Lesson 3

What Is God Like? Part 1 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:17

Introduction Lessons 3 and 4 present the essential attributes of our Creator—attributes that make Him God. Knowing and understanding God’s attributes form a foundation for your child’s relationship with God. Do not skim lightly through these lessons. Realize that although you are laying a foundation for understanding God, He is, in His infinitude, still incomprehensible (Job 11:7-11). As you teach, pray that God will give you fresh insights into His awesome and holy nature and that the Holy Spirit will reveal Him to your child.

Key Themes • God as the only true and living God • God as a personal being possessing essential attributes belonging to Him alone • God as a personal being possessing moral attributes which He intends us to possess

Lesson Objectives This lesson should enable students:

• To know that God exists. • To know that God is the only true and living God. • To understand that God is a person. • To identify some of God’s attributes, which He alone possesses.

Vocabulary (Words You Need to Know) Attributes: a characteristic or quality belonging to a specific person Atheist: A person who does not believe that God exists Polytheist: A person who believes in many gods Faith: A confident belief in God, His love for us, and His authority in our lives Idol: A false god that people make and worship Person: A living being who has mind, emotions, a will, a conscience, and a spirit

Memory Verse (Hide It in Your Heart) Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:17)

The Story: “The White Stone” Focus: After they see the movie The White Stone, Ben begins asking Jeremy many serious questions about God. On a lighter side, Ben pretends not to understand Jeremy’s answers, teasing him with super-hero banter while pretending to become the conqueror of evil like the movie character King Veritas. Mrs. Simmons joins the fun by surprising the boys with a pot of “white stone” soup for supper.

For Discussion:

How did the movie lead Ben and Jeremy into a conversation about God? Can you think of a time when a movie or TV show led you and a friend or parent into a discussion about God? What does Ben think God is like? What are some of the truths about God that Jeremy and Mrs. Simmons explain to Ben? What kind of person do you think Ben is? What makes you think so? Do you think Ben is beginning to learn about God and truth during his visit with Jeremy? Why? Pretend you are talking with one of your friends who doesn’t know God. How would you explain to him who God is and what He is like? When we’re confused about God or the way the world works, where can we always go to find the truth? (God’s Word)

Question 1: Does God Exist? Focus: God reveals in Scripture that He exists, and creation itself testifies to His glory. Only fools deny that God exists.

For Discussion: Why is it foolish not to believe in God? Who or what could be a “god” to someone who does not believe in God? What do we call a person who does not believe in God? Read Exodus 3:14. If God says, “I AM WHO I AM,” what does that tell you about His existence? Read Hebrews 1:1 and 1:6. How does the Scripture from Hebrews define faith? Why do we have to have faith to believe that God exists? Why do you think atheists do not believe that God exists?

What blessings (rewards) does God give to those who believe in Him by faith?

Question 2: How Many Gods Are There? Focus: There is only one true, living, and almighty God. Like the Ancient Greeks, cultures that believe in many gods often create statues or objects—many in the forms of animals—that represent their gods so that they may see what they are worshiping. The Bible calls these man-made objects idols and warns us against worshiping them. An idol can also be a person or thing that receives praise and “worship” and is given an unhealthy place in the life of another person. A popular music performer is sometimes called a “teen idol” and may even be referred to as a “god” by his or her fans. People make idols of star athletes, film and TV performers, politicians, sometimes even preachers of God’s Word. Other people make idols of money or power or possessions— anything that is given too much importance in a person’s life. Only God is worthy of our worship and adoration (1 Chronicles 16:25).

For Discussion: What is an idol? What can an idol do for you? What can an idol not do? What is a polytheist? How many true Gods are there? Why would someone refer to a particular musician or athlete as a “god”? Who or what are some of the things that could be a god to someone who does not believe in the one true God? Is there someone you “idolize”? Who? Why?

Question 3: What Does God Look Like? Focus: Because God is spirit, He is invisible. Because God is invisible, He has manifested Himself throughout history in various forms that authenticated His presence and the message He was giving. These appearances, either visible or auditory, are called theophanies. They include manifestations such as angels in human form (Judges 13); fire in a burning bush (Exodus 3); and smoke and thunder (Exodus 19). Because God is invisible and infinite (beyond definition), the Bible provides metaphors and similes to help us understand what He is like. A metaphor is a word picture or figure of speech that uses one thing in place of another to suggest a similarity or likeness between them. Example: “[God] is the Rock” (Deuteronomy 32:4). A simile is a word picture or figure of speech that compares two unlike things by using the words “like” or “as.” Example: “God is like a green pine tree” (Hosea 14:8).

For Discussion: Can you see God? Has anyone ever seen God? Why not? Read Exodus 3:1-4. Why do you think the invisible God showed His presence to Moses as a burning bush and a voice? If God had not made Himself and his message known to Moses, do you think Moses would have ever led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt? Why? Why not? What does fire say or show about what God is like? Read Exodus 19:9 and 19:16-19. After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, and to Mount Sinai, how did God show them that He was present with them? What messages did God give them from Mount Sinai? Why do you think the invisible God would show His presence to Moses and the Israelites as thunder and lightning, an earthquake, a thick cloud of smoke, a trumpet blast, and a voice?

Is God really thunder and lightning, an earthquake, a thick cloud of smoke, a trumpet blast, and a voice? What do thunder and lightning, smoke and clouds, an earthquake, a trumpet blast, and a voice say or show about what God is like? Read Mark 1:9-11. How did God show that He was present at Jesus’ baptism? Is God really a dove? Why do you think the invisible God would show His presence as a dove and a voice? What does a dove say or show about what God is like? Read Acts 2:1-4. How did God show that He was present on the day of Pentecost? Is God really a blowing wind or a tongue of fire? Why not? Why do you think the invisible God would show His presence as wind and fire? What does the wind show about what God is like? The Bible also compares God to a rock (1 Samuel 2:2), a green pine tree (Hosea 14:8), a sun, and a shield (Psalm 84:11). What do these word pictures tell us about God?

Question 4: Is God a Person? Focus: God is not an impersonal force; He is a personal being. He possesses rational, emotional, volitional, and moral dimensions of personality. He has thoughts, He has emotions, He makes choices, He knows the difference between right and wrong, and He is a spiritual being. A human being created in God’s image is endowed with these same characteristics. We think and know with our mind (rational), feel with our heart (emotional), choose with our will (volitional), know right from wrong with our conscience (moral), and have the capacity to enjoy fellowship with God through Christ with our spirit (spiritual).

For Discussion: If we are persons and we are made in God’s image, do you think God is a person? Why? Read Isaiah 55:8–9. How are God’s thoughts different from your thoughts? Read Psalm 139:17–18. How many grains of sand do you think there are on a beach? How could God have more thoughts than the number of grains of sand? How does God make His thoughts known to us? Read Isaiah 5:24-25. What made God angry with Israel? What makes God angry today? Read Psalm 145:8. How easily does God get angry? How has God shown us His love? How does God express all of His emotions differently than we express our emotions? (perfectly and without sin) How are God’s choices different from our choices? How does God know whether to reward us or punish us for our deeds? (He knows the difference between what is right and wrong) Does God have a physical body like we do? Why not? If God is spirit, is He a person? Why? (He thinks, feels, chooses, and knows right from wrong) Why do you think God gave us a spirit? When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, what do we become? (His children) When we become God’s children, what does God’s Spirit do? If God is a personal, how is He different from us, the persons He created in His image?

Focus on Worldview: Do I Have a Worldview and Where Did It Come From?

Worldviews are formed unconsciously. Though they may be refined and even changed through deliberate study at some point in life, we acquire our beliefs beginning at birth by absorbing the culture into which we are born. This learning process occurs through observing the traditions and behaviors of our culture. It occurs through direct and indirect teaching of cultural norms and values by others we know to be authorities in our lives. As we grow older, our perceptions or beliefs may be shaped by personal study and exploration as we delve into the riches of literature, history, the arts, the sciences, philosophy, religion, and other fields of knowledge. And as we mature, our way of viewing and understanding life and the world is shaped through reason and even imagination as we consciously process the vast amounts of information we have absorbed over time. However, we are not consciously aware that we even have a worldview, much less how we acquired it, until we systematically process and categorize what we believe about life and the world. In fact, we seldom think about what we believe is true and valuable until we encounter a different culture with different values and behaviors. When this happens, we may exhibit cultural pride, believing that our way of viewing life and the world is the most logical, and, therefore, the best.

For Discussion: How did you acquire your basic beliefs about God, the universe, people, truth, and right and wrong? Why do you think your beliefs are true?

Suggested Reading Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. If you’ve never read the original books, make time to do so. All ages. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis, 1950. At the center of the story is an allegory of Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection. Suitable for reading aloud to the entire family.

Roar!: A Christian Family Guide to the Chronicles of Narnia by David & Heather Kopp. An extensive and lavishly illustrated guide to Narnia for the whole family. What Is God Like? by Beverly Lewis. A boy and his sister spend a fun-filled day and star-filled night remembering everything their father has told them about their heavenly Father: He is powerful, loving, everywhere, all-knowing, perfect, merciful, unchanging, creator, and a Father who wants to be known, talked to, obeyed, and worshiped. Ages 4–10. Michelangelo by Tony Hart. The author makes art and history come alive in a way few other children’s writers have accomplished. Ages 4–8. The Agony and the Ecstasy, Irving Stone, 1961. Biographical novel on the life of Michelangelo. Stone lived in Italy for years visiting many of the locations in Rome and Florence, worked in marble quarries, and apprenticed himself to a marble sculptor to research the book. Older teens and adults.