We have established in previous Learning Activities that God exists as a triune God (See Figure 54). Basic information about God as spirit is found in Learning Activities #1, #2, #3 and #4. We see the plurality of oneness of God in the Scriptures as early as the book of Genesis.
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." (Gen.1:26).
1. What is it that you think makes the above scripture unique? ______________________________________________________________________
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Figure 54 is a human attempt at diagramming God, a task that is much more complicated than we can understand. Nevertheless, the diagram is helpful to most in illustrating that there is but one God in three divine persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each person is God but has an identity or personality that is unique from each other yet they are all one. This is theologically known as a compound unity.
When God created man He gave him all that he needed and placed only one restriction on man that is found in Genesis 2:16, 17, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat..."
God could have created man so that he would always be perfectly obedient to God (like a robot) but this arrangement would have lacked the one quality that is most prominent in God.
2. 1 John 4:8 __________________________________________________________
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3. 1 John 4:16 _________________________________________________________
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4. From the verses in #2 and #3 above, what is this one quality that is most prominent in God? _____________________________________________________
The writer of this web site understands that love would be totally meaningless unless it issues forth from a free will decision. That is why God created man with a free will. Free will enables man to love God and his fellow man in a sincere manner, but this same free will can also be used to choose evil (sin). The first man and woman used their free will in an inappropriate manner in Genesis 3:6 and all of mankind, without exception, have followed that pattern ever since. (We will discover in later Learning Activities that Jesus did not sin when He became man).
5. Genesis 3:21 _________________________________________________________
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6. What did God do for Adam and Eve in the verse above and what are the implications of that action? ______________________________________________
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The principle above was continued under the Old Covenant in the Bible. NOTE: The Old Covenant will be explained in later Learning Activities.
7. Leviticus 4:14 _______________________________________________________
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8. What had to be done under the Old Covenant when the people sinned? ______________________________________________________________________
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In the New Testament of the Bible, we have God, who is spirit in Figure 54, coming to earth in the form of a physical man. This coming, which is a function of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is known theologically as the incarnation. Jesus, who was and is God, came and lived on earth as Jesus of Nazareth for a period of approximately thirty–three and one–half years in the body prepared for Him through the virgin Mary. We refer to this form of the Son as "Jesus of Nazareth" on this web site.
9. John 1:29 ___________________________________________________________
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10. What two significant statements does John the Baptist make about Jesus of Nazareth in the verse above? _____________________________________________
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It is under the New Covenant that Christians live today. The New Covenant will be explained in later Learning Activities. Our life under the New Covenant is the primary focus of the material on this web site. In order for you to understand God's revelation of Himself to you, you must be able to approach your Bible study and reading with this understanding or else you will be confused and misled about who God is, why you are here on earth, how you are to live here on earth and what happens after your life on earth.
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