Entering Into God’s Presence:- Knowing God Through His Roles & Titles

UNCREATED SPIRIT (An Infinite Attribute of God’s Nature)

To Study and Ponder

• In the beginning, God…. Genesis 1:1 These four words are the beginning of the Bible, the story of God’s interaction with mankind, but this is not the beginning of God’s story. We are introduced to Him as having always existed, and then as Spirit The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. v.2 “He is uncreated, without a body, and invisible; He has eternally existed in a perfect relationship of love and oneness with the other two persons of the Trinity, the Father and the Son.” (p.140 G.Wiley “Beholding the Beauty of God” )

• So where did God come from? What is He made of? Jesus answered that question for us, saying simply “God is Spirit.” John 4:24. He is not made of the same “stuff” as His created world, and He does not have a beginning and an end like His creation. Our minds struggle to grasp something unlike our natural world, so God uses pictures of things we do experience:-

• The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit. John 3:8 (the word for Spirit is the same word as wind.)

• Another image used is “breath” – The breath of God, or His Spirit, has great power, He breathed life into Adam (Gen 2:7) and He breathed life into the dry bones (Eze 37: 1-14).

• For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 33:4

• Jesus breathed on his disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. (John 20:22)

• God Himself told Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14)—the formula for self-existence. God is the Eternal One Who always has existed, and Who always will exist.

• (http://www.apologeticspress.org)

• Knowing that God is uncreated has important application for our lives – just as God does not have a beginning, God does not have an end. We can trust that He will never change, He will never go away or change His mind about His love and His promises. Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. James 1:17

• The difference between worshiping the uncreated God and a man-created idol is clear in Isaiah 45 and Jeremiah 10:1-16! But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. John 4:23-24

• We can only be in one place, think one thought, speak to one person but God doesn’t have those limitations! He can think, act, speak, love, listen to ALL of us at the same time, as though we are the only ones! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! Ps139:7

• We need to know that Spirit-stuff is just as real as physical-stuff! There are many stories and promises in God’s Word showing that He is very real and active in our world!

• The uncreated Spirit of God is called the “Rock” - the hardest substance around! David says The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. Psalm 18:2a (See also Deu 32:4,18; 1Sa 2:2; Psa 18:31;19:14; 31:2-3; 61:2; 92:15; Isa 17:10; 26:4; 30:29; 44:8; Dan 2:34-35,44-45; Hab 1:12.)

• The Spirit of the Lord came on people enabling them to do mighty things.(Samson–Judges 14:6,19; Saul–1 Sam 11:16; David–1Sa 16:13; Mary– Luke 1:35)

• The Spirit of God rested on Jesus–Isa 11:2; Matt. 12:28; Lu 4:14; Acts 10:38

• The Spirit was poured out on believers & worked signs & miracles–Acts 1:8; Joel 2:28-29; Ro 15:19

• We are all to keep our eyes on the spiritual things ... So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Cor 4:18 (NLT)

Memory/Meditation

Lower Grades:    In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.  Genesis 1:1-2 (NLT)

... we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.  Romans 5:5b  (NLT)

Middle Grades:  “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”     Revelation 1:8 (NLT) 

Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. ... The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

John 3:5-6, 8  (NLT)

Upper Grades:  “I AM WHO I AM ….. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.”       Exodus 3:14,15b

I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me and your strength will support me.

Psalm 139: 7-10 (NLT)