Who is God?

[Fez]

Read every book on Theology (The study of God), that has ever been written and still we would not know.

 

He has just always been and will always be.

 

But He loves you.....

[hippo's hope is HIM]

Some of these are really interesting answers. I've read them all, contemplated and appreciate them.

 

Just want to comment on a few though, as I am just tired, and honestly having a hard time right now:

 

Bary: You said

 

God has power over nature. He can destroy everything in a moment. This same sovereignty over creation was shown when Jesus walked on water... yet... God is not to be confused with the mountains, the wind or fire. Here in 1 Kings God showed Elijah his great power, and then revealed himself to Elijah with a low whisper. Besides just showing Elijah his power and transcendent nature God also cared about Elijah, knew him, and wanted to communicate with him. This is amazing to me.

It's amazing to me too. I think sometimes, I look for him to show his power and all and really He is likely whispering and I just cannot hear him. I wonder why God communicates with us. Or doesn't. What motivates God? I dunno. I just can't seem to make sense of any of it.

 

Patty: I used to love that song. Listened to it all the time. I used to think I 'saw' God like that. All around me in things, and people, and beautiful moments.

 

MorningGlory when I asked, "What happened to God" What I meant is on what level does God experience the world. What is God's testimony...or history. His experience. If he is energy and all around us and in everything, and outside of time, then I wonder what God experiences. What does he go through?

 

God spoke the world into existence according to Genesis. The power of words ought to mean something to us. There's that old saying, "Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words can never hurt us". Biggest lie. Words have the power to build and to destroy. But back to God. If he can do anything- and he chose to create a world in which he KNEW already, apparently, would fail Him. Would break his heart. Would not be able to be sin free. Why did he do it at all?

 

I wish I could know that moment where God decided he would create the world, and put people in it. If he's been around forever-for all time, how do we know earth is the first run? Maybe God has made 100s of earths and we don't even know it. and we are but one page in this history of God's book of experiments, or creations, or whatever you want to it.

 

Fez: Why are you okay with not knowing? How can I be okay without knowing? I am jealous of the people here who merely put "He is" like that was supposed to just magically make a whole lot of sense. I want to be able to just go okay, yeah, cool, God is who He is and I'm not going to think about the logistics of any of it.

 

[MissPlaced_56]

{{{{{BETHY}}}},

I've been thinking about you're question for awhile now....

My dear Sister in CHRIST, I will say this to you,Your are in a good place....

You See until we are willing to ask ourselves and GOD the "HARD" questions, how are we ever gonna find the Answer's that we seek???

 

GBU Bethy as you recieve  the answer's that you seek.

[gdemoss]

Who is God?

The simple question that has a complex answer is 'Who'. The best way I find to answer this is to begin with a temporal earth example such as myself. Most people cannot adequately answer the question 'who' am I, much more who is God.

Who am I? I am a human. I am a man. I am a son. I am a father. I am a machinist. I am a Christian. I am the one who bought the home I live in. I am one who loves the blue in the sky and cloud formations. I am an alcoholic. I am spiritually alive. I am one who loves his enemies as best God enables me too. I am a created being of God. I am one who despises envy, jealousy and emulation. I am one who is interested in truly helping others to begin to understand that God is as well as who he is. The list about who I am could encompass a small novel if ever completed. It is the same case with God except God's volume set would be much larger. Please allow me to continue to answer the more specific questions about who God is.

Specifically, how do we know who God is?

To get to know 'who' God is I simply looked up to heaven and asked if he were real that he would then help me to know him. By faith I was led to believe that God is the God of the bible and that through this medium he has chosen to reveal himself unto us.

We clearly know who Jesus was and is. But God?

According to the bible Jesus is the express image of the person of God in the form of a human. When Phillip asked to see the Father, Jesus responded by saying to him 'how long have you been with me and you have not seen me?'. To know Jesus is to know God. The only difference between them being 'form', human versus spirit. For me, the bible helps me to relate to God by seeing both God in the form of God as well as God in the form of man. Upon reading it repeatedly, I get the feeling that I better understand God and can talk to him as if he were standing in front of me face to face though he never has materialized for me. Many times I believe I know and seemingly hear what he would say as if he were sharing my body with me, and by faith I believe he does. I can sense his presence sometimes more than others as in his presence is the fullness of joy.

What does he look like?

God is spirit, he cannot be seen except he take some form to allow himself to be seen but even then he merely looks like whatever he wishes to portray himself as because he has no fixed physical features. We know Jesus was not very good looking according to Isaiah.

Sound like?

This would be one of the most difficult questions to answer. I can say that I have heard God speak to me from within but cannot pinpoint a sound to his voice. I have heard God speak to me through others wherein it is his words but their voice. I have never heard God speak from heaven as he did in the bible but am sure he sounds like whatever he wants to whenever he wants too. When Jesus showed up after his resurrection the apostles could not recognize him by sight at times but John understood who he was by what he said. If you want to know his 'voice', I suggest talking to him regularly and asking him to help you understand when he is speaking to you and how.

What happened to him?

Nothing. He is still perfectly the same as he has ever been without ever changing. We live and move and have our being in his being. Everything you see, hear, touch, taste and feel is part of God's voice, what he has said. He is right there with you all the time whether you can sense his presence or not.

How long has he existed?

Always. Time is comprised of the perception of the present which is all there truly is. The past is simply remembrance of an image of the state of the present as it were at a certain reference point. The future is simply the new state of the present when the present changes into it's new state through the process of change that is due to objects continually changing motion. God is the only thing that has always been and always will be, never changing. He has no beginning or end and does not change. We have difficulty finding a reference point to understand that because our whole world changes constantly.

What does he experience?

His experience would be relative to his form or state of being. We were created in his image. Often times people become confused because God is spoken of in human terms such as having eyes to see when he is not in human form. He put eyes in our bodies that we might understand what it means to perceive by sight yet God himself is not limited in his ability to see as he sees everything. Nothing is hidden from him.

Does he have feelings?

Yes. Our feelings were designed after God's feelings as we were created in his image.

Does God have a memory?

And God remembered Noah...

Does he forget things?

No. Not in the sense of loosing track of something. He does, however, choose not to bring things to mind. He will remember our sins no more.

Since God is not human, how can he understand a human? Relate to us?

I am not a car but I can understand a car and relate to it.
I am not an animal but I can understand them and relate to them.
But in the question at hand, we are one in the same only different in form. We are in the form of man whereas God is in the form of God. Only the form is different. One is limited while the other is unlimited except in one certain sense and that is that God cannot change. God is limited to being who he is regardless of that which is outside of himself. We can change. We can deny ourselves. God cannot deny himself.

Just a few words in hope that they help you move toward a better understanding of the questions at hand. Keep learning and searching, and you will not be disappointed as you seek the truth about God as God is the truth.