Playlist:

playlist Go to the Nature of God (topic) playlist

The Nature of God: Elohim

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Understanding Elohim teaches us about the nature of God and where our lives are headed. Elohim refers to a plural family unit in the process of expanding.


Can Theology Define God's Nature?

Article by Earl L. Henn (1934-1997)

Human reason and logic are practically useless as tools in determining the nature of God. Only the Bible gives a complete revelation of God.


Fully Man and Fully God? (2001)

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

The Bible records that Jesus of Nazareth's Father was God and His mother was Mary, a human. What, then, was His nature? Was He a man? Was He divine?


The Unique Greatness of Our God (Part One)

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

We have a God who is different from the common. This relates to how we view God in general in our everyday lives—in our everyday relationship with Him.


God Is . . . What?

Booklet by John W. Ritenbaugh

What is God's nature? Is God one Being? Two? Three? Bible students have long searched for the answers to these questions. The truth is both simple and profound.


God the Father in the Old Testament

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The Hebrew Scriptures reveal the existence of the Father. Deuteronomy 6:4 refers to God as one, signifying unity of purpose and identical character.


Jesus Is God

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Jesus Christ is the Word, by whom the world was created. He has always interfaced between mankind and the Father, having primacy as our Lord, Master, and Ruler.


The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

The identical actions of the Lord and the Angel of the Lord show they are the same Being. The God known by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses was Jesus Christ.


God the Father (Part 1)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Jesus reveals that the Father has always had supreme authority, and that He and His Father are absolutely at one in purpose. We must conform to their image.


Image and Likeness of God (Part Three)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The numerous scriptural references to angelic beings indicate that the spiritual entities have tangible substance. God is not a universal nothingness.


Image and Likeness of God (Part Two)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Jesus did not take on a different shape or form when He was transfigured. Taking on the image of the heavenly does not vaporize one into shapeless essence.


Image and Likeness of God (Part One)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Errant teachers have spiritualized God away into a shapeless, formless, ethereal blob. They dismiss hundreds of scriptural references as figures of speech.


Image and Likeness of God (Part Five)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The true nature of God differs greatly from the trinitarian concept. Having created us in His form and shape, God is developing us into His character image.


Prepare to Meet Your God! (The Book of Amos) (Part Two)

Booklet by John W. Ritenbaugh

Israel had every opportunity that the Gentiles did not have. God gave the Israelites gifts to live a better way, but they completely failed to reflect Him.


Image and Likeness of God (Part Four)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The numerous figures of speech describing God's body parts substantiate that God has shape and form and occupies a specific location.


The Fear of God

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Many have inadvertently adopted a soft concept of God, disrespecting and showing contempt for God's authority and power. Godly fear is a gift of wisdom.


The Father-Son Relationship (Part Four)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Jesus referred to His Father as 'My God,' indicating that They do not share equality, preeminence, or superiority. They are equal in kind, but one is subordinate.


The Father-Son Relationship (Part Five)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Although Christ is not the Absolute Deity, He is nevertheless the complement of the Father. He had a pre-existence as the God of the Old Testament.


The Father-Son Relationship (Part Two)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Christ Himself asserted the superiority of the Father. Jesus serves as the revelator of the great God, providing the only means of access to Him.


Whither the Holy Spirit?

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

In nearly every greeting in the epistles, the writer sends greetings from the Father and Jesus Christ. Why are there no greetings from the Holy Spirit?


Christ's Revelation of the Father

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

John 1:1-3 reveals Jesus' pedigree as the Logos (Spokesman), whose function was to declare or reveal the Father. He had existed with His Father from eternity.


Hebrews (Part Three): Who Was Jesus? (cont.)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

John identifies Christ as co-eternal with the Father, equal in character, but subordinate in authority. Christ's sonship was unique; He was the 'only Begotten Son.'


The Father-Son Relationship (Part One)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The Father is the source of everything and the Son is the channel through which He carries out His purpose. Jesus declared that the Father is superior to Him.


The Father-Son Relationship (Part Three)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The Father and Son are separate; the Father is the source of all power, while the Son serves as the channel through which we interface with the Father.


The Father-Son Relationship (Part Eight)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Jesus Christ and God the Father are one in spirit and purpose, purposing to draw us toward that same kind of unity that currently exists between them.


The Holy Spirit

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Theologians, misapplying grammatical gender and personification, falsely deduce a phantom third person, propped up by a spurious insertion (I John 5:7-8).


The Trinity and the Holy Spirit (Part One)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The true understanding of Elohim dismantles the entire trinity argument. God is reproducing Himself; we are being prepared to become a part of Elohim.


In The Likeness of Men!

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Jesus was subjected to the same experiences as the rest of us, having the appearance, experiences, the capability of receiving injury and suffering temptation.


The Father-Son Relationship (Part Seven)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The Holy Spirit is never venerated as a separate being. Our hope is the indwelling of Christ, used interchangeably with 'Spirit of God' and 'Spirit of Truth.'


The Helper and the Angel of the Lord

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

Christ frequently used 3rd person titles, such as the Son of Man and the Helper. Just as Christ sent the Helper—Himself—so Yahweh sent His Angel—Himself.


The Father-Son Relationship (Part Six)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The Father and the Son are two distinct beings, not co-equal as the trinity doctrine proclaims, but with the Son deferring to the Father in all things.


The High Christology of Colossians

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

High Christology as a doctrinal stance was not enough to prevent the eventual apostasy of those in Asia Minor. Doctrine must produce the right conduct.


Malachi's Appeal to Backsliders (Part Two)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Malachi assures the people of Judah that if they repent, God's favor will resume, but if they continue defiling the Covenant, a day of reckoning will come.


The Trinity and the Holy Spirit (Part Two)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The Father and the Son are two separate personalities, with the Father having pre-eminence. The Bible contains no evidence of a third person in the God family.


Holiness (Part 1)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

To appropriate the name of God means to represent His attributes, character and nature. Our behavior must imitate Christ just as Christ revealed God the Father.