded by the “god of this world” who is also called “the father of lies” who wants to keep people from faith in this marvelous God who sent His Son to show us what He is like, and to die for our sins that we might be with Him forever.

PRAY: Jesus, today we attend a Celebration of Life for a dear woman who loved You and walked with You for much of her life. While we miss her, our faith says she is with You now, seeing You in all Your glory and rejoicing for multiplied reasons, one of which is that she now fully understands how three can be one holy God. Because of You, we can celebrate even as we dearly miss her.

Jesus never says goodbye!

My Bible’s concordance is abbreviated. It will run out of words about God before the end of this year. But the Bible will not.

Today my eye stopped at OMEGA. It is the last letter of the Greek alphabet and signals finality, an ending. It is used in only three verses, all in the last book of the NT and seems to Jesus describing the end of something. However, the concept behind this word is vast and fascinating.

First, Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and signifies a beginning, significance and importance. The combination of alpha and omega in secular literature designates the entire universe and all kinds of divine and evil powers. When used of Christ, it refers to His dominion and status over the universe. However, there is more.

The idea of an ending regarding time periods occurs throughout the OT. Events, ceremonies, all sorts of things end, sometimes after a certain amount of days or years. Job was the first to mention it in terms of the Messiah. In Job 19:25, he declared, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.” However, there is more.

The prophet spoke for God and God declared Himself the Omega, not using that word but with the same meaning in three verses that identify Him as who He is and what He has done:

Isaiah 41:4. Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.

Isaiah 44:6. Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

Isaiah 48:12. “Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last.

Here God is not referring to time but to His all-inclusive sphere of authority and high status. In Revelation Jesus says the same thing about Himself:

Revelation 1:8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 2:8. “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life” (referring to Jesus).

Revelation 1:17. “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last . . . ’”

Revelation 21:6. “And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.’”

Revelation 22:13. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

This declaration affirms that Jesus in Revelation is the same One in Isaiah who declared His identity as the first and the last. He envelopes all that exists — in the past and in the future, from beginning of time to its end, from the first to the last, the Alpha and Omega!

Isaiah 46:9–10 says it this way: “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’”

Romans 11:36 says it this way: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. This is an eternal focus that begins with His revelation of Himself to me — but it never ends. When He talks about omega, He means the end of things here as I know it. It also means that when all is done, He remains. As the NT says, Jesus will “deliver the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power” yet before that happens, He is here with me too. In Matthew 28:20 He commissions me to make disciples and teach them “to observe all that I have commanded you” and adds this wonderful assurance: “And behold, I am (Alpha) with you always, to the end of the age (Omega)” and His promise in Hebrews 13:5 says He will never forsake us — never means we are together forever!

 

God revealed . . .

 

In the past few weeks, several words in my concordance defy description when applied to God. Holy, immortal, invisible, are beyond the scope of language. Today is another one. God is JESUS — JESUS is God. How can that be explained?

When Peter identified Him as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” in Matthew 16:17, Jesus answered him,

“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”

This is a mind-blowing truth that is hidden from the human mind until God shines His light in there. I read the Bible nearly every day for nearly two decades and didn’t get it — not until God revealed that He is Jesus and Jesus is God in human flesh. I know it without a doubt but cannot explain it or convince anyone else. Only God can.

It’s not that He hasn’t said so. The NT has several strong statements about God = Jesus. For instance:

John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

At least one cult tries to insert an “a” to make this verse say “the Word was a god” yet there is no “a” in the Greek language. After much thought and self-examination, I can understand their denial. They have not had that necessary revelation from the Father; they do not want Jesus to be their only way of salvation; and they have a huge problem with the very thought of it — God became a man?

One cult member said, “He would never stoop to do something like that!” Yet the Bible says He did, and even declares that this is God’s glory; our powerful Creator became flesh and lived among us, bled and died for us, and rose again for us, that we might be forgiven our sin and have eternal life. That cult member says He died to give us the right to earn our salvation, but that is not a biblical concept. We all sin and fall short. Without a Savior, we are lost. Egos aside, we need divine intervention. This gospel message is incredibly wonderful; it puts all my pride in its place. Like the publican, all I can mutter is, “Lord have mercy on me a sinner.”

However, this gospel message is too much for my puny mind, too incredible for any human to invent, too awesome. It makes my worship feel insignificant and insufficient. And how could I ever think myself worthy to earn or deserve anything but wrath from such a holy God who loves the world so much that He dropped into it, making faith in Him possible? Because He became a man, I can believe in Him, even fellowship with Him through this God-man JESUS who made it plain:

John 14:6. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The name JESUS is a Greek translation of Joshua, a Hebrew name that means “The Lord (Yahweh) is salvation.” In Matthew 1:21, an angel told Joseph that Mary “will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” and verse 23 refers to the prophecy that “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name ‘Immanuel’ (which means God with us.)”

Scripture reveals who Jesus is, yet without the Holy Spirit, no one ‘gets’ it. 1 Corinthians 12:3 says, “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.”

Titus 2:13 talks about “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” In several gospel passages, Jesus used the term “I AM” which the Jews knew referred to God as Yahweh in the OT. For this, they were angered and tried to stone Him. Eventually He was crucified for the same reason; He declared Himself God and those who could not see or admit their need for a Savior put Him to death.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. The glory of God is seen in Jesus Christ. This man who is God speaks to my heart each day and works to transform me into His image. Incredible! Totally incredible! But His revelation of Himself is true and powerful and once seen, the identity of God as Jesus Christ cannot be denied!