Lesson Two: A Personal God
Note: This lesson can be done alone or in a group. If you choose to lead a group using this study, there are some directions inserted within the study to help you stimulate discussion and insight into the meaning of the text.
Aim: For them to see that God's greatness as Creator does not
remove Him from being known by us. For them to begin to desire
to have a relationship with God.
Hook: (This can be used to launch a group into the study)
Think of someone you know who has a strong personality. What makes it "strong"? [Give them time to think and answer.] Is it the way they express themselves, or the way they think, or feel, or communicate? Each of us is a person, and as such we describe ourselves as having "personality". Have you ever thought of God as being a Person? A common conception of God is that He is an impersonal "force" or even an abstract "concept." But Scripture teaches that God is a Person - one who is knowable and has aspects of "personality."
Book:
I. God is personal
A. What makes God "personal"? First, He has certain aspects of "personality".
Read Psalm 139:17-18.
Q. What do we see about God in this passage?
A. He thinks,
and a vast number of His thoughts concern us. Look at verses 1 and 2 of
this same
Psalm. Notice
how many words connote thought or cognition (e.g. searched, know, perceive).
Read verse 13 of this same Psalm, and Genesis 1:1. Notice that God not only thinks, He also acts.
Read John 3:16.
Q. What else do you notice about God in this verse?
A. God not only thinks and acts, God feels. Love is a powerful emotion.
Thinking, acting,
and feeling are all aspects of personality. As humans, we carry these same
aspects of
personhood.
This should not be surprising if we look back at the creation story.
Read Genesis 1:26-27.
Q. According to this, what is God's relationship to man?
A. He is the Creator, but He created man in His image.
Q. What does it mean to be created "in His image"?
A. It means that
somehow man reflects God uniquely. So our personality has its origin in
our being a
unique reflection
of God and His personhood.
B. "I" - "You" vocabulary analogous to human relationships
Scripture's very vocabulary gives us a clue as to our concept of God.
Read Isaiah 41:10.
Q. What pronouns are used in reference to God and man?
A. "I" and "you."
Q. Looking at
t his and other passages we have looked at, what does this imply about
how we are to
think about
and communicate with God?
A. We are to
think of Him personally, not addressing Him as "it" or "that." He is not
an impersonal
force or an
all inclusive everything.
C. Scripture teaches us that we can "know" Him.
There is an even more compelling argument in Scripture for seeing God as personal.
Read Jeremiah 9:23-24.
Q. According to this, what are we to boast in?
A. That we understand and know God.
Read John 17:3.
Q. What is the definition of eternal life?
A. That we might know God and Jesus, whom He has sent.
Q. What does it mean to know someone?
A. It implies not only knowledge about someone, but a relationship with him.
Q. Can you really know someone without knowing everything about him?
A. Yes. Our knowledge
of each other can grow, just as married couples can say that they are learning
about each other
and know each other better even after they've been married for many years.
Q. But isn't
it presumptuous to say that we can know God? If He is the creator and originator
of all
that is, isn't
He beyond our comprehension?
A. No. Although
we can never know God completely (but can we ever know anyone completely?),
we
can know him
truly. Scripture is the revealed Word of God, and was given to expressly
that we could
know Him and
have a relationship with Him. Only persons can have a relationship, not
things or
concepts.
Look:
II. God is a Personal Creator -both nearby and faraway
When we are learning more about the God
of the Bible, it is tempting to look at only one aspect of His character
to
the exclusion of all others. But if we
are to truly understand who He is, we have to look at the whole picture
because
this will affect how we respond to Him.
[Give some example from your own personality. If this was the only p art
of
you they knew, would the people in the
group treat you any differently?]
Read Jeremiah 23:23-24.
Q. What does it mean that God is "nearby"?
A. This is a part of His being personal, in that He is close and desires a relationship with us.
Q. What does it mean that God is "faraway"?
A. He is somehow above us. He is the big and mighty creator who is in control of our lives.
In this passage we see that God fills heaven
and earth. He is at the same time personal and creator, immanent and
transcendent.
No where is this seen more clearly than in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
Read John 1:1-3, 14 and 18.
Q. What is John referring to when he speaks of the "Word"?
A. He is talking about Jesus. (see v. 17 and context of John's gospel)
Q. What qualities are attributed to the Word in theses verses?
A. He was with
God - distinct from the Father. He was God. All things were made through
him. He
became flesh.
He lived among us. In him we see God.
Q. Why is Christ called the Word? What is the use of a word among people?
A. Words are
used for communication. As the Word, Christ communicates to us about the
Father.
Since He is
both with God and God Himself, He reveals God in the fullest possible sense.
Q. In Christ, then, how are both the Personal and Creator aspects of God's character seen?
A. As Creator,
He existed from the beginning and was involved in creation. We see how
personal He
is in that He
took on human nature to live among us with all the limitations of flesh.
He is faraway in
His preexistent
nature, and nearby in His human nature, as near as human touch.
Took:
Q. What does it mean for us that God is both nearby and faraway?
A. First, it gives us significance.
Q. If God, who is personal, created us to be personal, what does this say about our worth?
A. We are neither
impersonal machines nor animals. Our significance is derived from our unique
creation in
the image of God who is a person.
Q. How does Him
coming to earth in the person of Jesus enhance this understanding of our
significance?
A. He not only
desires that we know Him, He revealed Himself to us in a way that we could
see and
understand.
Q. How might
this understanding of God make a difference in your life this week? What
if you are hurt
or rejected
by someone? What if you are alone or experiencing loneliness?
A. I would know
that God knows me, knows my hurt, and He desires me to know Him. I need
only
look to the
example of Jesus to know that He cares and desires to be near me.
B. Second, it requires of us submission.
Q. Does knowing
that God is near mean that He is merely a kindly grandfather, only waiting
to hand us
our latest whim?
A. No. We have
to remember that He is still creator, the one who is self-existent and
the owner of our
lives. God is
more personal and concerned that we expect. He is also greater and higher
than we can
comprehend.
Q. How might knowing these things make a difference in your life this week?
Next week
we will be looking at another aspect of God's character, His Holiness.
If you would like to
continue
thinking about the things we've talked about, you might read Psalm 139
this week, and write
down everything
it teaches about mankind and God.