What are the most important things to understand about the nature of God?

The most important element of God’s nature is His holiness. Holy means “set apart,” and God is clearly separate from His creation based on His nature and attributes. Holiness is the foundation of all other aspects of God’s character. Revelation 15:4 says of God, “You alone are holy.” Revelation 4:8 describes the four living creatures who sing to God day and night, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” It is God’s holiness that makes Him the “consuming fire” that will judge all sin (Hebrews 12:29). Beautiful doxologies exalting God’s holiness are found throughout Scripture, including Psalm 99:9; Psalm 33:21; Psalm 77:13; Psalm 89:18; Psalm 105:3; and others.

holiness 성스러움

set apart, 구별되다

nature 본성

attributes 특성

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come 밤낮 쉬지 않고 이르기를 거룩하다 거룩하다 거룩하다 주 하나님 곧 전능하신 이여 전에도 계셨고 이제도 계시고 장차 오실 이시라

consuming fire 소멸하는 불, 모든 것을 소멸시키는 불

doxologies 닥살러지즈 송영, 찬가, 영광송

exalting 이그졸팅 높이다 올리다 찬양하다

It is also important to understand that God is an eternal spirit (John 4:24). He is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4) who has always existed as three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He does not have a physical body (although the Son became incarnate). A doctrine is false if it denies the Trinity, views God the Father as a man, or denies the humanity and deity of Christ (see 2 John 1:7).

became incarnate 인카아넛 육신을 통해서 오시다

doctrine 닥트런 교리

deity 디어티 신격

God is also, by nature, sovereign. He is judged by no one and has absolute authority over the entire universe and everything in it. His sovereignty is expressed in many ways, including His omnipotence. All of His ways are right (Psalm 145:17), and whether mankind believes God’s ways to be “fair” is irrelevant. The Lord God is not constrained by time or place. He has a plan, He has had it from eternity past, and His purpose will be accomplished (Daniel 4:37; Psalm 115:3).

sovereignty 사브런티 주권, 통치권

omnipotence 전능

irrelevant 이어렐러번트 대중이 틀린, 엉뚱한, 부적절한, 무관계한

constrained 제약이 있는

Another key aspect of God’s nature is His immutability. He does not change, being the same “yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He states outright in Malachi 3:6, “I the LORD do not change.” Because of His unchanging nature, we can depend on His blessings: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).

immutability 이뮤터빌리티 불변, 불역성

outright 노골적인 명백한 진솔한

The Almighty’s sovereignty speaks to His right to do whatever He wishes, and His omnipotence speaks to His ability to do so. He also knows everything, from eternity past to eternity future, everything we think, do, and say. He has personal knowledge of every person who has ever lived or will live, knowing them intimately in every way. It is encouraging to hear God’s words in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”

intimately 친밀하게

womb 자궁

We must not overlook God’s wrath, which flows from His holiness. He has a righteous anger against sin (Psalm 7:11), and, because of God’s impending judgment, mankind needs the gospel message of grace and salvation. It is also God’s nature to love (1 John 4:16), and in His love for the world, He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us (John 3:16). Nothing less than a perfect sacrifice would do.

impending 임박한

redeem 대속하다 되사다, <저당물을> 도로 찾다

Nothing less than 다름 아닌 ~이다 / ~만으로도 부족함이 없다 / 그만큼 대단한 것이다 /

그보다 덜한 건 없다. "최소한 ~만큼은 되어야 한다", "이것보다 덜한 건 안 된다"

Nothing less than 최소 이것이어야 한다 강조, 최고 기준 Nothing more than 겨우 이것일 뿐이다 깎아내림, 과소평가

“그 이상도 그 이하도 아닌, 딱 ~일 뿐이다” = 고작 ~에 불과하다 / 별거 아님

Love is more than an attribute of God; He is literally the essence of love. This is stated clearly in 1 John 4:8, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” God’s love is eternal. Because He is immutable, His love never changes. His love is perfect and holy.

immutability 이뮤터빌리티 불변, 불역성

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39).

convinced 확신을 가진, 신념 있는

neither A nor B A도 아니고 B도 아니다 ↔ Both A and B A도 B도 맞다

either A or B A 또는 B 중 하나

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