AbundantLife05:
ABUNDANT LIFE VISION
Who is God? Part Two. Ezekiel 1:26-28
Above this surface was something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lazuli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man. [27]From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor. [28]All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me. NLT.

Good morning dear friends, I welcome you to the second part of the teaching, who is God? In the last teaching, we discussed that God is the creator of the world, He is the source of life, He made all nations from one man, He made the nations so that they will seek and find Him, and He is our Father. Following last week’s teaching, we want to delve into the nature of God by answering this question; How does God look like?

How does God look like?
A lot of people may find this question useless. The reason for that being that no one has ever seen God and remain alive. So, how can we describe how He looks like? John 1:18: No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. NLT. I am not trying to describe how God looks, I am trying to describe how his glory appears when he appears because no one can see Him with physical eyes. In my teaching titled; the glory of God. I described the appearance of God in form of what is called the glory of God. If anyone will see God, such person will see a dimension of his glory. Therefore, we can say that God appears in form of glory. What is the glory of God? The glory of God is his essence. It is the atmosphere and aura that his presence radiates. God has a majestic aura which is inseparable from him and as a result of this, glory cannot be separated from him, he is effortlessly glorious.

The next question is how does God show his glory? Here are some the ways He shows His glory.

1. God shows His glory in form of light.
God is light, his appearance comes in form of light to illuminate. Therefore, anyone who sees God’s light has seen the glory of God and by extension, he has seen God. 1 Peter 2:9: But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. NLT. 1 John 1:5: This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. NLT.

2. God shows His glory in form of fire:
Exodus 3:1-3: One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. [2]There the angel of the lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. [3]“This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.” NLT.

Fire is one of the elements that is associated with the appearance and personality of God. The appearance of God can come in form of fire. Exodus 13:22: And the lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people. NLT. Hebrews 12:29: For our God is a devouring fire. NLT.

3. God shows His glory in form of holiness:
Isaiah 6:1-3: It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. [2]Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.[3]They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” NLT.

There are times in the Bible where the glory of God was revealed and holiness was discussed alongside his glory. From this knowledge, we know that part of His glory is holiness. We cannot separate God and holiness. Exodus 3:1-5: One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. [2]There the angel of the lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. [3]“This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.” [4]When the lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses! ”Here I am!” Moses replied. [5]“Do not come any closer,” the lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. NLT.

The revelation of God’s holiness is to convict us of our sins and reveal the saving grace of God to us.
Also, in answering the question, how does God look like? We have it that God is a three in one Being. He is not a Being that reveals Himself in three different ways but a Being that is made up of three distinct but equal beings. Philippians 2:6-11: Though he was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. [7]Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [8]he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. [9]Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, [10]that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, In heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11]and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, To the glory of God the Father. NLT.

Also, in the original Bible in Genesis 1:1, the word God used is “Elohim” which means “the most powerful God” is in plural form, the singular word is “Eloha”. “Elohim” as a plural word for God in Hebrew always take a singular verb. This shows that we have three Beings operating as one through love that makes them united. Matthew 28:19: Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. NLT.

We will conclude this teaching next week as we will answer the question about the nature of God. Stay blessed until then.

Happy Sunday and don’t forget to fellowship with the saints.

AbuTwins:

Thanks for your comment. Like I wrote in the teaching, Elohim means God in a plural sense and it is not in a majestic sense as you have wrongly asserted. However, if the Beings that make up the trinity are more than one as Genesis 1 suggested, they may be one thousand as you pointed out but the ministry and life of Jesus and the writings of Apostle Paul proves to us that they are three. The baptism of Jesus proves it in Matthew 3:16
[16]After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him.

Also, Paul wrote about the Trinity in his epistles. This is an example:
2 Corinthians 13:14
[14]May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
That the Trinity is not explicitly written in a bible does not mean it is false. We have decoded it through bible study and the Spirit of revelation.

I have attached two pictures to this post to show you that ESV and NASB versions included Matthew 28:19 as against your wrong submission that the verse is not included in those translations.

Abeg, looking at the bolded comment above, how does your premise specifically suggests three beings operating as one?

It can also suggest two or thousand gods operating as one! Why did you specifically limit it to three to justify trinity that doesn't exist in the Bible?

The Jews understood it simply as a plural of majesty for only one being!

The other verse you quoted doesn't exist in some modern translations like the English Standard Version (ESV) and the New American Standard Bible (NASB). They do not include Matthew 28:19 as it appears in the King James Version. New and more authentic manuscripts of the new testament does not have trinity verses in it.

Trinity was added by polytheist who invade Christianity from the third and fourth centuries!