Who is God?
The question "Who is God?" is a good question. It is better than asking "What is God?" This is because God exists, created us, loves us, is concerned for our being, desires to provide for us, and sent the Son to redeem us. If we were to ask "What is God?" we might be tempted to say that God is the infinite being, the creator, a presence, or something like that. In some respect, this would be true. But the first question brings us closer to understanding more of who God really is in His character and His love for us as revealed in the Bible.
In Christianity, God is a Trinity. This means that God is three persons, not three gods. Technically, the doctrine of the Trinity states that in the one God is the person of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each is not the same person as the other; yet there are not three gods but one. This is similar in analogy to the nature of time. Time is past, present, and future. The past is not the same as the present, which is not the same as the future. But, there are not three times. There is only one thing called time.
The reason the word "person" is used in describing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is because each exhibits attributes of personhood -- not in a body of flesh and bones, but in personality. In other words, each has a will, loves, speaks, is aware of others, communicates with others, etc. These are attributes of personhood and we see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each demonstrate these qualities.
Because of the Trinity, God can become flesh in the form of the Son, and still exist in such a way so that He can run the universe. Therefore, the Son can communicate to us on our level.Following are a couple verses that hint at the Trinity.
Matt. 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
2 Cor. 13:14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all."
The Bible says there is only one God: "I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God," (Isaiah 45:5). Yet, the Bible teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called God.
Below is a very brief chart that shows that each of the persons in the Trinity share the same attributes that only God shares. But remember, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each have wills, and speak, etc. Therefore, we say there are are three persons.
| FATHER | SON | HOLY SPIRIT | ||||||||||
| Called God | Phil. 1:2 | John 1:1,14; | Acts 5:3-4 | |||||||||
| Creator | Isaiah 64:8 | John 1:3; | Job 33:4, 26:13 | |||||||||
| Everywhere | 1 Kings 8:27 | Matt. 28:20 | Psalm 139:7-10 | |||||||||
| All knowing | 1 John 3:20 | John 16:30; 21:17 | 1 Cor. 2:10-11 | |||||||||
| A Will | Luke 22:42 | Luke 22:42 | 1 Cor. 12:11 | |||||||||
| Speaks | Matt. 3:17; | Luke 5:20; 7:48 | Acts 13:2 |
Who is God? What is He like? Six personality traits of God...
Who is God... He is Knowable.
God, who created the universe in all of its magnitude and creative details, is able to be known, by us. He tells us about himself, but even goes beyond that. He welcomes us into a relationship, so that we personally can get to know him. Not only can we know about him, we can know him, intimately.
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the Lord,
who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight," declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:23,24)
Who is God... He is Approachable.
God invites us to talk to him and engage him in what concerns us. We don't have to get our act together first. Neither do we need to be polite, theologically correct or holy. It is his nature to be loving and accepting when we go to him.
"The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth." (Psalms 145:18)
Who is God... He is Creative.
Everything we make is put together with existing materials or built on previous thoughts. God has the capacity of speaking things into existence, not just galaxies and life forms, but solutions to today's problems. God is creative, for us. His power is something he wants us to be aware of and to rely on.
"Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit." (Psalms 147:5)
"...where does my help come from?My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalms 121:1,2)
Who is God... He is Forgiving.
We sin. We tend to do things our way instead of God's way. And he sees it and knows it. God does not merely overlook such sin, but is prepared to judge and condemn people for their sin. However, God is forgiving and will forgive us from the moment we begin a relationship with him. Jesus, the Son of God, paid for our sin with his death on a cross. He rose from the dead and offers us this forgiveness.
"We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done... We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us." (Romans 3:22,25)
Who is God... He is Honest.
Just like a person who lets you know their thoughts and feelings, God clearly tells us about himself, the possible difference being, he is always honest. Everything he says about himself, or about us, is reliable information. Truer than our feelings, thoughts, and perception, God is totally accurate and honest in what he says. Every promise he makes to us can be fully counted on, he means it. We can take him at his word.
"The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple.
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path." (Psalms 119:130,105)
Who is God... He is Capable.
How would you like to be always 100% right, about everything? God is. His wisdom is unlimited. He understands all the elements of a situation, including the history and future events related to it. We do not have to update him, counsel him or persuade him to do the right thing. He will, because he is capable and his motives are pure. If we trust him, he will never make a mistake, never undercut us or deceive us. He can be fully trusted to do what is right, in all circumstances, at all times.
"No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame..." (Psalms 25:3)
God’s Creation
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth had no form. It was empty, covered with darkness and water. Then the Spirit of God hovered over the water, and God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good.
Then He divided the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Then God said, “Let there be a great expanse of air to divide the waters below from the waters above.”
And God called the expanse “heaven.” And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Then God said, “Let the water under the heaven be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear,” and it happened.
And God called the dry land “earth”; and the gathering together of the waters He called “seas”: and God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth produce grass, and herbs, and fruit trees, all yielding after their own kind,” and it happened; And God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the heavens; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days, and years.” God made two great lights; the sun to rule by day and the moon to rule by night. He also made the stars.
And He set them all in the heavens to give light upon the earth; And God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Then God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth.” So God created great whales and everything that moves in the water, and winged animals—all these producing after their kinds; and God saw that it was good. And He blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply.” And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
Then God said, “Let the earth be filled with living creatures.” So He made the animals on the earth, the cattle, and every thing that crawls upon the earth—all producing after their kinds; and God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.” And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
So God created man in His own image; and He created them male and female. God named the first man Adam; then later Adam called the woman, Eve.
God created man in his own image; and He created them male and female. God named the first man; Adam; then later Adam called the woman, Eve.
And God said, “A man shall leave his father and his mother and cling to his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.”
And God saw everything that He had made, and it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
The heavens and the earth were finished, so on the seventh day God ended his work. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. The Lord God also planted a garden in Eden. And out of the ground He made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.
In the middle of the garden stood two trees: The Tree of Life and The Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil.
And the Lord put man in the garden of Eden to care for everything in it.
Then the Lord God commanded, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden except for The Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil.
You must never eat from that tree. In the day that you do, you will surely die.” God showed his love for Adam and Eve, by giving them all they needed and more to enjoy life to its fullest.
He also gave them the ability to make choices, and He gave these ancestors of all humankind an opportunity to use this ability wisely. God wanted Adam and Eve to show their respect by obeying His one command, to not eat from just that one tree. Everything else was theirs to enjoy.
To live in peace and happiness in their beautiful garden, Adam and Eve needed only to trust God’s wisdom, and respect His authority over them. They should have been grateful for life and happy in their freedom, but freedom to choose does not bring happiness when bad choices are made.
Long before God created humans, He also gave freedom of choice to the angels He had created. God desired honor from these angels, who inhabit the spirit realm, just as He desired honor from people.
Most angels did choose to follow God, and even today these angels worship the Lord and carry out his bidding, helping people in many ways. But other angels made a bad choice. They rejected God’s love, selecting instead Lucifer, the most beautiful angel as their leader. Lucifer’s arrogance and pride caused him to lose the honored position above God’s throne.
Lucifer fell from heaven for his rebellion, because he had challenged God by saying in his heart, “I will elevate my throne above the stars of God: I will be like the most High God.”
Lucifer, known also in the Bible as the Devil or Satan, desires worship which belongs only to God. Satan deceives people in order to obtain that worship, even masquerading as a beautiful angel of light, but his lies and his false religions cause pain—and suffering—and destruction.
So God pronounced doom to Lucifer saying, “You will be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”
The Fall of Humankind
In the beautiful new garden inhabited by Adam and Eve, Satan appeared to Eve in the form of a serpent.
Now this serpent was more crafty than any animal which the Lord God had made. And the serpent said unto the woman, “Are you sure God said, ‘You should not eat from every tree of the garden?’”
The woman answered, “We may eat fruit from all of the trees in the garden, except for the fruit on one tree in the middle of the garden. About it God said, ‘You must not eat from that tree. If you do, you will die.’”
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die: God knows that in the day you eat this fruit, your eyes will be opened, and you will be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
Eve took the fruit and ate it, and gave it to her husband, Adam, who was with her, and he ate it also.
The Bible says Satan is The Father of Lies, so of course—he tried to deceive the woman, and he lied to her about God.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to look at, and that it could make her wise, she took the fruit, and ate it, and gave it to her husband who was with her; and he ate it also.
Bonus resource: Man’s Choice (Adam and Eve coloring page) (pdf)
nstantly, their eyes were opened and their spirits became dead. They saw that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
Then, when they heard the voice of the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day, Adam and his wife hid themselves from God’s presence among the trees of the garden. Because they trusted their own reasoning instead of the words of God, they died spiritually and lost communion with the Lord.
Adam and Eve saw that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
Then the Lord God called to Adam, saying, “Where are you?”
Adam answered, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
Then God asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the one tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” Adam answered, “The woman that you gave to me, she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
And the Lord said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman answered, “The serpent deceived me, so I ate the fruit.”
Then the Lord said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above every animal; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life: And I will put hatred between you and the woman, and her descendant will crush your head.”
This curse against Satan is the first mention in God’s book that one day He would send a Savior, born of a woman, to defeat Satan.
To the woman God said, “I will greatly increase your grief. Having children will bring you sorrow; and your husband will rule over you.”
“The Land will produce thorns and weeds, and by the sweat of your brow you will eat bread until you return to the ground.”
And to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to your wife and have eaten from the forbidden tree, the ground is cursed. Now every day of your life, only through difficulty, will you eat from the ground.
It will produce thorns and weeds, and by the sweat of your brow you will eat bread until you return to the ground; I made you from dust and you will return to dust.”
The fig leaves which Adam and Eve sewed together did not cover their nakedness, so the Lord God made clothes from animal skins to cover Adam and his wife. God had to kill an animal to provide covering for them, so through Adam, sin and death entered the world.
This method—of covering people’s disobedience by the death of an innocent one, was God’s plan, even before He made the world. He knew that people would foolishly reject His leadership and instead try to be the God of their own lives and fail. God calls this rejection “sin.”
Yet, because of God’s love for everyone, He planned to send a Savior who would die, to provide the offer of forgiveness for the sins of all people.
Then the Lord banished Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden, and he placed angels, called Cherubim, at the east of the garden, and a flaming sword which turned every direction, guarding access to The Tree of Life.
From the moment of Adam’s sin, all people were destined to die. Yet, in God’s story, there is still hope.
The Broken Family of Cain and Abel
When Adam’s wife Eve conceived, she bore a son. Eve said, “I have received a man from the Lord.” So she named him Cain.
Then she bore another child, a boy called Abel. He chose to be a shepherd, while Cain became a farmer. At a time appointed by God, Cain brought his harvest from the field as an offering unto the Lord, but Abel brought a lamb. The Lord showed respect toward Abel and his offering, but He did not honor Cain and his offering.
Cain was furious, so the Lord asked, “Cain, why are you so
frustrated and angry?” God then reminded Cain that the death of an
animal was required for sacrifice. Just as fig leaves did not cover Adam
and Eve’s sin, a gift of bloodless plants and vegetables could never
cover sin either.God said that refusal to bring an animal for sacrifice displayed Cain’s rebellion, because he was not worshiping as God had instructed. The Bible says that Abel’s sacrifice showed faith in God’s words, but Cain’s sacrifice did not. Throughout the Scriptures, God reveals that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.
But Cain still refused to obey God and bring an animal sacrifice. Instead, he blamed the problem on Abel, his brother, and when they were in the field, Cain attacked Abel and killed him.
God cursed Cain for killing his brother, and Cain went out from the presence of the Lord.
Cain answered, “I don’t know: Am I my brother’s keeper?”
God said, “What have you done? I hear the voice of your brother’s blood crying to me from the ground. Now you will be cursed on the earth soaked with your brother’s blood which was drawn by your own hand.”
Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord. His rebellion against God caused the first murder and the first broken family.
But Adam and Eve had many other sons and daughters.
Noah and the Great Flood
As the years passed, people began to fill the earth. But when God saw that man’s wickedness covered the earth, and that every imagination of his heart was only evil continuallyit grieved the Lord.
And the Lord said, “I will destroy mankind, which I created, from the face of the earth.” But the Lord looked on Noah with favor. Noah, a righteous man, perfect in his generations, walked with God.
So God said to Noah, “The end of all mankind is coming. Because
people have filled the earth with violence, I will destroy them along
with the earth.Make yourself an ark of wood. Build rooms in it and cover it with tar, inside and out. Build the boat four hundred and fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high, but make only one door.
You, your wife, your three sons and their wives must go into the
ark. Bring also a male and female of every animal into the ark, to keep
them alive with you.Two of every sort will come to you, but you must take by sevens all the animals which I have declared holy.”
While building the ark, Noah preached to the wicked people, saying; “Those who refuse to honor God shall be destroyed.” Sadly, everyone mocked Noah and laughed at God’s warning.
But Noah and his family believed God, so at the appointed time they entered the ark, and the Lord shut them in.
During the Flood, the waters covered everything on the earth, including the hills, and even the mountains. All living creatures on earth died, except for everything in the Ark.
Finally, the water covered everything on the earth, including the hills and even the mountains.
Birds, cattle, walking and crawling animals, and every person on earth—all were destroyed, drowned in the flood. (see note)The waters covered the earth for one hundred and fifty days. But God took care of Noah and every living thing in the ark. Then God made a wind to pass over the earth causing the water level to begin to go down. The waters continued to recede from the earth.
When the ark came to rest upon the mountains of Ararat, and the plants began once again to grow, God spoke to Noah, saying, “Go out of the ark, you and every living thing with you.” And they went out.
Noah and his family made an alter and offered a sacrifice to the Lord.
Afterward, God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful, have many children, go out and refill the earth. Also, besides the plants I gave you for food, animals are now delivered into your hands to eat. But anyone who kills another human being must forfeit his own life, because man is made in the image of God.”
Then God said, “Behold, I am establishing My promise with you, and with your descendants after you. Never again will all people and animals die from a flood.
I am putting My rainbow in the clouds as a token of My promise.Whenever I bring rain clouds over the earth, you will see the rainbow, and I too will see it, and honor My covenant.”
The Tower of Babel
Many generations after Noah, when the whole earth still spoke the same language, people traveled to a plain in the Middle East and settled there.
Then they said to one another, “Let’s build a city and a tower, and let’s make a name for ourselves, so we won’t be scattered around the whole earth.”
The people made a tower designed for worshiping the sun, moon
and stars. Mankind had chosen to worship God’s creations instead of the
Lord Himself.
And He said, “Behold, the people are organizing as one group and since they all speak the same language, nothing they imagine to do will be held back from them. Let us go down and confuse their language, so that they cannot understand each other’s speech.” And the Lord mixed up their language, causing them to stop building the city.
Therefore the name of that city became “Babel,” which means
confusion; because there the Lord multiplied language on the earth,
causing people to scatter abroad..The Birth of a Nation
Now about four hundred years after the Great Flood, God appeared to a man named Abram, who lived in the Middle East, in a city called Ur.
Abrams home was in a city called UR, there God appeared to him.
So Abram departed, as the Lord had instructed, and entered into the land of Canaan.
God said to Abram; “Look at the heavens, and count the stars
if you are able. In the same way, your descendants shall be countless.”
Even though Abram and his wife, Sarai, had no children, Abram believed God; and God counted Abram’s faith as righteousness.
Then Abram said, “Lord God, how can I know that I will inherit this land?”
And God answered Abram, “It will happen like this. Your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will be mistreated for four hundred years. A nation will use them as slaves, but I will judge that nation, and afterward your descendants will come out with great wealth, and by the fourth generation they shall return to this land.”
But Sarai, Abram’s wife, still bore him no children, and she was getting old. So Sarai said to Abram, “I beg you to go have children by my Egyptian maid, Hagar, and I will just consider her children to be mine.”
Abram agreed with Sarai’s plan. Though he loved the Lord, Abram
failed to believe that God would give him a child through his wife. So Hagar bore Abram a son named Ishmael.Thirteen years later, when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared yet again to him, and said, “I am the Almighty God; walk before Me. I am giving you the new name of Abraham, which means, ‘Father of Multitudes’ and Sarai shall be called Sarah meaning ‘Princess.’ Now I will bless Sarah and give you a son also from her, and she shall be a mother of nations.”
Then Abraham pleaded with God, “O that Ishmael might live before You.”
God answered, “As for Ishmael, I have heard you: Behold, I have
also blessed him, and will greatly multiply his descendants; and I will
make him a great nation.” God fulfilled his promise to the descendants
of Abraham and Ishmael through the Arab nation.God then said, “But with Sarah’s son, and with his descendants after him, I will establish my covenant which is everlasting.”
After that, Sarah gave birth to Abraham’s son whom they named Isaac. Now when Isaac was grown, the Lord asked Abraham to demonstrate his faith.
God said, “Abraham”: and he answered, “Yes, I am here.“ And God said, ”Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon the mountain which I will instruct you to use.”
God said to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac,
whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a
burnt offering upon the mountain which I will instruct you to use.”
So Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and gave it to Isaac to carry. And he took a torch in his hand, and a knife; and they both went up the hill together.
Then Isaac asked Abraham, “Father? We have the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”Abraham said, “My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering.”
So they both continued up together until they came to the place where God had instructed Abraham to go. There Abraham built an altar and laid the wood in order.Then he tied up Isaac and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
And Abraham stretched out his hand with the knife, preparing to kill his son.
Then the angel of the Lord called out of heaven, saying, “Abraham, Abraham.”
And he answered, “Here I am.” And the Lord said, “Do not lay your hand on Isaac for now I know that you revere Me, since you did not withhold your only son.”
And Abraham lifted up his head and looked, and there, behind him, was a ram caught in a bush by his horns. So Abraham took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son.The Bible says that Abraham knew that God would fulfill His promises about Isaac, even if God had to raise Isaac from the dead.
Then because of Abraham’s faith, God said,“ I will bless you. I will multiply your descendants as the stars of all heaven; And through your offspring, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because you obeyed my voice.”
Then Abraham rejoiced as he understood that the Savior, promised long before in the Garden, would come from his descendants.God’s test of Abraham also illustrated how, one day, God, the heavenly Father, would offer His only beloved son as a sacrifice for the whole world.
QUOTES ABOUT GOD !
MY POEM =)
Dearest Lord,Thank you for the little things
That fill my heart with hope.
For thinking of these little things
Sure seems to change the scope...
Budding flowers, seedling trees,
A warm afternoon and a cool summer breeze;
The lady bug, the butterfly,
Big puffy clouds in a baby blue sky;
The clover patch, the honey bee,
A Sunday brunch or afternoon tea;
The sparkle of a midnight star,
And wishing on it from afar;
The calming effect of an evening rain,
As it taps against the window pane.
For all these things I can't complain!
So, when my life seems rough to me
I think of all your kindness brings,
And I find my spirits lifted up,
For you truly give my soul its wings.
Yes, Thank You Lord, for the little things.
I love your poem. Thank you for this blog. It's really great. Even if it was only for yourself. I needed this today and I fell upon this by trying to find a illustration for a silly prompt for my art students. This was nice, thank you as well.
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