FACTS ABOUT GOD
Here, you'll find articles that help you know more about our Heavenly Father.
WHO IS GOD?
God is a mystery to many people. “Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.” (Job 36:26 - see also Psalms 92:5-6). He doesn’t have a birthdate, nor an end date. “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” (Psalms 90:2 - see also Psalms 93:2). There are many gods in this world, many of them headed by demons, but God is still God over all of them (1 Corinthians 8:5-6, Deuteronomy 10:16-17, Psalms 82:6). “For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.” (Psalms 95:3). And, in this world, he’s been given many titles, such as the Almighty God (Genesis 17:1), Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:13), Jealous (Exodus 34:14) and many others.
The person of God is one major part of this that many people don’t understand. God is a spirit (John 4:24). He has a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44). Visions of God to prophets of old have told us that, in a sense, God looks like us. (2 Chronicles 18:18, Ezekiel 1:26-28). After all, “He that planteth the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see? (Psalms 94:4 - see also Proverbs 20:12). We should also consider the first line of Genesis 1:26: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” It’s clear he looks like us. However, as a spirit, he doesn’t have flesh, blood, or bones (Luke 24:39). He doesn’t sleep (Psalms 121:4), nor eat or drink.
God also lives somewhere, but we should never visualize it using physical principles (size, shape, color, etc). The spirits live in the same space that we do, but at a different level. They are superior to us. And God is a very lofty person - not high in the sky, but is very powerful - and exalts righteous ones who keep his commandments (Isaiah 57:15, Luke 14:11, Ezekiel 21:26, Psalms 25:9).
God has 4 infinite attributes - WIsdom, Power, Justice, and Love. They are infinite because he can use each attribute to an unlimited level. He’s used all of these attributes in history, namely the Bible, and also in this world, in the last days.
We can start with wisdom. The wisdom that God used to create this world is extraordinary. “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom has thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.” (Psalms 104:24 - see also Jeremiah 10:12). And the humans that are in it are also amazing, too. “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalms 139:13-16). And in these last days, the kind of wisdom that he’s executing is even more. He’s crafting a system, a kingdom, that will last eternally (Daniel 2:44, Psalms 145:10-13, Daniel 7:13-14, etc).
By power, God destroyed the Egyptians, ravaging them, especially with that last plague, of the first born (Exodus 12:12). By power he saved Jehoshaphat by making the Moabites and the Ammonites destroy themselves. (2 Chronicles 20:1-30). And, in these last days, he’s fighting a big battle, the Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty. It’s a big battle because, with the help of Jesus Christ, who he’s appointed to do the job (Isaiah 9:6-7, 32:1, Daniel 7:13-14, Revelation 19:11-21, etc) he’s going to be battling the Devil, and be destroying all of his institutions. He is going to come out victorious. In fact, he’s executing so much power that if anyone tries to go against it, by persecuting the people who will teach the message, God is going to turn what that person did to something beneficial to what he’s doing, because everybody will head in the direction that he wants them to (Isaiah 2:2).
His love is also very big. “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” (1 John 4:9-11 - see also John 3:16). God doesn’t need us to survive, or even thrive (Job 35:6-7), but he still loves us, which is why he’s putting in a lot of effort to rescue us from the clutches of Satan the Devil. The parable of the Lost Sheep teaches us this (Matthew 18:10-14) because there was a shepherd that had 100 sheep, but one sheep got lost (that sheep being our world vs the spiritual realm). The shepherd already had 99 sheep, which is so much more than 1, but he still went into the mountain to get the sheep. And there was a big rejoicement when he’d found it. Same with God rescuing us from Satan’s clutches.
Then, finally, there is God’s justice. God performed his justice when he sentenced Adam and Eve to death (Genesis 3:16-19). He sticks with his principles, and will do justice no matter the amount of tears or sorrow that there is (Malachi 3:6). This doesn’t mean that God isn’t merciful (Psalms 36:7-9, 86:15, 103:8-14, 130:3-4, Isaiah 63:7-9, Romans 15;5, 2 Peter 3:9, etc), but rather we should pay attention to the instructions that God gives us, and complete it just the way he asks. And the justice that he is performing in the last days is also very important. God said that the words that his prophets and saints have spoken will judge people in the last days (John 12:48, Psalms 96:13, etc). “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hat one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48). As a result, to avoid God bringing his justice on us, we have to do what he asks.
In order to attract God to our side, we have to understand who he is, how he works, and take various steps to bring him to our side. He can protect us (Joel 2:32, Psalms 84:11, Nahum 1:7, Matthew 10:30, etc), and at the same time, he can be coming for our heads (Proverbs 1:24-30). If we think we can deceive God, exploit him, or try to inherit his blessings in some sort of way other than the one he has suggested, we’re wasting our time, and even deceiving ourselves. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7).
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UNDERSTANDING GOD'S WARS AND BATTLES
A big part of the Bible has been about wars and battles, some minor but some brutal. Men like Joshua and David are well known in the Bible for the battles that they’d fought in God’s favour. However, we have to understand the purpose of God's battles, so that we can be aware that God, though being a peaceful and humble person (Job 33:27-28, John 3:16, etc), he is a man of war (Exodus 15:3).
Most battles that occur only happen for two purposes: battles can occur when a nation does something offensive to another nation, and that nation wants to react, or when one nation wants more land, and wants to conquer their surrounding lands to beef up the powers of the kingdom, both physically and economically.
There are many examples in the Bible of wars and battles that God has fought. For example, in Genesis 14:19-20, Abraham recruited 318 men and went to battle the King of Sodom and Gomorrah. With an army as small as his, he actually managed to defeated them. But, it wasn’t from their power. God had been in charge of the battle (Genesis 14:20).
Another example is with Joshua, because in Joshua 5:13-15, God sent an angel dressed in armour and with a sword to help Joshua know that this was God’s battle, and not Joshua’s. In Joshua 10, God made sure that the sun didn’t set until his battle was done, as he was the one fighting for the Israelites (Joshua 10:14).
There’s also David, another famous man of war. He defeated the remaining nations that Joshua hadn’t done yet, finishing it off with the conquering of the Jebusites in Jerusalem, and setting up the capital of his kingdom there. However, he always gave recognition to God, like in 2 Samuel 5:20: The LORD has broken through mine enemies, like a breakthrough of water.” (NKJV).
In these last days, God is fighting the biggest battle that he will ever fight, the Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty (Revelation 16:14). This battle is against spirituality in these last days, and he is using the beast as his army (Joel 2:1-11, Revelation 17:16-17, 9:7, 9, etc). His battle axe is Jesus Christ (Jeremiah 51:20-23), and the saints are the pressmen that are telling people that a spiritual war is going on, and we have to take sides (Joshua 24:15). Every wall that is standing in these last days is going to fall (Ezekiel 38:19-20). Those walls are the ideas that have been controlling the world, and the principalities that have been ruling the world. Everything is going to be brought under the feet of Jesus Christ, the King and Commander of this war (Revelation 19:11-21, Isaiah 63:1-6, 9-14), so that it can be handed back to God, so that he will be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).
However, God isn’t the only one battling against iniquity. We as righteous ones, at our own level, have to fight our own wars and battles. We have to conquer our hearts, and anything that might bring us out of the faith (Hebrews 12:1, Galatians 5:19-21, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Ephesians 4:17-32, Romans 1:28-32, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, etc). Anybody who doesn’t believe in the faith isn't on our side, but is our enemy (Luke 14:26, 1 Corinthians 5:11). We should never be overcome with iniquity (Romans 12:21), but we should be as bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1). We should be as harmless as doves, but as wise as serpents (Matthew 10:16).
It’s very important that we understand battles and wars in the spiritual sense. God may seem very kind, but we have to also understand his side of war, which is both ruthless and unchanged. “Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” (Psalms 24:8).
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THE ALL-POWERFUL GOD
The Bible has introduced God as the Almighty God (Genesis 17:1), and the King of kings (Psalms 95:3, 97:9, 1 Corinthians 8:5-6, Deuteronomy 10:17, etc). He doesn’t have a birthdate, neither an end date (Psalms 90:2, 93:2, etc). He has the ability to do anything in this world (John 10:29, Jeremiah 32:17, 27, etc). There is nothing too difficult for him. “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27).
There are many examples in the Bible where God demonstrated his extreme power and might. For example, he destroyed the evil ones in the world with the power of a flood (Genesis 6-8). He battered the Egyptians, owning the biggest empire of the time (Exodus 7-11), and he also rescued the Israelites from their clutches again when they persisted in bringing them back (Exodus 14). Also, God’s power changed the hearts of people so that the righteous ones wouldn’t be harmed, like Esau (Genesis 33:1-4, when God touched the heart of Esau so that his original plan to kill him - Genesis 27:41 - wouldn’t be fulfilled), or like Esther, when there was a very important visit on behalf of the Jews that had to be made, despite customs and traditions that went against such meetings without real permission (Esther 4:15-17, 5:1-14).
God has also demonstrated a lot of power to answer the prayers of the righteous. King Hezekiah, in Isaiah 36-37, prayed for God to bring him and his kingdom out of the threats and clutches of King Sennacherib. God killed 185,000 of his soldiers and the king himself by two of his sons very soon after. In 2 Chronicles 20:1-30, when King Jehoshaphat, a righteous king before God, had prayed for them to be saved from the Ammonites and the Moabites. God sent the people of Mount Seir to battle them, and they gradually destroyed themselves. In fact, after the Moabites and Ammonites had killed the people of Seir, they helped to kill themselves (2 Chronicles 20:23). These are some examples to prove that God is an all-powerful God.
However, an even bigger example is when God answered the prayer of Jesus Christ in John 17:4-5, when he prayed to go back to heaven, and the glory he formerly had. God answered this prayer by raising Jesus Christ from the dead. He performed the first resurrection ever, and the life that Adam lost was restored. And, as a result of God’s power, Jesus Christ could say, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Revelation 1:18).
God also executes power through his truth, because his truth is very powerful (Hebrews 4:12). It rescued Saul, who we now know as St.Paul (Galatians 1:11-16 and 1 Timothy 1:12-17). He can bring people who nobody would expect to the fold, regardless of their iniquities, by changing their hearts.
In these last days, God is fighting a battle with an extreme amount of power (Revelation 12:1-12, 19:11-21). He has put his son in office, and he is the one fighting for God (Isaiah 32:1, 9:6-7, etc). He has a crown of pure gold on his head (Psalms 21:3), and he is ruling with a rod of iron (Psalms 2:6, 9, etc). There is no part of this world that will remain with the principles of Satan the Devil (Ezekiel 38:19-20), that is going to be excluded from God’s judgment (Isaiah 2:2). God has established his Kingdom, and it has been established on all parts of this earth (Daniel 2:44).
God is going to use his power to create a society so that the righteous ones of God can live eternally in peace and happiness. It is unimaginable. (1 Corinthians 2:9). God even knows the prayers of the righteous before they physically pray them (Isaiah 65:24). He is going to defeat the idea of death (Hosea 13:14), and grant Life, eternal life, to all. Therefore, we have to trust in God. “Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.” (Isaiah 26:4).
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THE ACT OF GOD
There are three acts we need to know about - an act of God, an act of Satan, and an act of ourselves. God doesn't cause various misfortunes that may come upon our lives. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” (James 1:13).
Satan the Devil is the cause of the confusion and calamities that come upon us in the last days. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” - 1 Peter 5:8. He doesn’t warn us before doing things; therefore, we can’t predict when he comes. But that doesn’t mean we can’t avoid him. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” - (James 4:7).
An act of ourselves is based on free-will. God gave us free will, to see who his real children were. Forced service, or robots, isn’t what he wanted. He wanted true, voluntary service. And God allows certain things to happen for him to confirm that (James 1:2-4, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Zechariah 13:8-9, etc).
But, what is an act of God? An act of God always comes with warnings. “Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity.” - (Proverbs 17:26). But, that always comes with something else - we can’t reverse his wrath. (Proverbs 1:24-30) And God warned his children that he’d be angry in these last days (Zephaniah 1:14-18, Isaiah 26:20-21, etc). “For the LORD shall rise as in Mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.” - (Isaiah 28:21).
For example, God used Noah to warn people of what was going to happen (2 Peter 2:5). But nobody took the warning, and when the flood came, and the door was shut, it was too late. Nobody could convince God to open the door. God’s wrath can’t be reversed.
There’s also the story of Lot, and how people didn’t listen to Lot’s warnings, until God came and rained fire from heaven (Genesis 19: 1-30). Moses had warned Pharaoh, but he didn’t accept, causing the ten plagues to happen (Exodus 7-11). And many other examples. But, like Isaiah 28:21, in these last days, God has given warnings to us, through the Bible and the saints, the pressmen of God. ( Matthew 24:31- 14, Isaiah 52:17, Joel 2:28-29, etc). If we listen to the warnings, we’ll be saved by God. But if we refuse to listen, make light of it (Matthew 22:4-7), we will be overtaken by events, and God won’t do anything about that. We have to be careful, be watchful (Luke 21:34-36), and know the difference between an act of God, Satan the Devil, and even ourselves, because many people pray to God for deliverance, when they cooked the situation for themselves, and they are reaping what they sow (Galatians 6:7-8, Job 4:8, Proverbs 22:8, Lamentations 3:39,40, Jeremiah 30:15, etc).
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This article is going to examine the established doctrine that God and Jesus are the same, to see whether it is biblical or not.
Biblical Logic
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If Jesus and God were the same, the resurrection wouldn’t have been possible because a dead entity can’t resurrect itself. God doesn’t die (Psalms 90:2), so He resurrected Jesus. Jesus Christ on Earth was quite sure of this, which was why he claimed he had the power to “take his life again” (that is, retrieve it, and as a human being, he didn’t have such powers without God).
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If they were the same, Jesus Christ can’t be considered the “Lamb of God”, because a lamb never walks to the slaughter; it is lead there by whoever is performing the sacrifice. Jesus Christ was referred to as a “lamb led to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7), because he was led by God (in a spiritual sense), to the Earth to be killed (Isaiah 53:10) to take the world’s sins away (John 1:29).
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If they were the same, Jesus Christ’s example would’ve been pointless. We are told to follow Christ’s example (1 Peter 2:21) because he was submissive, humble, and obedient. If he was God, then that wouldn’t be possible because God does not submit to anyone (Isaiah 40:18, 42:8, 45:5, 23, 46:5).
Their Differences
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God is the King of kings and Lord of Lords. “For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward.” (Deuteronomy 10:17 - see also Psalms 95:3). He is ultimately glorified, no matter what happens, and He decides who gets to be glorified as well (Exodus 9:16). His name is JEHOVAH (Exodus 6:3), and His ways are holy (Deuteronomy 32:4, Leviticus 11:44-45, 1 Peter 1:6).
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Jesus, on the other hand, is the Son of God (John 5:26-27), the one who created everything else besides himself and God Almighty (Colossians 1:15-17, Ephesians 3:9, Revelation 3:14, John 1:1-3). He is King in our time, ruling God’s Kingdom (1 Corinthians 15:24-28, Psalms 45:7). “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:32-33).
Jesus Christ’s Statements
Ultimately, this all boils down to what Jesus Christ has said. Had he claimed to be equal with God?
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” (John 5:19).
“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 6:38).
“And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.” (Luke 18:18-19).
Misinterpreted Quotations
John 10:30 - “I and my Father are one.”
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This does not mean that Jesus Christ and God are the same person. Rather, this mean they have the same purpose. They both love righteousness (Psalms 45:7, Hebrews 1:9). And that is why they have such a smooth relationship (Amos 3:3).
Matthew 28:19 - “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
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This verse is talking about preaching. All our preaching is about God, because without God, who owns humanity’s success, our preaching is in vain. If we do not preach through Jesus Christ, our preaching will not be relevant (Matthew 11:27, John 5:23). And if we do not preach with the Holy Spirit, but rather with the evil spirit, then it will be false and prevent people from worshipping God (Isaiah 9:16, Ezekiel 34:1-1,1, etc).
1 John 5:7 - “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
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This is an interpolation in the Bible. This is not supposed to be there, but it was implanted by biased Bible organizers.
John 1:1-3 - “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.”
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The Word is Jesus Christ, and when it says he is “God”, this means is a “god”, because we worship him (Philippians 2:5-11), and because of his role of ruling in the midst of his enemies (Psalms 110:2), he is conquering nations, making them submit to him (Isaiah 9:6-7, Psalms 72:1-19). And Jesus Christ hasn’t lived from everlasting to everlasting. He was God’s only creation (as in, that was the only thing that He created by Himself”, hence the title, “Only Begotten Son” (John 3:16, etc).
But where does this doctrine come from?
Over 1700 years ago, there were many philosophers who took pagan traditions, most likely coming from the Romans, and wrapped it with the Bible so it would make sense to people like Constantine, who had mighty power. In 325 AD, Constantine “the Great”, had a council for Arius and Athanasius to defend their theories (Arius had a doctrine similar to the one of Jesus Christ), and Arius was defeated. That’s people believe in Jesus and God being equal.
The Advice
When we want to believe something, we have to make sure that it fits in the Bible, otherwise we will be led astray. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1). And if we happen to be developing such things, we have to make sure they ORIGINATE from the Bible, instead of them being wrapped with misinterpretations of the Bible’s message. “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Revelation 22:18-19).
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GOD'S EXPECTATIONS
Standards and expectations are a common thing in this world. Parents expect their children to grow up and get jobs. Teachers expect their students to get decent grades. Bosses expect employees to deliver proper work. Like all of these people, God has his own standards that he expects all his children to meet. In order to please Him, we have to meet such standards. But what standards are those, and how hard are they to reach?
One of the most important things God expects from his children is love and willing submission. “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Seeking after God with all our heart with make complying with God’s instructions very simple, because we have an agreement with him (Amos 3:3). We shouldn’t be like Amaziah, who didn’t meet God’s expectations, though doing right things, because he wasn’t doing it with a perfect heart (2 Chronicles 25:1-2). Rather, we should be like David, who was a man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22) or like King Hezekiah, who rightfully confessed before God that he was worshipping in truth and with a perfect heart (Isaiah 38:3).
God also expects us to have integrity. Integrity is being somebody of principle. This is an expectation because we have to be able to stick with principle when dealing with the worldly principles of our society (1 John 2:15-17). Esau didn’t meet God’s expectations because he wasn't a man of principle. He sold his birthright to Jacob (Genesis 25:29-34). This led to Jacob inheriting the blessing (Hebrews 12:16-17).
God also expects his children to be righteous. This is a combination of the other things that have been said. God told Abraham in Genesis 17:1, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” This was the same standard or expectation that he’d told the Israelites in Exodus 19:4-5. The scribes, Sadducees, Pharisees, and all their supporters, hadn’t met such standards or expectations, which is why Jesus Christ we must exceed their righteousness. “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20).
If we have any gifts or talents that God has given to us, God expects us to use them for his business. “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God: if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11). A story in the Bible that illustrates this is the story of King Jeroboam, how he was given the opportunity to rule Israel because of the stupidity of Solomon, but he hadn’t met God’s expectations, in that he led the Israelites to sin instead (1 Kings 11:38, 12:26-30). We don’t want to be like him, or the third person in Jesus Christ’s parable of the Ten Talents in Matthew 25:14-30, how that person dug his money in the ground instead of earning profit with it, and that servant was cast away into outer darkness.
But, what exactly happens to us when we don’t meet expectations? Because God’s expectations are higher for his children who have been gifted with certain things than people who don’t really know him very much, when we don’t meet such expectations, our punishments are larger. For example, the Israelites were punished because it was only them that God knew and dealt with, and it was only them he expected stuff from. “You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” (Amos 3:2). Jesus Christ had said the same thing to the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida, where he’d done a lot of miracles, but yet they didn’t believe (Matthew 11:21-22).
It is very important that we can meet all of God’s expectations, so that we can pass his tests and earn his rewards. Just as how teachers grant their students the passing mark, when we meet God’s expectations, he remembers us in the book of life, which is his memory (Revelation 21:27, Hebrews 6:10). However, people won’t meet his requirements at the same level. Some will exceed them, and some will simply meet them (Matthew 13:8, 23). But the important thing is to strive to not fail. “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” (Hebrews 12:15).
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FACTS ABOUT HEAVEN
Heaven can be defined in two ways: a place of abode, and authority. The Bible has described God’s estate as heaven. “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.” (Psalms 115:16). “The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.” {Psalms 11:4 - see also 2 Chronicles 20:6). This abode isn’t a billion miles away, but it is within the same space that we live in (Jeremiah 23:24 - see also 1 Kings 8:27). It’s just that, as a result of the power of the spirits, they aren’t physical, and don’t abide by physical rules (Luke 24:39, 1 Corinthians 15:44).
But, whether God lives here or 1,000,000 miles from here doesn’t mean much, because the second definition of heaven will still prevail: authority, and high. Heaven, meaning high and authority, rule over the earth, people that are low.
The Bible has expressed the authority that God has over this world. For example, in Isaiah 14:27, it states, “For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? And his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” (see also Isaiah 55:8-11 and Proverbs 21:1). He controls both the wicked and the righteous, and uses them for the plans that he has (Proverbs 21:1). Nothing can escape him (Psalms 2:4, Proverbs 1:24-30).
As a result of this fact, nobody can be considered, “in heaven”, unless God approves, meaning that nobody can rule this world or exercise power except God approves of it. For example, in Exodus 9:16, concerning Pharoah, he’d stated, “And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.” (Exodus 9:16 - see also Romans 9:17). God raised him up so that, when the plagues would come and bring him down (Exodus 7-11), people would know who really rules this world.
Another example is King Nebuchadnezzar, who was raised up by God, being his servant, to do his work by bringing the Israelites into exile as punishment for their sins (Jeremiah 25:9, 27:5-11, Jeremiah 43:10, etc). God punished him as well for thinking that he was the one who acquired all that power (Daniel 4:30-37), because it is God who controls the heavens. “But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another”. (Psalms 75:7 - see also 1 Samuel 2:8). Anybody who attempts to bring himself higher than God permits is going to be abased (Ezekiel 21:26, Luke 14:11, Matthew 23:12, Job 20:5-7, etc).
And, because of God’s control of the heavens, he has prophesied that he is going to be shaking the heavens in these last days (Isaiah 13:13, Jeremiah 10:10, Matthew 24:29, Luke 21:25-26, etc), because the people that have been ruling this world have been taking all the power and glory ty to themselves. “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Haggai 2:6-7). God is making sure that the leaders of this world won’t have value for spiritual statutes, and that will make them useless, both for God and the people that they are ruling (Isaiah 34:12).
Another thing that should be considered is when the Bible talks about things coming from heaven. New Jerusalem, or God’s Kingdom, is one of such things (Revelation 3:12, 4:1-11, 21:1-27). This doesn’t mean that it is going to be some physical thing that we will see (Luke 17:20-21), but we are seeing the hearts of people starting to change, in favour of what God is doing. God has sent out the truth, and will judge the world based on it (John 12:48, Psalms 96:1-13). People who accept it will be in God’s Kingdom Fold, and people who reject it will be in Satan’s Fold, which will be destroyed (Revelation 19:11-21, Genesis 3:15, etc).
It’s very important that we understand what heaven means, so that we don’t think that we are going to be going there except we are anointed to do so (Matthew 5:5, Psalms 37:9, 11). Rather. We should understand it as authority, which we must also exercise with the people that are around us, depending on what situation it is (1 Corinthians 11:3). God said that he will be dwelling with people who obey him. This dwelling is spiritual, not physical, and you can check out the article, “Dwelling in God’s Estate”, to understand that idea better: “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.” (Isaiah 57:15).
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GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER
This statement is drawn from 2 Corinthians 9:7, which reads, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
A cheerful giver is someone who willingly gives to God. The person sees the need in contributing to God’s work. The amount doesn’t necessarily matter; it is the value that we have for it, especially in comparison to what we have, and the way we feel about it. That is why Jesus Christ said that the widow gave more than rich men who donated large gifts (Luke 21:1-4). After all, God is a spirit (John 4:24), and therefore judges wth the heart (1 Samuel 16:7), and our value for what we give. In fact, the way we feel about God also affects what we give. Cain gave something to God that he wouldn’t even want for himself, but Abel gave something very valuable to him (Genesis 4:1-4). Anyone can use that to decode a cheerful giver from one that’s not.
In the time of the Israelites, there was an offering called “freewill offering”, which was optional for those who wanted to give to God. There were regulations, though. You couldn’t just give an eagle or a wounded goat. You could only bring certain animals, and they had to be without blemish (Leviticus 22:17-25). And there were other things involved, too (Numbers 15:1-10). Those were only in place so that the offering could be within what God wanted.
There were also times when the children of God donated to God’s work. When His taberacle was to be built in Exodus 35, people willingly and generously offered gold earrings, blue, purple and crimson clothing and other things that were needed. In 1 Chronicles 29:1-9, 14, 17, people willingly offered gold, silver, iron, etc. to build God’s temple in David’s time.
Now, let’s look at individuals who willingly gave to God.
Joseph of Arimathaea donated the tomb he prepared for his own burial to bury Jesus (John 19:38-40). He wasn’t begged or encouraged to contribute and be a donor to God’s will. He saw the need in giving Jesus Christ, a special man in his eyes, a decent burial.
The Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4:8-10 is another great example, becaus she fed Elisha anytime he passed by, and even saw the need to make a place for him to be staying. Remember, she was never asked to do that; as you’d see in 2 Kings 5:15-19, Elisha’s not the kind of person who goes around, asking people for stuff. But the Shunammite woman saw the need in giving/contributing to God, through helping Elisha.
A third example is Obadiah in 1 Kings 18:2-4. When Jezebel was killing God’s prophets, Obadiah hid 100 of them, feeding them with bread and water. Once again, nobody asked Obadiah to do that. He saw the need and reason to spend his money feeding those prophets.
All the instances that have been given above are physical, because physical things were donated to God. But remember, God is a spirit (John 4:24), and obviously doesn’t really glory in physical things. So, it’s not only physical things we can give to God.
Our bodies are offerings to God, too (Isaiah 66:20 - it’s no more physical bulls, but ourselves, in a spiritual light). We worship God in the spirit, and in the heart (Philippians 3:3) by giving God our hearts (Deuteronomy 6:5). Our heart is what makes us love things, hate things, pursue things, etc (Proverbs 4:23), and it’s what devises wicked things (Matthew 15:18-20). But when we give it to God, that’s very valuable, because Satan the Devil has set up many tricks to try to get that from us. And that’s what St.Paul spoke about in Romans 12:1. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
Something wrong with this world (especially done by false pastors) is that they’ve turned the concept of giving to just money. Pastors try to make you give your money to them by telling you that it’s for God, because they “do God’s work”. Too bad it’s in vain (Matthew 15:7-9). They aren’t satisfied with willing donations and gifts. They want to extract it from you, because they are greedy (Isaiah 56:11). Some pastors try to honour people who give, and shaem the ones who don’t. They make rich people sit at the front, the way the Pharisees would make people who give gifts escape important biblical laws (Mark 7:11-13). Some pastors even make plaques for those who give, so that those who don’t will give so that they too can be on the podium. These people are like the sons of Eli in 1 Samuel 2:12-17, who wanted to take everything you’re sacrificing, instead of just what comes out of the fork, and they’re forceful, not wanting you to give willingly. What such people don’t understand is that the honour goes to themselves, and not to God. They still get the money, but God doesn’t get anything because it’s the willingness and the value that the people have for their gifts that’s important to Him. “For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.” (1 Corinthians 9:17).
Giving, especially to God, is a very good thing, and He never leaves such ones empty-handed (Matthew 10:42). He will make sure that they don’t lack any “good thing”. “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” (Psalms 34:10). “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Psalms 84:11). You can also read Isaiah 32:8, Proverbs 11:25 and 2 Corinthians 9:6.
One blessing that people who give to God get is honour. When you support God’s work, like what Joseph of Arimathaea or the Shunammite woman did, you will never be forgotten, both by God, and in my cases, the world, too. “God is not unfair. He will not forget the work you did or the love you showed for him in the help you gave and are still giving to other Christians.” (Hebrews 6:10 in the Good News Bible). When what God is doing succeeds and blossoms, you will be known to have contributed to it. The Shunnamite woman got a child because of her giving (2 Kings 4:8-37). And the list goes on and on.
If we want to be blessed by God, we have to give to Him. If we give very little because of no motivation or enthusiasm, we get very ltitle, but if we give very much, from loving God, we get very much. “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6).
JEHOVAH: A Stronghold in the Day of Trouble
This was a statement made by Nahum the prophet: “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” (Nahum 1:7). There were other statements made by people about that same topic too. “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10). “They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.” (Psalms 125:1-2). Because God, the Almighty God (Genesis 17:1, Deuteronomy 10:16-17, 1 Corinthians 8:5-6) lives from everlasting to everlasting (Psalms 90:2, 93:2) and can do anything (Genesis 18:14, Jeremiah 32:17, 27, John 10:29) but, at the same, time, is longsuffering, gentle, and humble (Psalms 86:15, Isaiah 63:7-9, Psalms 103:8-14, etc.) we should trust in Him and walk in His ways (Isaiah 26:4, Psalms 36:7-9, etc).
There are many examples of when God protected people in days of trouble. For example, in 2 Chronicles 20:1-30, Jehoshaphat had to battle against Moab and Ammon. It was a great multitude. When he prayed to God, He sent Jahaziel to tell Jehoshaphat that this wasn’t his battle to fight, but God’s battle. And he was right. Jehoshaphat and his army didn’t need to do anything. God sent the army of Mount Seir to battle Ammon and Moab, and when they finished that, they fought against themselves. All Jehoshaphat and his army needed to do after that was to invade the land and collect all the spoil, which took three days because there was so much of it. This shows the power of God to save His children and provide a stronghold in the day of trouble.
Another example of God providing help in the day of trouble is in Daniel 3, when the three Hebrew men had gone against Nebuchadnezzar’s rule that they had to bow down the statue he’d built. They were thrown into a furnace of fire as a result. However, none of them died; in fact, the fire had no power over them. God had sent an angel to protect them from being harmed, which was why Nebuchadnezzar was surprised to see four men, when he’d only recalled throwing in three. God can do these things for us if we trust in Him and keep His commandments.
As a result of man’s fall (Genesis 3:16-19, Romans 3:10-11, 23, 5:12-19, 6:23, etc), humanity as a whole has had days of trouble. We are as fragile flowers before God (Job 5:6-7, 14:1-2). And in our time, called the "last days" (due to the the fact that the signs of the times in Matthew 24:6-29 are fulfilling), things are only getting more dangerous, as the wrath of God is raging on His enemies and taking many by surprise (Matthew 24:48-51, Isaiah 28:21, etc.). However, if we understand what He's doing through His Son, Jesus Christ, and we walk in righteousness, then we will not suffer from the judgment. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.” (Joel 2:32; see also Romans 10:13 and Isaiah 26:20-21).
What we should never do, though, is put our trust in the strongholds of men, be it the financial or political system that human beings have set up, because they have no power to save us from the hand of God. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” (Psalms 146:3-4; see also Psalms 20:7, Luke 16:9). We should always remember what King Ahaziah did in 2 Kings 1:1-17. Instead of looking to Jehovah, he sought answers from the god of Ekron. God decided to teach him a lesson by making sure he didn't recover from his sickness.
It is our prayer, therefore, that God will protect us during all the challenges we may face in our lives, both physical and spiritual. Not one hair of our head will fall down without God noticing it (Matthew 10:29-30), because if we please Him, He will always have his eyes on us. “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” (1 Peter 3:12).
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GOD'S PRINCIPLE #1:
YOUR HEART OR YOUR MONEY
The definition of a principle is a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning. God’s principles are ways of reasoning that govern His life. They feature in God’s commandments and laws, given to mankind in the Scriptures, and it is based on such principles that God makes decisions (such as how to judge the righteousness or wickedness of an individual or institution). And it’s important to know that God does not change from them. “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6; see also Numbers 23:19).
Now, the heart is quite difficult to define, but we’ll look at it as a force that drives us to be a certain kind of person in life. What the heart tells us decides what kind of belief system we accept, the kind of person we relate with (from friendship level to marriage level), what side we are on politically (left or right), and many other things. It’s essentially what controls us. And it should be noted that the spirits have the ability to control that (for example, it was Satan who put the idea of betryaing Jesus into the heart of Judas in Luke 22:2-3).
Now, there are two forces that desire our hearts: the world, and God Almighty. When you give your heart to the world (in other words, when you’re worldly), you won’t face the troubles that the righteous face because you “belong” to the world. “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” (John 15:19; also see, 1 John 4:4-5). And in Revelation 13:3-4, it prophesied that many people would give their hearts over to the world (and we can see that fulfilling, as people have given their hearts to things such as space technology, politics, worldly entertainment, which are temporal and of this world).
But God Almighty also wants the heart. It’s one of His principles, and we can see that it governs everything that He does. For example, we find all over Deuteronomy that God wanted the full attention and service of the Israelites (Deuteronomy 4:15-20, 5:6-15, 6:5, 12-18, 8:10-18, 10:12, 20-22, etc.). This principle was embedded in God’s laws that the Israelites were to follow, as seen by all those verses.
God Almighty is our Father (Matthew 6:9-10), and our Creator. “The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” (Job 33:4). And when He created us, He wanted us to give ourselves to Him, to show gratitude for creating us and protecting us. Isaiah the Prophet made this clear in Isaiah 43:21, where he said, “This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.”
However, some Christians think that what God wants from us is money. This is commonly taught by some pastors, who have that as one of many crafty ways of exploting people (Ezekiel 22:25, Ezekiel 34:1-11, 2 Peter 2:3). What makes it worse is that they tell you to give, irrespective of whether you are willing or not. But the Bible makes us know that the willingness (in other words, how our heart feels about it) is what matters. “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7). For such reasons, God said in Exodus 25:2 that it was those who were willing to give who should contribute to the construction of the sanctuary. And in Exodus 35:22, 29, people who were willing actually supplied for the materials.
God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7, Psalms 44:21, Jeremiah 17:10, etc.) so God wants us to give our hearts to Him. And in doing so, we are offering our bodies as a “living sacrifice” as St. Paul said in Romans 12:1, which reads, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (see also 1 Peter 2:5). And in Isaiah 66:20, God said those who were the kinds of “sacrifices” that He would accept. “And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.”
This can be understood by the story of the widow’s mite in Luke 21:1-4. Rich people were giving gifts of much material value to the temple’s treasury. But a poor widow gave two mites, which was all she had (so she would have to figure out where her next meal would come from). She believed in what God had set up more than the other rich men, because while the rich men were just giving a part of themselves (some of their wealth), the woman was giving her whole self, because she gave everything she has (which, in other words, meant she was giving herself to God).
Another story that helps us to understand what it means to give your heart to God (like a living sacrifice) is the story of David. David’s whole life was about God and His purpose. He devoted the prime of his life to fighting battles for God that would eventually lead to the kingdom of Israel being established, with its capital in Jerusalem. And he even deemed it necessary to build a temple for God, too, where people would go and worship the Lord (1 Kings 8:17). These things only come from someone who’s given their heart to God.
And it was the same David that encouraged his son to do as he’d done. “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.”
And that 1 Kings 8:17 is a way of understanding what Jesus said in Matthew 6:21. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” David put all his time and effort into doing God’s will, and his heart was there as a result. Jesus Christ could boast of the same thing, because his entire life was about doing God’s will (John 4:34, 5:30, 6:38, 12:49-50, etc.), which, at the time, was to preach the gospel (Matthew 4:17) and pay the ransom (Matthew 20:28, 1 John 4:9-11). And his heart was undoubtedly in what he was doing.
It has been made clear that God wants our hearts. Therefore, we should make sure we give God hearts with righteousness and goodwill towards God’s purpose; not hearts that are still given to the world. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” (James 4:8; see also Jeremiah 4:14). And David gave a description of that kind of heart in Psalms 51:17. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
When we give that to God, then God will bless us, because this is a principle that runs through everything that God does, including His blessings to humans in this world. “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.”
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TOYING WITH GOD'S EMOTIONS
The word emotion means, “a natural, instinctive state of mind deriving from one’s circumstances, mood, or relationship with others”. And to “toy” with something means to think about something briefly, and not take it seriously (when it comes to serving God, it refers to not caring what God Almighty would think or feel about what we’re doing - offending God doesn’t mean anything to us).
It’s common knowledge that human beings have emotions. But what many Christians don’t know is that our Heavenly Father has emotions like us, too (Genesis 1:26). In fact, the only reason why we as human beings have emotions is because He initially did. We find this connection in Psalms 94:9, which reads, “He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?”. And in this article, we are going to learn about God’s emotions, and how we must never toy with them.
When we study the Scriptures, we’ll quickly realize that God Almighty has emotions. For example, God Almighty can be jealous. “For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” (Deuteronomy 4:24). He can also get angry. “And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.” (Jeremiah 25:6). And God Almighty can be disappointed. Consider this text: “Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.” (Isaiah 43:24).
We will now consider the story of Israel to understand the act of toying with God’s emotions.
Let’s start at the beginning. God Almighty promised Abraham that He would make a nation out of him (Genesis 12:1-3). Abraham’s belief in that covenant was proven when he unhesitantly prepared to sacrifice his own son, from God’s request (Genesis 22). God Almighty swore on His promise because of how pleased He was with Abraham’s behavior (Genesis 22:16-19).
Therefore, when God delivered Abraham’s seed (which was now the population of a real nation at the time) from the hand of the Egyptians, He meant business. He was determined to fulfill His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
There were many things God Almighty had on His mind as He was leading them. He had to take of many issues (the daily needs of His people, protecting them from enemy nations, etc.). But the Amalekites, not caring about what God Almighty thought towards His people, came and cut off the people at the back (stragglers, old men, etc.). You can imagine how offended and angry God would’ve been, once witnessing that.
That is toying with God’s emotions; making things more difficult for God Almighty because you don’t consider His thoughts and feelings. And God Almighty can be extremely severe on those who do such things. St. Paul once said, “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” (Romans 11:22). As a result of what God Almighty felt, He promised to wipe the Amalekites off the face of the earth. Le’ts read the statements of Moses in Deuteronomy 25:17-19: “Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. Therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.”
However, it would be wrong to think that it was only enemy nations that toyed with God’s emotions. The nation of Israel had never really taken God and His laws seriously. They’d played the harlot continuously (Jeremiah 2) and made God jealous (which, we should note, is one of God’s emotions we should take very seriously). Because God became jealous, He stripped them of all that He’d given them (Isaiah 3:16-26) so they could be humiliated by their former lovers.
Furthermore, the nation of Israel frustrated God with their stubbornness. They were “stiffnecked” (Deuteronomy 10:16) and it made leadership difficult for God Almighty. They weared God down with their complaints (Psalms 78:5-64, Numbers 14:22-23) and they ran God’s patience to the gutter.
Despite all this, though, God Almighty was still interested in bringing them back to His fold. “Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God.” (Jeremiah 3:22).
But they refused that call, too, and God Almighty eventually got fed up with them. He said through King Solomon, “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me”. (Proverbs 1:24-28). When God Almighty beckons for us to come to Him, and be saved, we should act with humility and fear, for our own good (Deuteronomy 6:24). Toying with such opportunities is unwise.
We need to take God seriously as Christians. Serving our heavenly Father shouldn’t be seen as a joke, or some worthless thing that we do to fulfill all righteousness, while we throw our hearts to the world. Our priorities should be centered around how we can please God (Matthew 6:33), and we do all we can to maintain that. For example, we should consider God in every decision that we make (the way David would always ask God whether or not he should do a certain thing, like in 1 Samuel 23:1-5). Our love for God should be seen in how we raise our families, the way we set up our marriages, the kind of job we get, our circle of friends, our financial lifestyle, etc. And we should never tempt God, or act the way we desire without considering whether God likes what we’re doing.
One person we can learn this from is Abel, in Genesis 4. When God Almighty asked him and his brother, Cain, to make a sacrifice to Him, Abel took God seriously and gave the best of his lambs. It was clear that he considered how God would’ve felt about giving a meaningful and valuable sacrifice, which was why he willingly gave something that he would’ve otherwise kept to himself.
God Almighty will have our backs when we take Him seriously and desire to please Him and make Him happy. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” (Psalms 91:1-2, 9-11).
Moreover, He will go out of His way to fulfill the desires of our hearts. “Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Psalms 37:4). Let’s not take this verse out of context, though; for example, those who take God seriously won’t be praying to God for money, vanity, or other worldly things, but rather spiritual strength, wisdom, vision, etc. And even the physical things those who please God will need will also be provided by Him, without us having to incessantly seek for them. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33).
So, we make the decision; do we want to please God Almighty, and enjoy His good emotions, or do we want to toy with Him, and suffer the consequences? We are presented with this choice in the Scriptures. “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.” (Deuteronomy 11:26-28).
Let’s make the right decision, so that our lives may be filled with peace, happiness and security in God Almighty.
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GOD'S PRINCIPLE #2: SUPER STABLE AND STEADY
The definition of a principle is a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief, behavior or chain of reasoning. God’s principles are ways of reasoning that govern His life. They feature in His commandments and laws, given to mankind in the Scriptures, and it is based on such principles that God makes decisions (such as how to judge the righteousness or wickedness of an individual or institution). And it’s important to know that He does not change from them. “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6).
In this article, we’re going to look at how our Father, JEHOVAH, is super stable and steady. And, of course, since it is one of His principles, we’ll also briefly discuss how we can be stable and steady.
Firstly, let's expand on the phrase 'super stable and steady". To be super stable and steady is to stick to your intentions, and finish what you start. You are not carried away by distractions, and you are not shaken or defeated by opposition or difficulty. To be a leader, you have to have this skill; those who you lead can trust you when you are predictable and reliable.
There are many texts in the Scriptures that open our eyes to that aspect of our Heavenly Father. For example, with Numbers 23:19, we can understand that when God says something, He is fixed on it, and will indeed carry it out. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”. Furthermore, God said through Isaiah the Prophet, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11).
He has also been called a “Rock” in many places because He is stable and steady. Moses said in Deuteronomy 32:4, “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”
In Deuteronomy 10:17, Moses also explained that God is not moved by bribes or any human attempt to divert His attention or alter His judgment. “For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.” (Deuteronomy 10:17-18).
And we can’t forget Lamentations 3:22-23, a renowned verse in the Scriptures that perfectly describes the faithfulness and stability of our Creator: “It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” (see also 1 Thessalonians 5:24). No matter what happens, God looks after His loyal children and protects them.
But how does God’s stability and steadiness work in real life?
Let’s examine the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to Canaan. We find that there were many challenges God faced throughout the journey; the incessant complaints about various deficiencies (Exodus 16, Numbers 21, etc.), their opposition to Moses that made his leadership difficult (Numbers 16). And at some points, they completely forgot about Him and began to take laws into their hands (like when they wanted to set up a captain to return to Egypt in Numbers 14, or when they set up a golden calf which they claimed to have rescued them from the land of Egypt, which directly violated of God’s most important laws: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” - Exodus 20:3).
And though He was angry at different occasions (Exodus 32:9-14, Numbers 14:11-12, 25:3; see also Psalms 78:5-64), He still carried them to the Promised Land, and conquered the people there so that they could inherit it. This is God’s stability.
And Moses made it clear that God rescued them from the hand of Egypt because He intended on carrying out what He promised to Abraham. "The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt." (Deuteronomy 7:7-8).
Now, just like the plan God had for the children of Israel, God Almighty has an everlasting plan for mankind, which began when He created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26). When man sinned in Genesis 3:1-6, and fell into the hands of Satan the Devil as a result, God then laid out the steps He would take to bring humanity back to Him (which were listed and explained in our article, “The Harp of God”; go to “Doctrines” on the Articles page to read it). In fact, He summarized His plan when the very event took place: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
This is talking about the enmity between evil and righteousness, and how God's Organization (the woman, according to Isaiah 54:1 and Revelation 12), would prevail over Satan the Devil (the serpent, according to Revelation 12 and Revelation 20). God didn't plan it to be a one year event; rather, it would be different projects and events which would eventually lead to our return to righteousness. This way, it will be clear what we did to go astray, and how He took various steps to bring us back.
For example, God knew that for humanity to have access to eternal life, the sin of Adam and Eve (in other words, the loss of perfect life) had to be atoned for. And because of the "life for life" principle (Exodus 21:22-25, Deuteronomy 19:21), God had to bring a perfect life from heaven (as it was no more available on Earth) to pay for it. Therefore, He sent His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who was perfect (1 Peter 2:22) to die for our sins. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). We must understand that it wasn’t easy for Him to send His firstborn son to die for sinners. Jesus was precious to God Almighty (read Proverbs 8:22-31) but He wanted to stick with His promises to mankind, so He made it happen.
But the most important thing concerning God’s stability is that He answered the Lord’s Prayer. “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10).
Jesus Christ made us know with the parable of the Unjust Judge that JEHOVAH is so big that we are not incredibly important to Him. Job once said, “If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?” (Job 35:6-7). Therefore, we shouldn't think that God was obligated to answer the prayer. But He didn’t want to abandon the plan (especially since the apostles, and others who followed the truth, were praying that prayer and suffering persecution for Christ, according to Revelation 6:9-11). Therefore, He stuck with it, and based on Bible knowledge, we know that the prayer has been answered. The coming of the Kingdom gave God’s children freedom to serve their Heavenly Father freely, without having authoritative monarchies or powerful spiritual leaders to dictate a false way of worship (just like the Pharisees had done, according to Matthew 15:7-9 and Matthew 23:13, 15). It is the will of the righteous that came to be fulfilled by God answering the Lord’s Prayer.
In essence, despite all Satan has done with humanity for thousands of years, God has still carried out His plan till the stages we are in now. And He will make sure that everything that has been said about the glorification of the righteous, and the destruction of Satan’s works, fulfill to the letter. “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” (Isaiah 46:9-11).
The children of God can rely on their Father because He is stable and steady. A psalmist once said, "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." (Psalms 18:2).
We as Christians need to copy our stable Father, and be steady in our own lives. Challenges and difficulties shouldn’t throw us off, and sticking with the faith should be our main focus. St. Paul encouraged us to be strong and stable by saying, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58; see also 1 Corinthians 16:10).
One character in the Scriptures we can use to learn this skill is David. God promised David that he would rule the Kingdom of Israel (1 Samuel 13:14, 16:1-13), but there was a lot of work that needed to be done for that to happen. There were enemy nations that had to be conquered (to finish the job started by Joshua over 1000 years before), and King Saul decided to become a heavy obstacle towards the fulfillment of God’s will, so he had to be taken out too.
But David was stable and steady; he wasn’t knocked down by all the opposition. Rather, he stayed calm and trusted that God Almighty would help him through all the troubles. And he gradually grew to become more powerful than the house of Saul (2 Samuel 3:1), and he accomplished everything God told him to do. Because of how faithful and stable David was, God used him as an example for all other kings who would sit on that throne to rule His people (e.g. 2 Chronicles 7:17).
When we are stable and steady, we don’t get scared when evil makes its attempt to take us over. Rather, we stand our ground and resist sinning against God. “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.” (Psalms 112:7-8). And, by the grace of God, we can use such stability run the race of salvation to the end. “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:12-13).
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GOD'S PRINCIPLE #3:
THE QUESTION OF SOVEREIGNTY
Sovereignty is supreme power and authority over a territory or an organization. A few hundred years ago, the monarchies in Europe were sovereign; they had complete power over the people, and it was only when they gave the word that things could be done. Their word was law, and any opposition to their rule was crushed.
In this article, we are going to learn how this features in everything God does and says; in other words, how it’s one of His principles.
We’ll begin by looking at stories that illustrate the sovereignty of God. For example, if we look at Job 1-2, we can see that God called His sons (otherwise called angels) together for an assembly, and Satan decided to join them. Due to Satan’s total disagreement with God Almighty ever since he wished to be sovereign himself (Isaiah 14:12-15), he wanted to harm Job so that he would curse God to his face. By doing so, Satan would prove that nobody loves Him; it’s simply whoever He blesses that will do His will.
Now, we’ll consider a few statements of the conversation between Satan and God: “But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.” (Job 1:11-12). When we read this, something should jump into our minds: it was Satan who wanted to harm Job, not God, but it was only if God allowed it that Job would go through any of what Satan was interested in.
Let’s consider verse 3 of Job 2: “And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.” That last phrase, “although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause” tells us that though it was Satan who wanted it done, it was God who allowed it to occur. So God has control over everything; Satan can’t do anything except God says so.
And when we fall into temptation, we should know that it is because God has allowed us to go through it. Therefore, we should see it as an opportunity to test our spiritual skills, and improve our faith. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” (James 1:2-4). God won’t allow something He knows will knock us down permanently. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Let’s also examine the story of Joseph. Satan stirred up envy in the 11 brothers of Joseph in Genesis 37 so that they would get rid of him. They originally desired to throw him into the pit so that he would die, but because God was sovereign, and that was against His will, that didn’t happen. By using the firstborn son, Reuben, to suggest that they not kill him, but simply throw him into a pit, he was rescued from death. And by Judah thinking of selling him to the Ishmaelites, he would now be prepared for the big job God had for him.
The reason why God wanted Joseph was because of the great famine that would affect Egypt and the nearby lands. Jacob and his family were a pillar of God’s plan, so He allowed the whole slavery thing to take place so that Joseph could rise to power, become manager of the resources of Egypt, and save Jacob and his family from death in the days of famine.
God Almighty protects His children from such things, regardless of what Satan tries to do about it. “Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.” (Psalms 33:18-19). Also, in Psalms 37:19, David said, “They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.” (Psalms 37:19).
And in Genesis 50:20, Joseph made it clear to his fellow brothers that the only reason why God allowed his brothers to sell Joseph into slavery was because of the good that would come out of it in the future. “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” (Genesis 50:20). See how God is sovereign? Everything is under His control, and nobody can stop Him from fulfilling His plan.
We can see from these stories that Satan is in constant opposition to God’s sovereignty. He doesn’t like the fact that God has the ultimate word in everything; he wants his words to be law, and his opinions to count. This is why he went to Adam and Eve to sow a seed of rebellion (Genesis 3:1-6), and why he convinced other mighty angels like himself to join him in rebelling against God (Revelation 12:4; a third of the stars of heaven refers to many of those angels in heaven, which he used his “tail”, or lies, to deceive and bring to himself). He even tried to add Jesus Christ to his fold in Matthew 4:1-11, to strengthen his side. But Jesus was faithful, and he didn’t subject himself to that foolish, rebellious son of God.
But Satan’s entire attempt to override God is allowed by Him because He believes in free will (that is, He gives people time to express themselves, according to Ecclesiastes 8:11). Plus, when He declares the time for His will to prevail, Satan can do nothing to prevent it or change it. “For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:27; see also Isaiah 55:11).
So we can see sovereignty in the way God acts. But the way God speaks suggests that He believes He is sovereign. For example, He told the children of Israel in Exodus 19:4-5, “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine”. (Exodus 19:4-5). The whole earth is His (Isaiah 45:12, 18); therefore, nobody can question Him. King Nebuchadnezzar, one of the most powerful kings that ever ruled, said this himself in Daniel 4:34-35: “And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”
We’ll also consider Exodus 3:8: “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” We should realize that at this time, those lands were not empty; people were living in them, with armies and fortifications. But God was talking to Moses as if they were not inhabited, and were simply there to walk into. Why? Because God is sovereign; He owns everything and does whatever He wants with it.
Based on this, we can understand that both the righteous and wicked are under His control, and can be used to fulfill different parts of His purpose. King Solomon said in Proverbs 16:4, “The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.” Therefore, the acts of the wicked shouldn’t be seen as events God couldn’t control or stop; rather, we should see them as ephemeral works which will end up glorifying His name and strengthening the faith of the righteous in the end.
Let’s contemplate what God told Pharaoh through Moses in Exodus 9:16: “And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.” The only reason why Pharaoh had so much power in Egypt was that God allowed it to happen, so that when he was to be brought down and humiliated, His children would praise Him (as they did in Exodus 15), and His name would be glorified from generation to generation (that’s why people today still talk about His victory of the Egyptians, and His awesome deliverance).
But we’re not finished yet, because there are many inspiring verses in the Scriptures that “hit the nail on the head” when it comes to God’s sovereignty. For example, the psalmist said in Psalms 115:3, “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.” In other words, God has supreme authority over everything, and nobody can stop His will from fulfilling. In Isaiah 46:10, it was phrased as “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure”.
Asaph said in Psalms 75:7, “But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” God’s sovereignty also involves justice and judgment; God Almighty decides who should be punished, and once He pronounces judgment, there’s no escape route (for example, when He said that no one who left Egypt above 20 years old would see the land of Canaan, there was no escape route; that fulfilled to the last man, according to Numbers 26:64-65).
But how can we see God’s sovereignty in action in our time?
As the days go by, the world is getting more secular, and science, data, research and technology are becoming more influential. Some believe that it is the Devil, who they think to have so much power and might that he can move the world in whatever direction he wants. But God is on top of all this, and the only reason why He’s allowed humanity to “develop” this far is that He is watching the decline of Satan’s spiritual system, headed by spiritual leaders who claimed to be “semi-divine”, and “holy” but were misleading people and ganging up with political leaders for their own gain (Isaiah 56:11, Ezekiel 34:1-11, etc.). Apostate Christianity, sometimes referred to as “Babylon” in the Scriptures, is collapsing (Revelation 18), and we can see that for those who haven’t been called by God, spirituality has become of less significance to them.
Therefore, any global change or event in the world shouldn’t be seen as one of Satan’s acts, or something humans themselves have done; rather, we should see it as God, who is on top of everything, giving heavenly angels power to do certain things in the world. It’s not different from the Bible saying that God “sent evil angels” (Psalms 78:49). Nothing happens without God allowing it; therefore, He won’t give the Devil authority to destroy the remnant of our spirituality or to return us to how the world was before the World Wars (authoritative governments, oppression, etc.). Rather, Satan can only do what will advance God’s purpose (e.g. setting up institutions so that those who refuse to obey the King, Jesus Christ, can be judged).
To understand this further, we’ll examine Revelation 9:4: “And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.” The “grass of the earth” or the “green thing” refers to the righteous; they are green because they are holy, and pure (green represents righteousness in the Scriptures; see Psalms 52:8, Jeremiah 17:7-8). And the locusts represent the institutions that have been set up in our time to eat up our spirituality (secular organizations that try to make God’s Word and principles less relevant in our lives).
Essentially, the text is saying that God has allowed such things to spring up to eat the spirituality of the hypocrites - those who are calling themselves “Christians”, setting up churches, etc., which He wanted the righteous to be doing - but He wants His children to be preserved, and He won’t allow secular institutions to rise to the point where no one will be spiritual in our world any longer. Jesus made it clear that the last days won’t be prolonged for that reason, in Matthew 24:22: “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.”
So what does all this mean?
In summary, God has a direction He wants humanity to go. And no matter what Satan or his agents in heaven and on earth try to do about it, they will all move that purpose forward in the end. “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.” (Isaiah 2:2). A typical example of this is Hitler. Back when he was alive, he wanted to keep the world in a system of sovereign leaders, which was against God’s will. But now, instead of people glorying in him, he has become a lesson to all on how the world will be better if such ideas never see the light of day. In other words, God used his evils to advance His purpose, and to bring “the desire of all nations”.
Therefore, we shouldn’t fret; rather, we should trust in the fact that God is sovereign, and endure persecution and overcome temptations, because He will silence our enemies and give us the opportunity to praise Him and do just service. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28). Furthermore, King Solomon said in Proverbs 16:7, “When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
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