Wegens COVID-19 en verstoring van de internationale postdienst hebben
wij onze 'Gratis Boekendienst' tijdelijk opgeschort.
wij onze 'Gratis Boekendienst' tijdelijk opgeschort.
In het licht van deze situatie kunnen we u de boeken momenteel niet opsturen.
Bid dat deze pandemie spoedig zal eindigen en dat de postdienst wordt hervat.
Bid dat deze pandemie spoedig zal eindigen en dat de postdienst wordt hervat.
Subject 12 : The Faith of the Apostles Creed
● Do Jews Believe in God as the Father of Creation?
Jews believe in God, the Creator of the universe, who rules over the life and death of mankind and the rise and fall of nations, as their Father. In the Old Testament, God’s name is called “Elohim” or “Jehovah,” but in the New Testament it is Jesus Christ who is called as God.
Jesus Himself called God as “God the Father" (John 6:27), “Our Father who is in Heaven" (Matthew 6:9), “the Holy Father" (John 17:11), and “My Father" (John 20:17), teaching His disciples repeatedly to ensure that they would take His teaching to their hearts.
In Christianity, we become true believers by encountering and believing in Jesus Christ revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God His Father, and God the Holy Spirit. Christians must know who exactly is this God that they believe in.
Christians Believe in God as the Father of All Mankind
Christians believe in the Triune God as the fundamental Author of mankind—that is, they believe God to be both the source and the nurturer of life. God created mankind, and saves and nurtures the saints through His Church.
Because the God of Christianity created the whole universe and made human beings in His own image, He is the Father of all mankind. When a missionary preached the gospel to some native Americans for the first time, an old chief asked him, “Did you say that God is our Father?” The missionary replied earnestly, “Yes!” The chief then asked again, “Are you saying that God is also my Father then?” The missionary answered, “Certainly!” Suddenly, the chief’s face turned bright, extended his hands, and said, “Then you and I are brothers!” In God the Father, all human beings are brothers and sisters physically. Their spiritual fraternity, on the other hand, is made complete when they believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
True world peace is found only when people encounter and serve God the Creator who is the root of mankind. If human beings, remaining ignorant of God, seek after only the roots of their own ancestors and pursue chauvinistic nationalism, humanity will surely be self-destroyed by pride, covetousness, jealousy, hatred, conflict, and war. Like this, we must all become the spiritual children of God by faith within the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has given us.
It is God the Father who gives us warm morning sun lights, beautiful sunsets, the four seasons, and the day and night. And it is He who feeds and nurtures all life forms, both mankind and animals, by bringing down rain and snow and giving us the abundant fruits of the earth. This is why Psalm 100:3 sings, “Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”
Because God knows how our bodies function, He feeds us with the appropriate products for each of the four seasons. For example, because we sweat a lot from the heat of summer, God gives us fresh and juicy fruits such as peaches, watermelons, tomatoes, grapes, and others.
In particular, we cannot help but be amazed by the wonderful inner-workings of our own bodies. Now it is well known that the life of human beings is found in their blood, but this was already written in the Scripture over 3,500 years ago (Leviticus 17:11). This blood circulates inside our bodies for over 675 km in a single day. If we were to walk any distance over 40 km in a day without resting, we would all be exhausted in no time. Yet our hearts circulate blood for over 675 km in just a single day, without any rest at all for 365 days a year. We switch off lights when we go to sleep, but our hearts are never switched off. Who, then, is pumping these hearts? It is the Father of life who works in the innermost mysteries of life that we do not know.
The air that human beings breathe, the water that they drink, and the food that they eat have all been given by God clearly. This is why Jacob, a man of faith, said, “The God who has fed me all my life long to this day" (Genesis 48:15). Also, to the ungrateful people of Israel, Isaiah said, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: ‘I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me; The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider`” (Isaiah 1:2-3).
Like this, we must realize that it is God who feeds and nourishes our souls. God is the nurturer and the Father of all mankind.
We Must Recognize God as the One Who Has Saved Us from the Sins of the World
The love of God that has saved us from our sins is unlimited and eternal. But the history of mankind changes, and its religions also change countless times. But the love of God is never-changing, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
People’s carnal love cannot last forever. Emotionally stirred, we only think that it is love, but it changes in no time. What changes constantly is none other than emotion. The carnal love of human beings is always selfish and self-centered.
But the truthful love of God is absolute, sacrificial, and eternal. This is why the Bible tells us that God loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son. This is how He has saved us from the sins of the world. Like this, Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”; John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”; and 1 John 4:10 says, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” We must believe in God, but we must also be saved from all our sins and receive eternal life by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
God Hears Our Prayers
The paternal relationship between a father and a child is a relationship where blood and flesh are shared. Likewise, those who believe in God become His children by believing in the baptism of Jesus Christ and His blood as the gospel of the remission of sin. This is how they can live in one house altogether. While we are on this earth, none other than God’s Church is the house of the saints, and when we leave this world behind, our house is the eternal Kingdom of Heaven.
The blessing of calling God as our own Father and being saved from all our sins is made possible only within the faith that believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Romans 8:15 thus says, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’” This is a marvelous fact, and absolutely true! The true gospel of the water and the Spirit is the gospel that forgives everyone from all sins. It is by faith, therefore, that we can be forgiven of all sins.
And the Holy Spirit can come to only those who have been forgiven of all their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And only those who have received the Holy Spirit can become His sons and daughters. And by their faith in the Lord, they can all receive whatever they ask God in the name of Jesus Christ. John 16:23 therefore states, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.”
God is the Father who, no matter how much His believers continue to call upon His name, is neither annoyed nor reproachful (James 1:5).
We Must Believe in God as the One Who Would Give Us Our Inheritance
Those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord have become His adopted sons and daughters. As Romans 8:15 states, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’”
And if they have become God’s sons and daughters, then this means that they will most certainly enjoy their inheritance of the afterlife. As Romans 8:17-18 says, “And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Here, the word “heirs” is emphasized three times, meaning those who would succeed God—that is, His own inheritors.
Galatians 4:7 also states, “Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” The phrase, “joint heirs with Christ,” tells us that we are the ones who will inherit everything that the God of Christianity has. By ourselves, we cannot even dare to enter the Kingdom of Heaven without the faith that believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. But by believing in the baptism and blood of God’s only begotten Son, we can receive the remission of our sins, and then enter the Kingdom of Heaven. John 6:39 states, “This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.”
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