Learn in Community
Small Group Study
Volume Overview
Who is God the Father?
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” (Isaiah 55:8)
Since people first sinned in Genesis 3, every generation has had to connect with our invisible God for themselves. The question is: Where do we go to do this? One of the best ways to understand God the Father is to search His Scriptures. The Bible does three things—at least!—remarkably well. It reveals who God is, who we are, and how together we can have relationship.
Ultimately, it’s in the person of Jesus that we see the Father most clearly. But the Father also chose to reveal who He is throughout His Word. The fullest picture of our Father comes from the array of His interactions with men and women, through which He chose to explain himself to us. We would like to have answers to so many questions about this awesome God of creation. Perhaps one of the questions at the top of the list is: How can we know our God is eternal?
|
First time leading Learn for Adults? Check out the Facilitator Guide. |
To access session content and videos on a computer, visit:
https://bibleengagementproject.com/downloads
Engage
|
QUESTION What is something you purchased that lasted much shorter or much longer than you expected?
|
In this world, it seems like nothing lasts forever. The first-time thrills of a brand-new experience can’t be replicated over and over. The new car smell goes away. Electronics become outdated, and clothes and shoes wear out. Even our bodies break down. The Bible even describes the things of this earth as “fading away” (1 John 2:17).
Today we’ll be talking about the truth that God is eternal. While things in this world will fade, the glory of our God will increase forever and ever. As the eternal One, God is before all and after all. He is without beginning and without end. And because God is eternal, our lives can have hope for a future only He has the power to provide.
Watch
As we watch this video, consider this question: What stood out to you the most about God?
|
QUESTION In the video, what stood out to you the most about God? |
Consider What the Bible Says
In Genesis 12, God chose a man named Abram through whom He would form a people. His people would bless the entire world. Most of the rest of Genesis tells us about the lives of Abram, later called Abraham, his son Isaac, Isaac’s son Jacob, and Jacob’s twelve sons. Through a remarkable series of events, this family moved to Egypt where they grew to become a large people group. Eventually, the king of Egypt, Pharaoh, feared how many Hebrew people there were, so he made them slaves.
The Bible passage we’ll read today took place while these people of God (called Hebrews then, and later called Israelites) were suffering in slavery. God chose another man named Moses to eventually lead them out of slavery. Despite being a Hebrew, Moses grew up as Egyptian royalty (Exodus 2). But one day, Moses had to flee Egypt because he killed an Egyptian slave master to protect a Hebrew slave. In this passage, Moses had become a shepherd working in the wilderness. It had been nearly forty years since he fled Egypt. But God knew exactly where to find him.
Our Eternal God Meets Us Where We Are
After all these years, Moses must have wondered if God had forgotten him. He must have felt sure that his past in Egypt would always follow him. Because he’d murdered someone, Moses must have thought that the rest of his life would be spent shepherding his flock in the wilderness. But nothing could be further from the truth. God had a surprise for Moses.
Read Exodus 3:1–6.
On a completely average day, Moses suddenly noticed something not so average. The same can happen in our lives. God may show up when we least expect it to answer a prayer we gave up on long ago.
|
QUESTION How can you relate to the way Moses must have felt about himself, his past, or his future?
|
|
QUESTION How has God revealed himself to you in an unexpected way? |
The Eternal God Sees Our Pain
Read Exodus 3:7–11.
God doesn’t miss a thing. He may be eternal, but He is also present—here and now! God knew where the Hebrews were, and He knew where Moses was. When we think of the eternal nature of God, we might think He is too big, too distant, or too grand to notice our struggle and pain. But God heard the cry of His people. And He hears your cries too.
|
QUESTION Why do we sometimes struggle to believe God sees and cares about us?
|
|
QUESTION Can you think of a time when you knew God heard your cry? How did you know? |
The Eternal God Acts on Our Behalf
Read Exodus 3:12–15.
God doesn’t just see our pain. He does something about it. No one would have thought Moses would become the deliverer of the Hebrew people. But God knew Moses was the man for the job. Sometimes the way God acts on our behalf is through other people. And this means God may call you to be His instrument of hope and deliverance for others.
Moses wanted to know God’s name; God replied, “I am who I am.” God’s description of himself emphasized His eternal nature. His name is not “I Was” or “I Am Sometimes.” His name helped Moses understand that in a world where things come and go, God will always be. He is the One who is, and who was, and who is to come (Revelation 1:8). This means He is the beginning and the end. God is eternal!
|
QUESTION How has God used another person in your life to bring healing and hope?
|
|
QUESTION How would you explain the eternal nature of God to someone else?
|
Did You Know?
|
Although little archaeological evidence remains of the Israelites’ enslavement in Egypt, cultural shift appears to serve as an equally convincing evidence of their presence. Akhenaten, a fourteenth-century BC pharaoh, provides a possible link to the events of the Exodus. He attempted to move the polytheistic nation of Egypt toward monotheism. Although we have no written confirmation on either the Egyptian side or the Jewish side of history to absolutely confirm this, most scholars agree that only an incredibly monumental event, such as the plagues of Exodus, would have moved a pharaoh such as Akhenaten. He rejected the deep polytheistic culture of Egypt’s past two-thousand-plus years in favor of a monotheistic way of life. This would have resulted in rejection by his own people, being deemed “the traitor king” in his own generation and for generations to come. |
Reflect
God Is Eternal
In this wilderness scene, the eternal God stepped into a very specific place and time. God chose the exact moment to reveal himself to Moses in an unforgettable way. Moses became an unexpected hero to bring salvation and deliverance to His people.
God is still willing to enter time and space to intervene on our behalf too. He still listens to our cries for rescue and sees our helplessness. As our eternal God, He has the perspective and power to care for every single one of us. As our eternal God, He is before all and above all.
Listen to God
Let’s pause and listen to what God might want to say to us about what we have read and shared. Be silent for a few moments and reflect on the following questions. Respond to the one that most resonates with what God is saying to you now. Then complete the others during Day 1 of your devotion time this week.
Personal Reflection Questions
Record your answers to the following questions in the space provided or in your personal journal.
|
QUESTION How is the thought of spending eternity with God most exciting to you?
|
|
QUESTION How does remembering that God is eternal comfort you in difficult times?
|
|
QUESTION God used Moses in a powerful way in others’ lives. Who is someone in your life who could use your attention or spiritual help and direction?
|
Activate
Moses was chosen by God to be a part of bringing freedom to God’s people and judgment to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. God wants to use you in the lives of your family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, classmates, and others.
Challenge
Write down the name of one person who you know is currently “enslaved” to something destructive in their lives. Pray for that person every day this week. Send them a message letting them know you are praying for them. Look for an opportunity to meet with them.
Prayer Requests
|
Note any requests from the group and remember to pray for them during the week. |
Before next time, continue to learn with the personal devotions.
What We Believe
|
There Is One True God
God has revealed himself as having always existed without any outside cause or agent bringing Him into being (Isaiah 43:10). He is the Creator of heaven and earth (Genesis 1:1) and the One who redeems, saves, and rescues people from sin and its painful consequences (Isaiah 43:11). God has further revealed himself as a single Being (Deuteronomy 6:4), consisting of three interrelated Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22). This concept of one God or Being of three Persons is called the Trinity.
|
|
The Significance of This Doctrine
It is contrary to the clear statement and meaning of Scripture to speak of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three gods or as three modes in which the one God has revealed himself. Through the centuries, such misguided teachings have created division and devastation in the Church. Though the concept of a “three in one” Trinity has no parallel in the human world, it is absolutely scriptural and essential to a proper understanding of the multifaceted nature of God. Other Scripture references support the nature of the one true God and the relationship between the Three Persons: Zechariah 14:9; Matthew 1:21–23; 11:25–27; 28:19; Luke 1:35; John 1:1, 2, 14, 18, 29, 49; 5:17–30, 32, 37; 8:17–18; 14:16–17; 15:26; 17:11, 21; Acts 2:32–36; Romans 1:1–3, 1:7; 14:11; 1 Corinthians 1:24; 15:24–28; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Philippians 2:8–9; Hebrews 1:1–13; 7:3; 12:2; 1 Peter 1:8; 3:22; 1 John 1:3–4; 2:22–23; 3:8; 4:1–5, 10, 14; 2 John 3, 9; Revelation 1:13, 17; 4:8–11; 5:6–14; 7:9–10. |
Learn on Your Own
|
Before you begin each devotion, pray and ask God to speak to you through His Word. Record your answers to the following questions in the space provided or in your personal journal.
|
Day 1: God Is Eternal
Read Exodus 3:1–6, 12–15.
Look back over Learn in Community and complete your responses to the Personal Reflection Questions. If time permits, reread the Scripture too.
|
QUESTION What has God used to reveal himself to you this past year? |
Learn on Your Own
Day 2: Jesus Is the Beginning and the End
Read Revelation 1:9–18.
In Revelation, the apostle John has an amazing vision of Jesus. In the vision, Jesus calls himself the First and the Last. Through this title, Jesus is proclaiming His own eternal nature. While the mention of His death on the Cross may seem to contradict His eternal nature, remember that He didn’t stay dead. He eternally overcame death and the grave!
|
QUESTION What reasons does Jesus give for telling John to not be afraid?
|
|
QUESTION How do those same truths about Jesus help you with your fears? |
Learn on Your Own
Day 3: God Has Always Been and Always Will Be
Read Psalm 90:1–4.
The writer of this Psalm gave us a window into a great truth about God: All generations of His people are connected within His eternal existence. Describing this connection as a home paints a beautiful picture of the family bond between God’s children throughout time. Yet even before He created us or our earthly home, our Lord existed as the one true God. His position as God is not dependent on creation. Instead, creation is dependent on the eternal God. And when we choose to be connected to Him, our quickly passing lives become a part of an eternal community within the God who has always been and always will be!
|
QUESTION How should knowing that God is eternal affect your trust in Him?
|
|
QUESTION In what ways could you share about God’s eternal nature to encourage another believer who is facing the realization that life is short? How would you use it with an unbeliever? |
Learn on Your Own
Day 4: Creation Involved God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Read Genesis 1:1–3; John 1:1–4.
Both of these passages reference the creation of the world. In both cases, God is at work. All three Persons of the triune God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—participated in creation. In Genesis, we see the Holy Spirit moving and the Father speaking things into existence. Then in John’s Gospel, we’re told that everything was created through Jesus. Creation was the shared loving act of not only the Father, but also the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
|
QUESTION Why does it matter that Jesus was present at creation and not created later when He was born on earth? |
|
QUESTION How does this impact your thoughts about Jesus’ time on earth (His love, His miracles, His teachings, etc.)? |
Learn on Your Own
Day 5: God Is Eternally Deserving of Glory and Honor
Read 1 Timothy 1:12–17.
In this letter, Paul wrote words of instruction and encouragement to his spiritual son, Timothy. Timothy was the pastor of a challenging church in Ephesus. Paul reminded this young leader that what makes him worthy of his call is the mercy and goodness of God, not his own abilities and goodness. Because it’s all God’s work, He is the only One worthy of glory and honor—not just now, but forever and ever!
|
QUESTION How does God have mercy on you? How does remembering His action free you to serve Him?
|
|
QUESTION What do you think it will be like to give honor and glory to God forever and ever?
|