God’s Character
Notes
Transcript
If I were to ask all of you to describe my character I’m sure there are some attributes all of you might say about me. But there would also be different attributes unique to each one of you.
Ask my wife to describe my character and she would say, if she’s honest, various attributes all prefaced with sometimes. She might say things like sometimes he’s loving, sometimes he’s thoughtful, sometimes he’s approachable. However, sometimes he’s crabby, sometimes he’s selfish, sometimes he’s standoffish.
That’s how we are though, right? We are moody and unreliable. We have good days and bad days. Some days we are loving and place others above ourselves. Other days we are selfish and want to be left alone.
We’re continuing our Rooted series today and we’re going to talk about the attributes or characteristics of God. As we look at the fundamentals of our faith, we have to look at the focal point of our faith, God.
Last week we talked about the Bible as foundational to our faith. How God’s word is how we can know God. Today we’re going to look at what God is like.
When we think about God’s character, when we try to envision what God is like, we tend to place our own faulty characteristics upon God. It’s foundational to our faith that we understand God’s perfect, never changing character.
Today’s message is going to be a rapid fire message. It is impossible to describe our God in one sermon, or even in a lifetime. God is so much more than we could ever imagine, much less accurately describe Him.
Yet we’re going to do our best to look at several attributes of God. But first we must believe the fact that God exists.
God Exists
God Exists
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The Bible, God’s word that is truth itself, starts with God as Creator without any proof for His existence. It simply assumes God has always existed.
Paul in Romans 1:19-20 tells us that God’s existence is without debate.
19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 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.
Every person has some inner sense that God exists. Think about every nation from the beginning of time that has always sought God or many gods. Especially the most primitive cultures whose entire life and government all revolve around God or multiple gods.
All of creation declares the existent of God. Especially human beings, who are created in God’s image, provide the greatest evidence of God’s existence. People have no excuse for denying God’s existence because evidence for His existence is clearly found, both in all of His creation and in the Bible.
All of creation and the Bible show more than just God’s existence. They prove God is an intelligent being with a lot of character attributes. Now is the time to buckle up and hang on as we rapidly fly through a lot of Scripture and many but far from all of God’s character attributes. We’ll start with Unity.
God is Unity
God is Unity
God is unified in all of His attributes. Unlike our moody, changing character. He is fully and completely every attribute at all times. He is NOT sometimes love, sometimes holy, sometimes perfect. He is always 100% all of them, 100% of the time. Which makes God independent.
God is Independent
God is Independent
Acts 17:24-25 gives us a glimpse of God’s independence.
24 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. 25 Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.
God doesn’t need us or anything in His creation. Rather, it is God that provides everything His creation needs for existence. He has always been perfectly and completely happy and fulfilled in His personal existence.
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 the one who gives us value and significance. He chose us to be important to Him.
God is Unchangeable
God is Unchangeable
We remain important to God because He never changes.
6 “Because I, the Lord, have not changed, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
God never changes in His being, attributes, purposes, and promises. He is totally trustworthy in who He is and what He says, and what He does.
God is Infinite
God is Infinite
God is not a created being.
2 Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God.
God is infinitely existing. He has no beginning and no end. He has always existed and He will always continue to exist.
God is unlimited by time. God is outside of time. He created time for us and to use for His purposes.
God is Omnipresent
God is Omnipresent
Since God is outside of time and eternally existing He is omnipresent. Jer 23:24 tells us He is present everywhere in His Creation.
24 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.
God’s infinite presence fills every space in time. Look at Prov 15:3
3 The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good.
There is no place at any time where God is not present.
God is Invisible Spirit
God is Invisible Spirit
Even though we know God is present we can’t physically see Him. God exists as a spiritual being not made of nor confined by matter. Look at Jn 4:24
24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”
We might sense and/or feel God’s presence, but His spiritual nature makes Him invisible. Yet, He has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. Look at Jn 1:18
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.
and Jn 14:9
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’?
God is an always present spirit Who knows all things.
God is Omniscient
God is Omniscient
I love how John tells us how we can be sure of who we are in Jesus Christ because of God’s omniscience. Look at 1 Jn 3:19-20
19 This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and will reassure our hearts before him 20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things.
The Greek word translated “condemn” means “to see accurately, to know to be guilty.” When I accurately see myself and my sin convicts me I can’t say to God “it wasn’t me.”
God is always present and He knows everything. We can’t surprise God nor can we hide anything from God. He has known all things that will happen from the moment He created time.
Which brings us to God’s wisdom.
God is Wise
God is Wise
In Romans 16:27 Paul says God is the only wise God.
27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ—to him be the glory forever! Amen.
And look at 1 Cor 1:25
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom
We can trust God’s direction in our lives because our wisdom pales in comparison to God.
God is Truth
God is Truth
In John 14:6 Jesus says He is the truth.
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
He calls the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, in John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13. And Hebrews 6:18 says it’s impossible for God to lie.
18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie
We read last week that the Bible, the word of God, is truth itself. That makes God the source of truth. Many things can have the truth, but only one thing can be the truth. That one thing is God Himself.
God is Holy and Good
God is Holy and Good
It’s difficult to distinguish between God being holy and God being good. They are deeply intertwined yet distinct and inseparable.
Look at Ps 25:8
8 The Lord is good and upright; therefore he shows sinners the way.
God’s goodness refers to His moral perfection and the righteousness of His actions. Let’s look at Isa 6:3
3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
The triple repetition of His divine attribute is not found anywhere else in the Bible. We don’t see anywhere that says God is just, just, just nor do we see God is love, love, love.
The Hebrew language doesn’t have grammatical ways to express something like holier or holiest. Repetition is how the Hebrews expressed the importance of something.
You see God isn’t just a little bit holy, He’s REALLY, REALLY, REALLY holy. God is uniquely set apart and distinct from all that is sinful and common or normal.
His holiness encompasses complete moral perfection in which God is infinitely good. God’s holiness is the ultimate standard of goodness.
C. S. Lewis wrote about the importance of God’s Holiness and He says, “when we lose a sense of God’s holiness…we also lose a sense of our own sinfulness [and] our need for God’s grace.”
God is Jealous
God is Jealous
Which brings us to God is a jealous God. Look at Ex 34:14
14 Because the Lord is jealous for his reputation, you are never to bow down to another god. He is a jealous God.
God’s unique holiness makes Him the only one worthy of receiving our worship. He desires that worship be given only to Him and nowhere else.
It’s not wrong for God to demand we worship only Him because He is the only one worthy of our worship.
God’s Sovereign Will
God’s Sovereign Will
Which means we can trust in God’s will.
God doesn’t orchestrate or cause sin. He allows us to have free will ourselves to obey or disobey His will.
He allows us to go through trials and struggles all for His holy and good purposes. Because of God’s perfect moral character we should rejoice in God’s will. Look at 1 Thess 5:18
18 give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
God is Omnipotent
God is Omnipotent
God’s will can’t be stopped because He in His sovereignty He is all powerful.
All of creation was created with just God’s words (let there be…).
Even Satan is restrained by God as we see in Job 2:6
6 “Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.”
Jesus makes it clear that no person has any power that is not granted from God. Jn 19:11
11 “You would have no authority over me at all,” Jesus answered him, “if it hadn’t been given you from above. This is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”
God’s Omnipotence means He can do anything within accord of His holy nature. God cannot do or be a part of anything that goes contrary to His holy character. We’ve seen Scripture that shows God cannot lie. He 6:18
18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.
and Numb 23:19
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?
Thinking of God’s ultimate unlimited power might be scary to some. But when we realize His nature and character only allows Him to use that power in love for good, we realize He is knowable.
God is Knowable
God is Knowable
God tells us He wants us to know Him. He even says we should boast in knowing Him. Look at Jer 9:24
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.
In John 17:3 Jesus says that knowing God is eternal life.
3 This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent—Jesus Christ.
And 2 Pet 3:18 says,
18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.
Just like any other relationship, our knowledge about God will continue to grow for eternity. Believe in Jesus Christ, seek Him with all your heart and all your soul and you will have an eternity to get to know Him.
God is Righteous and Just
God is Righteous and Just
However, God is righteous and just. Because He is holy and perfect in nature He always acts righteously. He is the final standard for righteousness.
He must treat people as they deserve. He must provide perfect judgement on those who reject Him for sin. Jn 3:36 says,
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.
For those who continue in their sin will eternally face the wrath of God.
But in God’s righteousness knowing we could not pay the price for our own sins, God entered His creation and became the sacrifice for our sins.
God righteously gave all a way to have eternal life. Just believe in Jesus Christ with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul and His grace will be your salvation.
The only way we could have God’s grace is by of His love for us.
God is Love
God is Love
God’s perfect moral goodness intertwines with God’s attribute of love.
God is love as John tells us in 1 John 4:8
8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Notice that the one who does not love does not know God. It is impossible to not know love and know God who is love. Even when we didn’t know God and were against Him, He still loved us. Look at 1 Jn 4:10
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.
God eternally gives of Himself for others. He has given us the ultimate and perfect expression of His love in the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.
He let His Son Jesus Christ be sacrificed, not so that everyone will believe in Him. Rather, and I want you to think about this, He was sacrificed so everyone would have the opportunity to believe in Him.
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
