THE NATURE OF GOD
The nature of God as revealed in the Bible is seven fold, consisting
of Love, Holiness, Knowledge, Power, Truth, Consistency and Goodness.
These represent the character of God and are illustrated by the four
"beasts" John saw around the throne of God in his vision (Ezekiel 1:10;
Revelation 4:6-8). They are also reflected in the character of Jesus as
revealed in the four Gospels.
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The Man which represents Love and Humanity is shown in the Gospel of Luke
as he depicts "Christ the Man".
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The Lion which represents Holiness, Justice and Majesty is shown in the
Gospel of Matthew as he depicts "Christ the King".
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The Eagle which represents knowledge and insight is shown in the Gospel
of John as he depicts "Christ the Son of God".
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The Calf (or Ox) which represents Power is shown in the Gospel of Mark
as he depicts the power and servant hood of Christ.
Let us now consider these aspects one at a time.
GOD'S LOVE
The love of God surpasses all else and without it we would not be here.
When God created, it was out of his love and desire to show that love.
God is love (1 John 4:8).
We see this expressed so tenderly when God created man out of the dust
of the earth, creating him in His own image and breathing life into his
being (Genesis 2:7). This was the act of a loving God taking great care
over the design and well being of his creation, bestowing the greatest
honour possible, that we should bear the very image of our creator (Genesis
1:26- 27). What a wonderful revelation of God's love.
When man rebelled against his creator, God gave them hope of a saviour
(Genesis 3:15), and clothed them himself to cover their shame (Genesis
3:21). This is the act of a loving God.
When the time was right God sent his own Son into the world as an expression
of his love for mankind. "God so loved the world that he gave his only
begotten Son so that who ever believes in him should not perish but have
eternal life" (John 3:16).
Jesus when he came showed great compassion on the human state. He healed
the sick, set free those who were possessed with evil spirits, fed thousands
and raised the dead. He demonstrated the love of God for his creation.
Consider the deep love of God shown for us. Who among us would offer
our son to die in the place rebels? This is exactly what God has done.
God's love abounds to us even more.
He forgives us all our sins and wipes away our guilt with the precious
blood of Jesus. He bestows on us the free gift of eternal life. This cannot
be earned. It is a gift of love. If it is earned it is no longer a gift.
But God so loves us that he gives eternal life to as many as will accept
it.
God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit as a personal guarantee of
his promise to us (Romans 8:16; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13). The
Spirit Himself gives us gifts as a testimony of God's love for us (Romans
12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10; Ephesians 4:11).
God said it is not good for a man to be alone (Genesis 2:18), so God
made a woman to share a man's life with him. God also gives us each other
that we may grow and mature in his love (1 John 4:7-8). As we grow in grace
and the knowledge of the Lord we become more and more like him.
"Behold what manner of love God has bestowed upon us, that we should
be called the children of God. Everyone who has this hope in them purifies
themselves, even as he is pure." (1 John 3:1-3).
GOD'S HOLINESS AND JUSTICE
God is absolutely pure and holy. There is no sin in him. "He cannot be
tempted with evil, neither does he tempt any man with evil" (James 1:13).
God is eternally the same without change of any kind. The God we serve
is the same God who said "the soul that sins shall surely die" (Ezekiel
18:4; Romans 6:23) and "I am a jealous God, visiting the sins of the fathers
on the children even to the third and forth generation of them
who hate me" (Exodus 20:5). This is how much God hates sin.
If God were to appear in front of us or speak to us in person, His holiness
would destroys us. When Isaiah, that great man of God, saw a vision of
the Lord in the temple he said "Wo is me for I am undone. I am a man of
unclean lips in a country of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King
the Lord of hosts" (Isaiah 6:5). He saw his own sin exposed in the glory
of God's holiness.
Even the angels covered their faces shouting "Holy holy holy is the
Lord. The whole earth is full of his glory" (Isaiah 6:3).
This is the holiness of God. It exposes and destroys sin (2 Thessalonians
1:9). It is for this reason that God uses "visions" and "promptings" from
the Spirit to speak to us. If He were to speak to us openly our own sin
would kill us.
For us to have a relationship with God our sin must be covered. There
is only one covering for sin. The blood of Jesus, the holy Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). There is no other covering
for sin, and sin cannot exist in the presence of God. In His mercy the
God has removed Himself from us for a time.
But God is coming back (Revelation 22:20). When He does anything that
is not perfect will be destroyed (2 Peter 3:10). It is not God's desire
to destroy, but it is a result of His holiness. This is why He has prepared
the Body of Christ (Jesus and the Church) to rule in the Millennial Kingdom
in His place until all things are restored (Acts 3:21). Only then will
creation be handed over to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:28). God has no
desire that anyone should perish, but that all should repent of their sin
(2 Peter 3:9). But he will not delay his return for ever. Anyone who has
not repented of their sin will be destroyed.
God knows that these things would happen when he returns and has made
provision for us through the covering blood of his Son, Jesus.
GOD'S KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM
God knows all things. He knows every little detail of every little moment
of everywhere in the universe. Nothing is hidden from him and nothing can
be hidden. This is the knowledge of God. "Not even a sparrow falls to the
ground except your God allows it" (Matthew 10:29).
God knows what is necessary for our well being. He knows we need food,
drink, clothes, housing, love, forgiveness and all other things man needs
(Matthew 6:25-33).
God knew from the very beginning that man had the potential for sin.
Sin was possible because God gave man a free will. He also knew that Jesus
would have to die if man was to be saved from sin. In His wisdom God set
in motion a plan which would result in the restoration of the whole of
creation through the work of the cross. If it were not for God's wisdom
we would all be doomed to eternal destruction.
God has also planned the exact timing of each event within His plan.
We will consider this further in a later section of this study.
God has all things perfectly timed. When the time was right God sent
his Son. When the time was right Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice for
sin. When the time was right God raised him up from the dead and showed
him to faithful men. When the time was right Jesus ascended into heaven
and sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples.
When the time was right they went out in the power of the Holy Spirit
and preached the Gospel. When the time is right Jesus will return. When
the time is right God will create the new heaven and earth. All according
to God's purpose.
God knows all things and has all things perfectly planned. For the moment
he is holding all things until the end by his power. (2 Peter 3:7).
GOD'S POWER
God is all powerful. God created the entire universe out of nothing. He
destroyed the world that was by a flood (Genesis 7:1-24). He confused the
languages of the earth at the Tower of Babel. (Genesis 11:1-9) He sent
10 plagues upon Egypt (Exodus 8:14 - 11:10), to show the whole world His
power. He parted the Red sea, to deliver His people from their enemies.
He fed Israel in the wilderness for 40 years (Exodus Chapter 16) and produced
water out of a rock (Exodus 17:1-7). He led them into the promised land
and drove out the inhabitants before them (Exodus - Joshua).
He drove demons out of people. He healed the sick and raised the dead.
He performed miracles in the Church to show the people His power. God is
powerful by His very nature. God is "naturally supernatural".
The nature of God is love, holiness, knowledge and power. You can't
have any one by itself. It is that simple.
What God Can Not Do
There are some things that it is impossible for God to do. They are:
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It is impossible for God to lie (Numbers 23:19). Everything about God is
truth. In the world today everything is "relative". We no longer have any
"absolutes". This is in stark contrast to God. He is absolute. There is
no shadow in Him.
- It is impossible for God to change (Malachi 3:6). “For a thousand years
in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the
night.” (Psalm 90:4). “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children
of Jacob, have not perished.” (Malachi 3:6). “But do not ignore this one
fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and
a thousand years are like one day.” (2 Pet 3:8).
Time is something that we humans experience. It involves the changes
that we experience in our lives from moment to moment. If God does not
change, then He lives beyond time. In fact, the best way to describe His
existence is that He “co-exists” in all time. This is a difficult thing
for us to comprehend, but it means that God exists in all time at once.
God's “now” is our “forever”. He exists in our future at the same “moment”
as He exists in our past. Therefore it is a simple thing for Him to know
what will happen before it comes to pass. The best illustration of God's
fore-knowledge is found in Isaiah:
“Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have
grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to
open doors before him-- and the gates shall not be closed: I will go before
you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I,
the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of
my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname
you, though you do not know me.” (Isaiah 45:1-4)
In this passage God calls Cyrus, king of the Persian, by name hundreds
of years before he was born. God has revealed the future to us also. It
is all laid out in the Bible. With the help of the Holy Spirit we shall
know what lies ahead of us if we have a heart to know God and search out
His will. When we do this nothing will catch us by surprise.
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It is impossible to tempt God with evil (James 1:13). Everything that God
does is for our good.
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It is impossible for God to die. We are told in the Bible that "God alone
has immortality" (1 Timothy 6:16). The concept of immortality is that it
is impossible for an immortal being to be killed in any way. God is the
fountain of life. He lives independently of food, water, air, climate or
environment.
We learn as much about a person from what they can not do as we do from
what they can. |