Dual Characteristics: Knowing God’s Divine Nature
Learning Objective: Understand God’s Divine Nature by looking at His creation.
Divine Principle Reading:
How can we know the divine nature of the invisible God? One way to fathom His deity is by observing the universe which He created. Thus, St. Paul said:
Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. -Rom. 1:20
Just as a work of art displays the invisible nature of its maker in a concrete form, everything in the created universe is a substantial manifestation of some quality of the Creator’s invisible, divine nature. As such, each stands in a relationship to God. Just as we can come to know the character of an artist through his works, so we can understand the nature of God by observing the diverse things of creation.
Activity: Use Nature to Expose God’s Personality
- Ask the youth to use their smart phones to look up an amazing fact about the universe/world.
- Share those facts with each other as a way to open up the conversation about how incredible our universe is and how much thought had to go into its creation.
- Take a walk outside as a group and have the youth collect 1 or 2 items from the outdoors that remind them of God.
- Find a nice spot outside to share together as a group and discuss: Why did you choose the items you did? How do they remind you of God’s character? What parts of God’s personality do they represent
- Watch one of the following videos:
- The Privileged Planet Trailer: (The trailer gives a basic introduction to the idea that our planet is extremely rare because it meets the specific and unique needs to support intelligent life and a vast ecosystem)
- Fibonacci Sequence in nature: (This video has a fast talking girl with a slightly humorous path to discovering how bizarre and amazing it is that the Fibonacci sequence is featured everywhere in nature)
- You Are the Big Bang: (This video uses the Big Bang as a means of explaining redefining who we are as human beings and reminds us that our lives are significant and a result of the entire universe)
6. Give time for personal reflection on these two questions, then come back as a group and share together
7. What insight did you gain about God’s nature and personality today?
Concluding Point: God invested so much into the creation of the universe. He cares deeply for us as His creations. The more we are able to understand God’s nature and personality, the easier it will be to develop a personal relationship with Him.