Who Is God?

By ourselves we can never discover God.  We could never know Him unless He revealed Himself.  Has God revealed Himself?  The Bible says yes!  From cover to cover, the Scriptures are filled with insights into His character.

God exists as three Persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  God exists everywhere.  He knows everything.  He has all power and authority.  He is just, loving, truthful, holy, compassionate, merciful, and shows us grace.  God judges sin, but also offers forgiveness.

God created the universe and everything in it.  He is executing His eternal plan that involves the redemption of man from the curse of sin and death by drawing people to Christ.  God in the person of the Son, Jesus Christ became human and bridged the gap between God and man.  It is through the Son that we can have forgiveness of sins and be reconciled with God.  Jesus offers us eternal salvation and all we have to do is believe and trust Him.  Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” – John 4:3.  Jesus also said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6.

What is God like?

Some of the names for God recorded in Scriptures are:

“God Almighty” - Genesis 17:1; “the Lord our Maker’ - Psalm 95:6; “Father” - Luke 11:2; “Ruler”, King of kings and Lord of lords” - 1 Timothy 6:15

Read Isaiah 45:18-24 for a list of truths about God.  We also discover more about Him in Isaiah 40:28 – “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power to the weak.”  John 4:24 – “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

God is all-powerful (omnipotent) – Rev. 19:6

God is all-Knowing (omniscient) – Heb. 4:12-13
God is everywhere (omnipresent) – Ps. 139:7-12
God is eternal – Ps. 90:1-2, Deu. 33:27
God never changes (immutable) – Mal 3:6, Heb. 13:8
Deuteronomy 7:9 – Know that He is God and is faithful and keep his promises.
Psalm 119:37 – He is righteous and His laws are right.
Psalm 130:3-4 – He keeps no records of our sins.
1 Peter 1:15-16 – He is holy.
1 John 1:5 – He is light.
1 John 4:15 – If we acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, He lives in us.

Psalm 90:2 – “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.  Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

Jeremiah 32:17 – “You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm.  Nothing is too hard for you.”
James 1:17 – “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
1 John 3:20 – “For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”

One of the most comforting truths in Scripture is the sovereignty of God.  He is in control of everything.  These verses affirm the sovereignty of God:  Proverbs 21:1, Isaiah 14:27, Acts 4:26-28.

What does God do?

God knows what is going on in the world today.  2 chronicles 16:9 – “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

God is the ultimate judge.  Psalm 75:6-7 – “No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man.  But it is God who judges:  He brings one down, he exalts another.”

God loves us.  Jeremiah 31:3 – “I have loved you with an everlasting love…..”.  Ephesians 3:19, and John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

God is there to help us.  Psalm 46:1 – “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

What does God expect from you?

Where do you turn for help when in trouble?
Do you turn to God first or as the last resort?

What does God expect from us?

Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God;”

Psalm 95:6 – “Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.”
Luke 10:27 – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and, love your neighbor as yourself.”
Acts 5:29 – “We must obey God rather than men!”
Romans 2:13 – “For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.”
John 14:15 – “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
John 15:10 – “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”
1 John 3:14 – “Those who obey his commands live in him and he in them.  And this is how we know that he lives us:  We know it by the spirit he gave us.”
1 John 5:2 – “This is love for God:  to obey his commands.”
Matthew 28:19-20 – “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Do you believe that God is the Creator?

Do you love God?
Do you find it hard to obey God’s commands?
Do you ask Him to help you to obey?

Why should we know God?

The following references explain some of the essentials in knowing God.

 

Deuteronomy 10:12 - "And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your."

Psalm 100:4 - "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."

Hebrews 11:6 – “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who come to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

What was David’s counsel to his son?  1 Chronicles 28:9 – “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understand every motive behind the thoughts.  If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”

Do you teach your children to serve Him?

Do you live as an example for them?

God is our Guide

Ex. 33:13-15 – God is always present with His people.

2 Sam. 22:29 – God is our lamp who turns darkness into light.
Ps. 5:8 – God leads in His righteousness.
Ps. 23:2-3 – God leads to places of quiet rest and righteousness.
Ps. 25:5, 9 – God guides the humble according to His truth and way.
Ps. 27:11 – God leads in a straight path.
Ps. 31:3 – God’s guidance is for the sake of His name.
Ps. 48:14; Is. 58:11 – God always guides His people, even to the end.
Ps. 61:2 – God guides us beyond ourselves to Him.
Ps. 139:24 – God helps us identify sin and leads us to repentance.
Is. 40:11 – God guides those who have young.
Is. 42:16 – God guides through unknown, unfamiliar, dark, and rough places.
Is. 57:18 – God comforts as He guides.
Luke 1:79 – God guides us into the path of peace.
John 10:3-4 – God goes before His people to show the way.
John 16:13 – God guides into all truth.

Do you read your Bible daily? 

Do you look to God as your guide?
Do you pray and if so, How often?

How can I get to know God and how can I apply the Bible to my life?

You can’t apply it, if you don’t read it.  The goal in reading is to get to know God and learn His ways and understand His purposes for you and the world.  When reading the Bible, you can see what a Christian life should look like.  Not only do you need to read the Bible, but you need to study it.  How do you study it?  To study it means to prayerfully devote time and attention to acquiring knowledge on a particular person, subject or passage in the Bible.  Psalm 1:2 says anyone who meditates on God’s Word is blessed – “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”  Rev. 1:3 – “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”

 
There are many helpful study guides available as well as many Bible studies.  One of my favorites is attending Bible Study Fellowship International.  BSF is an in-depth, interdenominational Bible study with classes in 38 countries with people of all ages and cultures.  BSF walks you through a book of the Bible, verse by verse and gives you application questions to think about.  This study draws you closer to God and gives you a better understanding of God and His love.  To find out more about BSF, just look on the internet - https://www.bsfinternational.org/ for more info on a study near you.