God’s First Responders / 1 Timothy 1:17

1 Timothy 1:17 KJV 1900

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

I. The Essence of God

Essence = that which underlies all outward manifestation; the reality itself, whether material or immaterial; the substratum of anything; that in which the qualities or attributes inhere.

A. Spirituality

John 4:24 KJV 1900

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

1. He is immaterial and incorporeal.

That is why images are forbidden

Exodus 20:4 KJV 1900

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

2. He is invisible.

Exodus 33:20 KJV 1900

And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

John 1:18 KJV 1900

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

1 Timothy 6:16 KJV 1900

Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

3. He is alive.

Joshua 3:10 KJV 1900

And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

1 Samuel 17:26 KJV 1900

And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

Psalm 84:2 KJV 1900

My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord:

My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

Psalm 115:3 KJV 1900

But our God is in the heavens:

He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

4. He is a person

a. intellect (Gen. 18:19; Exod. 3:7; Acts 15:18)

b. sensibility (Gen. 6:6; Ps. 103:8–14; John 3:16),

c. volition (Gen. 3:15; Ps. 115:3; John 6:38).

d. speaking (Gen. 1:3)

e. seeing (Gen. 11:5)

f. hearing (Ps. 94:9)

g. grieving (Gen. 6:6)

h. repenting (Gen. 6:6)

i. being angry (Deut. 1:37)

j. jealous (Exod. 20:5)

k. compassionate (Ps. 111:4)

B. Self-Existence

Exodus 3:14 KJV 1900

And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

John 8:58 KJV 1900

Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Isaiah 41:4 KJV 1900

Who hath wrought and done it,

Calling the generations from the beginning?

I the Lord, the first,

And with the last; I am he.

Revelation 1:8 KJV 1900

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

C. Immensity – not limited to space

1 Kings 8:27 KJV 1900

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

2 Chronicles 2:6 KJV 1900

But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?

D. Eternity – not limited by time

Genesis 21:33 KJV 1900

And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.

Psalm 90:2 KJV 1900

Before the mountains were brought forth,

Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world,

Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Isaiah 57:15 KJV 1900

For thus saith the high and lofty One

That inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy;

I dwell in the high and holy place,

With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit,

To revive the spirit of the humble,

And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

II. The Attributes of God

A. The Non-Moral Attributes

1. Omnipresence. – everywhere present

1 Kings 8:27 KJV 1900

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

Psalm 139:7–10 KJV 1900

Whither shall I go from thy spirit?

Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:

If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

Even there shall thy hand lead me,

And thy right hand shall hold me.

2. Omniscience. – Infinite knowledge

Proverbs 15:3 KJV 1900

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

Beholding the evil and the good.

Psalm 147:5 KJV 1900

Great is our Lord, and of great power:

His understanding is infinite.

3. Omnipotence. – All Powerful

Genesis 17:1 KJV 1900

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

Revelation 4:8 KJV 1900

And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

Job 42:2 KJV 1900

I know that thou canst do every thing,

And that no thought can be withholden from thee.

4. Immutability. Unchangeable

James 1:17 KJV 1900

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Malachi 3:6 KJV 1900

For I am the Lord, I change not;

Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

B. The Moral Attributes

1. Holiness

Joshua 24:19 KJV 1900

And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

2. Righteousness and justice.

2 Chronicles 12:6 KJV 1900

Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The Lord is righteous.

Ezra 9:15 KJV 1900

O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.

Genesis 18:25 KJV 1900

That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

Psalm 89:14 KJV 1900

Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne:

Mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

3. Goodness. (Love, Benevolence, Mercy, Grace)

Mark 10:18 KJV 1900

And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

4. Truth.

1 John 5:20 KJV 1900

And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

Jeremiah 10:10 KJV 1900

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.