In the next four lessons, we will talk about fourteen key topics of the Bible. Because the Bible is so long, it is helpful to know the key topics of the Bible in order to better understand what you are reading. Some of these topics were covered in earlier lesson books. The topics addressed in these lessons are not covered in detail. If you wish to know more about salvation, God, Christ, the Spirit, the human spirit, eternal life, and the church, you may study the previous lesson books in this series.
[God is the foremost item revealed in the Bible because He is the beginning of all things. Everything in the universe originated from Him and began with Him. God is also the main content of the Bible from its first book to the last. He created us and regenerated us and has everything to do with our life and our being. Thus, we should know Him first.]
[The Scriptures in many instances and in many ways tell us that God is uniquely one. Both in the Old Testament and in the New, there are many passages which clearly and definitely tell us that God is only one. First Corinthians 8:4 says, “There is no God but one,” and Isaiah 45:5 says, “I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God besides Me.”]
Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” [Here in Hebrew, the word for God is Elohim. This is the first divine title used in the Bible to reveal God, and it means the faithful mighty One. It shows that the true God, whom we worship according to the Bible, is not only mighty but also faithful. He is the mighty One; so He could create the heavens, the earth, all things, and mankind, calling what is not being as being. He is faithful; therefore, He is dependable, ever unchanging, and immovable. His works according to His faithfulness are as enduring as the sun and as established as the moon (Psa. 89:33-37).]
In Exodus 3:14, God said that He is the “I Am that I Am.” [Here God told Moses in plain words that His name is Jehovah. The name Jehovah is the second main divine title used by the Bible in revealing God. It means the self-existing and ever-existing I Am, the I Am who was, who is and who is to come. It indicates that He is the I Am, and besides Him nothing is. Only He is, and He is the self-existing and ever-existing I Am, who was, who is, and who is coming. Thus, everything in the entire universe is vain and is not; only He is, only He exists forever, and only He is reality. He is everything to the people whom He created and who belong to Him. Whatever they need, He is.]
[The Bible reveals that God is triune. This is a revelation of great importance. God is uniquely one, and His name is Jehovah; yet this God is also triune—He is the Father, Son, and Spirit. This is a mystery; in fact, it is a mystery of mysteries.]
[The Lord says in Matthew 28:19, “Baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The Lord here clearly speaks of Three—the Father, Son, and Spirit. But when He speaks here of the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit, the name which is used is in the singular number in the original text. This means that though the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three, yet the name is one. It is really mysterious—one name for Three. This, of course, is what is meant by the expression three-one or triune.]
The Father is God (1 Pet. 1:2; Eph. 1:17). The Son is God (Heb. 1:8; John 1:1; Rom. 9:5). The Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). [The Scriptures clearly reveal to us that all Three—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—are God. This does not mean, however, that they are three Gods. We have already seen that the Scriptures tell us clearly and definitely that God is only one. Although there are three—the Father, Son, and Spirit—yet the Three are not three Gods, but one. This is really a mystery! It is unsearchable! But praise the Lord, we can simply receive and enjoy this mysterious One according to what the Scriptures have said!"]