WHAT IS GOD REALLY LIKE?

The Bible says that God is Spirit (John 4:24) and that no one has ever seen him and lived (Exodus 33:20). So then how can we, being human and not spirit, ever know what he is like?

While it is true that God is hidden from us in many ways, he has still to a great extent revealed himself to us. He has revealed himself in all of creation. When we see the world around us we get a glimpse of God’s creative nature, his infinity of tastes, and his incomprehensible immenseness.

God has also revealed himself to us in Scripture. Through the reliable written Word of God we get deep insights into

1. his infinite characteristics

2. his relational heart

3. his holy nature

And because he has revealed himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ we see God with skin on. We are able to see in a very powerful way just how he wants to relate to us and what he is like relationally. Each of these dimensions of God gives us a greater understanding of what he is really like.

GOD’S INFINITE CHARACTERISTICS

One of the first things we know of God is that he is infinite, which is far beyond our comprehension as finite humans. What does the Scripture tell us?

God is eternal, meaning he possesses an infinite life that is without beginning or end (see Isaiah 40:28). God created time and he involves himself within time, but he exists eternally, outside of time. There was never a moment when he didn’t exist, nor will he ever end. We really can’t grasp the concept of an eternal, self-existing being, but that is part of what God is like.

God is all-powerful. The Bible reveals a God who is almighty—what is called omnipotent. If he wants to do something—anything—he can do it.

King David said, “How great is our LORD! His power is absolute” (Psalm 147:5). The Almighty God as Sovereign of the universe has the power to know the future and cause it to happen:

I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish (Isaiah 46:9-10).

God is ever-present. His knowledge and power have no limits—which is why we say God is omnipresent. Again, as finite beings we cannot imagine a being that can be ever-present both within and beyond our universe of time and space (see Jeremiah 23:23-24). Yet that is part of what God is like.

God does not change. By his very nature he can be counted on—what is called immutable. This means he will not waver or lie. He will always do what he says he will do (see Psalm 102:26-27 and Numbers 23:19). That he is unchanging means he infinitely remains constant, firm, and secure—you can trust whatever he is because he will always be that.

God knows all. He has infinite knowledge. He knows everything past, present, and future—what is called omniscient (see Isaiah 46:9-10 and Psalm 139:1). Take everything there is to know within the known universe, for however long it has existed, and that wouldn’t even scratch the surface of God’s knowledge.

So far we have described God as an eternal, almighty being who is everywhere, knows all, and never changes. This gives us a sense of some of this awesome God’s infinite characteristics, but it doesn’t get at his personal side or the core of who he is. It is on this personal level that we can relate more to him.

GOD’S RELATIONAL HEART

This infinite God spoke the words, “Let there be…” and the world was created (Genesis 1:3). And he saw that it was good. But when he created, he didn’t do it alone, because all three persons of the Godhead were there.

“The Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the water” (Genesis 1:2). The Son, Jesus, was there too. “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything” (Colossians 1:15-16).

This triune aspect of God demonstrates that he is relational. So before there were humans, before Planet Earth or the universe or time as we know it, he existed eternally as a relational being.

Moses recorded in Scripture that this eternal Creator is the “God who is passionate about his relationship with you” (Exodus 34:14 NLT). And to further define the nature of this relationship the Scripture says that “love comes from God…for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). We then can say that God exists as a loving relational being.

Part of the very reason God created humans was to have a relationship with them. He didn’t do this because he needed a relationship; he already existed as relationship. He created us as relational beings because at his very heart he is a loving relational being who wants to relate to us. Creation was entirely because of his relational goodness and grace.

King David describes the loving heart of God:

The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love (Psalm 103:8).

Your faithfulness extends to every generation…LORD, how great is your mercy (Psalm 119:90,156).

He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.

The LORD lifts up those who are weighed down. The LORD loves the godly. The LORD protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked (Psalm 146:7-9).

He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds (Psalm 147:3).

Do you get the picture? God’s relational heart is other-focused. It is compassionate, merciful, unfailing, faithful, just, and caring. His pure heart protects the ones he loves and provides for their good. He makes the security, happiness, and welfare of another as important as his own. His love is giving and trusting, unselfish and sacrificial, secure and safe, loyal and forever.

And when humans didn’t believe their loving God had their best interest at heart and rebelled against him, what did he do? Instead of leaving them alone, separated from him in their sin, he reached out in love to draw them back to him.

God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead (Ephesians 2:4-5).

The cost, of course, was the torturous death of His Son on a cruel cross. The innocent and holy Son was willing to suffer and die so that he could restore a relationship with you and me. That is the relational heart of God.

GOD’S HOLY NATURE

It is impossible to grasp or express God’s infinite characteristics. We cannot fathom his relational heart of love. Yet he has created us as relational beings, and while we by no means comprehend him exhaustively, we are powerfully drawn to him and can relate to him truly. We were created to love him back and love others as we love ourselves. But where we as humans fail to love perfectly, God does not. For the infinite God of relationship is holy, perfect, and righteous. Scripture says, “He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!” (Deuteronomy 32:4).

Scripture reveals a God who is perfectly holy (Isaiah 54:5 and Revelation 4:8), just (Revelation 16:5), and right (Psalm 119:137). This isn’t something he decides to do. In other words, he doesn’t simply decide to do holy, just, and right things; this is something he is. All that is right and holy, just and good is derived from his core nature. The Scripture says, “Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens” (James 1:17).

This is incredibly important! What people miss and fail to understand about God is that he is pure goodness. All that is perfect and right and beautiful and complete and meaningful and eternally full of contentment, joy, and happiness is because of him and comes from him. His very nature and essence are good. “The LORD is good and does what is right” (Psalm 25:8). He is “the one who is holy and true” (Revelation 3:7). “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:3 NIV). “The LORD is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness” (Psalm 145:17). “The LORD is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in him” (Psalm 92:15).

The unchanging nature of a holy God (his immutability) makes it impossible for him to lie or go against his perfect goodness (Romans 3:3-4 and Hebrews 6:16-18). He then is our absolute standard for defining what is right and wrong, what is good and evil, and what is pure joy and happiness.

To live and be godlike is to ultimately experience the rightness, goodness, and joy that he has to offer. To live and be anything else is to ultimately experience evil, suffering, and the absence of all that is good.

If we are to begin to understand who God really is, we must acknowledge that he is the infinite one and be in awe of him, acknowledge his relational nature and embrace him, and acknowledge his pure goodness and worship him. King Solomon said in his wisdom, “The fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment” (Proverbs 9:10).

Possessing wisdom and understanding about God, the Bible, and life itself is wrapped up in a knowledge of his infinite characteristics, his relational heart of love, and his nature of pure goodness. With this as our center of moral gravity, we can begin to see life clearly and have a reference point for making right moral choices.