The best place to get to know our God is in the Bible — the book inspired by the Holy Spirit. In Psalm 145:17-18, we read “The Lord is righteous in everything He does; He is filled with kindness. The Lord is close to all who call on Him in truth.” Just in those two verses, we learn so many encouraging truths about Him.
The Psalmist goes on in verses 19-20: “He grants the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cries for help and rescues them. The Lord protects all those who love Him, but He destroys the wicked.” What should be our response to our God who does so much for us?
David answers that in verse 21: “I will praise the Lord, and may everyone on earth bless His holy name forever and ever. How can we not praise Him after what we have just read?
It is impossible to define God. There is no one to compare Him with. But we can describe Him and that is what we will seek to do in this meditation.
A. Let’s consider first the very nature of God.
1. He is a Spirit. In John 4:24 we read, “For God is a Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.” It is the Holy Spirit who helps us to understand and embrace the truth about God and His word.
2. God is one. In Deuteronomy 6:4-6 we read “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God. The LORD alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today.” In the NKJV, Deut. 6:4, reads “Here, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
3. Our God is personal. We can know Him. In John 17:1-3 Jesus is praying and we read “After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said “Father the hour has come. Glorify your Son so He can give glory back to you, for you have given Him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given Him. And this is eternal life – to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one You sent.”
4. Our God is three in one. Though our God is personal, he reveals Himself to us in three different relationships — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Genesis 1:1-3 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”
In verse 26 we read, “Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
a) As our Heavenly Father, He is infinite in love, power, and wisdom.
b) As the Son, He is the revealer of God. He is the key to our knowledge of God and history.
c) As the Holy Spirit, He manifests Himself to us spiritually. In Romans 8:16 we read, “For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” In 8:15 we read “Now we call Him, “Abba Father.” This is a very endearing term like “Daddy God.” We find the Holy Spirit at work in just about every page of scripture.
B. Now, let’s consider the attributes of God.
1. He is infinite. 1 Kings 8:27 we read, “But will God live on earth? Why even the highest heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple I have built.”
2. He is omnipresent. Listen to what God says in Isaiah 43:2 –- “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up, the flames will not consume you.” What a comfort it is to know that our God is with us all the time. He was with David in the lion’s den and his three friends in the fiery furnace. He will be with us at all times.
3. Our God is omniscient. In Psalm 147:5 we read – “How great is our God! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!”
In John 21:17 Peter confessed “Lord, You know everything. You know that I love you.”
In 1 John 3:20, we read – “Even if we feel guilty, He is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything.”
4. God is omnipotent. In Psalm 115:3 we read – “Our God is in the heavens, and He does as He wishes.” In Isaiah 55:11 we read – “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” In Genesis 18:14 God asked Abraham, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” The assumed answer is “absolutely not.” In Acts 4:28 we read – “But everything they did was determined beforehand according to Your will.”
5. Our God never changes. The Apostle James wrote in 1:17, “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God, our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.”
In Malachi 3:6 God spoke these words — “I am the LORD, and I do not change…”
In Psalm 102:27 the psalmist prayed “But you are always the same; you will live forever.”
We read in Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” What a comfort it is to know that God never changes. We have been considering our God’s natural attributes.
C. Now let’s consider His moral attributes.
1. He hates evil and things that oppose Him or that seek to interrupt His divine purposes. In Proverbs 6:16-19 we read — “There are six things the LORD hates — no seven things He detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.”
2. He is impartial. 1 Peter 1:17 “And remember that the Heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites …”
3. He is long-suffering. How He can tolerate evil as long as He does is amazing, but He does not approve of it. Exodus 34:6 “The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, ‘Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love to a thousand generations.’”
4. Our God is love. He does not possess love. He is love. It is the essence of His nature and character. 1 John 4:8 says, But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love…” Vs. 16 reads “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God and God lives in them.”
5. Our God is capable of showing wrath, but it is a righteous wrath. In Deuteronomy 32:35 we read “I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive and their destiny will overtake them.” In Romans 12:19 the Apostle Paul wrote “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back’ says the LORD.”
All who refuse to accept His loving invitation to eternal life through Christ will ultimately experience His judgment.
D. Lastly, let’s consider the different roles our God manifests.
1. Jesus, God’s Son, is our only Savior. In Acts 4:12 Luke wrote “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” In 1 John 4:14 the Apostle John wrote “Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.”
2. Our God is the Creator of heaven and earth. In Genesis 1:1 we read “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The book of Genesis is the book of beginnings. Whatever begins, had its beginning here — time, matter, humanity, sin, God’s plan, the promise of a Savior.
3. Our God is also our Judge. We are accountable to Him. The Apostle James, the half-brother to Jesus wrote in 4:12 – “God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy …”
In Psalm 96:12 we read, “Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for He is coming! He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice and the nations with His truth.” Many other verses clearly teach that our God is the Judge. 2 Peter 2:9; 1 Cor. 6:2-3; Eccl. 12:14; Matt. 24:36-44; John 12:46-48, and more.
4. Lastly, God is our Shepherd. In this powerful role, we experience His love and care for us. In Genesis 49:24 we read, “But His bow remained taut, and His arms were strengthened by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.”
In Psalm 23:1 we read of David saying, “The LORD is my shepherd. I have all I need.” (Please read the rest of this Psalm.)
In John 10:11-14, Jesus declared, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep… I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and they know Me.”
Folks, I hope this study enriches your life and the way you can know our God. He is awesome. I have been refreshed as I have prepared it.
Praise His name!
Pastor Leonard
