Who is God and What is He Like?

For thousands of years, people have been trying to answer the question, “Who is God?”

Some have searched for God in nature. Others have searched for God in pleasure. Still others have looked within in the hopes of finding God. Some people believe God is an impersonal force.

The good news is that we don’t have to go far to learn who God is. We don’t have to hike into the desert or seek Him in a lonely temple on top of a mountain.

The Bible speaks directly to the question, “Who is God?”

In Scripture, we discover the attributes of God. We learn what He’s like and how He acts. We learn what He wants and what He opposes. The Bible brings us up close and personal with God.

In this post, we’re going to walk through some of God’s attributes and try to get a sense of who God is.

Ready?

Let’s get started.

In Genesis 1:1-2 we read,

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

The assumption in these verses is that God has always been present. In many other religions, gods are created or born. But the Bible is abundantly clear that God is the uncreated One.

In Job 38:4-7, God says to Job:

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

When Job begins to question God’s actions, God reminds Job of His eternal nature. Job is a mere man who has been upon the earth for a short time. God, on the other hand, laid the very foundations of the earth. Compared to God, Job’s wisdom and experience are miniscule and laughable.

In Revelation 1:8 we read,

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last. God is both the beginning and end, the first and last, the one who always was, who is, and who is to come.

When we understand the eternal nature of God, it should deeply humble us. We exist upon the earth for but a few, short years compared to God. Nothing is new to Him. Nothing surprises Him. Kingdoms have risen and fallen, yet God remains.

The universe is not a fluke accident. We are not the result of random mutations. All things were made by the Lord and we are created specifically in His image.

Isaiah 40:25-26 says,

“‘To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?’ says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number.”

When we see the glory of the universe God created it should cause us to worship Him. There is no one like Him. He is great and glorious, above all things and worthy of all praise.

As the classic hymn says:

"O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art"

Deuteronomy 6:4 says,

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!”

The Bible is clear that there is only one God, and He reigns over all. Unlike Hinduism or ancient Greek religions, there are not many gods competing for supremacy. Nor is there a hierarchy of gods, with some wielding more power and authority than others. There one God, and everything submits to Him.

The Bible also makes it clear that God is three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each of these people is fully God.

1 John 3:1 says,

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.”

This verse leaves no doubt that the Father is fully God.

In John 8:56-58, we read:

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad. Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

Jesus is making an absolutely incredible statement about Himself in these verses. When God sent Moses to Pharaoh, He told Moses to say that “I AM” had sent Him. Throughout the Old Testament, God identified Himself as “I AM”, the eternally present One.

When Jesus used “I AM” in reference to Himself, He was saying that was equal to the Father. Just as the Father is fully God, so Jesus is also fully God.

The Holy Spirit is also fully God, and we see this in John 14:16-17, which says,

“And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth…”

All three members of the Trinity are present in this verse. Jesus prays to the Father, and the Father sends the Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit is eternal, He is able to dwell with God’s people forever.

Pastor Adrian Rogers says this about the Holy Spirit:

"Don’t de-personalize the Holy Spirit. Don’t think of being filled with the Spirit as if you are some kind of a vessel and the Holy Spirit is some kind of a liquid. Or don’t think of yourself as a battery and the Holy Spirit as an electrical charge. The Spirit is a person and you are a temple."

The doctrine of the Trinity may be difficult to fully understand, but that doesn’t make it untrue. When we try to make everything fit together according to our limited understanding, we inevitably get something wrong and reduce God. It’s essential that we affirm that God is both one and three. One God, three persons, each person fully God.

Psalm 99:9 says

“Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy.”

The inner room of the temple was called “The Most Holy Place” because it was where the presence of God was.

When the Bible says that God is holy, it doesn’t just mean that He is morally pure, although it certainly includes that. It means that He is separate, in a class by Himself. He is superior to everything and has no rivals or competition.

1 Samuel 2:2 puts it this way:

“No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.”

Because God is holy, we too must strive for holiness. We must seek to live in a way that pleases and honors Him, putting off sin and putting on righteousness.

Psalm 24:3-4 says,

“Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.”

So how can sinners have a relationship with the holy God? How can we have our sins forgiven and know God?

Thankfully, God is savior. He did for us what we could never do for ourselves. He sent His son, Jesus, to live a sinless life in our place and die for our sins. On the cross, Jesus received the punishment for sins that we deserved.

An exchange took place. God gave Jesus our sins and He gives us the perfect righteousness of Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:21 puts it this way:

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Pastor Adrian Rogers says:

"How can [God] love and forgive the sinner and at the same time punish sin? The answer is: with a substitutionary sacrifice. Someone who takes that punishment on our behalf. A person who has known no sin Himself, righteous enough, holy enough, good enough, to become our substitute. Someone who can suffer in our stead. The only one who could do that was the Son of God. He is God’s substitutionary sacrifice—and our Savior."

When God looks at us, He doesn’t see our sins. Instead, He sees the righteousness of Christ. God counts us righteous in Christ, and we can come freely into the presence of God without fear.

Hebrews 4:16 says,

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

In the Old Testament, people entered the Most Holy Place with fear and trembling. They knew that God could strike them down for their sins. We can enter the Most Holy Place with confidence, knowing that God placed our sins upon Jesus. We can come boldly to God, asking Him mercy and grace.

This is such good news. We don’t have to earn forgiveness or work our way into God’s presence. Jesus is our forgiveness and He has opened the way to God.

God’s love is not an abstract concept. It is real and solid. We see just how much God loves us when we look at the cross. Why would God send His perfect Son to die for those who disobeyed Him and rebelled against Him? Only unimaginable love could motivate such a thing.

God doesn’t just do loving things. He is love. 1 John 4:8 says,

“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

God’s loving actions flow out of His character. He is the very definition of love and everything He does is good and loving.

When we’re tempted to doubt God’s love, we must look to the cross. At the cross, we see the height, breadth, and depth of God’s love for us.

Worship The Living God

We don’t seek to know about God simply for the sake of acquiring knowledge. God is not a subject to be studied, He is a person to be known. We want to be able to answer the question, “Who is God?” so that we can know God personally, not get the right answer on a test.

Knowledge of God should always lead to worship. When we see that God is eternal, it should humble us. When we understand that God created us, it should fill us with awe. When we grasp that God is three-in-one, we should marvel. When we glimpse God’s holiness, we should bow low. And when we know that God is savior and that He loves us, we should sing for joy at the top of our lungs.

There is no one like God. No one as good or powerful or loving. We have the incredible privilege of knowing God and being His children.

Who is God?

He is God.