What Is God Like?

Introduction:

Thank you to everyone for your support this week.

God wishes for more than credit, fear, or worship.

He wants to be known for who He is.

Our perceptions about God can be skewed by the combination of our own imperfect minds and our interpretation of this imperfect world.

We can think He does not care about us (Gideon [Judges 6], Jesus’ parables in Lk 12; Lk. 18).

Our quality of life tells us nothing about God’s nature other than that we are under his righteous judgment because we are sinners.

We can see Him as an overbearing, austere person whom we can never hope to please (Eliphaz).

What is God like?

Do we know Him?

He has revealed himself in at least three basic ways:

Creation

Scripture

His Son

Background:

Jn. 1:14-17 form a coherent line of thought or explanation.

“full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14).

“Grace and truth came to be through Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:17).

“From his fullness all we received” (Jn. 1:16).

The Gospel writer is also demonstrating that what Jesus’ disciples/followers observed in His character corresponded to John the Baptist’s witness about Him, namely, that He is God.

His Fullness Beheld:

The Gospel writer now returns to his thought from the end of Jn. 1:14.

Note only did they observe him as one full of grace and truth.

All we ourselves received grace in place of grace (more and more grace).

His fulness refers to his character and nature ala:

Col. 1:19.

Col. 2:9

God’s divine nature was not on partial display in Jesus.

They beheld his glory in all of its fulness.

A Contrast with Moses and Israel:

Ex. 33:12-13, also note Ex. 33:14-23.

Ex. 33:18: “please cause me to see your glory.”

The Lord tells Moses he will proclaim “his name” before Him. (Remember Moses wanted “to know Him.”).

Ex. 34:5-8.

We should especially note God’s characteristics as He explains His person to Moses.

The words in Hebrew correspond to trustworthiness and truth.

To claim that God is overbearing, unconcerned, or aloof is not to know His character.

It is not to know His person.

With the close parallels, the Gospel writer may be suggesting:

Moses alone saw what Israel did not see.

The apostles saw what even Moses never saw, namely, the character and nature of God on full display among human beings as a human being.

Moses only heard the character of God proclaimed, but they saw His character in all of its fullness.

Part 2 Introduction:

The Gospel writer has pointed to the nature of the Logos (Jn. 1:14, 16).

His Gospel will address many themes:

Evidence that Jesus is God, the Logos had become flesh.

Jesus as revealer of God’s character and nature.

Man’s need for a birth from God.

Jewish reticence to believe because of Moses.

They had not understood God through Moses.

They had elevated themselves and him.

Yet, while Jesus was in the world, present in human flesh, access to knowledge about God was unique because someone was able to offer more direct information about God.

Perhaps we should clarify that while there were physical limitations, there were no character limitations.

He could understand humanity in a deep way (Jn. 2).

He could demonstrate the power of God.

Moses and His Role

The Gospel writer still wants to explain why they were able to observe what they observed.

Hence another “hOTI” clause.

He makes at least two points about Moses.

Moses had a unique role, and he should rightfully be given credit for that role (Dt. 18:15).

Nothing originated with him. Moses was the means through which someone else’s law entered the world.

This could be a point raised to establish the superiority of Jesus to Moses. He provides a different level of understanding to the character/person of God than Moses, or even the Law, might provide.

Note the passage list especially in Jn. 5 and Jn. 6 for a conflict.

That conflict comes from the Jews themselves.

Moses should bring us to the creator, to Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Jn. 5:37-39.

Galatians 3:21 NA28

ὁ οὖν νόμος κατὰ τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν [τοῦ θεοῦ]; μὴ γένοιτο. εἰ γὰρ ἐδόθη νόμος ὁ δυνάμενος ζῳοποιῆσαι, ὄντως ἐκ νόμου ἂν ἦν ἡ δικαιοσύνη·

Jesus: Originator of Grace and Truth

The Gospel writer could mean that through Jesus Christ grace and truth came to be in the world.

The way he articulates “the grace and the truth” seems to suggest that he is making a much larger claim.

Moses was a mediator of a Law that was not his own.

Grace and truth, those virtues, exist through Jesus Christ.

Those virtues, and hence those values, only exist because He exists.

Jesus as Unique Explainer of God:

The point of emphasis still seems to be on a contrast between Moses and Jesus.

Moses had a unique role and met with God face to face, but that does not mean He saw God in the fulness of His glory.

Moses met with God one on one.

Dt. 34:10-12.

Ex. 33:11.

Notice how the concluding emphasis resembles the initial explanation from Jn. 1:1.

This one is able to explain God to man because he had a close, intimate relationship with God.