Lesson 4 — The Truth About God

LESSON FOUR

1. 1 THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD

Most men who believe in God introduce the subject with an apology for their ignorance of Him. Both preachers and writers, almost without exception, make God quite incomprehensible and beyond human reason; yet, they can preach big sermons and write big books on a subject about which they know very little, and about which they claim no man can really know the truth. They seem to think that the best way to magnify God is to make Him a big mystery. This is one of the greatest errors of the Christian Church today.

There is no reasonable excuse for this ignorance of God or for such a conception of Him. The Bible contains over 20,000 references about Him, stating in almost infinite detail what He is like, what He can and cannot do, and what He has done and yet plans to do. We will thus magnify God best by believing and teaching everything the Bible says about Him. We can have a comprehensive knowledge of God from these many references if we will but believe what they say, and stop making everything God says about Himself a lie.

Men have spiritualized and changed so many statements about God in Scripture that they have nullified the true meaning of the Bible revelation of Him. We have failed to get a true, sane, simple knowledge of God in past centuries by that method of interpretation, so why not change our tactics and believe once and for all what the Bible says about Him and see if we will not have a better understanding of God? Why not believe what God says about Himself in the same literal sense in which we understand the same kind of language when used of other people? Why not believe that God means what He says about Himself? He should know more about Himself than any man. Would it not be easier to believe what He does say about Himself than to believe what He does not say? If God did not mean what He said of Himself, then why did He say such things? Why should it be the unpardonable sin to believe the Bible literally on this subject as we believe the Bible on other subjects? To believe literally what God said of Himself certainly makes better sense because it gives us a better, more “common sense” conception of God.

We have all been taught that God cannot be comprehended, and all the books on Bible doctrine make the subject of God vague and beyond the reach of all sane men. Such books are good in explaining away what the Bible says of God. For once we shall lay aside all such foolishness and take a stand with what the Bible plainly says. Such action certainly cannot make the subject any more mysterious. We cannot be wrong if we simply believe what God reveals about Himself. Since we have seen how to understand the Bible literally, we shall be wise in following this practice with every subject in the Bible, and not with just a few that we choose.

Men can understand all about the Lord’s Supper, baptism, or any other subject from just a few passages, but when it comes to the subject of God, they cannot grasp an understanding of Him, even though there are thousands of passages on the subject. Such an attitude just does not make sense to us, so we propose to study God from a different standpoint. We shall believe what the Bible says and see for ourselves that the subject has been greatly misrepresented.

1. 1 GOD. This word simply means deity or divinity and is a general term used of false gods as well as of the true God. The number of persons in the true deity cannot be determined by the word itself. Plain scriptures on the subject must settle this question.

1. 1 GODHEAD

   This term simply means that which is divine . It is used of Jesus in Col. 2:9, as having all the qualities of divinity in His manifestation of God to men. It is also used of all three persons in the deity in Rom. 1:20.

1. 1 ONE. The Hebrew word for one in such scriptures as " one Lord" (Dt. 6:4-6) and " one God" Malachi 2:10 is achad , meaning to unify, collect, be united in one, one in number. It is used as one in unity many times: “they shall be one flesh” Genesis 2:24; “the people is one ” Genesis 11:6. The Greek word for one in “one Lord” and “one God” in Mk. 12:29, 32 is heis , which means to gather together in one John 11:52 and to be one in unity John 10:30John 17:11, 211 John 5:7-8. The English word “one” also means one in unity , as can be seen in the above passages. Whether one in unity or one in number is the meaning in a particular passage must be determined by Scripture and not by the meaning of the word itself.

1. 1 IN. This word means in union with and when used of persons it does not mean bodily entrance into , except in the case of disembodied spirits, or demons. We read of God being in Christ 2 Corinthians 5:19 and Christ being in God John 14:10-11, 20; of man being in Christ 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Christ being in man Romans 8:10; of man being in the Spirit and the Spirit being in man Romans 8:9; and of Satan entering into man John 13:27; but it never means in these cases bodily entrance into , for all these persons have bodies and cannot get inside each other bodily. When Paul said of believers, “I have you in my heart” and “ye are in our hearts” 2 Corinthians 7:3Philippians 1:7, he could only mean in union with , not bodily entrance into . The Bible doctrine of interpenetration means the union of two or more persons together for the same end . Thus, persons can be one with each other to a common end without literally getting inside each other or without being one single person. Being one with and in each other does not depend on bodily contact, or the loss of either personality. Persons can be in each other and one with each other though there are thousands of miles between them bodily.

Men control each other to the extent of oneness with each other. So it is with God and Satan, who control men to the extent of union with them to the same end. Thus, when God dwelled in Christ and Christ dwelled in God, it did not mean they were one person or that they dwelt inside each other bodily. They were one in union—one to the same end, in the same sense that men and Christ, or men and men, dwell in each other. “He that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit” 1 Corinthians 6:17.

1. 1 PERSON

   A person is anyone who can act, think, and feel; anyone capable of self-consciousness and self-determination; any individual having legal rights and duties; a rational being with bodily presence, soul passions, and spirit faculties. In grammar it means one of three separate relations of three separate persons in discourse distinguished by certain pronouns: that of the speaker , or the first person; that of the one spoken to , or the second person; and that of the one spoken of , or the third person.

First, second, and third personal pronouns are used of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in speaking to and of each other, as we shall see in Lesson Twenty-seven. Personal singular and plural pronouns are also used, as we shall see.

God is a Real Person

(1) Personal names are given Him Genesis 1:1Exodus 3:13-15Exodus 6:3Psalms 68:4, and His names are found over 19,000 times in Scripture.

(2) Personal statements are made about God, as with other persons. See Over 500 Scriptures Proving a Divine Trinity in Lesson Twenty-seven.

(3) Personal relationships are ascribed to God 2 Corinthians 6:12 Corinthians 13:141 John 1:31 John 3:1Revelation 21:3-7.

(4) Personal plans are ascribed to Him (Lesson One).

(5) A personal body, soul, and spirit are ascribed to Him (Point II, 7-9).

(6) Personal works are ascribed to Him. Many personal acts are recorded in the first two chapters of the Bible.

(7) Personal pronouns are used of all three persons of the divine Trinity, both singular and plural Genesis 1:26Genesis 3:22Genesis 11:7Isaiah 6:8John 17:11-21. See Point I, Lesson Twenty-seven.

1. 1 INCARNATION

   This means a person assuming a body which he takes as his very own, dwelling inside that body and not existing in any sense outside the body which he has taken to dwell in Psalms 40:6-10Hebrews 10:5-10.

1. 1 FATHER AND SON

   A father is one who has begotten or brought into existence a child. A son is the one who is begotten by a father. It requires two separate persons to be a father and a son. They could in no sense be one person, but could be one in unity, as any two persons can be.

1. 1 TRINITY

   This means the union of three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in one (unified) Godhead or divinity—so that all three persons are one in unity and eternal substance, but three separate and distinct persons as to individuality 1 John 5:7-8Daniel 7:9-14Matthew 3:16-17Matthew 28:19Acts 7:56-59.

1. 1 BODY, SOUL, AND SPIRIT. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, each angel and man, and every separate person in the universe has a personal body, soul, and spirit, which are separate and distinct from all others, as defined below.

(1) The body of any being is the outward form or house in which his soul and spirit dwell Genesis 2:7, 19John 5:28-29Matthew 27:521 Corinthians 15:34-58James 2:261 Thessalonians 5:23Hebrews 10:5-10. There are spiritual and natural bodies, or heavenly and earthly bodies, and both kinds are real 1 Corinthians 15:40-49.

(2) The soul is that invisible part of all living beings that feels—the seat of his affections, emotions, passions, and desires—that which gives him self-consciousness and makes him a sentient being Leviticus 23:431 Samuel 22:21 Samuel 30:62 Samuel 13:392 Kings 4:272 Kings 23:3Psalms 107:5, 9Mark 12:33Matthew 26:38John 12:27Hebrews 4:12Hebrews 10:38.

(3) The spirit is that invisible part of all living beings that knows—the seat of his intellect, mind, and will, and that which gives him self-determination and makes him a free moral agent and a rational being 1 Corinthians 2:11Matthew 26:41Exodus 35:21Job 38:8, 18Proverbs 20:27Philippians 1:27Hebrews 4:12James 2:261 Thessalonians 5:23.

The Bible teaches that unsaved men do not have God’s Spirit in them Romans 8:9-161 Corinthians 12:132 Corinthians 1:222 Corinthians 6:16-18Galatians 3:2-5Galatians 4:6Ephesians 1:132 Timothy 1:71 John 4:4-6; that God’s Spirit is not received until the New Birth John 3:1-5John 14:17Romans 8:9-16; that there is a difference between the natural spirit of man and beasts Ecclesiastes 3:21; that there is a difference between breath and spirit Job 34:15Psalms 19:7Luke 12:191 Corinthians 5:52 Corinthians 7:1; and that each creature has a separate spirit which is not a part of God Numbers 16:22Numbers 27:17Ecclesiastes 3:21Ezekiel 21:7Daniel 2:1-3Malachi 2:15-16Proverbs 16:21 Corinthians 2:10-121 Corinthians 14:32Hebrews 12:9, 231 Thessalonians 5:23. Try to substitute breath for soul and spirit in all the above passages and see for yourself how ridiculous such meaning is.

The Invisibility of God

When we use the word “invisible” we must not think of it altogether in the terms of substance, but mainly as distance —beyond eyesight, beyond natural visibility. God has been seen with the natural eyes many times, so His invisibility is not something beyond spiritual or physical possibility of manifestation or sight (Point II, 3, below). He will be seen by men in all eternity as we see each other now Revelation 21:27Revelation 22:4-5Ezekiel 43:7Ezekiel 48:35. He can appear visible or invisible to natural eyes now; and when eyesight is adjusted to see spiritual things, then spiritual sight will be as simple and normal as natural sight is now. Angels and other spirit-beings have also been seen by natural eyes (Lesson Six, VI).

Our natural eyes are not adjusted now to see even some material things, as they will be in the day when God removes the covering of darkness and the vale that is now spread over all nations—a condition existing since the fall of man Isaiah 24:21-22Isaiah 25:71 Corinthians 13:12. Then, the light of the sun will be increased seven times, and the light of the moon will be as the present light of the sun Isaiah 24:23Isaiah 30:26. Even man’s invisible soul and spirit, or the inner man, has been and can be seen Luke 16:19-31Revelation 6:9-11. Therefore, it is possible for all spirits and spiritual things to be seen. Sin has blinded the natural sight of man so that now we see only as through a glass darkly 1 Corinthians 13:12. No man, therefore, can say with scriptural authority that God consists of a kind of invisible substance which cannot be seen or touched by man. In fact, God will live among men in visible form forever Revelation 21:3-7Revelation 22:4-5.

II. True Interpretation of God as Spirit John 4:24

If we can ever come to the knowledge of what spirit-beings are like, then we can begin to comprehend God as Spirit. There are hundreds of plain scriptures that help us to gain such knowledge. Note the following facts in Scripture:

1. 1 The Bible declares that there are heavenly and earthly bodies and that there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body 1 Corinthians 15:35-58. We learn from this passage that all things in creation have separate bodies from all others—bodies for grain, fish, birds, beasts, man and every living thing on earth—bodies for the sun, moon, stars, and all material things in the heavens—bodies for angels, cherubims, seraphims, and all spirit-beings in the spirit world. No exception is made here or anywhere in the Bible to the effect that God alone of all beings in the universe does not have a body.

When Jesus said, “a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” Luke 24:39, He certainly did not want to leave the impression that spirit-bodies were not real and tangible. He simply taught that spirit-bodies were not composed of earthly flesh and bone. He could not have meant that God does not have a real spirit-body, for He taught elsewhere that God had a voice and a shape John 5:37. He showed John in Rev. 4 and 5 that God had a body and could sit on a throne as well as anyone else. The Greek word for shape in Jn. 5:37 is eidos , meaning form, appearance, shape, fashion, or sight , and refers to outward form or what can be seen with the eyes, as is clear from Lk. 3:22; 9:29; 2 Cor. 5:7.

1. 1 Moses declared that man was made in the image and likeness of God Genesis 1:26-27Genesis 9:6. The Hebrew word for image is tselem , meaning shape, shadow, resemblance, figure, bodily form, as proven in all passages where it is used Genesis 5:3Genesis 9:6Exodus 20:4Leviticus 26:1Psalms 73:20Psalms 106:19Isaiah 40:19-20Isaiah 44:9-17Isaiah 45:20Isaiah 48:5Jeremiah 10:14Jeremiah 51:17. The Hebrew word for likeness is demooth , meaning model, shape, fashion, similitude, and bodily resemblance, as proven in Gen. 5:1, 3; Isa. 40:18; Ezek. 1:5, 10, 13, 16, 22, 26, 28; 10:1, 10, 21-22. The Fenton translation of Gen. 1:26-27 reads, “Let us make men under our shadow , as our representatives . . . So God created men under his own shadow, creating them in the shadow of God.” Anything that has a shadow must be real.

Paul said that man was “the image and glory of God” 1 Corinthians 11:7. The Greek word for image here is eikon , meaning likeness, profile, statue, and bodily resemblance , as proven in places where it is used Matthew 22:20Acts 19:35Romans 1:23Romans 8:29Romans 11:41 Corinthians 15:492 Corinthians 4:4Colossians 1:15Hebrews 10:1Revelation 13:14-15Revelation 14:9-11Revelation 15:2Revelation 6:2Revelation 19:20Revelation 20:4.

There is no question about man being made in the moral and spiritual likeness of God, but none of the above passages refer to this idea. They refer to bodily form and shape . If man was made in the image and likeness of God bodily, then God must have a body, and an outward form and shape.

One might as well argue that image and likeness , when used of idols, mean moral and spiritual image and likeness , and not outward bodily shape, as to argue this about God; for the same Hebrew and Greek words are used in both cases, as seen in the references above. That it refers to what can be seen with the natural eyes is clear from the above passages as well as from Gen. 5:3; Isa. 40:19-20; 44:9-17; Ezek. 1:5-28; Acts 19:35; etc.

1. 1 Bible writers not only stated that God has a body, but they also testified that they have seen it with their natural eyes. Abraham made a dinner for God and two angels and they actually ate food (Gen. 18). Jacob had a physical wrestling match with God all night Genesis 32:24-30. Moses talked with God face to face Exodus 33:11-23. Seventy-four elders of Israel had a banquet with God in Sinai Exodus 24:9-11. Joshua and all Israel saw God with a sword in His hand Joshua 5:13-15. Gideon Judges 6:11-23, Manoah and wife Judges 13:3-23, David (1 Chron. 21:16-17), Job Job 42:5, Isaiah Isaiah 6:1-13, Amos Amos 9:1, and others saw God standing on the ground, sitting on thrones, and having bodily parts like man. Ezekiel saw God on a chariot and described Him as having an “appearance of a man” with loins and the upper and lower parts of a body like a man Ezekiel 1:26-28Ezekiel 10:1, 20Ezekiel 40:3. Daniel saw both God the Father and the Son of man as two separate beings at the same time and at the same place. God was on a throne and had on white clothes, and His hair was white. The Son of man also had a body, had clothes on, and had hair on his head Daniel 7:9-14Daniel 10:5-6. Stephen saw both God and Christ at the same place with the same eyes Acts 7:56-59. John saw God on a throne and Christ symbolized as a lamb and the Holy Spirit symbolized as lamps of fire and seven horns and eyes, all at the same time Revelation 4:2-5Revelation 5:1, 5.

1. 1 The Bible predicts that all the redeemed will see God’s face (Greek, prosopon , countenance, outward appearance, surface, person) with their eyes Revelation 7:9Revelation 14:5Revelation 21:3Revelation 22:4-5. See the word “face” in Mt. 6:17; 18:10; 26:39, 67; Acts 6:15; 20:25, 38; 1 Cor. 13:12; Rev. 4:7; 6:16; 10:1; 20:11. The word is used in these passages of both God and man, so both must have a face. Are we going to call all these witnesses false just to be in harmony with modern interpreters who never once saw God? Would it not be best to take the word of men who saw God and who know what they are talking about than to take the word of men who know nothing of God and who claim that God cannot be comprehended?

Modern writers of doctrine books about God assert that no man can understand God; that no man has ever seen God; and that God has no body with parts and passions to be seen. I quote only from prominent men who have had a wide ministry in our large denominations. We personally admire these men for their great work, but this does not lessen the fact that they are wrong on this most important subject of God. It shows the modern trend to make God too mystical to understand. One writer says, “It is clearly revealed in Scripture that God is one being constituted by three persons . We give this complex Person the name Trinity . . . It would be folly to seek to explain this startling revelation . . . We can only say that we believe it because we do not comprehend it . . . The doctrine of the Trinity bewilders the most astute and is frankly beyond the comprehension of the most learned. ”

We quote from books on the great doctrines of the Bible that are widely used: “God as a spirit is incorporeal, invisible reality; has no body or parts like human beings; nothing of a material or bodily nature . . . God cannot be seen with the material eyes; nothing on earth to resemble Him; without parts, without body, without passions . . . God cannot be comprehended by the senses, but by the soul; and is above sensuous perceptions . . . The image of God consists only in intellectual and moral likeness; when God is spoken of as having hands, feet, eyes, hair, and other bodily parts, these are figures of speech and mere human expressions trying to convey some idea of God.”

Such statements are foolish and unscriptural, to say the least. It is no wonder that these men cannot comprehend the Trinity of God as they declare. They make such ridiculous propositions about God that it is impossible to comprehend them. If we will take the Bible instead of these statements we can comprehend God. The Bible does not say that God is one person constituted of three persons. This could never be, but God can be three distinct persons as separate and distinct as any three persons we know of in this life. This is comprehensible but the other is not, for there can be no such thing as three persons in one person. It is no wonder that such an idea cannot be explained. It is folly. God Himself could not comprehend it or explain it in this way, for this is not the way He has explained it, nor is this the way He asks us to understand it.

Neither does the Bible say that the bodily parts of God are figures of speech or mere human expressions trying to convey some idea of God, or that they do away with the reality of God’s body. All figures of speech emphasize and make as real or more real the ideas they express than if literal language were used. There can be no true figure of speech to convey an idea unless the idea conveyed is real, so if God’s bodily parts are mere figures they are true figures of the real bodily parts of God. Since we do not have God’s authority that He is a spiritual nothing, and since we only have the word of man, let us forget the doctrine of the unreality of God and let us believe the Bible literally about God as we do about other subjects.

Such statements as those quoted above directly conflict with the Bible. God can be seen and has been seen with natural eyes. God does have a tangible body that can be handled and that can do all things any other body can do. God does have bodily parts and passions, as we shall see below. God can be comprehended by the senses, for the senses constitute the soul. God does consist of more than intellectual and moral likeness. The expressions which tell us that God has bodily parts are real and literal, not figurative, as will be seen below.

1. 1 The Bible teaches that angels, seraphims, cherubims, and all spirit-beings have bodies, souls, and spirits like man, as we shall see in the next two lessons . Here we may state that angels have been seen with the eyes. They have always appeared as men in real spirit-bodies. They have bodily parts and can do all things that men can do. They can wage physical combat. They can be bound by chains and confined to material places. They have feelings and passions. They drive horses, keep gates, and do many things, as we shall see in Lesson Six. If they are spirit-beings and have bodies, soul passions, and spirit faculties, why could not God have a real spirit-body with soul passions and spirit faculties and still be a divine being?

1. 1 Paul makes it very clear that men can understand God. He gives us a simple illustration of the Godhead. He says that even sinners can comprehend God, “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and godhead; so that they are without excuse ” Romans 1:19-21. If the invisible things and the eternal power and Godhead are clearly seen by the visible things that God has made in this world, then all we need to do is use a little common sense in connection with plain statements of Scripture, to find out what the Godhead is really like. If sinners can understand God, certainly saints ought to be able to do likewise. There must be some clear and visible thing or things in this world that will help us to understand God so that we can be without excuse for ignorance.

The Scripture certainly does not harmonize with the opinions of men quoted above, that no man can comprehend God. It does not sound as if God is such a mystery. If He can be clearly seen by something visible in this world, what visible thing on earth gives us a visible picture of the invisible God?

Man would naturally be the visible thing that clearly illustrates the Godhead. Man has a body, soul, and spirit; so if he is the visible thing that clearly illustrates what God is like, then God also must have a personal body, soul, and spirit. If the Godhead consists of three separate and distinct persons, as plainly stated in 1 Jn. 5:7-8, then we are to believe that each person has a personal body, soul, and spirit, as is the case with each man. If there are three persons in the Godhead and they exist as one , we must understand this oneness to be the same as in the case of several men being one— one in unity , as in Jn. 17:11, 21-23; Mt. 19:5; Heb. 2:11; 1 Cor. 6:17; Acts 4:32.

What is hard to understand about this since we have concrete examples on earth of every fact stated here? What is hard to understand about three persons in the Godhead being three separate persons in the same sense that we conceive of any other three persons? What is hard to understand about three persons being one in unity as we can conceive of any number of persons? Do we have to believe that three persons must become one person in order to be three in one? Is this the case with three men who are one in unity? If not, then this is not the case of the three separate persons in the Godhead. Is it necessary for all persons who are one in unity to lose their own personality, their own bodies, souls, and spirits, and all get inside one person in order for them to be one in unity? Couldn't any number of persons retain their individuality and still be one in unity? Couldn't this be true of the Godhead? Couldn't God exist as three separate persons with three separate bodies, souls, and spirits, and still be one in unity? Why, then, would we have to claim that such could not be comprehended, since we have concrete examples of the unity of the Godhead in this world? Do we have to believe that the Trinity is such a mystery? Do we have to believe that it bewilders the most astute minds and that it is beyond the comprehension of the most learned? Do we have to believe that God is only one person in the Godhead when the Bible says there are three? Do we have to believe the other foolish statements in our doctrine books? If we did have to, then we could not believe the plain scriptures. But thank God we do not have to believe something that is not stated in Scripture, just because we don’t fully understand the truth.

From another standpoint, we can believe that “ one God,” “ one Lord,” and “ one Spirit” literally mean one in number in some cases, as is plainly stated in 1 Cor. 8:6; Eph. 4:3-6. These passages refer to single persons of the three persons in the Trinity. Just as we can speak of three men being one in unity and then single out each of these three men as one in number if we want to speak of them as individuals, so it is with God. There are three persons in the divine unity and three separate persons in the divine individuality. It is not proper to say “one person” in speaking of the whole Godhead any more than it would be proper to speak of the whole body of Christ as one person when we know it is made up of millions of individuals. It is proper to speak of “one person” if we refer to one single person of the three that constitute the Trinity, just as it is proper to speak of single persons making the body of Christ. All three are God and Lord, and each one could be called God or Lord.

To be literally honest with all Scripture, the rule to follow is the same as when we speak of any three men we might have in mind. Where only one person of the Godhead is plainly referred to in a particular passage, as in Gen. 32:24-32, only one person should be understood. Where two persons are referred to and clearly seen and the language is clear that two persons are referred to, as in Gen. 19:24; Dan. 7:9-14; Acts 7:56-59; then two persons should be understood. And where three persons are clearly spoken about and where the language is clear that three persons are referred to, as in Mt. 3:16-17; 28:19; 1 Jn. 5:7-8; Rev. 1:4-6; 4:2-5; 5:1, 6-7, then three distinct persons should be understood. Common honesty demands that we accept one, two, and three separate and distinct persons wherever they are seen with the eyes and referred to in plain human language by the first, second, and third personal pronouns. See Over 500 Scriptures Proving a Divine Trinity in Lesson Twenty-seven.

Nothing but confusion will result from being dishonest with the Bible. If these facts are stated in the Bible and the other theories are not, which should be the more sensible thing to believe? You know the answer as well as all of us do; you know what to believe. If you decide to believe the simplicity of the Bible, the subject will be very simple to understand, but if you accept the incomprehensible theories of men, the subject will be incomprehensible.

The Father is called God 1 Corinthians 8:6; the Son is called God Isaiah 9:6Hebrews 1:8John 20:28; and the Holy Spirit is called God Acts 5:3-4. All three persons of the Godhead are divine and can be spoken of individually as God and collectively as one God in the sense of unity. Each one is called Lord , and collectively all three can be called one Lord in the sense of unity. The Father and Son are both called Lord and God in the same passages, yet they are clearly distinguished as two separate persons Hebrews 1:8-9Psalms 110:1Genesis 19:241 Corinthians 11:3. Any family as individuals or collectively could be called by the family name, so it is with the Godhead. All three persons in the deity are Divine, God, Lord, etc.

To sum it all up, we can scripturally say that everything that could be spoken collectively of God could be spoken of each person in the Godhead as an individual, but there are certain things that are said of each individual person of the deity as to position, office, and work that could not be spoken of the other members of the Godhead. Only the Father is the Father and the head of Christ 1 Corinthians 11:3; only the Son was the begotten of the Father (2 Jn. 3); and only the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son John 14:16, 26John 15:26John 16:7-15Acts 2:34. There are many other facts of difference between the three persons of the Godhead that will be given in Lessons Twenty-one, Twenty-five, and Twenty-seven.

According to all the above points a spirit is far different from what we have been taught. Spirit-beings can and do have real, material, and tangible spirit-form, shape and size, with bodily parts, soul passions, and spirit faculties. Their material bodies are of a spiritual substance and are just as real as human bodies. This will be abundantly proven in Lesson Six.

Even human bodies after the resurrection will be able to go through material substances, as did Jesus after His resurrection. He had a flesh and bone body Luke 24:39, yet in its changed, spiritualized, glorified state, Jesus could transform his body from one form to another at will. He could appear and disappear, go through material substances (including closed doors), be visible and invisible Luke 24:16, 31Mark 16:12-14John 20:14-18. If this is true of glorified human beings, then it can be seen how God, angels, and other spirit-beings can have bodies of material spiritual substance that are just as real as glorified human bodies that are spiritualized.

1. 1 God has a spirit-body with bodily parts like man. This is proven by hundreds of plain scriptures that do not need interpretation. They are too clear and literal to misunderstand. All we can do is either deny what the Bible says or believe it. If we are not going to believe, then be honest and say that we are unbelievers in the Bible. It does not make sense to pretend to believe the Bible and then refuse to have faith in it, except for a few things we have traditionally been taught to accept. If we have not been taught to believe in the Bible, we can make up our own minds now to become full believers in all things that are plainly written in Scripture. If we do not, God will hold us accountable in the Day of Judgment. What does it matter if some preachers and teachers do not believe the simplicity of the Bible? We can.

Space will not permit a quotation of all the following passages, so we will simply state the truths they reveal about God. If you want to verify these facts, you can read for yourself each passage and see if they are not plainly written in your own Bible.

God is a person who is Spirit, infinite, eternal, immutable, self-existent, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, invisible, perfect, impartial, immortal, absolutely holy and just, full of knowledge and wisdom, in whom all things have their source, support and end . God is known in Scripture by over 200 names. He is described as being like any other person as to having a body, soul, and spirit Job 13:8Hebrews 1:3Daniel 7:9-14Daniel 10:5-7. He is a Spirit-being with a body Daniel 7:9-14Daniel 10:5-6, 9Exodus 24:11Exodus 32:24-32Ezekiel 1:26-28Acts 7:54-59Revelation 4:2-4Revelation 5:1, 5Revelation 22:4-5; shape John 5:37; form Philippians 2:5-7; and an image and likeness of a man Genesis 1:26Genesis 9:6Ezekiel 1:26-281 Corinthians 11:7James 3:9Daniel 7:9-14Daniel 10:5-6. He has back parts , so He must have front parts Exodus 33:23. He has a heart Genesis 6:6Genesis 8:21; hands and fingers Exodus 31:18Psalms 8:3-6Revelation 5:1, 6; nostrils Psalms 18:8, 15; mouth Numbers 12:8; lips and tongue Isaiah 30:27; feet Ezekiel 1:27Exodus 24:10; eyes, eyelids, sight Psalms 11:4Psalms 18:24Psalms 33:18; a voice Revelation 10:3-4; breath Genesis 2:7; ears Psalms 18:6; countenance Psalms 11:7; hair, head, face, arms Daniel 7:9-14Daniel 10:5-19Revelation 5:1, 6Revelation 22:4-6; loins Ezekiel 1:26-28Ezekiel 8:1-4; bodily presence Genesis 3:8Job 1:6-12Job 2:1-7Exodus 24:10-11; and many other bodily parts as is required of Him to be a person with a body.

God “goes from place to place” in a body just like anyone else Genesis 3:8Genesis 11:5Genesis 18:1-22, 33Genesis 19:24Genesis 32:24-32Genesis 35:13Zechariah 14:5. He is omnipresent , but not omnibody; that is, His presence can be felt everywhere but His body cannot, as seen in Point 9, below. He wears clothes Daniel 7:9-14Daniel 10:5-19; eats Genesis 18:1-22Exodus 24:11; rests —not because he gets tired, but because he ceases activity or completes a work Genesis 2:1-4Hebrews 4:4; dwells in a mansion and in a city located on a material planet called heaven John 14:1-3Hebrews 11:10-16Hebrews 13:14Revelation 3:12Revelation 21:1-27; sits on a throne Revelation 4:1-5Revelation 22:3-5; walks Genesis 3:8Genesis 18:1-22, 33; rides upon cherubs, the wind, clouds, and chariots drawn by cherubims Psalms 18:10Psalms 68:17Psalms 104:2Ezekiel 1:1-28; and He does and can do anything that any other person can do bodily that is right and good.

In the first two chapters of Genesis alone there are nearly 200 separate personal acts of God in creating, planting, speaking, working, seeing, blessing, commanding, etc. He has eaten with men, as many as 74 at a time, who saw Him with their natural eyes and conversed with Him as literally as other persons at banquets Genesis 18:1-22Exodus 24:9-13. He has wrestled bodily with man Genesis 32:24-32. He has written laws with His own finger while men looked on with the natural eyes Exodus 34:1-7, 27. He has revealed Himself in so many different ways, proving to men that He has a body with bodily parts like man, that only rebels and unbelievers will reject such obviously literal manifestations and revelations of deity. If you want to make Him a liar concerning all these things, that is your choice, but why not believe them?

Not one passage has ever been given by men to prove that God is intangible, immaterial, without body, parts, and passions, except Jn. 4:24, which says, “God is Spirit,” but this certainly does not teach that He is without a body . Men are satisfied to remain ignorant about what spirit consists of, or what spirit-bodies are like. Spirit-bodies must consist of material and bodily form in order to appear to men and make contact with them bodily as we have seen spirit-beings do. Spiritual substance is as real as natural substance, except that it is of a higher type of matter and is governed by higher laws.

Paul speaks of the human flesh-and-bone bodies in the resurrection as being “spiritual” 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, and “like unto his glorious body” Luke 24:39Philippians 3:20-21; so if human bodies that become spiritualized are still material and tangible, then certainly God and other spirits can have bodies just as real and still be spirit-beings. After all, Jn. 4:24 is a mere statement of fact—that God is a Spirit—but it does not define and analyze a spirit. Bible writers that claim to have seen God with their natural eyes either lied or told the truth. We cannot believe them and modern bible teachers who contend that no man has ever seen God with the eyes. Both cannot be right, for they contradict one another.

One argument of modern scholars is that God is light and love , and that you cannot see these qualities, you can only feel them. But we reply, this does not do away with the realities of God’s body any more than the statements that men are salt and light do away with the bodies of men Matthew 5:13-16.

Another argument they use is that God cannot be comprehended by the senses, but by the soul, and that He is above fleshly perceptions. If this is true, then God cannot be comprehended by the soul, for the soul is the seat of the affections, emotions and desires, or the senses, as proven in Point I, 9, (2), above. Then no man can love God, have any affection for God, desire God, be emotional at all in knowing God, or feel God in any sense. No statement in Scripture supports such a theory. By his senses man can enjoy, feel, see, touch, hear, and otherwise experience God, and it takes the senses to do any one of these things. Men have seen, heard, touched, and otherwise experienced God. All Israel heard God Deuteronomy 5:24; Jacob wrestled with God, so he touched Him Genesis 32:24-32; and, as seen above, men have seen God with the eyes.

The reason we do not comprehend God more than we do by the senses is that He is bodily too far from us. When the time comes all men will see God and be in His bodily presence, as stated in Rev. 7:9-17; 14:1-5; 21:3; 22:4-6. Man will be able to see, hear, smell, touch, and otherwise comprehend God by the same senses we use in connection with the bodily presence of others.

It may be objected that these facts do not harmonize with Jn. 1:18, “No man hath seen God at any time,” but we answer that they are in perfect harmony. The Greek word for "seen" here means to comprehend fully , or to understand fully with the mind , as well as to look upon with the eyes . Our English word “seen” means the same thing, so if the proper meaning of the word “seen” is understood in Jn. 1:18 (which will harmonize with the many passages in which men saw God with the eyes), there will be perfect harmony. No statement ever says that men cannot comprehend God here and now, since the complete New Testament revelation of Him by Christ and others. Jesus said, “He that hath seen [ fully comprehended ] me hath seen [ comprehended ] the Father” John 14:1-11. Men can now understand God.

It may also be objected that these facts do not harmonize with Exod. 33:20, “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live,” but again we reply that there is no contradiction. The whole passage must be considered, not just this one verse. Verse 11 says that “the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh with a friend.” This proves that Moses saw God with the eyes. In verse 18 Moses wanted to see God in all His glory and requested, “Shew me thy glory,” and it was this that could not be granted . Paul said that God dwells “in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see” 1 Timothy 6:16. God could not grant Moses the request to see Him in all of His glory , but He did permit Moses to see Him face to face out of His glory . Moses got to see God’s glory as expressed in His “back parts” (v 18-23), but could not see God’s glory as expressed in His countenance.

No scripture says that God’s image consists only in intellectual and moral powers. He could not have such faculties without having a body through which these powers could be released. These powers could not be conceived of as being parts of a person that had no parts, or of an invisible, omnipresent unreality that fills all space and solid matter. They must all be concentrated in a real Being in the same way that other persons have such faculties. Naturally, God has intellectual and moral faculties, but this does not do away with bodily form. He is a real Being with a body, soul, and spirit.

Scriptures used to prove God’s moral faculties do not say that He does not have a body like other persons that have moral powers. The same passages that speak of God’s faculties also speak of man as having the same faculties, and no one argues that man does not have a body because he has such faculties; so why apply this argument only to God, who should be even more real than His creatures?

If all the expressions about God having bodily parts are mere figures of speech and human expressions trying to convey some idea of God (as is contended by Bible teachers), then it may well be asked, what kind of ideas about God do such expressions convey? Do they tell us that God does not have bodily parts or that He does? If they are trying to tell us that He does not have them, then they are a peculiar way for an intelligent being to convey such ideas. Any human being could excel God in expressing himself, if this is the way God tells us He does not have a body with parts and passions. It must be remembered that there cannot be figures of speech of anything that is not real.

Would it not be best conveyed to tell us in plain language that God does not have a body, soul, and spirit, or that He does not have bodily parts? This would have been clear and would have settled the question for all concerned. On the other hand, if God inspired bible writers to record in hundreds of places the many bodily parts, soul passions, and spirit faculties, then it does not make sense to deny them, if we still claim to believe the Bible. If so many hundreds of scriptures do not mean what they say, then how do we know that any scripture means what it says? If many scriptures say that God has parts and passions and He does not have them, then it should be expressed in at least one passage; so we could take all such statements as figurative that says He does have them. Otherwise, we have no authority to take all such passages as figures of speech. We are to believe them literally as we do the same statements about men.

The Bible makes the subject of man’s invisible soul clearer and more understandable than man does the spirit-body of God. The inner man is just as real as can be and is of a material spiritual substance. How could the angels carry the inner man of Lazarus into Abraham’s bosom Luke 16:19-31 if they could not get hold of it and if there was nothing real to carry? How could souls under the altar be clothed while they were out of their bodies Revelation 6:9-11 if there was not something real to clothe? How could Moses, out of his body, wear clothes and talk with Christ and be seen of natural eyes Matthew 17:1-13 if he was not real? How could the rich man in hell have a tongue and other bodily parts while out of his body Luke 16:19-31 if the inner man does not also have these parts? How could Christ’s soul go to Paradise and preach while His body was in the tomb Psalms 16:10Luke 23:43Ephesians 4:7-111 Peter 3:19 if the inner man was immaterial and unreal? These and many other facts prove that the souls and spirits of men, after leaving their bodies, are real, can wear clothes, be handled, see, hear, talk, and are just as conscious as when they were in their bodies. If these facts be true of men outside of their bodies, and if souls and spirits are of a tangible spiritual substance, why could not God have a body that is of a tangible, spiritual, material substance?

1. 1 God has a personal soul, with soul passions like those of man. God has a soul , as defined in Point I, 9, (2), above. God said, “My soul shall have no pleasure in him” Hebrews 10:38Isaiah 42:1. God’s soul is capable of feelings of grief Genesis 6:6Judges 10:16; anger 1 Kings 11:9; repentance Genesis 6:6; jealousy Exodus 20:5; hate Proverbs 6:16; love John 3:16; pity Psalms 103:13; joy, peace, longsuffering, mercy, graciousness , and compassion Nehemiah 8:10Philippians 4:7Colossians 3:15Exodus 34:6Psalms 86:15; gentleness 2 Samuel 22:36; goodness Romans 2:7; meekness Psalms 45:4; kindness Psalms 31:21; fellowship 1 John 1:1-7; pleasure and delight Psalms 147:11; and other feelings, passions, and appetites, which constitute the soul.

1. 1 God has a personal spirit with spirit faculties like those of man. God has a personal spirit , as defined in Point I, 9, (3), above. God speaks of “my spirit,” which is His own personal spirit in the same sense that every person has his own spirit Psalms 143:10Isaiah 30:1. God’s personal spirit consists of mind Romans 11:34; intelligence Genesis 1:26Romans 11:33; will Romans 8:27Romans 9:19; power Ephesians 1:19Ephesians 3:7, 20Hebrews 1:3; truth Psalms 91:4; faith and hope Romans 12:31 Corinthians 13:13; righteousness Psalms 45:4; faithfulness 1 Corinthians 10:13; knowledge and wisdom Isaiah 1:21 Timothy 1:17; speech Hebrews 1:1-3Acts 3:25; reason Isaiah 1:18; discernment Hebrews 4:12; eternity 1 Timothy 1:17; immutability Hebrews 6:17James 1:17; self-existence John 5:26; omnipresence Jeremiah 23:23-24; omniscience Romans 11:33; omnipotence Revelation 19:5; infinity Romans 11:33; holiness Isaiah 57:15; justice Romans 3:26Acts 17:31; impartiality Romans 2:62 Samuel 14:14; perfection Matthew 5:48; invisibility Colossians 1:151 Timothy 1:171 Timothy 6:16; immortality 1 Timothy 1:171 Timothy 6:16; and other spirit faculties which constitute spirit.

Man was made a miniature of God in soul and spirit faculties and with bodily parts like those of God. The only difference between the faculties of God and those of man is that those of God are infinite and those of man are finite, one is unlimited and the other is limited. In other words, man has the same feelings as God and is capable of grief, anger, repentance, jealousy, hate, love, pity, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, mercy, compassion, kindness, fear, fellowship, pleasure, delight and other soul passions and appetites and desires, but only on a smaller scale. Man also has a mind, intelligence, will, power, truth, faith, knowledge, wisdom and other spirit faculties like those of God, but only on a smaller scale.

These facts above prove that God is a real person; that He lives in a real place—a planet called heaven; that He runs His business like any other person; and that He has special agents sent throughout the earth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation. The vague way men think and speak of God as being a universal Spirit that fills all space and all solid matter, and that He is impersonal, intangible, unreal, and without a body, soul, and spirit with parts, passions, feelings, appetites, desires, will, mind, or intellect, is the height of ignorance. God wants us to know that He is a person; that He is real; that He has a body, soul, and spirit; and that He has literal faculties to hear, see, speak, will and do anything any other person can do.

God is Omnipresent

God is not a universal nothingness floating around in nowhere. He is not impersonal, immaterial, intangible—an unreal person. He is not a universal mind, soul, spirit, conscience, goodness, principle—an abstract power or force filling the whole of space and solid matter, as false cults teach. He is not omnibody ; that is, His body is not everywhere at the same time. It is just as visible, tangible, and material as the bodies of all other spirit-beings. Even resurrected bodies of flesh-and-bone saints are called “spiritual” 1 Corinthians 15:44, so spiritual bodies are of materialized, spiritualized substance—something we know nothing about, as far as experience is concerned, at the present time. Furthermore, the soul and spirit (or the inner man) is just as spiritual as God and angels. The inner man out of the body, which is the outer man, is a spiritual body itself and has been seen with bodily parts to correspond with those of the outer man. The inner man or spiritual part of a person, after leaving the physical body, has been seen by another such spiritual part, as being fully-conscious, capable of wearing clothes, and being carried by other spirit-beings into material places of either rest and comfort, or torment Luke 16:19-31Ephesians 4:8Hebrews 12:22-23Revelation 6:9-11.

Each member of the divine Trinity has His own personal spirit-body , His own soul with all the soul feelings of other beings, and His own personal spirit with all the spiritual attributes and powers that other spirits of persons have. This is proven by the bodily presence of God to men (as in Points 3 and 7) by the many soul passions, emotions, and desires God has, as listed in Point 8, above; and by the many spirit faculties God has, as listed in Point 9, above. Angels and all other kinds of spirits have also been seen with the natural eyes of men; and the many hundreds of facts about them, as listed in Lesson Six, prove that all spirit-beings have bodies, souls, and spirits, as men have. The only difference between men and spirit-beings is that men have earthly, and “flesh and blood and bone” bodies, whereas spirit-beings have spirit-bodies which are not mortal and fleshly like the bodies of men.

Spirit-beings, including God Himself, cannot be omnipresent in body, for their bodies are of ordinary size and must be at one place at a time, in the same way that bodies of men are always localized, being in one place at a time. God, angels, and other spirit-beings go from place to place bodily as men do, but their presence can be any place in the universe—wherever there are other persons who also have the sense of presence enough to feel the presence of others regardless of bodily distance between them. Christ is a true example of what we mean by omnipresence. He said, “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” Matthew 18:20. In what sense is He in the midst of so many gatherings? This could not mean that He is bodily present, for His body is in Heaven seated at the right hand of God, as twenty-four scriptures declare Psalms 110:1, 5Mark 16:19Colossians 3:1Hebrews 1:3.

God personally dwells in heaven, not everywhere. Jesus addressed His Father and referred to Him as being in heaven. Eighteen times He said, “Father which is in heaven” Matthew 5:16, 45Matthew 6:1, 9Matthew 7:11, 21. Shall we conclude that Jesus did not know what He was talking about? Not one time does one scripture refer to God as being bodily everywhere. God is omnipresent, but not omnibody; that is, His presence can be felt by moral agents who are everywhere, but His body cannot be seen by them every place at the same time. God has a body and goes from place to place like anybody else.

Presence is governed by relationship, not bodily sight. When the body of a person is not literally present, one cannot say that it is present. The presence of two persons may be felt though thousands of miles may separate them bodily. In such a case, presence consists of union, relationship, memory, acquaintance, and association to the same end in life . The closer two persons are to each other in any relationship, the more they feel each other’s presence in their thought lives; so it is with God. God dwells in heaven and persons on earth that know Him and are in union with Him in spirit can feel His presence in their lives regardless of where they are on the earth or under the earth.

This is what is meant by statements men use to prove that God personally fills the whole of all space and matter. In Ps. 139:7 the psalmist said, “whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” God said to Jeremiah, “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” Jeremiah 23:23-24. Paul said, “In him we live, and move, and have our being” Acts 17:27-28.

We must understand all like passages as teaching the omnipresence of God, but not the omnibody of God. While I write I feel the presence of my wife and children who are hundreds of miles away at this time. They are in my thoughts, my plans, my life, and all that I do. I do nothing without them, yet they are far away. I am building a home for them to move into. I plan for them. I see them in the new home. I experience the thrill of having them with me. They are here in spirit and presence, planning with me, and we are working together to the same end in life. This presence is constant, though distance separates bodily at times. I don’t feel the presence of other families I have never met and to which there is no union. If I would become acquainted and closely associated with someone whom I do not now know, I could likewise feel their presence, even though we were sometimes separated bodily . Thus, presence is governed by relationship, not bodily contact only . Man has the same faculty that God has to make his presence felt by others, only it is on a finite scale. God’s attribute of presence is infinite, but it works literally on the same principle as that of man. It is governed by relationship and knowledge , as well as bodily sight .

Men who do not know God, seldom, if ever, feel His presence. It is only as their creative spirits begin to ponder such questions as “Where did I come from?” “Why am I here?” and “Where am I going?” that they give the Holy Spirit a chance to reason with them. When there are times of serious meditation, when trouble comes or when someone brings the knowledge of God to them, then they know that there is a real God. But they do not actually realize and feel His presence, though, until they get to know about Him and begin to conform to His will. Then the presence of God becomes a reality and they can feel Him everywhere they go. The more one thinks of God and lives for Him, the more His presence is manifest in the conscience.

Men can worship God at any time and place and their union with God in spirit will make the presence of God real. The greater the knowledge of God and the consecration to Him, the greater His presence is felt. In this sense Jesus Himself, who has a flesh and bone body and who is local in body—one place at a time—is with all men everywhere even to the end of the age Matthew 28:19-20. In this same sense, Paul was with the Corinthians in spirit when they delivered the fornicator to Satan for the destruction of the flesh 1 Corinthians 5:1-8. In this sense, Paul and other believers dwelled in each other regardless of personal bodily distance from each other 2 Corinthians 7:3Philippians 1:7. We know that the personal body of Christ, or those of believers, are not omnipresent when they are in the lives of others in spirit presence, so the same thing is true of the Father and the Holy Spirit.

God is Omniscient

The question of the omniscience of God is also much misunderstood. The Bible makes many simple statements that limit God’s knowledge. There would be no sense to such passages if we do not believe them literally. There is no meaning to them if we take them figuratively. There was no purpose for God to say such things about Himself, if they were untrue. God gets to know things concerning the free moral actions of men as others do Genesis 6:5-7Genesis 11:5-7Genesis 18:21Genesis 22:12Zechariah 4:10Job 12:22Job 24:23Psalms 7:9Psalms 44:21Psalms 139:1-6Proverbs 24:12Jeremiah 17:10Ezekiel 11:5Romans 8:271 Thessalonians 2:4. God sends messengers throughout the Earth who report to Him of all that they find in the Earth that goes on Daniel 10:13-21Daniel 11:1Daniel 12:1Zechariah 1:7-11Zechariah 6:1-8Matthew 18:10-11Hebrews 2:4. God does not take care of every detail of His vast business in all the kingdoms of the universe. His agents help Him and they are found in every part of the universe on missions for God. Certain angels are responsible to God for carrying out His will in almost infinite detail concerning the billions of suns, moons, planets and all free moral agents on them. God does not personally do everything that is done in all acts and events, nor has He known, elected, chosen, or predestinated all the acts and events from all eternity past. Several times God Himself said of certain events that they did not come into His mind Jeremiah 19:5Jeremiah 32:35Jeremiah 44:21. God did not know beforehand that men would become so wicked Genesis 6:5-7; that they would plan Babel Genesis 11:5-7; that Sodom would be so wicked Genesis 18:21, 26; that Abraham would actually proceed to offer up Isaac Genesis 22:12. God did not know whether it would take one or two or three signs to make Israel believe in Him Exodus 4:1-12; or whether testing Israel would cause them to obey Him, or not Deuteronomy 8:2, 16. He did not know that Israel would backslide as far as she did Deuteronomy 32:19-29Isaiah 59:15-19. Furthermore, He searches to find men whom He can bless (2 Chron. 16:9); He discovers deep things Job 12:22; tries the hearts and reins of men so that He may know them Psalms 7:9Psalms 44:21Psalms 139:1-6, 23Jeremiah 17:10Romans 8:271 Corinthians 2:10Revelation 2:23, proving all men for the same reason Psalms 17:3Psalms 66:10Psalms 81:7.

God sends messengers throughout the whole of His vast creations to find out for Him what He wants to know, the same as the head of any other business would be likely to do, so that plans may be made and actions taken accordingly. Examples of such agency constantly reporting to God can be found in Gen. 18:21-22; Dan. 10:13-21; 11:1; 12:1; Zech. 1:7-11; 6:1-8; Mt. 18:10-11; Heb. 1:14; 2:2; Rev. 1:1; 7:1-3; 8:2-13; 9:1; 14:6-20; 15:1-8; 16:1-21; 18:21; 22:6, 8-9, 16.

The 6,468 commands in the Bible regulating man as to his part in the eternal plan of God, and setting forth his responsibility to God and man, the 1,260 promises of curses and blessings, rewards or loss of rewards, the hundreds of warnings, curses, blessings and dealings of God on the basis of conformity to His will, the 1,522 “if’s” and the many hundreds of conditional requirements of God throughout Scripture are sufficient proof that God does not cause all acts and events by His own decrees—and sufficient proof that He changes His own dealings with men, as they conform or refuse to conform to His will. Such facts and many others make it clear that God does not know from all eternity what any one man will do, much less what different types and dispositions of men will do under various circumstances that are not yet present to deal with. We have no statement in the entire Bible saying that God knows or even would like to know all acts and particular events of all vast creations of free moral agents from all eternity past, or that He has fixed decrees choosing and predestinating all the thoughts, acts, and deeds of free wills from all eternity past to all eternity future. God’s eternal plan for man is known from the beginning to the end and what He plans to bring to pass on Earth He has power to do, but concerning the free actions of free moral agents He does not know from all eternity what they will do before they are in existence and are here to have a part in His plan. He does not know which ones will be saved and which ones will be lost. He has made a plan for all to be saved alike and all who conform to His plan are blessed with the predestined blessings. Those who willfully rebel will be cursed with the predestined punishments according to the plan. It is the plan that is known from the beginning to the end, not the individual conformity to it by free moral agents. It is left up to each person to choose His own destiny. God wills for all men to be saved, but if man does not choose to be saved that is his responsibility 1 Timothy 2:42 Peter 3:9John 3:16Revelation 22:17.

God is Omnipotent

Within God’s own realm He is omnipotent, but there are certain spheres in which He does not and cannot operate, and there are certain things He cannot do. We must therefore be sensible when we consider omnipotence—unlimited and universal power and authority within a certain sphere, or of a certain kind. God is Almighty and omnipotent in His own right of creation and redemption, and in His plan for man and all creations, but He has limited Himself in His dealings with free moral agents. He respects their will power and gives them absolute right to act of their own free choice to conform to His will and consecrate themselves to the highest good of being and of the universe. He has laid down laws whereby they should live and conduct themselves, and has made penalties for all sin and rewards for all acts of obedience. In these matters God is omnipotent, but there are certain things He cannot do.

God cannot: lie Hebrews 6:17-19; deny Himself, or act contrary to His own eternal truth 2 Timothy 2:13; have respect of persons Romans 2:11Colossians 3:252 Peter 1:17; save a soul apart from faith and grace in Christ Romans 3:25John 3:16Ephesians 2:8-9; bless men contrary to faith in His Word Hebrews 11:6James 1:5-8John 15:7; curse men who meet His conditions Mark 1:15Mark 16:16Luke 13:1-51 John 1:9; change His eternal plan Acts 15:18Ephesians 2:7Ephesians 3:11; save rebels who persist in rebellion, refusing to meet His terms Proverbs 1:22-33Proverbs 29:1; be tempted to do evil or tempt man with evil James 1:13-15; forgive unconfessed sin Luke 13:1-51 John 1:9; and keep one saved who turns back to sin and lives in rebellion Genesis 2:17Ezekiel 3:17-21Ezekiel 18:4-24Ezekiel 33:7-16Mark 7:19-21Romans 1:21-32Romans 6:16-23Romans 8:12-13Galatians 5:19-21Galatians 6:7-8Colossians 3:5-10.

God limits Himself, according to His own revelation of Himself, along other lines. Whether or not this limitation is by nature or by choice is not always stated. For example, God’s compassion and love can be considered infinite and comprehensive, yet He naturally has to limit the exercise of His love to those that will not conform to His plan Exodus 20:5-6John 3:16-18. God has had to punish people whom He once had compassion for. His faithfulness can be spoken of as infinite, but He must limit it according to His plan for those who merit it Exodus 32:7-14. We speak of the infinite Fatherhood of God, yet He has to limit His parenthood to those who will become His children according to His plan Luke 11:9-13Acts 5:32Hebrews 12:5-10. We speak of God’s infinite grace, yet He has limited it to those that will humbly receive it Romans 12:3-8. We speak of God’s infinite care, yet He can care only for those who permit Him to help them 1 Peter 5:5-10. We speak of God as being immutable and unchangeable, yet He has had to change His plans, set aside His promised blessings, change prophecy that was based upon conditions, and do many things that He did not first intend to do. All this had to be done because of the failure on the part of those with whom He was dealing. There are many prophecies and promises in Scripture based upon people meeting certain conditions Leviticus 26:3-45Deuteronomy 11:13-32Deuteronomy 12:1-32Deuteronomy 28:1-62Deuteronomy 30:15-20Isaiah 1:15-20Isaiah 55:1-13Isaiah 59:8-14.

We speak of God as being impartial and no respecter of persons, yet He has been forced to be impartial to those that have obeyed Him. This is His plan. All can enjoy the plan if they choose, and concerning this, God cannot be partial and still be just. We speak of God as being invisible, yet He has been seen as a visible person by many, as we have seen in Point 7, 8 and 9, above. We speak of God’s longsuffering as being infinite, yet it has come to an end many times Exodus 32:7-34Exodus 34:6. God is spoken of as infinite in mercy, yet He has had to curse people whom He had previously had mercy upon Exodus 15:131 Corinthians 10:1-12.

And so it goes with many of God’s attributes and powers. He naturally has had to limit Himself in His dealings with free moral agents, so in the thought of God being limited concerning His knowledge of human affairs, we must conclude that it is not so much that God cannot know all things beforehand if He so chooses. Rather, He prefers not to do this because of the very nature of His plan, and because it was made in conjunction with unpredictable free moral agents. We can still believe that God is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, impartial, longsuffering, etc., by nature, but that He limits Himself according to His plan of dealing with other beings who are capable of free action; it cannot be known what they will do under all circumstances until they are tested. This is the only kind of a plan that God could justly make since it includes the personal relations with creatures capable of free and unpredictable choices.

The Attributes of God

Many are the attributes of God, and what is said of one person of the divine Trinity can be said of each one of the three separate and distinct persons of the Godhead. See the many attributes of God in Points 8 and 9, above.

The Existence of God

There are over 130 declarations of God revealing that He is God, and the only true God, in Ps. 93:1-5; Isa. 40:12-31; 41:3-29; 43:13-21; 44:6-8; 45:12-22. Also, 3,808 times such expressions as “Thus saith the Lord,” and “The Lord spake” and others show Him to be the author of the Bible. See Lesson Two, VII, 16. Many times God declares Himself to be the Creator of the worlds (Gen. 1:1–2:25; Job 12:7-25; 38:1–41:34; Ps. 8:1-9; 19:1-6; 102:25-28; Isa. 45:18; Jn. 1:1-3; Eph. 3:9; Rev. 4:10-11; 14:7; and from Heb. 1:3 we learn that He not only created all things, but that all things are now upheld by His great power. The many manifestations of God’s great works, and His many personal acts of manifestations on various occasions as recorded in Scripture, also prove His existence and personhood Genesis 1:1–2Genesis 3:1-24Genesis 11:1-9Leviticus 10:2-42 Samuel 22:8-16Job 38:1–40Psalms 18:7-20Psalms 78:12-16, 23.

1. 1 The Godhead consists of three separate and distinct Persons. This fact is simply stated in Scripture: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and these three agree in one ” 1 John 5:7-8.

The word “one” is explained in Point I, 3-4, and Point II, 6, above. Some facts concerning the Trinity are given in Point I, 5, 7, 8, and Point II, 6, above. For full and complete proof we shall wait until Lesson Twenty-seven. Here we may say that the only sense in which three can be one is in the sense of unity , and one person cannot be three persons in any sense. So the old idea that God exists as three persons in one person is not only unscriptural, but it is ridiculous to say the least.

If there are three separate and distinct persons as plainly stated in 1 Jn. 5:7-8, then let this fact be settled once and forever. All Scripture will harmonize with this idea, but many scores of scriptures cannot possibly be harmonized with the idea of God being only one person or one person made up of three persons. The above passage is speaking of three witnesses and no one person can be three separate witnesses. It will be proven in Lessons Twenty-one and Twenty-five that both the Son of God and the Holy Spirit have personal bodies and that they are distinct persons from the Father, and in Lesson Twenty-seven it will be proven that there are three separate and distinct persons in the Godhead. Since this is true, we must conclude here that if one person of the three in the Godhead has a personal body, soul, and spirit, all three persons must also have separate bodies, souls, and spirits.