Who I Am In Christ

http://www.ficm.org/whoiam.htm


Who I Am In Christ

I am accepted...

I am God's child.John 1:12

As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ. John 15:15

I have been justified. Romans 5:1

I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:17

I have been bought with a price and I belong to God. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

I am a member of Christ's body. 1 Corinthians 12:27

I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child. Ephesians 1:3-8

I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. Colossians 1:13-14

I am complete in Christ. Colossians 2:9-10

I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4:14-16

I am secure...

I am free from condemnation. Romans 8:1-2

I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances. Romans 8:28

I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God. Romans 8:31-39

I have been established, anointed and sealed by God. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

I am hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-4

I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me. Philippians 1:6

I am a citizen of heaven. Philippians 3:20

I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me. 1 John 5:18

I am significant...

I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life. John 15:5

I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. John 15:16

I am God's temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16

I am a minister of reconciliation for God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm. Ephesians 2:6

I am God's workmanship. Ephesians 2:10

I may approach God with freedom and confidence. Ephesians 3:12

I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

The Tri-Une God

The Tri-Une God

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.”1
From a human perspective, the math on the Trinity
doesn’t add up. How can something be ‘one’ and
‘three’ at the same time? Theologians have done
their best to explain it using the metaphysics of their
day. Preachers have tried to find things in nature to
illustrate it (e.g. St. Patrick with the shamrock) but,
once again, our human understanding falls short
when it comes to comprehending the reality of God.
The word ‘trinity’ is found nowhere in scripture and, in
fact, the doctrine took about two hundred years to
really take shape in the form we now call the Nicaean
Creed. But we affirm it to be true because it is an
attempt to grapple with the teaching of Scripture.
On the one hand, the Bible clearly affirms that God is
‘one’: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD
is one.”2
On the other hand, as we shall see, the Bible also
teaches that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are
distinct personalities and that each of them is truly
God!
God is One. God is Three.
So, while it seems to defy logic and its meaning has
been the subject of much debate, we affirm the
Trinity because this is what the Bible teaches.
And the Bible has the first and last word on what we
believe.
1 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV)
2 Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV)

http://www.kortrightchurch.org/pdf/DDD%20-%20Oct%2022-26,%202007.pdf

‘El’, ‘Elohim’ and ‘Elyon’

‘El’, ‘Elohim’ and ‘Elyon’

The most simple name by which God is designated
in the Old Testament is ‘El’ or ‘Lord'. Most likely
derived from ‘alah’ (‘smitten with fear’), it points to the
God of Creation and nature as worthy of fear or
reverence because he is strong and mighty. ‘Elyon’,
a poetic form, further identifies God as the high and
exalted one. It should be noted that ‘el’ is not really a
proper name for God since it is also used of idols,
ordinary men and rulers.
However, in reference to God, this word is most often
found in the plural form, ‘Elohim’. In English Bibles
this is translated as ‘Lord’, and commentators take
great pains to explain why the one true God has a
plural name. Some allude to a ‘royal we’. Others
speak of the plural form as being ‘intensive’,
indicating a fullness of power. Some of us see in this
‘plural-singular’ an indicator of the Trinity: that God is
both one and three at the same time. “Then God
said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, in our
likeness,…’”1
In any case, while very common, the word is a
perpetual reminder that God should provoke a
response of fear, deep respect or ‘numinous awe’ on
the part of human beings. His name should not be
used simply to emphasize strong feeling (as in ‘O my
God!’). He is Lord of all and therefore worthy of our
respect and reverence.
1 Genesis 1:26

http://www.kortrightchurch.org/pdf/DDD%20-%20Sept%2024-29,%202007.pdf

“God is Spirit”

“God is Spirit”
In conversation with the woman at the well, Jesus
stated that ‘God is Spirit’1. In context, he seems to
be affirming that God is not bound to our physical
places or outward practices of worship because he is
‘more than’ or ‘other than’ a being bound in time and
space, as we are.
The mysteriousness of God’s ‘essence’ may simply
reflect a humbling reality: it is beyond our
comprehension. Just as it is impossible to run a
modern media program in a old Commadore 64
computer, the ‘data’ regarding God’s essence simply
cannot be processed by our human minds.
But God does do two things…
He gives us the glorious privilege of being bearers of
his ‘spirit’. When we are ‘born again’, we are ‘born of
the Spirit’2. Some of the ‘essence of God’ is planted
in our lives as the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within
us. And God desires that spiritual nature to be
nourished so that it may grow and change us.
Secondly, God reveals himself to us in his actions,
names, attributes, etc. In the Mideast, a name was
seen as an expression of the nature of the thing
designated. Names and attributes of God are given
by God himself to disclose a measure of the Divine
Being. While we cannot put them all together like a
jigsaw puzzle and declare, ‘This is God!’, they do
they give more than enough data for our minds to
‘crunch’. We certainly have all the insight that we
require to love, worship and serve3.
1 John 4:24 (TNIV) or ‘a Spirit’
2 John 3; Colossians 1:27
3 “They are merely toying with frigid speculations whose mind is set on
the question of what God is, when what it really concerns us to know is
rather what kind of person He is and what is appropriate to His nature.”
John Calvin, Institutes I.2.2.

http://www.kortrightchurch.org/pdf/DDD%20-%20Sept%2024-29,%202007.pdf

Psalm 19

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
   
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.

4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
  their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

5 which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
  refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.

8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure,
and all of them are righteous.

10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
  than honey from the honeycomb.

11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.

13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my
heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD,
my Rock and my Redeemer.

God…Is!

God…Is!
From the outset it is a struggle to define just what
‘God’ is.
Philosophers have sometimes spoken of ‘god’ as that
which is and always has been. Titles such as
‘Unmoved Mover’, ‘First Cause’, ‘Prime Mover’ all
express the notion that ‘God’ is the one who existed
before and apart from the rest of the universe. ‘God’
is the force or being who, as it were, set up the
dominoes and knocked the first one over – causing
the universe as we know it to come into existence.
In Ex. 3:14 the God of Israel boldly lays claim to
these titles: “God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM1.
This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has
sent me to you.' " The God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob is the self-existent One. An outrageous claim
– unless true!
Jesus, who was in the beginning and through whom
all things exist2, made a similar claim about himself:
“’I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I
am!’”3 His hearers were outraged. In one sentence
Jesus identified himself to the Jews as ‘Yahweh’ and
to the Greeks as the Self-Existent-One whom their
philosophers had sought to define.4 An outrageous
claim – unless true!
If we are seeking reality, purpose, answers to some
of the great questions of life… - here is the starting
point: God…IS!
1 Usually transliterated from Hebrew as ‘Yahweh’ or ‘Jehovah’
2 John 1:1-4
3 John 8:58
4 See Paul’s observations on this in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

http://www.kortrightchurch.org/pdf/DDD%20-%20Sept%2017-21,%202007.pdf

“Incomprehensible – but Knowable”

Before beginning to discuss the nature and purposes of God, we
need to recognize our limitations. As Zophar protests to Job, the
task is beyond us: "’Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?’”1
Without revelation, the task is hopeless. However, God has
chosen to reveal himself to us in nature and in Scripture.
As Psalm 19 declares, “The heavens declare the glory of God;…
Day after day they pour forth speech;…their voice goes out into
all the earth.”2 Nature itself reveals the existence of a
purposeful, intelligent Designer. And something of the character
of God is also revealed in the things that he has made.3
However, as we see in the world around us, in its state of
alienation from God, fallen human reason has come to a variety
of conflicting understandings of God based on the testimony of
nature alone.4 Even the Psalmist feels compelled to move from
focusing on God’s revelation in nature to the joy of discovering
more about God in the Old Testament Law.5
God has graciously chosen to show himself to us by a
supernatural act of self-communication: acting in human history,
communicating through the ancient prophets and, most fully,
through the life, teachings and passion of Christ.6 These selfdisclosing
words and deeds have been recorded for us in the
Bible. With the assistance of the Holy Spirit as we read and
study God’s word, we can gain an ever-increasing understanding
of his nature and purposes. So we pray: ‘Lord! Reveal more of
yourself to us!’
1 Job 11:7 (TNIV); see also Isa. 40:18
2 Psalm 19:1-6 (TNIV);
3 Romans 1:19-20
4 Romans
5 Psalm 19:7-14
6 See John 1:18; 17:3; 1 Cor. 2:11; 1 John 5:20

http://www.kortrightchurch.org/pdf/DDD%20-%20Introduction,%20Sept%2013-14,%202007.pdf

“In the beginning, God.....

“In the beginning, God…”1
It has been said that “the existence of God is the great presupposition
of theology”2. Because theology is the quest to
understand the nature and purposes of God, it begins with the
premise that God exists. But it also reflects the reality that, for
the Christian, accepting the existence of God is ultimately a
matter of faith.
Without faith-engagement in the task, the study of ‘doctrine’ is
merely an intellectual exercise. But most of us aren’t interested
in Christian teaching for its own sake. We want to grow in our
understanding of God so that our lives will be changed for the
better.3 For that to happen, at least some faith is necessary.
“…without faith it is impossible to please God, because
anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”4
Christian ‘faith’ (“being sure of what we hope for and certain of
what we do not see”5) is not ‘blind’ faith. It is based on what God
has revealed to us about himself, primarily through Scripture.
The ‘amount’ or ‘strength’ of our faith is not really important.
At this point, your faith may be ‘great’ enough to start this quest
by boldly claiming the promise that “if any of you lacks wisdom,
you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding
fault, and it will be given to you.”6
Or your faith may seem to you to be very ‘small’. Inside you may
be saying: ‘God, (if there is a god!) show me more!’
Whether our faith is ‘great’, ‘small’ or somewhere in the middle,
God can work with it!7
1 Genesis 1:1 (TNIV)
2 L. Berkof, Systematic Theology, p. 21
3 Romans 12:1 (TNIV)
4 Hebrews 11:6 (TNIV)
5 Hebrews 13:1 (TNIV)
6 James 1:5 (TNIV)
7 see Matthew 17:20 (TNIV)

http://www.kortrightchurch.org/pdf/DDD%20-%20Introduction,%20Sept%2013-14,%202007.pdf

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe
that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly
seek him. Hebrews 11:6 (TNIV)