God

BIG IDEA

As we understand God’s character and nature, we better understand life.

READING

Exod. 33 & 34

THOUGHTS

What Is God Like?

There’s something inside all of us that’s aware of God but isn’t sure what He’s like and how He works. The good news is that even though God is incomprehensible (Job 11:7; John 1:18), He has revealed Himself to us (John 1:18). God has revealed Himself to humanity in many ways. We can see God in creation (Rom. 1:20), in Jesus (Heb. 1:1–3), and in the Bible (John 1).

As we grow in our relationship with God, we come to realize that He’s not as simple and one-dimensional as a pantheistic deity. God is multifaceted and complex. The Bible is the record of God’s interaction with thousands of people over time. Those interactions give us a picture of God. Here are some specific characteristics we find.

Creator of everything: God is the source and creator of everything (Gen. 1:1; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 115:15, 121:2; Col. 1:16–17; John 1:3; Rev. 4:11). Therefore, moving away from Him leads to levels of death. This is why we value life. This is why we look to Him for everything.

Transcendent: God is not human. He’s not like us. He is “other” (Acts 17:24–29). This is why we can’t humanize Him and reduce Him to a human being.

Self-existent/self-sustaining: God has not been created and He does not need anyone to sustain Him (John 5:26). This is why we elevate our view of who He is.

All-powerful (omnipotent): There is nothing that has more power than God (Jer. 32:17). This means that God will do what He wants to do and doesn’t need our permission to do it.

Always present (omnipresent): The Bible tells us that because we exist within a realm of God, He is everywhere all the time. There is nowhere we can go where God isn’t aware (Ps. 139; Jer. 23:23–24).

All-knowing (omniscient): God is the focal point and source of all wisdom and understanding. He knows all. He sees the beginning from the end (Isa. 40:13–14).

Unchanging (immutable): God does not change. He stays the same. He’s always been the same. He hasn’t evolved. He does not need to “grow up” (Mal. 3:6; James 1:17).

The Essence of God

God has eternally existed as a unified three-person entity, as Father, Son, and Spirit, who are equally God (character, attributes, what is true about Him), and individual yet “one.” They each have different functions and roles. The word used to describe this reali- ty is “Trinity.”

Often, it’s difficult to picture it. How can three separate entities be the same entity? No matter how hard we try to describe what God is like, our metaphors fall short. In the Trinity there is a mys- tery of God that we can appreciate but have a hard time articulat- ing and fully understanding. As we search the Scripture, we grow to see and discover this complex arrangement.

The name of God, “Elohim,” occurs over 2,250 times in the Bible. This word is plural in nature and signifies three persons (Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 6:8). Yet other scriptures also talk about God as completely unified and singular in nature (Deut. 6:4; 1 Cor. 8:6). This is how we get the idea of three persons in one (Matt. 3:16–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–22; John 1:32–34; Rom. 15:30; 1 Cor. 12:5–7, 13:14; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 4:4–6, 5:18–20; 2 Thess. 2:13–14; 1 Pet. 1:2).

What Motivates God?

Perfect love is the cornerstone of God’s character and nature. While our finite mind may take an eternity to grasp an infinite God and His love fully, we can get a glimpse of it from scripture. “God is love” (Rom. 8:37–39; Eph. 3:14–21; 1 John 4:8, 5:7, 14:7–18, 21:25). God’s love is seen in His:

• Goodness: God’s goodness speaks of the nature of His love. God operates with the best long-term intentions in mind (Ps. 73:1; Rom. 8:28).
• Faithfulness: God’s faithfulness speaks of the constancy of His love. God doesn’t stop operating with a heart of love (Deut. 7:9).
• Justice: God’s justice speaks of the equal distribution of His love. God will set everything right with everyone and
  in every case. God will allow everyone to experience the ends of their own decisions and ensure that His scales of justice have been satisfied for each person who is affected by the decisions of others (Exod. 34:6–7; Ps. 19:7–11).
• Holiness (righteous, true): God’s holiness speaks of the quantity and purity of His love. He is full of love, all the time. His actions are entirely pure in their motivation and prac- tice (Matt. 22:36–40; Eph. 1:4).
• Mercy & Grace: God’s mercy and grace speak of the extensiveness of His love. God gives second chances and provides ways and means of forgiveness (Eph. 2:4–9).
• Sovereignty: God’s sovereignty speaks of the power and authority of His love. He can give reason to the chaos we create, using it to fulfill His ultimate purpose (Rom. 8:28, 38–39).
• Emotions: God’s feelings—even what we’d consider nega- tive emotions—reflect His love. God gets angry when any- thing begins to threaten His beautiful creation (Ps. 30:5). God’s love causes Him deep pain (Isa. 53:3–8). He hates anything that promises what only He can offer us (Hos. 6:6; Matt. 12:7, 15:8; Luke 13:34; James 4:5).

God’s love is seen in His names. Here are a few that we see in Scripture.

• JEHOVAH-ROHI—meaning “The Lord my shepherd” (Ps. 23:1)
• JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH—meaning “The Lord who is present” (Ezek. 48:35)
• JEHOVAH-RAPHA—meaning “The Lord our healer” (Exod. 15:26)
• JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU—meaning “The Lord our righteous- ness” (Jer. 23:6)
• JEHOVAH-JIREH—meaning “The Lord will provide” (Gen. 22:13–14)
• JEHOVAH-NISSI—meaning “The Lord’s presence gives us victory” (Exod. 17:15)
• JEHOVAH-SHALOM—meaning “The Lord is peace” (Judg. 6:24)
• JEHOVAH-SABAOTH–meaning “The Lord of Hosts” (Isa. 6:1–3)