Chapter 2 – WHAT IS GOD LIKE?
“In the same way that we do not know the ways of the Spirit; or how the fetus is formed in the womb of the mother; we comprehend so little of the works of our Creator …” (Ecclesiastes 11:5) It’s true that we understand so little of the mysteries of GOD. However, we do know what He has revealed about Himself, and it’s quite substantial! Moreover, He continues to reveal Himself to those who seek Him, in many wonderful ways.
GOD reveals Himself through His Word, the Scriptures, which are in reality the transcript of His character. As we prayerfully read and study the Word of GOD, He is able to speak to us and teach us to know and to serve Him, providing that we’re willing to listen intently, and receive His guidance.
GOD also reveals Himself through His Son, Jesus. When the time was right, GOD sent His only-begotten Son (Galatians 4:4) to demonstrate in real-time flesh-and-bone the character and nature of the Creator GOD. Jesus is the living “Word-made-flesh” referred to in John 1:14. Of Himself His testimony is, “I and My Father are One.” (John 10:30), and again, “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?” (John 14:10) “For in Him all the fulness of GOD was pleased to dwell.” (Colossians 1:19, 20) GOD abode wholly in Jesus! The angel at Jesus birth declared that He would be called “Immanuel”, which is “GOD with us”, or “GOD in us!”
GOD is further revealed in nature, which is often called His “Second Book”. By beholding the handiwork of an artisan, we are able to learn much about that person. The whole of Creation – its beauty, its symmetry, its complexity, and its splendor, all of which constitute the Creator’s handiwork, stands as empirical evidence of His power, love, and goodness.
Moreover, GOD reveals Himself to us individually through the intimate promptings of His Holy Spirit, Whom He has sent to comfort, counsel, guide, teach, and establish us firmly in His Truth. (John 16:13) Let’s examine what GOD has already shown us, and wants us to know about Himself. It does constitute a significant body of evidence!
Through the prophet Isaiah, GOD says: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8, 9) You ask, What is GOD like? Again, through Isaiah He proclaims: “I am the LORD, and there is no other. Apart from me there is no GOD.” (Isaiah 45:5, 6) He is the Sovereign of the Universe, the Supreme Eternal One. “There is none like Me!” says He! There’s no person, no god, no entity, nothing in Heaven or earth remotely like the Living GOD, “The I AM!” There is none like Him!
GOD’s Power – He is Omnipotent! All-powerful!
King David testifies in Psalm 62:11, 12: “Power belongs to You, GOD. Also, to You, O LORD, belongs mercy.” All power is His, and all mercy, as well, is His. History has displayed an array of ruthless tyrants, despots, and dictators, drunken with their might, while showing little mercy or regard for life. But our Father GOD’s supreme omnipotence is tempered and perfectly balanced with His boundless mercy and His everlasting love!
As to His power: Hebrews 12: 28 and 29 exhort the New Testament Church to, “… serve GOD acceptably with reverence and godly fear. for our GOD is a consuming fire.” Yet, His awesome power is complemented perfectly with His longsuffering and kindness. Jude 24 assures us that ultimately, “He is able to keep you from falling, and to present you before His glorious presence without fault, and with great joy.” That is His stone-cold-sober Judgment-day assurance to you!
The purpose of GOD’s heart is that we will be able to stand against the adversary. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the high places.” (Ephesians 6:12, 13)
Thus, He is able to empower us to stand firm in the face of evil opposition. “Have you not heard? 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 of the weak … but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:28-31) You can, and will, stand, as His Word is the Rock of your Salvation, and He will empower you to stand!
GOD’s Love Is Unfathomable and Eternal!
Incredibly, the Creator of the cosmos cares supremely for you! “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 31:3) Isaiah cries out prophetically: “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands,” (Isaiah 49:16) That’s a clear reference to the crucifixion of His Son, Jesus, although it was penned more than 700 years prior to the Cross of Calvary!
I love My LORD. I love my family. I love black bean soup. I love baseball. There is one word for “love” in English. We use the same word in all those instances. But in the Greek, one of the primary languages of Scripture, “love” can be “phileo”, as in the affection of a close friend. Philadelphia is the dubbed the “City of Brotherly Love”. Love can also be “eros”, which is a physical, sensual, erotic love. Then, there’s ”agape”, which is the selfless, others-seeking love of GOD, which Jesus modeled throughout His life on earth, while garbed in our humanity. Agape is the calibre of love that GOD has for us. It’s the quality of love that He wants us to have for one another. He supplies us with that agape love through His abiding, indwelling Spirit!
Savor the depth of GOD’s “agape” in perhaps the most beloved Bible text: “For GOD so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) He gave His beloved Son for you! Now, grasp the full extent of His purpose in the very next verse. “For GOD sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
Dr. Luke puts some wheels on this consummate illustration of a father’s selfless love, as related by Jesus Himself in Luke 15:11-24: “There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.’ And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to make merry.” Oh, the wondrous love of Our Heavenly Father for His children!
GOD’s Omnipresence – By His Spirit, He’s Everywhere Simultaneously
“Am I only a GOD nearby, declares the LORD, and not a GOD far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him … Do not I fill Heaven and earth? declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 23:23, 24) Hear now the rhetorical query of the psalmist David: “Where can I go from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7) Country Gospel vocal band Diamond Rio provides a most fitting response to King David’s question, which you’ll hear in the hook-line of the chorus on their 2009 single, “GOD Is There”. Here’s the line: “Imagine a place He would never be – GOD Is there!” Flash on that thought! Search for the song on the web, listen and enjoy!
GOD’s Omniscience – He Is the Source of All Knowledge
The Almighty is our Heavenly Comforter and Counselor, our Divine Psychiatrist. The Apostle Paul’s, inspired proclamation is, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of GOD! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the LORD? or who has been His counselor?” (Romans 11:33-36) Who among us could possibly, by any conceivable stretch of the imagination, ever qualify as GOD’s advisor?
Colossians 2:3 speaks of Jesus, Who is the express image of His Father: “In Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Daniel 2:20 declares: “Blessed be the name of the LORD forever and ever, to Whom belong wisdom and might.” He is not only wise and mighty, but the attributes of wisdom and might are uniquely His possessions!
David’s testimony in Psalm 111:10 is “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and understanding.” Let’s walk through that again: It says that cultivating reverence and respect for the Creator GOD comprises the very foundation, the ground-floor of wisdom and understanding! Tuck that text away in your arsenal, to share tomorrow!
The Apostle James counsels: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of GOD, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5) Know this for sure, that you can go directly to the Source of all knowledge and wisdom, and He will grant it to you!
GOD’s Ways – His Word is Sound and True. His Way Is Perfect
“As for GOD, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried; He is a buckler (a reinforcement) to all those that trust in Him.” (Psalm 18:30) His ways are flawless. His Word is sound. Lean your full weight upon Him!
In Exodus 33, we see the extent of GOD’s willingness to create a way to accommodate the request of His faithful servant, Moses. GOD had instructed Moses to prepare two tables of stone, bring them to the top of Mount Sinai, and meet with Him there. Watch how this unfolds:
Exodus 33:18-23: “Then Moses said, ‘Show me Your glory.’ And the LORD replied, ‘I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,’ He said, ’you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live.’ “ That’s because, to sin and sinner, GOD is a consuming fire!
“Then the LORD said, ‘There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove My hand and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.’ ”
Behold now the Glory of GOD! Ready? Here we go: “Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him, and proclaimed His name, the LORD. And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious GOD, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.’ ” (Exodus 34:5-7) Oh, the love, the power, the magnificence, and the glory of the Living GOD!
What is the Almighty GOD like? Listen: Israel had, again, been carried off into exile for perhaps the umpteenth time. But once more, here is GOD announcing His plan to restore them again to the Promised Land and to His grace – yes, again! Now, listen to His instructions to the prophet, Ezekiel:
“… say to the house of Israel, ‘… It is not for your sake … that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of My Holy Name, which you have profaned among the nations … I will show the holiness of My great Name … Then the nations will know that I am the LORD… when I show Myself holy, through you, before their eyes,” (Ezekiel 36:22-23) This is our GOD!
We need only look to Jesus, the Word Made Flesh, (John 1:14) Who was sent to reveal to the world in real-time 3-D the true character and nature of GOD the Father. Jesus is the flesh-and-blood image of GOD in every conceivable way. The Apostle John writes: “He (Jesus) reflects the glory of GOD and bears the very stamp of His nature, upholding the universe by His word of power,” (Hebrews 1:3) And the Disciple Philip asks flat-out of Jesus, “Show us the Father”, to which Jesus replies, “Philip, have I been with you all this time, and still you don’t know? … if you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
I believe we’ve all, at some time or other, experienced the pain of a broken relationship; perhaps with a family member, a dear friend, or a loved one. Hopefully, we’ve also experienced a wonderful reconciliation. Recall now the relief, the peace, the joy, the lifting of the weight from the heart when reconciliation comes. That’s what GOD’s reconciliation in Christ brings!
The Prophet Isaiah testifies: “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your GOD, and your sins have hid His face from you.” (Isaiah 59:1-2) We are the cause of our broken relationship with GOD. But the most wonderful news is that “GOD was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself,” (2 Corinthians 5:19)
Our Father delivers full reconciliation to us, in and thru Jesus Christ. It’s free and it’s open to all who desire restoration to oneness and fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus, our Elder Brother!
GOD is unchangeable!
Through the prophet Malachi, GOD declares, “For I am the LORD, I change not,” (Malachi 3:6). You can stand on His Word and rely on His promises, which are eternal.
“And the LORD, He is the One Who goes before you. He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear or be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8) From age to age He remains constant. “‘Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor My covenant of peace be removed,’ says the LORD, Who has compassion for you.” (Isaiah 54:10) You can take that promise to the Bank of Heaven. That’s the Bank that never requires a bailout!
“…to the only GOD our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our LORD, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” (Jude 25)
Father in Heaven – As I search for You in Your Word, I ask that You continue to reveal Yourself to me in terms that I can understand, that I may learn to trust You and follow You. In the worthy, holy name of your Son, Jesus Christ, I pray. – Amen
