Entering Into God’s Presence

Knowing God Through His Nature & Character

God is Relational (A Personal Attribute of God’s Nature)

To Study and Ponder:

• The foundational reality in the cosmos is relationship. Before anything else existed, God-Father, God Son, and God Holy Spirit lived in a perfect relationship of Trinitarian love. Jesus points to this when he prayed to the Father, “because you loved me even before the world began!” (John 17:24). The Trinity have lived eternally in an indescribably wondrous community of love. These three divine persons have extraordinary capacities of intellect, emotions and will – those attributes which make loving relationships possible.

• When we say God is “personal” – we do not mean as “personal” as in referring to ownership (“this is my personal computer” ie, “it’s mine, not yours”). We mean God has the attributes of a person – an infinite divine Person – capable of giving and receiving love. Those attributes include the capacities of intellect, emotions and will – capacities without which love and relationships are not possible. We have these capacities because God made us “in his own image” (Gen 1:26-27) so that we could be included in the circle of Trinitarian love. He made us with love to love and so that we might love both God and neighbor (Mat 22:37- 40; Luke 10:27-28).

• The Biblical revelation of the Trinity – God being both three and one – gives us a conceptual foundation for celebrating both unity and diversity. Some religions which affirm only the unity of their god, have difficulty making room for diversity in life; for those committed to these world views unity requires uniformity. Other religions who worship myriads of gods have no capacity to establish a framework for unity within their society; for those who embrace this world view disintegration is a given. Note these passages which affirm God as both infinite and personal: “For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Isa 57:15, NIV, emphasis added).

• The implication of God being relational by nature and of all that is evident in Scripture, is that he WANTS relationship with every human being and pursues this. (Read poem “God’s Heart”)

• The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Lamentations 3:22

• I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. John 15:9

• He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 1 Peter 3:9b

• God’s desire is for us to come into his presence, to KNOW him, not just know about him. (Hence YWAM’s statement of purpose “To Know God and Make Him Known”). Right from the beginning God’s intention has been face to face relationship with him, modeled by the Trinity; seen in the garden before sin entered, in the tent of meeting placed in the center of the Israelites’ camp, in Jesus–Immanuel, God with us, in the Holy Spirit given to be with us, and finally in us being with the Trinity in eternity. It is in his presence that we find worth and purpose.

• God’s desire for relationship provides a powerful model for how we are to be in our relationships with one another. Love each other in the same way I have loved you. John 15:12a

• Forgiveness is foundational in relationship. God forgives us:- Acts 2:38; 1John 1:9; Colossians 1:13-14. We must forgive others:- Matthew 6:14-15,18:21-35; Mark 11:25; Colossians 3:13.

• The Bible gives us many practical guidelines for relating to others:-

• Family relationships:- marriage Eph.5:21-33; parent/child Eph.6:1-4; Deut.5:16;

• With one another:- Proverbs 1:8; John 15:12-14; Romans 12:9-21; 1Corinthians 13:4-7(Love); Ephesians 4:2-3; Colossians 3:12-14; 1Thessalonians 2:7,11-12; 1Timothy 5:4.

• A father’s love & forgiveness:- parable of the Lost Son Luke 15:11-24; love for Israel Hos.11

• God’s desire for unity between brothers:- Ps.133. Examples of jealousy:- Cain/Abel Ge.4:1-8; Joseph Ge.37:1-5, older brother Lu.15:25-30

Meditation/Memory:

Lower Grades: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”  2 Corinthians 6:16c  (NLT)

I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. John 15:9  (NLT)

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Romans 12:9-10 (NLT)

Middle Grades: We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 1 John 4:16

This is what the Lord says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NLT)

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Ephesians 4:2  (NLT)

Upper Grades:  Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. Philippians 3:8-9 (NLT)

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.  Colossians 3:12-14 (NLT)

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)