What Is God Like?

Key Terms:

omnipotent: possessing infinite power

omnipresent: being unlimited with regard to space; without size or spatial dimensions; present in every point of space with one’s whole being

omniscient: knowing all things that exist and all that happens; fully aware at all times of everything, including everything that will happen

Discussion Questions:

What are some attributes that God most clearly shares with us? What are some attributes he doesn’t share very much with us?

Which of God’s attributes seems most amazing to you? What have you learned about God through this attribute? How can you imitate this attribute more fully in your daily life, and tell why.

Content:

The Essential Attribute of God:

God Exists

Scripture assumes God’s existence, It is not based off Blind Faith

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Romans 1:19 “since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.”

Romans 1:25 “ They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.”

Psalm 10:4 “ In all his scheming, the wicked person arrogantly thinks, “There’s no accountability, since there’s no God.””

Believing this is not a matter of having Blind Faith

Romans 1:20 “ For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.”

God is Knowable

We can never fully know God. (He is Infinite/We are Finite)

Psalm 145:3 “The Lord is great and is highly praised; his greatness is unsearchable.”

Psalm 147:5 “Our Lord is great, vast in power; his understanding is infinite.”

Psalm 139:6 “This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.”

Psalm 139:17–18 “God, how precious your thoughts are to me; how vast their sum is! If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with you.”

We can know God personally

John 17:3 “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent—Jesus Christ.”

Jeremiah 9:24 “But the one who boasts should boast in this: that he understands and knows me— that I am the Lord, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things. This is the Lord’s declaration.”

“Some of God’s attributes are easier to understand because they are attributes he shares with us; others are more difficult to grasp because they are attributes that he doesn’t share with us.”

The more we know about God, The more we know God, and the more we can live in his likeness/image.

God is Independent

God does not need us or anything that is created by him. He is perfectly complete and fulfilled in his own existence. He does not find purpose in us. He has always existed.

Acts 17:24–25 “The God who made the world and everything in it—he is Lord of heaven and earth—does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.”

Psalm 90:2 “Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God.”

We are dependent upon him. he gave us life, value, and significance. He allows us to bring him joy.

Isaiah 43:7 “everyone who bears my name and is created for my glory. I have formed them; indeed, I have made them.””

Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will be quiet in his love. He will delight in you with singing.”

God is Unchangeable

He is unchangeable in his being, attributes, purposes, and promises.

Psalm 102:27 “But you are the same, and your years will never end.”

Malachi 3:6 “Because I, the Lord, have not changed, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.”

Psalm 33:11 “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart from generation to generation.”

Ephesians 1:4 “For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.”

Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind. Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?”

“Contradictions”

“As the situation changes God’s attitude or expression of an intention will change as well.”

Jonah 3:10 “God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—so God relented from the disaster he had threatened them with. And he did not do it.”

Exodus 32:9–14 “The Lord also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone, so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God: “Lord, why does your anger burn against your people you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and eliminate them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—you swore to them by yourself and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.’ ” So the Lord relented concerning the disaster he had said he would bring on his people.”

Isaiah 38:1–6 “In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’ ” Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. He said, “Please, Lord, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly, and have done what pleases you.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I am going to add fifteen years to your life. And I will rescue you and this city from the grasp of the king of Assyria; I will defend this city.”

“Unchangeableness does not mean God will not act or feel differently to a different situation. it also does not mean he doesn't act or feel emotions.”

Hosea 11:8–9 “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I surrender you, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart; my compassion is stirred! I will not vent the full fury of my anger; I will not turn back to destroy Ephraim. For I am God and not man, the Holy One among you; I will not come in rage.”

God is Eternal

No beginning or end “From everlasting to everlasting”

Revelation 1:8 ““I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.””

Jude 25 “to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.”

His view of time is different: a;; of past history is to God as it just happened. Working in time/using time for his purposes, yet fully outside and not bound by it. Fully sees and knows all of time (past, present, future)

Psalm 90:4 “For in your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night.”

2 Peter 3:8 “Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.”

God is Omnipresent

Unlimited regarding Time & Space

Jeremiah 23:23–24 ““Am I a God who is only near”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and not a God who is far away? Can a person hide in secret places where I cannot see him?”—the Lord’s declaration. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?”—the Lord’s declaration.”

Psalm 139:7–10 “Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me.”

1 Kings 8:27 “But will God indeed live on earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain you, much less this temple I have built.”

Present and Active in different ways in different places

Psalm 16:11 “You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.”

Amos 9:1–4 “I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said: Strike the capitals of the pillars so that the thresholds shake; knock them down on the heads of all the people. Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape. If they dig down to Sheol, from there my hand will take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down. If they hide on the top of Carmel, from there I will track them down and seize them; if they conceal themselves from my sight on the sea floor, from there I will command the sea serpent to bite them. And if they are driven by their enemies into captivity, from there I will command the sword to kill them. I will keep my eye on them for harm and not for good.”

Colossians 1:17 “He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.”

Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

Question: Why is it impossible for God to be limited by material space?

God is Spirit

Spirit has no parts, sizes, or dimensions

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.””

We are created with a spirit, like him in his spiritual nature

1 Corinthians 6:17 “But anyone joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.”

Romans 8:16 “The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children,”

Ecclesiastes 12:7 “and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”

God is Invisible

No one has ever seen God or his “total essence/all of His spiritual being.”

John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.”

Some outward manifestations as God chooses to reveal himself

Isaiah 6:1 “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple.”

Genesis 18:1 “The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day.”

Genesis 32:30 “Jacob then named the place Peniel, “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “yet my life has been spared.””

Ultimate manifestation of God is pictured in Christ

John 14:9 “Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

God is Omniscient

God Knows Everything (fully knows himself & all of time & creation) His knowledge never changes or grows, nothing surprises or is hidden from him.

1 John 3:20 “whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things.”

Hebrews 4:13 “No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.”

1 Corinthians 2:10–11 “Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

Fully Knows Future

Isaiah 42:9 “The past events have indeed happened. Now I declare new events; I announce them to you before they occur.””

Isaiah 46:9–10 “Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like me. I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will.”

God is Wise

“he always chooses the best possible goals and the best possible means to meet those goals.”

Romans 16:27 “to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ—to him be the glory forever! Amen.”

Job 9:4 “God is wise and all-powerful. Who has opposed him and come out unharmed?”

Job 12:13 “Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are his.”

His Wisdom is seen in the lives of His children. Wisdom is seen and comes to those who Ask, Read, and Obey.

Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

James 1:5 “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.”

Psalm 19:7 “The instruction of the Lord is perfect, renewing one’s life; the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise.”

Having His wisdom does not mean we know All things like him

Romans 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways!”

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;”

God is Truthful

“The essence of true faith is taking God at his word and relying on him to do as he promised.“

Jeremiah 10:10 “But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at his wrath, and the nations cannot endure his fury.”

Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind. Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?”

Colossians 3:9–10 “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.”

God is Good

“There is no higher standard of goodness than God’s own character and his approval of whatever is consistent with that character. “

Luke 18:19 ““Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone.”

Genesis 1:31 “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.”

All Good comes from God

James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Psalm 84:11 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord grants favor and honor; he does not withhold the good from those who live with integrity.”

Matthew 7:11 “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.”

We are called to demonstrate what he gives

Galatians 6:10 “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.”

God is Love

1 John 4:8 “The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

God’s Love is a “self-giving” love

it existed before time

John 17:24 ““Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they will see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the world’s foundation.”

It’s expressed towards his children

1 John 4:10 “Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Romans 5:8 “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

It’s reflected through us

Matthew 22:37–39 “He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

1 John 3:16–18 “This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.”

God is Holy

Psalm 99:9 “Exalt the Lord our God; bow in worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.”

Leviticus 19:2 ““Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”

Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.”

Hebrews 12:10 “For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but he does it for our benefit, so that we can share his holiness.”

Zechariah 14:20–21 “On that day, the words Holy to the Lord will be on the bells of the horses. The pots in the house of the Lord will be like the sprinkling basins before the altar. Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of Armies. All who sacrifice will come and use the pots to cook in. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of Armies.”

God is Righteous & Just

He declares what is righteousness and justice as the supreme judge of the whole earth.

Deuteronomy 32:4 “The Rock—his work is perfect; all his ways are just. A faithful God, without bias, he is righteous and true.”

Genesis 18:25 “You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is just?””

Isaiah 45:19 “I have not spoken in secret, somewhere in a land of darkness. I did not say to the descendants of Jacob: Seek me in a wasteland. I am the Lord, who speaks righteously, who declares what is right.”

Thought/Question: “Because God is righteous and just, he must treat people as they deserve. Therefore, he must punish that which is against him, that is, sin. However, sometimes God forgives people and does not punish them for their sin. How can he do that if he is just? God is able to forgive people because Christ died to take God’s punishment for sin upon himself. In this way, Jesus demonstrated “God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:25–26).”

Proverbs 21:3 “Doing what is righteous and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”

God is Jealous

God’s jealousy is for his own honor.

Exodus 20:5 “Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me,”

Isaiah 48:11 “I will act for my own sake, indeed, my own, for how can I be defiled? I will not give my glory to another.”

Question: What does it mean that God is “jealous”? Why is it not wrong for God to seek his own honor?

God is Wrathful

God Hates Sin, His wrath will consume sinners.

John 3:36 “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

Romans 1:18 “For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth,”

Question: Why should God’s wrath bring us joy?

“If God delighted in or was not troubled by sin, he wouldn’t be a God worthy of our worship or praise.”

We do not have to fear God’s wrath because Christ’s death satisfied it on the cross.

Romans 3:25 “God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.”

Romans 5:8–9 “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath.”

1 Thessalonians 1:10 “and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”

We are called to reject evil and sin following Christ and His example. We do not relish in the demise of sinner, but should call them to holiness and pray for their repentance.

Hebrews 1:9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; this is why God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy beyond your companions.”

God Wills What He Wills

“God’s will is the ultimate reason for everything that happens. It is the way God approves and determines to bring about every action necessary for the existence of and activity of himself and all his creation. God’s will is how he chooses to do what he does and doesn’t do.”

Revelation 4:11 “Our Lord and God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all things, and by your will they exist and were created.”

1 Peter 3:17 “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”

Acts 4:27–28 ““For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your will had predestined to take place.”

Ephesians 1:11 “In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will,”

James 4:15 “Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.””

God Has Freedom

Psalm 115:3 “Our God is in heaven and does whatever he pleases.”

Proverbs 16:9 “A person’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.”

God is Omnipotent

God is All-Powerful He is infinitely able to everything his wills and plans.

Jeremiah 32:17 “Oh, Lord God! You yourself made the heavens and earth by your great power and with your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you!”

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—”

Matthew 19:26 “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””

God cant…Will or Act against his character

Titus 1:2 “in the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.”

James 1:13 “No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone.”

2 Timothy 2:13 “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.”

God is Perfect

“God fully possesses all excellent qualities and lacks no part of any qualities that would be desirable for him.”

Matthew 5:48 “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

God is Blessed

God fully delights in himself. he is the focus of all happiness and delight.

God chooses to delight in creation

Genesis 1:31 “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.”

Isaiah 62:5 “For as a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you; and as a groom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.”

God is Beautiful

“God is the sum of all desirable qualities, and he possesses every quality that is truly desirable.”

Psalm 27:4 “I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking him in his temple.”

God is a Unity

In reference to God and his attributes, “He is not more of one attribute than another.” “He is not divided into parts, and he is not one attribute at one point in history and another attribute at another time. He is fully and completely every attribute (even those not mentioned here) at every time.”

“He is not part light and part love; he is not love during the day and light at night. He is, at all times and in all ways, both light and love.”

Question: What might some of the dangers be in considering one of God’s attributes more important than all the others?