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What is God like?

There are two basic ways to get answers to this question. On the one hand, we can learn what God is like through experience. We see the world around us and live our lives, and the sum total of each day is a lesson on what God is like. The problem is, we don't have a good frame of reference to put our experiences in, so understanding what God is like through experience is very confusing without some kind of context. Let me illustrate, suppose you were developing a new friendship with someone from another country, but you didn't know which country or anything about it. Over time you would probably feel really confused because that person has many different customs and mannerisms that are, well, foreign to you. However, if you checked out a web site that gave you all the background and nature of that country, suddenly the things that your friend does would start to make sense. In the same way, consider the Bible as the website that gives you the background and information you need to put your friendship with God into context. So what would you find out on God's website?

  1. God is eternal (Gen 21:33) - this means that He always has been and always will be. He never had a beginning and will never have an end.
  2. God is unchanging (James 1:17) - this means that God's nature and character will always be the same. He is totally reliable, stable and unchanging.
  3. God is everywhere (Psalm 139:7-12) - not that He is "in everything," but His awareness covers all places and all times. There is not one molecule on the remotest part of the Universe that is out of His field of vision.
  4. God is Sovereign (Ephesians 1:8) - this means that He is the ruler of all the universe - "cosmic King" - for eternity. Everything and everyone is ultimately under His control. Even Satan must get permission from Him to do certain things (Job 1,2).
  5. God is all knowing (Matt 11:21) - this means that God knows all actual and possible things. He knows what was, what is, what will be and what could be. There are no mysteries to Him. He knows everything about you. He knows what you are like and what you will be like in the future. He knows more about you than you do.
  6. God is all powerful (Rev. 19:6) - this means there is no being more powerful. If you brought all the creatures in the universe together and collectively tapped their strength, their strength would be nothing compared to God's strength. He is infinitely more powerful than anything and anyone!
  7. God is love (I John 4:16) - this means that God is motivated by unselfish and pure concern. "For God so loved the world that he gave..." (John 3:16.) Because God loves, God gives.
  8. God is Holy (I John 1:5) - this means that He is completely separate from anything sinful, because sin is anything contrary to God¹s nature and character. Therefore all the other attributes of God are tempered by His holiness. His justice is holy. His love is holy. His wisdom is holy...and so on.
  9. God is Jesus (John 1) - if you want to really know what God is like, get to know Jesus Christ through the Gospels. Our Savior is God in the flesh.