Chapter 2: God (Great Themes of Theology I)

IN THIS CHAPTER, you will discover:

·   God as Living, Personal, and Spirit.
·   God as Infinite, Eternal, and Unchanging.
·   God as Holy, Love, and Truth.
·   God as Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Glorious.

AS A RESULT, you will be able to:

·   Understand the personhood of God and how He relates to you.
·   Know why God in His attributes is different from you.
·   Recognize God's character qualities that the Holy Spirit seeks to reproduce in you.
·   Strengthen your faith that the "omni" God is in control of your life and the world.

Key Scripture: "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).

Key Words: Anthropomorphism, Incorporeal

God. How do we with finite minds and limited language describe the infinite God? Webster's Dictionary defines God as "the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness whom men worship as creator and ruler of the universe." The NIDB (New International Dictionary of the Bible), quoting the Westminster Shorter Catechism, gives this excellent definition: "God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth" (p. 393). In the book of Revelation God defines Himself: "I am the Alpha and the Omega - who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty" (1:8). Christian theology affirms the existence of God.

We know God exists because of the record in Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible attests God's reality: "In the beginning, God to "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen." Esther and the Song of Songs are the only books in the Bible that do not mention the name of God. Apart from these two, God is the subject of the other sixty-four books. After LORD, God is the most commonly used noun in the Bible. The New International Version uses it 3,979 times.

In spite of the biblical evidence, many people do not acknowledge God. Why is this? Like a recipe with a missing ingredient, God cannot be known without faith. The God-shaped vacuum inside each person remains empty, unless man responds first to God. Pride and independence impede human submission to God's purposes. With man's response of faith, God makes His reality fully known through the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit assures us that we are sons and daughters of God. "Abba! Father!" is the personal salutation that we now give God.

God reveals His identity in several ways in Scripture. He is frequently called the "living God." Pagan idols are only lifeless images; the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is alive. The first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:3), emphasizes the distinctiveness of God over other "gods." The living God is the giver of life. Creation is the extension of His divine pulse. God "has life in himself" (John 5:26), which means He eternally exists. There is no moment in time when He came into being; neither is there a process of growth in His divinity. He is always "I am." Any notion that God is dead is patently absurd. He is the same "yesterday and today and forever" (Heb. 13:8).

The intimate fellowship between God and Adam and Eve in the garden shows that God is personal. Cain, Noah, Abraham, and Moses are some of the Bible characters to whom God related. Even as our names indicate personal uniqueness, God also has many names. Note in the Old Testament names of God. These are but a few found in Scripture. The supreme personal name of God is "Father." The close relationship of parent to child is reflected in that name.

Closely related to the names of God are the anthropomorphisms that occur in Scripture. These are human physical and emotional qualities ascribed to the divine spiritual God. In your Further Study exercise you will discover many physical characteristics, physical actions, and emotional characteristics the Bible uses to describe God. How do we reconcile such descriptions with the fact that God is a spirit? Can a spirit have ears and hands, walk and sleep, laugh and grieve? No indeed, but such language suggests personal qualities within God to which we can relate. To deny anthropomorphisms is to deny the personal reality of God. Although a spirit, God is not without form. The Old Testament describes many divine encounters - Abraham with the three angels (Gen. 18), Jacob wrestling with a man (Gen. 32), and Moses at the burning bush (Ex. 3). Such mysterious appearances were abandoned with the Incarnation, because Jesus became the final revelation of the personal God. He walked and talked with and touched humanity at every level. He exemplified the central aspect of God's character, which is love. Since love is the core of human relationship, it follows that God is supremely personal, since He "is love" (1 John 4:8). It is glorious to realize that we can have a personal relationship with the God of the universe!

Our Key Scripture states that God is a spirit. Let us develop that thought now. What is a spirit? It is incorporeal; that is, it does not have a body. Also, it is nonmaterial. Whenever the form of God is seen, the Old Testament describes it as like a human form. That is why the Bible can say of God, "whom no one has seen or can see" (1 Tim. 6:16). God's form is invisible. God warned Moses, "You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live" (Ex. 33:20). It is for man\'s protection that God does not manifest Himself. His awesomeness would be too overwhelming for humans to encounter. It is only in the new heaven that Paul says we will meet "face to face" (1 Cor. 13:12). Anthropomorphisms can be misleading, since they suggest that God has parts to His being. God is not somehow partly in heaven and partly on earth; He is whole and undivided.

Spirit also suggests action. In Scripture the Hebrew and Greek words for "spirit" also can be translated "breath" or "wind." Breath is essential for life, and this dynamic quality of God brought forth creation. God breathed into the dust of the ground, and man came alive. An aspect of wind is its freedom. Jesus, in comparing the Holy Spirit to the wind, said to Nicodemus, "The wind blows wherever it pleases" (John 3:8). God has no limitations. Whether in relation to His universe or to humanity, God can do as He wills. He is the free Lord who acts with all wisdom and power.

We have thus established the fundamental fact of Christian theology: God is. Daily you reconfirm that fact by reading the Scriptures, believing God for your needs, and receiving the inner assurance of the Holy Spirit. Further, we have noted three aspects of God's identity: He is living, personal, and spirit. Knowing the identity of God deepens and broadens our relationship with Him.

Personal Application: Have you experienced the reality of God recently? What specific areas do you desire that God show His love and concern for your life?

Group Application: Think of other human characteristics not mentioned in your topical Bible study. How do such anthropomorphisms help you to relate to God?

Key Scripture: "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple" (Isa. 6:1).

Key Words: Transcendent, Infinite, Eternal, Immutable

God has attributes that are incommunicable, that is, they cannot be shared by humanity. These make Him transcendent: He surpasses the universe and all material existence. The transcendence of God is highlighted by three aspects of His nature: He is infinite, eternal, and immutable.

God is infinite because He cannot be bound by time or space. God created both, yet He stands above them. He is free of all limitations. In His infinity God is absolutely perfect. More will be said later about this in regard to His divine character. Scripture speaks of God's infinity through its frequent portrayals of God's exalted status. The book of Revelation is rich in such pictures. In Chapter 4, God is on His throne, surrounded by the elders and living creatures. The elders are prostrate before the throne, saying,"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being" (v. 11). Such is a model of our response to God\'s majesty. The infinity of God calls for worship from His creation.

Because we are creatures of time, it is difficult for us to understand the meaning of eternal. Yet God is an everlasting God. He is without beginning or end and thus transcends all time limitations. When God told Moses His name, He said,"I AM WHO I AM" (Ex. 3:14). The eternal present is the time frame in which God works. Peter wrote in his second letter, "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day" (3:8). While God is above time, He has not forgotten time. God is intimately involved in the timely events of His creation. Christ's birth into the world at the opportune time brought salvation to humanity. Eternal does not mean inactive or static. Within the Godhead there is continuous activity. This provides a clue to the eternal life we will share with God. Heaven is sometimes portrayed as a boring place where the saints will sit on clouds playing harps. Eternity is not a timeless no-man's-land. Rather, it is a dwelling place where we will join Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to live in productive activity forever.

God does not change; He is immutable. Malachi 3:6 states this truth: "I the LORD do not change." Change from a human perspective involves movement either forward or backward, growth or decay. It defies reason that a perfect God needs to improve. Within Himself God is no different today than He ever was or will be. God does not grow older as we do; He need not mature in His thinking. This portrait of a changeless God perhaps suggests an aloof deity who indifferently watches the world pass by. Such a suggestion is far from the biblical picture; our God ardently involves Himself with His creation. Frequently in Scripture God is referred to as the Rock. This vivid metaphor reflects the constancy and stability of God.

If God is changeless, why is God said to relent and change His mind in the Old Testament? Several factors account for this. God promised judgment for violation of His covenant.

Repeatedly Israel broke God's law and thus fell under punishment. In response to the intercession of such leaders as Moses (Ex. 32:14), Jeremiah (26:3,13,19), and Amos (7:3,6), God relented of His plans to bring disaster upon His people. This"change" by God is not really some modification of His nature. Rather, it is the outworking of His covenant promises. God's response is unchanging. When man obeys His law, God blesses; when man disobeys, God judges. When people repent, God forgives and often suspends His judgment. In that sense He changes His mind.

Personal Application: How has God shown He is the Rock in your life.? What aspect of His stability and support do you most appreciate?

Group Application: Share your concept of eternal and everlasting. What do you think heaven will be like?

Key Scripture: "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love" (1 John 4:8).

Key Phrase: Fear of the LORD

We now come to the attributes of God that touch upon His moral nature. These are called communicable attributes, because God passed them to man at His creation. With the Fall, man's moral nature was tainted, however. Only with the new birth is humanity\'s moral nature fully restored. In this study our focus will be on the God of holiness, love, and truth.

The foundation of God's nature is His holiness. Throughout the Old Testament God reveals Himself as holy. The codes that regulated the daily life of Israel were given for one reason: "Be holy, because I am holy" (Lev. 11:45). Over thirty times in the book of Isaiah God is called "the Holy One." Although the NewTestament has fewer references to divine holiness, Jesus is also called "the Holy One of God" (John 6:69).

To be holy means to be separate or set apart. To be set apart from sin and evil is the negative side of holiness; the positive side is to be set apart unto moral excellence and perfection. Holiness points to God's majesty and purity. Before God\'s majesty, Joshua and John fell on their faces. It inspires awe in God\'s people, both then and now. Purity characterizes our God. Before Aaron and his sons could enter the tabernacle, they were commanded to wash their hands and feet (Ex. 30: 17 -21). The pure gold that overlaid the Ark of the Covenant prevented the decay of this symbol of God's holy presence. Both illustrations symbolize the purity of God.

Closely related to holiness is righteousness. God in Himself has total integrity and uprightness. In turn, God expects man to walk uprightly. He established laws and ordinances that regulate behavior. Violation of His commandments brings punishment. ln Romans 3 Paul discusses humanity's inability to fulfill the righteousness of the Law, thus "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (v. 23). At the cross God's righteous anger was poured out upon sin. Through Christ's blood a new righteousness was established, apart from the Law, which man could now fulfill. This righteousness of the heart is summarized in the Sermon on the Mount. We were made righteous through the cross, and are becoming righteous through the indwelling Spirit of Jesus.

Justice is a related aspect of righteousness. In the execution of His righteousness, God is just. He plays no favorites, unlike human judges. As Judge of the earth, God penalizes wrongdoing and rewards obedience. Judgment or blessings are the consequences experienced in this life. On a future Judgment Day all humanity will stand before God. He will judge us based on the works done in this life. God's justice is seen in His concern for the poor and afflicted. The "rejects" of this world - the orphans, the unborn, the homeless - are the apple of God's eye and thus objects of His special concern. True religion cares for society's outcasts.

Fear of the LORD is a common biblical expression related to a human response to God's holiness. Obviously, this does not mean being afraid of God. Rather, it is an attitude of reverence and awe for both sinner and saint. Often today there is a casualness in our dealings with God. Spiritual matters become too common. We must be reminded that God is righteous and holy. Like Moses, we must, at times, remove our shoes on the holy ground of His presence.

Central to God's nature is His love. John states this fact in our Key Scripture. God expresses His love through the choice of a people - lsrael in the Old Testament and the church in the New. Love underscores all His actions relating to His people. God delivered Israel from Egypt, and Jesus laid down His life on the cross, all out of love. Divine love, called agape, is active and self-giving. Like the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), God constantly extends His love, despite our moral lapses and personal failures. God's love in Christ is universal. Perhaps the most familiar scripture in the Bible begins, "For God so loved the world…." (John 3:16). Christ\'s atoning death brought eternal life to the unloved and unlovely sinners of this world.

Grace is an aspect of love that points to God\'s unmerited favor. It particularly relates to salvation through Jesus Christ: "For it is by grace you have been saved…..." (Eph. 2:8). Paul in his letters frequently speaks of grace as an ongoing reality in the believer's life. Through God's grace we have the ability and power to accomplish His will. Mercy is yet another aspect. Embodied in God\'s mercy are compassion and forgiveness. Jesus often displayed mercy as He fed the crowds, healed the sick, and raised the dead. God still responds to the needs of His people with mercy.

The Old Testament frequently refers to the loving kindness of God. The refrain of Psalm 136 repeats 26 times the phrase, "His loving kindness is everlasting" (NASB). (Note that other versions translate the Hebrew word hesed as "love" or "mercy" in this chapter.) God particularly expresses His loving kindness as He keeps covenant with His people. When God answers prayer by keeping His promises, His people receive His loving kindness.

A final word that expresses God's love is His goodness. God's inner goodness overflows into benevolence for all His creation. Jesus epitomized the goodness of God. As the Good Shepherd, He laid down His life for the flock. He now leads His people beside quiet waters to refresh and renew them. God has no dark side; He is no Jekyll and Hyde. The evil in the world does not have its source in God, for He is totally good. Romans 8:28 affirms that the good God "causes all things to work together for good to those who love God" (NASB). Despite outward circumstances, God makes the good triumph in our lives.
The final moral quality to examine is truth. He is the only true God. There are many false gods in the world - mere idols worshiped by humanity. In Jesus Christ the true God is fully revealed. God has complete integrity, for He cannot lie. Both general and special revelation point to a God whose being, actions, and words are true. He similarly calls His people to integrity and honesty. In our day deception and deceit are prevalent. As the church, we are challenged to mirror the truth of God in all we say and do.

God is dependable. He has built structure and order into His creation. We rely on the sun to rise each day, the seasons to come and go. If God is so dependable toward the natural world, consider how dependable He is with His people. We cannot fail if we depend upon God. Closely related is His faithfulness. God is unwaveringly committed to a relationship with His people. He will not break His covenant. The writer of Hebrews, quoting Deuteronomy 31:6, declares of God, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (13:5). Through thick and thin, despite sin and unfaithfulness, God is there. Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 B.C. as punishment for the waywardness of Judah. Jeremiah, looking over the ruined city, made this remarkable statement: "Great is your faithfulness" (Lam. 3:23). Jeremiah knew that God would fulfill His promises to Israel, in spite of this seemingly insurmountable setback.

The promise of faithfulness is found in the New Testament also. God watches over the salvation of His people. He will keep us from falling into sin, if we obey Him. God is true to His covenant, His promises, and His church. He guarantees the results, because He has now sent "the Spirit of Truth" into our hearts to "guide you into all truth" (John 16:13). With such a promise, we are assured of success.

Personal Application: What are some ways you can show reverence for the Lord? Is it a proper reverence, or are you actually afraid of God\'s holiness?

Group Application: Choose an attribute that best fits each member\'s concept of God. How do such perceptions of God influence your relationship with Him?

Key Scripture: "I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD, and I fell facedown" (Ezek. 44:4).

Key Words: Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omnipresence

In this final lesson on God Himself, our focus is on His non-moral attributes called perfections. These include the three "omnis" - omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. These perfections stand between the attributes of transcendence and character. To recall our previous lessons, the transcendent attributes (infinite, eternal, unchangeable) cannot be shared with humanity. The character attributes (holiness, love, and truth) can be fully shared.

The perfections of total power, total knowledge, and total presence represent the fullness of what humanity knows and experiences in measure. Our power, wisdom, and presence are quite limited. Yet we do have them "in part" (1 Cor. 13:9,12). The gifts of the Holy Spirit, mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, are divine enhancements of these limitations. They are given to work God's purposes beyond our own natural abilities. While these gifts are the subject of a future study, it is useful to see their relationship to the perfections of God. Our lesson concludes with a look at the glory of God - that splendor encompassing His other attributes like a radiant garment.

The first divine perfection to consider is omnipotence. It simply means all-powerful. Scripture throughout testifies to God's power and might. Particularly in the books of Genesis and Revelation do we see God as Almighty. The Old Testament name that reveals His omnipotence is El Shaddai. God told Abraham this name upon making a covenant with Him (Gen. 17:1). The name in Revelation is pantokrator, which refers to God's supremacy over all things. Thus, we see in God's names reference to His mighty power.

Scripture affirms that "with God all things are possible" (Matt. 19:26). He can do whatever He wants. If that is so, we might ask, "Can God sin?" The answer is "No," because God's perfections are in balance with His transcendent and moral attributes. The holy God thus cannot sin. This fact does not diminish His omnipotence in the slightest. God within Himself cannot contradict His attributes. They always work in total unity and harmony.

Even though God can do all things, He is not directly responsible for all expressions of power and force in the world. Within His creation, God has placed tremendous power. If you have observed a tornado or a hurricane, you have seen such force. Their destructive energy cannot be blamed on God. To call such disasters "acts of God" is to say God caused them. This is a misunderstanding of God's role in His universe. To carry our illustration further, man has invented powerful weapons that today threaten the survival of the human race. Such a predicament cannot be blamed on God. He is only responsible for creating humanity and the atoms used. He cannot be blamed for the power that humanity has perverted.

On the other side, some suggest that God is limited in His power. No longer can He deal effectively with the universe He has created. The massive problems that confront us today indicate God has lost control. This view fails to recognize that sin is the real problem and not God's impotence. Within the Christian church, God's omnipotence is often seen as valid in the past, but with no relevance today. His great power was demonstrated through mighty miracles in the Old and New Testaments, which culminated in the resurrection of Jesus. We might ask though, "Did God only work His great power for Israel and the early church?" The answer is assuredly "No." God continues to display His power for Christians today. More will be said on this in a later chapter, "Miracles."

A second divine perfection to be examined is omniscience: God is all-knowing. Let us examine several aspects of God's knowledge. It is universal because "he knows everything" (1 John 3:20). Thus, it has no limitations. It is also immediate. God did not have to attend school; He is not a precocious learner. As the source of all knowledge, His mind encompasses all knowledge. As the Creator of the universe, His knowledge of its activity is firsthand.

One puzzling aspect of God's omniscience is His foreknowledge. He knows what will happen in the future, even the details of our lives. In the New Testament divine foreknowledge relates particularly to salvation. Again, this subject will be developed in the "Great Themes 2" course.

Let it be said here that God's foreknowledge never overrides human free will. God's knowledge, unlimited by time, works hand-in-hand with human choice.

God's omniscience might seem threatening at first, as if God were a divine mind reader. But for those who have set aside evil and opened their hearts to God, this attribute is a source of comfort and assurance. Through the ups and downs of our lives, God is there to understand. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount assures us that our needs of food, drink, and clothing will be met: "Your heavenly Father knows that you need them" (Matt. 7:32). As we seek the righteousness of God's kingdom, "all these things will be given to you as well" (v. 33). Righteous living is the key to peace of mind with God's omniscience. If we have nothing to hide, then God has nothing to find.

Williams includes divine wisdom in his discussion of divine knowledge. The two interrelate in Scripture and are difficult to distinguish. God knows all the facts of our lives (knowledge). Then He chooses the best possible ends from all the possible alternatives and supplies the means to achieve them. These right ends are chosen for the best reasons (wisdom). Thus Paul can affirm that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Rom. 8:28). God's wisdom is exemplified in the cross. Paul writes that "the message of the cross is foolishness...…" to the world (1 Cor. 1:18), but to those who believe, it is "the wisdom of God" (v. 24). The all-wise God, who realized His ultimate purpose in Jesus Christ, now seeks to replicate His glorious purposes in our lives.

Because God is omnipresent, He is one hundred percent throughout the universe. He does not "spread Himself thin" to accomplish this. Recall our earlier study that stated that God is not material but a spirit. We think of physical presence and cannot comprehend spiritual presence. Angels are spirits, yet God's presence is on still a higher level. How can one be entirely there everywhere? Yet God is, first throughout His creation and then in His relationship with humanity. Even though spiritual distance may separate the sinner from God, God is still immediately at hand. Read Psalm 139:7-12, which vividly illustrates the truth of God's omnipresence. This divine omnipresence became spatially real in Christ's Incarnation. Jesus was present on earth to reveal the ever-present invisible God. With His ascension to the Father, Christ once again left the physical realm of earth. Yet He assured His disciples (and us) that His presence would continue through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, who dwells in the church and in the heart of each believer, God's omnipresence is vividly experienced today. Through His abiding reality we can affirm that God is everywhere present in the universe.

We conclude our discussion of God by speaking of His glory. The Psalms repeatedly declare the glory of God. Whenever the manifest presence of God appeared in the Old Testament, it is an expression of His glory. Williams defines the glory of God as "the radiant splendor and awesome majesty of God Himself" (p. 79). God's glory overarches His attributes and perfection. In fact, it shines through every aspect of His being and action. Ezekiel saw God's throne like a rainbow in its radiance (1:27-28). After Moses saw God's glory, "his face was radiant" (Ex. 34:30). The people so feared this manifestation of divine glory that Moses veiled his face in their presence. Only when he spoke with God did he remove the veil (w. 30-35). Israel also experienced this divine majesty and radiance in the wilderness tabernacle (Ex. 40:34-38) and in the temple in Jerusalem. When Solomon dedicated the temple, God's glory so filled its courts that the priests could not enter to minister (2 Chron. 5:13-14; 7:1-4). Imagine a holy fog so thick you could not enter!

Jesus is the fullest expression of God's divine glory. The writer of Hebrews says this in 1 :3: "The Son is the radiance of God's glory…." His glory was fully seen at the Transfiguration. Peter, James, and John saw that "the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became bright as a flash of lightning" (Luke 9:29). Later, "they saw his glory" (v. 32). The height of human experience is to encounter God's glory. Moses, Ezekiel, and John were permanently changed because of their encounters. Such an experience is now possible through faith in Jesus Christ. Ultimately, God's glory will fill the entire earth. John gives a marvelous picture of the new heaven in Revelation 22. Then we "will see his face" (v. 4). Neither sun nor lamps will be needed again to light the darkness, for God's glory will be an eternal light. Basking in God's glory, His people "will reign forever and ever" (v. 5). On such a glorious note we conclude our study of God.

Personal Application: Share any personal encounters with the glory of God. How has such an experience changed your walk with God?

Group Application: Is God's omniscience threatening to you? What role does His foreknowledge play in your decision making?