Real God 7: Truth, Beauty, Glory
- No one is born knowing who the real God is. Every generation must be taught.
- All Bible study/theology is either man-centered (bad) or God-centered (good)
- We are seeing a generational falling away from the knowledge of God
- We are ignorant of God’s attributes & enamored w/our personality.
- The less we know about God, the more mental health problems we are seeing
- If you are a believer, the HS in you causes you to yearn to learn about God
- Start w/God (BIBLE FOR VS ABOUT)
God is Beauty
God’s beauty brings pleasure and delight, and His creation reflects His beauty.
Psalm 27:4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
Psalm 50:1-2 The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
Psalm 96:5-6 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Isaiah 33:17 Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty; they will see a land that stretches afar.
=Least mentioned attribute of God – Scholars are thinkers not Creatives & feelers
Although Fallen, Creation Reflects God’s Beauty
Genesis 1:31 God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Genesis 3:17 to Adam he said, “…cursed is the ground because of you…”
Romans 1:19-20 …what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.
Romans 8:18-22 …the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
Imagine how beautiful the world was & will be???
We MIRROR God by – Appreciating & Creating beauty
1. Created by God – sunrise/set; mountains, rivers/lakes/oceans, babies
2. Created by us – music, art, architecture, interior design, restoration cars/homes, food
God is Truth
God is the source of all truth. Everything God says and does is only true. God cannot lie, and His Word can be completely trusted because it is perfect.
Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
John 3:33 [NIV] God is truthful.
John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”
John 17:17 your word is truth.
Romans 3:4 Let God be true though everyone were a liar
Titus 1:2 God, who never lies
Hebrews 6:18 it is impossible for God to lie
1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Jesus says “Truly I say/Truly I tell you” more than 70 times in the 4 Gospels
- Truth is like math. There’s one right answer. And, lots of wrong answers.
- Correspondence Theory of Truth
God’s Truth is Perfectly Revealed in Scripture and Jesus Christ
2 Samuel 7:28 O Lord GOD, you are God, and your words are true
Psalm 119:160 The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
Proverbs 30:5-6 Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
Matthew 22:16 “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.
JOHN 17:17 SANCTIFY THEM IN THE TRUTH; YOUR WORD IS TRUTH.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 1:17 grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 8:45-46 I tell the truth…I tell the truth…
Ephesians 4:21 the truth is in Jesus
The World Lies and Suppresses the Truth
Exodus 20:16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Proverbs 6:16-7 There are…things that the Lord hates…a lying tongue,
John 8: 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires…does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Romans 1:18 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
John 8:32 you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
https://news.gallup.com/poll/512861/media-confidence-matches-2016-record-low.aspx Americans’ Trust in Mass Media, 1972-2023 graphic
God is Glory
God’s glory is the awe-inspiring, jaw dropping, overwhelming splendor caused by the revelation of all of His divine attributes shining forth in majesty.
Psalm 24:7–10 …the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!…Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah
Psalm 113:4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!
Isaiah 6:3 one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
John 1:14 the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Acts 7:2 The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham
Acts 7:55 the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31 whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 4:4 the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 1:3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high
Philippians 2:10-11 at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Hebrews 1:3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Revelation 21:23 the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Band up (STAND)
GLORY all the attributes of God unleashed & unveiled, at once in full force!
Eternal Creator Sovereign
All Knowing All Present All Powerful
Unchanging Wise Patient
Good Generous Holy
Judge Love Righteous
Wrath Mercy Holy
Judge Love
Truth
Beauty
Glory – next time we see Jesus it won’t be in humility. It will be in glory!
