Who God Is (#KnowMore Part 1)
Hey there. So glad you have been able to take time to pass by and make the first step in this journey with me. I am very excited (I wish you could see me jump up and down with joy) to be able to share this with you guys. The impact such a study has had on me and relationship with God is life-changing; as we forge on, I pray that you will let the truths of God’s word make a difference in your life.
After much consideration, I saw it best to be doing two posts on #KnowMore a week; Monday and Thursday. That way, we will all be able to keep in step with what God has in store for us as revealed in Scripture. Plus, it’s a good way to keep me on my toes and refresh my knowledge of these things.
I have a bit of amazing news too. I have been able to talk to my guest writers, who I know are planning something really awesome for us all to learn from and be edified through. I would ask that you keep them in prayer as they finish up their contributions, and that it won’t be for their glory, but to God alone.
We’ll kick off this ten-part (you heard me right) series with a verse some of us know from childhood. The very first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1;
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
There most probably has been this very simple question that may have bubbled to the surface many times in your life; who is God?
It seems really innocuous at first, but take a step back and ask yourself again; who is God? What is
He? Where did He come from?
We have looked for answers to these questions, either consciously or not, from ages ago. I often
look at some really simple things, like the flight of birds, the rising of the sun, the way the wind blows through the trees, and I find that they operate almost perfectly, like clockwork. It cannot cross my mind how a giant galactic explosion can be credited to creating such order and neatness.
From ancient times, people have always looked up to the sky, seen the stars and the shifting planets, and wondered, ‘Where did all this come from?’ However, instead of further pondering more behind the question, they turned to adoring and worshipping these created things and not the one who created them. We, who have been further enlightened, can definitively state that there has to be something, chiefly a Someone, who actually had to sit down and make all these things we see. The question still remains, where did He come from?
The Bible, which happens to our sole and sure source of wisdom and knowledge that leads to salvation and laying a foundation about understanding who God is, does a very interesting thing; it doesn’t attempt to prove God’s existence, rather assumes He existed before the very beginning.
When Moses writes in Genesis 1 that He made the heavens and the earth, that means He was there before even they were formed. The fact of His existence has been made manifest and clear to all mankind, and is even present in our consciences.
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal
power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.Romans 1:20 ESV
A thought may come, that if He is then the one who, like us, can make a variety of things, then He is
like us. He is not like us,
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV
The sky and the heavens are eternally above the earth. Even at the top of magnificently high features like the Himalayas, guess what? There’s still the sky above you. That is how His ways, thoughts and way of thinking are above ours. We cannot even get close to His patterns of thought even in our greatest wisdom.
Well, if someone can have such great creative power, and have exceedingly great thoughts, there is
a possibility of erraticism, being as shifting and changing like the wind. However, we have
established that He is not like us, thus He is unchangeable.
You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.
Hebrews 1:10-12 ESV
As clothes are changed, so will that which He has
created change. They will fade away after standing
the test of time, but He remains just as He is and has always been.
I could go on and on, giving more examples from the Bible of who God has shown Himself to be.
What’s the point of all this, anyway? Why would He, the Supreme Creator, unchanging and perfect One, decide to make these attributes about Himself known to us through His word? There must be a reason to why He has done all this; an explanation to why He has chosen to reveal all this to us.
I can give a simple allusion to aid in answering why; I wouldn’t have the friends I already do if I hadn’t shown some aspects about myself. The fact that I opened up to them to see who I am made it easier for them to create a relationship with me.
Similarly, God wants us to enter a loving, communal relationship with Him, which is why He has allowed for us to know about Him, and He has made Himself known through His word.
This Thursday, we’ll look at three more attributes of His nature as revealed through the Bible, and what role they play in having a relationship with Him.
It is my hope and prayer that you have gained some little more knowledge about who God fundamentally is. The comment section is alive and well;
if you have a question, anything to say; feel free to drop it in the box below.
Grace and peace to you all.
Holy, Just, Merciful (#KnowMore Part 2.1) – Eddie Awesome
September 27, 2018 @ 3:40 pm
[…] Monday, we had a small glimpse at who God is. You can read it here if you haven’t yet. We established, from Scripture, that He is unchangeable, the creator of […]