God, the Father, Who is clearly revealed in the Old Testament in Genesis 28:13-15 as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is also identified in the New Testament, in Acts 5:30, as the God Who had raised Jesus. In that New Testament passage, the Apostle Peter was addressing the Council and High Priest. When challenged about whether he and the other Apostles should or should not continue to preach Christ in Jerusalem, Peter boldly proclaimed in Acts 5:29 that God is the One Who must be obeyed, not men. During that discourse, Peter spoke of Jesus as the One Who had been raised from death by the God of the Jews, thus also as the One Who deserves our worship.
In Psalms 103:8-13, God the Father is decribed as the One Who loves His children, children in that passage who were the offspring of Israel. Those verses go on to say that this God was merciful and slow to anger, that He would speedily forgive all those who fear Him from their sins. In John 1:9, these similar attributes of steadfast love, mercy, and forgiveness are again articulated, as the God of the New Nestament is described as a God of love Who forgives those who confess their sins. In trying to define God's steadfast, unchanging love, Mr. Packer says that His love "is an exercise of his goodness toward sinners. Hence, while we were still sinners, as Romans 5:6-8 proclaims, God sent His Son to live and to die for us and to make a way of forgiveness for us back to God, our heavenly Father.
James 4:10-12 addresses God as the One Lawgiver and Judge. He tells us how we should live, He is able to save us, and He is able to destroy us. This passage teaches the Christian to not speak evil of others, hence to not be a judge over another. Clearly, we are to leave such matters for our Lord. In Revelations 6:9-10, God is again seen as the eternal Lawgiver and Judge, only in this instance, the cry is from those who are waiting for Him to judge those who are evil and who have forsaken Him. These same attributes of God, that of Lawgiver and Judge, are seen in passages like Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 28:1-68, where God gave the Ten Commandments and then promised blessings and curses to the people of Israel based upon whether or not they hearkened unto Him.
In Deuteronomy 7:6-8, God is revealed as the One Who chose Israel for His people. That passage says that He selected them because He loved them and that He brought them out of Egyptian bondage because of His everlasting love and faithfulness. This same attribute of God to choose a people for Himself is seen in Ephesians 1:4, where the Apostle Paul wrote that Christians have been chosen before the foundation of the world.
Tom of Spotswood "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
Index to Selected Essays And Book Reviews
Lesson 14 - The Importance Of Believing The Historicity Of Jesus
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