Who Is God?
Imagine that someone comes up to and asks, “Who is God?”
What would you say?
Your answer is important. Indeed, your answer reveals more about you than anything else.
The late pastor and author A.W. Tozer once wrote:
"What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us."
That’s weighty. So let me ask you plainly:
What does come to your mind when you think about God?
A distant figure in the clouds who’s uninvolved in your life?
A business-like employer who pays you for your work?
A tyrant-like taskmaster whose approval you must earn through perfection?
A grandpa-like figure who’s okay with however you live as long as you’re happy?
A genie-like being whose purpose is to grant all your wishes?
Be honest with yourself. No “church answers” or “Christianese language” allowed.
How do you really view God?
I believe Tozer deemed our view of God to be the most important thing about us because it affects every part of our lives. How we view God determines…
How we view ourselves.
How we view others.
How we live our lives.
How we respond to life’s twists and turns, highs and lows.
Everything.
So in the short time we have together in this blog, I’d like to briefly re-introduce or present to you, none other than—the Living God of the Bible. He has many characteristics, and today, I’ll highlight three of them.
GOD is…
Holy (Isaiah 6:1-8)
God’s holiness is His preeminent characteristic because it describes all His other qualities.
His love is holy.
His wrath is holy.
His ways are holy.
His judgements are holy.
Everything about God is… you guessed it… holy.
So what does it mean that God is “holy”?
It means that He is one of a kind. There is none like Him in the heavens, in the earth, or anywhere.
He is the Uncaused Cause, the Uncreated Creator.
If God were in school, He’d be in a class all by Himself.
Who is exactly like the LORD? Nobody.
God.
Is.
Holy.
Food for thought: How would your relationship with God change if you were more aware of His holiness?
Triune (Matthew 28:19)
We humans are monopersonal. Within each of our substances (or bodies) resides one person. (Granted, some people have multiple personalities, but even those people can be only one personality at a time. And that’s another topic for another blog that I won’t be writing!)
God, on the other hand, is a tripersonal being. Within His one substance reside three distinct persons—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
Is that difficult for you to understand? Great! You’re in good company. Not even the most brilliant biblical scholar completely understands it. But we don’t have to completely understand something to believe it.
At the same time, although a key tenet of Christianity is faith, that does not mean we have to check our brains at the door to be Christians. In fact, we are often encouraged to think and remember (Deut 6:12, 8:2; Acts 20:35; 1 Cor 11:24).
Christianity and common sense are not mutually exclusive. So, when it comes to the doctrine of the Trinity, consider this:
If an eternal, all-powerful, living God truly exists, would you expect Him to be superior to His creations?
Thus, if we are one-in-one beings, wouldn’t it make sense that this superior God would be a three-in-one being?
We see evidence of the Trinity throughout Scripture, and this triune Godhead is still alive and active today.
Where is God the Father? Sitting on His heavenly throne, high and lifted up (Isa 6:1)
Where is God the Son? Sitting at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us (Rom 8:34)
Where is God the Spirit? Right here with us (Jn 14:15-17)
Food for thought: How would your relationship with God change if you were more aware of His triune nature as the Father, the Son, and the Spirit?
Creator of all (Genesis 1-2)
When Genesis 1 introduces God, we learn that He created the heavens and the earth and everything in them, including humans. A bit later in Scripture, we learn that God the Father has created everything through God the Son (Col 1:15-20).
Why is this significant? For at least two reasons:
1) Since God is the Creator of everything, including us, He gets to determine what is best for everything, including us. After all, who can better determine the purpose and plans for something than its creator?
2) Since God created us—and not only that—created us in His image and likeness, all humans have inherent dignity. We don’t have to accomplish anything to be worthy. We are worthy simply due to WHO created us. We should treat all God’s creations with respect, especially His image bearers.
Food for thought: How would your view and treatment of yourself (and others) change if you were more aware that you (and they) bear God’s image?
I pray your response to these truths about God is to worship (or ascribe worth to) Him. I also pray you will respond by seeking more of Him for yourself.
It’s true, our finite human minds cannot fully comprehend this infinite God. But He has revealed key aspects of Himself in His Word. Should we not seek to find every bit that He has revealed about Himself?
I encourage you to start or continue searching to learn about Him in His Word.
He has promised that if we seek Him, we will find Him.
And I’ll tell you one more thing about Him: He always keeps His Word.
Happy searching, Friend.
Your Sister-Friend,
Leah
