The Nature of God
GOD
Is Jesus really God?
Does the Bible say that Jesus is God?
If God is invisible, how can we see him?
The Bible says that "no man has seen God." This means that because God is infinite, no-one is capable of seeing the totality of God. It is like before the days of space travel, no-one had seen the totality of the Earth.
However some have been in the presence of God, for example Moses, Isaiah, and Stephen. Also many have seen Jesus (God the Son, both physical and spiritual) and heard and touched him. For instance Thomas faced with the nail holes said to Jesus: "my Lord and my God."
Why do people call on God when they are in trouble?
A man fell over a cliff and grabbed a branch on the way down. His grip weakened and he slipped closer to falling. Although he was an atheist, he called out "Is there anybody up there?" The reply came "My son, let go of the branch, reach out in faith, and you will be saved." After a pause, he quietly called out "Is there anybody else up there?" ..
But there is nobody else. In such a predicament, we all ask God to help. Everyone has an inner knowledge of God, a witness (Rm 1:19-20). Any child believes in God - it is a natural thing until they are taught otherwise. To not believe in God, you have to change your mind.
Is God He or She? Is God He, because if Mary was the mother of Jesus, then someone had to be the Father?
God is He, but has all the attributes of masculine and feminine, which become divided in man and woman. Genesis says that man was formed in the complete image of God (with all attributes). But then out of that man, God took woman, so woman was also formed in the image of God. Man and woman are different but complementary, and in marriage united they again have the fullness of God. The totality of man and woman is in God. For example, there are many feminine illustrations and language about God in the Bible.
Jesus taught us to pray "our Father", isn’t that He?
In the Father are all the feminine qualities. This is a problem for new Bible translations that attempt to use he/she both for God.
JESUS
We believe Jesus is God, but if God is a Spirit, how can Jesus be a human?
This is a mystery. We know that Jesus is God. For example the Jews were going to stone him at one time, not for any "good works" he had done, but because he "claimed to be God" (Jn 10:33).
We also know he was human. He was born of a woman, and had a physical body, like us. He laid aside everything he had as God (Phil 2:6-8) otherwise he could not have died! Even the miracles he did on earth, he did not in his own power as God, but by the power of the Holy Spirit in him. We see from the Bible that sometimes he had the power of God to heal (which implies that sometimes he didn’t).
But now after his resurrection he has human form and a resurrected body, but is spirit.
Find out more about why Jesus died.
The HOLY SPIRIT
What is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?
The Bible tells us about two things, the "Gifts" of the Spirit (listed in 1Cor 12 etc) and the "Fruit" of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), which are available to believers.
Christians may experience an event called the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. After this happens, they have the Holy Spirit in power, and He enables them to do miraculous things. The gifts are the power of God for today, and we need the gifts because that is what makes us different. Many Christians sadly are without the power of God - no gifts, and no power for the Christian life. It is no good struggling through things we have to do without power. The gifts are given - we cannot conjure up the power of the Holy Spirit by ourselves. The gifts are not a sign of holiness, but a sign of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Sadly too, some unholy Christians nevertheless do have the gifts. The lack of holiness is due to the lack of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which give us the character of Christ (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control).
Some people think that the Holy Spirit is received in full at the time of conversion, and is always with us. Others say that while the Holy Spirit does become resident in us at conversion, this is not with power until later when the "Baptism in the Holy Spirit" may be experienced. There is Bible evidence that people may be Christians but not yet with the Holy Spirit in power (John 21:4-5).
How can the Holy Spirit as a person, be in everyone?
God is omnipresent, or able to be everywhere. The Holy Spirit is not a person like a human being limited to one place. Rather, he is God who is personal, but is Spirit. The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as a person. It’s a mystery.
The TRINITY
The Bible says that both God and Jesus were the creator. How can this be?
Jesus is God’s son, and Jesus is God. The Bible has verses that say that each of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are the creator.
Yet elsewhere, e.g. Matt 28, it says "In the Name (singular) of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit". This is a mystery in scripture, where many verses speak of the Trinity like this.
The mystery is that there are three persons and one God. Perhaps it is like the three pairs of sides of a cube - take one pair away, and there is no cube. Read more about the Trinity