the Essence and Character of God
Neil
What Can Be Known About... (Theology Series) • Sermon • Submitted
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· 14 viewsWho is God? What can be known about what he has revealed about himself? (Part 1)
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“Many Known as gods”
“Many Known as gods”
4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. 5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
We are known as monotheists - those that believe there is only one God.
This is true, but we sometimes don’t get the parameters of it right.
We think that means that all beings that were worshipped were figments of the imagination.
Some of them are.
The text is clear that idols are nothing, but there are deities that accept worship.
Even our word “god” muddies the issue
defined as “the supreme or ultimate reality.”
Even the Greek word “theos” doesn’t mean that, although it comes way closer to it than Hebrew does.
But as soon as we capitalize the G, it turns into a specific reference to our God, the God of the Bible.
We are monotheists, but we must understand what that means.
We believe that there are many spiritual beings
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
There is no god like our God.
None of the other beings that are called gods are even worthy of worship.
In this study, we search out what makes our God different.
In other words, what can be known from scripture about who our God is?
“Beside Me There Is No Other”
“Beside Me There Is No Other”
As intimated, There are many rivals to the worship of God, and the Israelites as well as many of the early Christians came out of deep paganism to enter Christianity. That makes the Exclusivity of God paramount.
Israel was commanded from the beginning to worship only one as God, the one who revealed himself to them.
34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.
39 Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
6 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me. 8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: 9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, 10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. 11 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
To understand “There is no one else besides him,” look at what Babylon said in her wickedness.
10 For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; And thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.
Babylon knew other cities existed, but felt they were all beneath her, yet she was incredibly wicked as a city.
A just version of this is how God describes himself to the Israelites: other beings do exist, but all of them are beneath me.
This is a claim that all people would make concerning their deities.
How does God reveal himself to be unique?
our God reveals himself to Moses as “I AM who I AM.”
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
There are layers of meaning in this name that are worth hours of contemplation.
There is nothing on earth that you can compare me to.
I am Existence Itself. I bring life, and I sustain it.
Observe me, and I will reveal who I am.
I do not change. Who I am, I will be.
I am not the God of anything. I am the God of everything.
Israel can know who their God is by reading their story.
Genesis 1 describes creation without once naming their God.
They learn about a God who, by speaking a word, caused creation to spring into existence.
They learn about a God who brings order to a disordered world.
They learn about a God that needs nothing, but created everything, and was satisfied with what he created.
They learn about a God who blesses and causes life to become abundant.
They learn about a God who rejoiced in his perfect creation and even made time holy.
All this is a God that is unlike the gods of the pagans.
Their gods are called stars.
Israel’s God made stars to be symbols, representing his glory.
Their gods are ruled by the Sun and Moon.
Israel’s God made the Sun and Moon to keep time in control.
Their gods made creation and mankind to serve their desires.
Israel’s God made creation to be good, and mankind to bear his image in the world, bringing order to it as God did.
In Genesis 2, Israel is introduced to their God by name, after seeing his glory in the creation of the world.
4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
The whole Bible is built this way, and by meditating on scripture we learn the attributes of He Who Is.
So by the time that we reach Exodus 3, God’s faithfulness is contrasted with mankind’s depravity, and we are awed by God’s goodness and mercy.
The story of Exodus will show us, at long last, God’s wrath and his majesty, and give us God’s own definition of his character.
We could go on through the Bible like this, but this is supposed to be a more systematic theology of God.
We know that God is different in character and attributes, but we want to be more clear than this.
What does it mean to be God over all?
Incommunicable Attributes of God
Incommunicable Attributes of God
There are many ways people have tried to classify the attributes of God, but the most common way is through the words, “communicable” and “incommunicable.”
Communicable attributes are aspects of God that he shares with humanity, who is made in his image.
Perfect in Knowledge
Perfect in Wisdom
Perfect in Love
Incommunicable attributes are those attributes that make him God over all, the attributes that cannot be shared with humanity, even though we are in his image.
Aseity
God is self-existent, having life in himself.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
3 But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
Immutability
God does not change
25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: And the heavens are the work of thy hands. 26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: 27 But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end.
But hasn’t God repented, and changed his mind?
Yes, but only because his character has not changed, and treated humanity consistently with their repentance.
God doesn’t change - either in his nature or in his character, including his being, purposes, and promises.
He doesn’t mature, he doesn’t have a character arc, and his knowledge of the future never changes.
He acts, feels emotions, and responds differently to various situations, yet is entirely consistent.
6 For I am the Lord, I change not; Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Omnipotence
God is all powerful
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Omnipresence
God is in all places at once.
23 Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Eternity
God has no beginning or end, he is timeless and everlasting.
27 The eternal God is thy refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms: And he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; And shall say, Destroy them.
15 For thus saith the high and lofty One That inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
27 But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Infinity
God has no limits or boundaries on any of his attributes
7 “Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? 8 They are higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? 9 Their measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea.
10 Which doeth great things past finding out; Yea, and wonders without number.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And his greatness is unsearchable.
“I AM who I AM”
“I AM who I AM”
All that has come before has described to us what our God is. Now we know, loosely, what it means to be God over all.
“I AM who I AM,” God has said, and it makes sense now, why God gives his name as such as mysterious statement.
Who or even what, indeed, is like our God?
But there is another layer to that name: God invites us to learn not only the attributes of his being, but also the attributes of his character.
5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. 8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. 9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.
Merciful / Compassionate
Like a mother’s tender feelings for her baby, God provides what we need in suffering, and rescuing us from our self-destructive ways.
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, That she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, Yet will I not forget thee. 16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; Thy walls are continually before me.
Gracious / Favor
Like a king’s generous gift to an undeserving subject, God takes notice of people who have done nothing to attract his attention, and grants to them an audience, blessings, and an inheritance
19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: Thou shalt weep no more: He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; When he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
Longsuffering / Slow to Anger
God’s wrath does not burn immediately, but he waits for people to repent, and to turn from their evil ways, giving them warning after warning.
29 He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: But he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; And he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; And it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
Abundant in Goodness / Loyal Love
Like Ruth who left her homeland to take care of Naomi, God is unconditionally generous and loving to the people he has committed himself to.
1 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: For his mercy endureth for ever.
25 Who giveth food to all flesh: For his mercy endureth for ever. 26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven: For his mercy endureth for ever.
Abundant in Truth / Faithfulness
God is reliable and trustworthy, and always accomplishes what he has declared that he will do.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Yahweh, for a favorable time, O God, according to the abundance of your loyal love. Answer me with the faithfulness of your salvation.
In addition to these five core attributes of God’s revealed character, God gives an explanation to Moses of what kind of a God he is (in Exodus 34:7):
God keeps loyal love for thousands of generations
God forgives the sins of inner corruption, rebellion, failure.
God doesn’t allow the wicked to go free
God allows or even causes the consequences of your inner corruption to affect those who are your heritage
And all this does not even scratch the surface of all the attributes revealed of God in scripture.
But these five attributes (plus the four promises) are repeated over, and over in scripture as the definitive word on the character of God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Moses asked God, “If they ask me what your name is, what shall I tell them? What is your name?”
God responds, “I AM who I AM,” as if to say,
“Learn of me. I am unlike any other god you could ever dream of, and I am ultimately unknowable… but I will reveal myself to you.”