These are my notes from when I prepare for my weekly Bible study. The theme is “Desiring God”, John Piper’s book, which argues that if we are serious happiness-seekers we will pursue God more than anything, because everything else cannot compare. Every week we look at a different topic (e.g. love, sin, truth…) and try to see differences between the way our culture sees it, we see it, and the way God sees it. It’s important to get God’s opinion on everything and realize if we are viewing something like “love” in a less than godly way.
WHY DOES IT BENEFIT YOU TO HAVE A TRUTHFUL VERSION OF GOD?
1) I don’t want my worship to be in vain. Why don’t I worship Ra or Zeus? Because they’re not real. But how do I know that?
2) Because to know God is the most satisfying thing ever. Our lack of relationship with God is the gaping hole in all of our hearts that can only be filled by Him.
3) It lead to true worship (John 4)
4) Because His truth is comfort in pain and persecution. False images of God aren’t: I don’t want to believe in bunnies in the sky and rainbows or a false hope, I want a real hope based in reality and truth.
HOW DO WE KNOW ANY TRUTH ABOUT GOD?
The sum of your word is truth,
every one of your righteous rules
endures forever. (Psalm 119:160)
1) We both know the truth about God and we don’t.
Romans 1:18-25, Psalm 19:1
How can everyone know God but not know Him? If we all knew God wouldn’t that mean we would all worship the same God?
What keeps us from the truth about God?
Does an atheist believe in God, even though he says he doesn’t?
2) Because we’re sinful and mortal we don’t know everything.
Ecclesiastes 8:16-17
How do we know what happens us after we die? (Ecc. 3:21)
How do we know God’s attributes?
If we don’t have knowledge how do we gain it? Piety? Aestheticism?
3) Truth about God comes from revelation – not us speculating about God but God telling us about Himself. We can agree that all philosophies and religions would grind to a halt if God started walking around with us. Which is what He did – why then don’t people believe?
WOMAN AT THE WELL (John 4:1-26)
God comes to earth to talk to a whore – this woman of Samaria who has had five husbands. Jesus is loving to this woman who is ostracized by her culture (a culture which is in turn disdained by other cultures).
What does it mean to worship in “spirit and truth” (John 4:23)?
What is Jesus goal with this woman?
What is true in this passage?
What truths about God can you see?
JESUS ON TRUTH:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) This is why He was murdered and why people still hate Him today.
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)
"If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God." (John 8:39-40)
"But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me." (John 8:45)
Truth about Jesus:
“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)
"For our sake he [God the Father] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me." (John 14:1)
God sends the Holy Spirit to give us truth (John 14:16-17, 1 John 5:6, Romans 8:14-17)
Who tells us about God?
What does the Holy Spirit do?
What does truth do for us?
How do we know it’s true? (Romans 8:26)
Jesus often began his claims about God with “Truly, truly, I say to you…” to stress the difference between His claims about God and everybody else’s. Did Jesus ever lie?
Every time you pick up your bible God speaks to you, that’s (chiefly) how He speaks to us.
Pick up a Bible and read it!
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