God's Identity

[book_wirm]

Who is God?

I know, I know....it's a big question! But how we define God in our own mind dictates how we will approach Him; how we will serve Him; and even how we will behave toward our fellow man. Just as with any human God is more than the single sided entity that the world usually chooses to view Him as. What thoughts do you have on God and how do you think those thoughts affect your Christianity?

[Guest shiloh357]

Who is God?

I know, I know....it's a big question! But how we define God in our own mind dictates how we will approach Him; how we will serve Him; and even how we will behave toward our fellow man. Just as with any human God is more than the single sided entity that the world usually chooses to view Him as. What thoughts do you have on God and how do you think those thoughts affect your Christianity?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is a broad question. God is defined by His Word. God is what His Word says He is.

I will give one specific: The Bible demonstrates that God is completely faithful to keep His promises. He has never broken one promise He has made. This bears on Christianity. Because God has been 100% faithful in the past, we can have complete confidence in Him today. We can confident about our salvation and the promises relative to that because God has shown Himself absolutely faithful.

[book_wirm]

shiloh said:

"God is what His word says He is."

Amen, brother! I couldn't agree more. And it's a good start to this post to confess His faithfulness. It's that faithfulness that assures us we are not wasting our time going to Him with our cares or trusting Him with our souls. We know that what He has said He will do He will do.

The world around us (men, governments, churches, etc) will fail us from time to time but God can't...it is opposed to who He says He is and what history has proven Him to be. Without his faithfulness we cannot know what of the things He has said in His word we can believe.

Deut 7:9

Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he [is] God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

Psa 89:8

O LORD God of hosts, who [is] a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

Isa 25:1

O LORD, thou [art] my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful [things; thy] counsels of old [are] faithfulness [and] truth.

Mal 3:6

For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

I Cor 1:9

God [is] faithful, by whom ye were called unto fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

So we have,

FAITHFUL: affect-breeds trust

[jc49]

Who is God?

I know, I know....it's a big question! But how we define God in our own mind dictates how we will approach Him; how we will serve Him; and even how we will behave toward our fellow man. Just as with any human God is more than the single sided entity that the world usually chooses to view Him as. What thoughts do you have on God and how do you think those thoughts affect your Christianity?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is a broad question. God is defined by His Word. God is what His Word says He is.

I will give one specific: The Bible demonstrates that God is completely faithful to keep His promises. He has never broken one promise He has made. This bears on Christianity. Because God has been 100% faithful in the past, we can have complete confidence in Him today. We can confident about our salvation and the promises relative to that because God has shown Himself absolutely faithful.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

AMEN AMEN AMEN

[jc49]

shiloh said:

"God is what His word says He is."

Amen, brother! I couldn't agree more. And it's a good start to this post to confess His faithfulness. It's that faithfulness that assures us we are not wasting our time going to Him with our cares or trusting Him with our souls. We know that what He has said He will do He will do.

The world around us (men, governments, churches, etc) will fail us from time to time but God can't...it is opposed to who He says He is and what history has proven Him to be. Without his faithfulness we cannot know what of the things He has said in His word we can believe.

Deut 7:9

Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he [is] God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

Psa 89:8

O LORD God of hosts, who [is] a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

Isa 25:1

O LORD, thou [art] my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful [things; thy] counsels of old [are] faithfulness [and] truth.

Mal 3:6

For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

I Cor 1:9

God [is] faithful, by whom ye were called unto fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

So we have,

FAITHFUL: affect-breeds trust

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

AMEN AMEN AMEN

[jc49]

Who is God?

I know, I know....it's a big question! But how we define God in our own mind dictates how we will approach Him; how we will serve Him; and even how we will behave toward our fellow man. Just as with any human God is more than the single sided entity that the world usually chooses to view Him as. What thoughts do you have on God and how do you think those thoughts affect your Christianity?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

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What are the attributes of God? What is God like?

Question: "What are the attributes of God? What is God like?"

Answer: The good news, as we try to answer this question, is that there is much that can be found out about God! Those who examine this explanation may find it helpful to first read through it entirely; then go back and look up selected Scripture passages for further clarification. The Scripture references are completely necessary, for without the authority of the Bible, this collection of words would be no better than man's opinion; which by itself is often incorrect in understanding God (Job 42:7). To say that it is important for us to try to understand what God is like is a huge understatement! Failure to do so will likely cause us to set up, chase after, and worship false gods contrary to His will (Exodus 20:3-5).

Only what God has chosen of Himself to be revealed can be known. One of God's attributes or qualities is "light", meaning that He is self-revealing in information of Himself (Isaiah 60:19, James 1:17). The reality that God has revealed knowledge of Himself should not be neglected, lest any one of us come short of entering His rest (Hebrews 4:1). Creation, the Bible, and the Word made flesh (Jesus Christ) will help us to know what God is like.

Let's start by understanding that God is our Creator and that we are a part of His creation (Genesis 1:1 Psalm 24:1). God said that man is created in His image. Man is above the rest of creation and was given dominion over it (Genesis 1:26-28). Creation is marred by the 'fall' but still offers a glimpse of His works (Genesis 3:17-18; Romans 1:19-20). By considering creation's vastness, complexity, beauty, and order we can have a sense of the awesomeness of God.

Reading through some of the names of God can be helpful in our search of what God is like. They are as follows:

Elohim - strong One, divine (Genesis 1:1)

Adonai - Lord, indicating a Master to servant relationship (Exodus 4:10,13)

El Elyon - Most High, the strongest One (Isaiah 14:20)

El Roi - the strong One who sees (Genesis 16:13)

El Shaddai - Almighty God (Genesis 17:1)

El Olam - everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28)

Yahweh - LORD "I Am", meaning the eternal self-existent God (Exodus 3:13,14).

We will now continue by examining more of God's attributes; God is eternal, meaning He had no beginning and that His existence will never end. He is immortal, infinite (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 90:2; 1Timothy 1:17). God is immutable, meaning He is unchangeable; this means that God is absolutely reliable and trustworthy (Malachi 3:6; Numbers 23:19; Psalm 102:26,27). God is incomparable, meaning there is no one like Him in works or being; He is unequaled and perfect (2 Samuel 7:22; Psalm 86:8; Isaiah 40:25; Matthew 5:48). God is inscrutable, meaning He is unfathomable, unsearchable, past finding out in entirely understanding Him (Isaiah 40:28; Psalm 145:3; Romans 11:33,34).

God is just, meaning He is no respecter of persons in the sense of showing favoritism (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 18:30). God is omnipotent, meaning He is all-powerful; He can do anything that pleases Him, but His actions will always be in accord with the rest of His character (Revelation 19:6; Jeremiah 32:17,27). God is omnipresent, meaning He is ever-present, everywhere; this does not mean that God is everything (Psalm 139:7-13; Jeremiah 23:23). God is omniscient, meaning He knows the past, present, and future, even what we are thinking at any given moment; since He knows everything His justice will always be administered fairly (Psalm 139:1-5; Proverbs 5:21).

God is one, meaning not only that there is no other, but also that He is alone in being able to meet the deepest needs and longings of our hearts, and He alone is worthy of our worship and devotion (Deuteronomy 6:4). God is righteous, meaning that God cannot and will not pass over wrongdoing; it is because of His righteousness and justice that in order for our sins to be forgiven, Jesus had to experience God's judgment when our sins were placed upon Him (Exodus 9:27; Matthew 27:45-46; Romans 3:21-26).

God is sovereign, meaning He is supreme; all of His creation put together, whether knowingly or unknowingly, cannot thwart His purposes (Psalm 93:1; 95:3; Jeremiah 23:20). God is spirit, meaning He is invisible (John 1:18; 4:24). God is a Trinity, meaning He is three in one, same in substance, equal in power and glory. Notice that in the first Scripture passage cited that 'name' is singular even though it refers to three distinct Persons-

[book_wirm]

Allow me to refocus. I understand that God's identity can be an infinite study. My hope in starting this topic was to draw out which attributes of God we as individuals tend to focus on and how that affects our Christianity. For example, many never go further into undertanding God's indentity than "God is love". Now, while this is a true statement, no doubt, it is lacking. A person, Christian or not, who holds this simplistic of a view often approaches God without reverence and falls short of learning to fear Him in a Godly way. The opposite extreme is just as saddening. Those who see God as only Holy and Powerful all too often fear Him in an unhealthy and untrue sense, fearing even to approach Him.

It is imperitive, however, for us, if we are truely His children, to develop a fuller understanding of who He is. It is my belief and practice that in doing so we are able to draw nearer to God in every way. Are we beaten down and lonely? Let us draw near to the God who is Comforter. Are we blessed and filled with joy? Let us praise Him who is wonderful in Mercy and abounding in Loving Kindness. Do we have doubt and fear? Let us cast our cares to the Sovereign LORD of creation. Does our soul long to lift up and honor our God? Let us worship the Holy One with reverence. We must not be found as the Athenians whom Paul sought to teach regarding their "Unkown God" (Acts 17:16-23). They worshipped ignorantly and it is a sad fact that many times we do the same with the True and Only God.

I hoped that helped to clarify this post.

In Christ,

Eric

[EricH]

One area I see this in is the area of faith. We tend to define faith as believing God will do a specific thing. However, I think the type of faith that is encouraged in scripture is the type that says, "I have faith in God's character to do the right thing regardless if it is what I desired." We see this when Daniel's friends were going to be thrown into the fire:

If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

Daniel 3:17-18 NASB

So their faith in God was acknowledged that He was able to do what they asked, but did not demand that He do so. They were focused on His person and character rather than on His ability to perform. The were obedience to God because of who He was, not because of what He would do for them.

[sheya joie]

Isaiah 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

As a widow, I tend to see the LORD as my Husband, according to the above verse. The LORD is the One who loves me, and is vitally concerned in my life and the lives of my young children. HE is the One I can turn to when I need to make decisions. The One who marvelously provides for my family, so that even now, I can stay home and be Mom. The One who calms me down when things are going awful, and gives me peace in life's storms. The One I can trust no matter what.

I love HIM!

[Gerioke]

Most people would have had faith that God would not allow them to be thrown into the fire.

Rack shack and benny had faith that God would not let harm come to them.