I. God is unlimited.
We’ve already pointed out that He does not have a limited time to live. He is eternal. And He is not bound to a physical body. But, He is also not limited by space. That is also implied in Genesis 1, then expressly stated in later Scripture. Notice in Genesis one, God creates “the heavens and the earth.” He creates everything from the earth and to the farthest reaches of the universes. That gives you a beginning clue of God’s relationship to space. Let’s talk numbers for a minute. Our Milky Way Galaxy is vast in size. It is 6.2137 x 10^17 miles wide. Translated, that is 62,137 with 13 zeros behind it. God created that, along with everything else in 6 days. And that’s not all. The galaxy next to us is the Andromeda galaxy. It is 12,933 with 14 zeros behind it miles wide. God made it in those 6 days as well. And scientists tell us that there are 100 billion observable galaxies, on top of those we don’t know. God made it all in the 6 days of creation. How could He do that? On day three He is plants on the earth, on day four He is creating the sun, moon, and stars. These two things are extreme miles apart. But yet God didn’t have to take years, months, weeks, days, or even minutes to get to His next creation project. He just said, “Let there be lights in the heavens, the greater light to rule the day, the lesser to rule the night, and it was so.”
The reason He could do it all in 6 days is because He is not limited by space and time. He is everywhere at the same time. He is in the farthest parts of the universe; yet He is here with us in this room. We cannot go any place where God is not present. And the rest of Scripture says the same in more detail.
Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of Yahweh are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.
Jeremiah 23:23-24 “Am I a God who is near,” declares Yahweh, “And not a God far off? 24 Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?” declares Yahweh. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares Yahweh.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?
Isaiah 66:1 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?
And God is the only One who is present everywhere. Man is limited to the space he occupies at the time. Even angels who are also spirits are limited. All creation is limited by time and space. God alone is uncreated and, for that reason, He is not limited.
Well, next time we will continue with our look at what Scripture reveals about God by discovering that God is a Trinity, God alone is God, and God is Sovereign over creation.
So, in conclusion, let’s consider a very important question;
“What does all this mean to me? If God
is all that the Bible says He is, what does that mean to me? Well, I’ll tell you. If all this is true. It means that all of
this that we are living in, is God’s world.
It began with God, is sustained by God, and will come to a close
according to God’s design.
It means that you will find your greatest purpose in life by finding God,
knowing God, and loving God. Everything
else pales in comparison in regard to importance. I found a quote from H.G. Wells that says it
well. H.G. Wells was never particularly
religious, but after he had studied the history of the human race and had
observed human life, he came to an interesting conclusion: He said, “Religion
is the first thing, and the last thing, and until a man has found God and been
found by God, he begins at no beginning, he works to no end. He may have his friendships, his partial
loyalties, his scraps of honor. But all
these things fall into place and life falls into place only with God.”
5. God is a Trinity
We just read in Genesis one that God created the heavens and the earth, and then it goes on to say that “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” At first glance, that may seem to be an inconsequential statement. We learned that God is Spirit, so saying that the Spirit of God hovered over the waters just seems to be saying that God, as Spirit, hovered over the waters. But the further we go in Scripture, the more we find God’s Spirit, or the Holy Spirit, described as a distinct person. Let me give you some examples.
The Old Testament talks about “the Spirit of God” coming on individuals and causing them to prophecy.
And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.
It speaks of the Spirit as distinct from God.
Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
When John baptized Jesus,Matthew 3:15-17 King James Version
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
At the Great Commission,
Matthew 28: 19 [e]Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Legacy Standard Bible
19 Or do you not know that your body is a [a]sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from [b]God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you were bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
He is distinct from God, but yet He is God.
Acts 5: 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not [b]under your authority? Why is it that you laid this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
As we continue to look at Genesis chapter one. There are two things in Genesis one where God is indicating from the very start His nature as a Trinity. First, verse one says “God” created the heavens and the earth. Our word God is in the singular, but the Hebrew word used here is “Elohim” and it is a plural noun. But then it uses a singular verb tense. So, it indicates that God is somehow a plural, and yet a singular.
Then if you go down to verse 26, when God is about to create humanity, He says, “Let Us make man in Our image and Our likeness. He doesn’t say “my image and my likeness.” Then in verse 27 it summarizes what just happened by saying, “God created man in His own image. It goes back to the singular. Again, it indicates that God is somehow a plural, and yet a singular.
The words here are not haphazard. They are early clues to readers about the nature of God. He is a Trinity. He is Triune in nature. He is three in One. Now, do I understand that? No, but God gave us the Word as a revelation of Himself. And He reveals Himself as three in One; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Now, there are many other Bible verses we could consider, for example, John 1 tells us that Jesus created the world, Genesis 1 says that God the Father and the Spirit did. Jesus tells His disciples that He and the Father are One. And Revelation 1 has God revealing Himself to the apostle John. He identifies Himself;
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the [e]Lord God, “who is and who was and who [f]is to come, the Almighty.”
Then later God continues to speak to John and He says
“Do not fear; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I [k]was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
God says He was dead, and is now alive. When did that happen to God? When Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead.
Suffice it to say that God as Trinity is stated and alluded to in many places in Scripture.
What else do we learn about God in Genesis 1?
6. God alone is God.
There are not multiple gods, or demigods. It was very common in the first century for certain peoples to believe in multiple gods. The Greeks and the Romans and others had a pantheon of gods. It is common today among some people groups. People who follow the Hindu religion are said to have 33 million gods. And religious people in our own country are beginning to play with the idea of polytheism again. They don’t necessarily say that there are multiple gods. But they are playing with it in fictional movies and books.
The idea of superior alien life forms who visited us long ages ago, and were considered gods by our ancestors has gained believers. People coming from Christian culture are creating saints, demons, and angels who are regarded as only slightly less powerful, or even as powerful as God.
But that’s not what the Bible teaches us. It says, “In the beginning God created”… everything. And that everything is in His power, and under His authority. He created all angels, even the fallen ones. He alone is God.
Deuteronomy32:39 — See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
1 Kings 8:60 — That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.
Isaiah 45:5 I am Yahweh, and there is
no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will [d]gird
you, though you have not known Me, 6 That they may
know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one
besides Me.
I am Yahweh, and there is no
other,
18 For thus says Yahweh, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it [p]a formless place, but formed it to be inhabited), “I am Yahweh, and there is none else.
Scripture says this repeatedly.
So, what does the fact that God is the only God, and that He was alone before creation tell us? That God alone can tell us how everything c-p’[ame into existence. He is the only one who can tell us how this world started, because He was the only one there.
Men and women who call themselves scientist often try to answer questions that cannot be answered scientifically. True science is built on a simple procedure. A scientist is supposed to observe the world around him, make a hypothesis about something, then test that hypothesis. And based on his testing, he alters or scraps the original hypothesis and moves from there.
But scientists are presuming to tell us what supposedly happened billions of years ago. They propose it, but there is no real way to test it. So, they just keep repeating their theories as though they were proven.
This reminds me of the story of Job, one of the oldest stories in the Bible. During the story of Job, Job is questioning God about a lot of things. “Why do bad things happen to good people,” for example. But frankly, Job gets a little to “fresh” in his conversation with God. He begins to call God out. He demands that God give him an answer. Well God does answer. And His answer would be appropriate for many in our day who think they know so much.
Job 38:
Then Yahweh answered Job out of the [a]whirlwind and said, 2 “Who is this
that darkens counsel
By words without knowledge? 3 Now gird
up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you make Me know! 4 Where
were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if
you know understanding, 5 Who set its measurements?
Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? 6 On what were
its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the
morning stars sang together
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
God alone is God.
The last thing we learn as we open the Bible, and in particular, the book of Genesis.
7. God is sovereign over all creation.
A sovereign is defined as a person who exercises supreme, permanent authority, especially in a nation or government. For example, the queen of England, queen Elizabeth reigned over Great Britain and all its territories for 70 years. Prime ministers elected and came and went over those 70 years, but she was the permanent sovereign.
God is Sovereign over all creation. And it is more than just a titular position. He is in control. He rules creation. He is sovereign over kings, governments, and all power. Philosophies and movements come and go. But God remains in control of it all.
Where does it say that in Genesis 1? It is implied in each day of creation when it states that all God had to do to create was to say, “Let there be light, and there was.” He just calls things into existence. And then, after He makes mankind, He commands them to “be fruitful and multiply.” He places them where He wants them to live, gives them a job to do, delegates authority to them and tells them what they can and can’t eat. And when they disobey, He punishes them with physical changes to the body of the serpent, and the woman, to the earth itself, and ultimately death. That’s a sovereign.
And the Bible repeats that attribute.
Matthew 10: 29 Are not two sparrows sold for an [a]assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, But its every judgment is from Yahweh.
Job 42:2 “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
Daniel 2:21 It is He who changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise And [greater] knowledge to those who have understanding!
Matthew 19:26 “And looking at them Jesus said to them, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”
Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
1. So, God is Sovereign. God is revealed. 2. God is eternal. 3. God is Spirit. 4. God is unlimited. 5. God is a Trinity. 6. God is alone God. 7. God is sovereign.
How do we respond to all of that? Some people protest. They say, “I don’t understand how that works. How can God be Sovereign, and yet give me the freedom to choose Him, or reject Him?” How can He be good, and Love, and Sovereign and yet allow some of the awful things that happen in our world?
I don’t know all the answers. I will never, in this life, know all the answers. I will never come to a complete understanding of God. But isn’t that what we should expect of God? If He truly is God, all powerful, all knowing, all loving, all present, can we ever expect to understand Him? Anything in our lives that is great, is usually also a mystery. When I went to work for Cessna to build airplanes, I did not expect to understand everything about how this hunk of metal flies through the air. I did not expect that airplane technology would be limited to what I understand. I did not expect to be given a tour of the facility and for the guide to say, “And over here is where we attach the giant rubber band to the propeller so we can wind it up and make it fly.
That’s about the limit of what I understand about flight. But yet, even though I don’t understand how they work, I helped build them, and they fly.
God, who created all that there is, and us, and is eternal and Sovereign, is beyond our understanding. But He chose to reveal Himself to us, so we could know Him, believe in Him, trust Him, and obey Him.
Let’s pray.