Who is God?
God
God, according to the Bible, is the only divine and supreme being that
exists in the universe. The Bible says He is Holy (Rev.
4:8), eternal (Isaiah
57:15, omnipotent (Jer.
32:17,27),
omnipresent (Psalm
139:7-12), and omniscient (1
John 3:20). He is described as love (1
John 4:8,
16); light (1 John
1:5); spirit (John
4:24); truth (Psalm
117:2); and as creator (Isaiah
40:12,22,26).
He is worshiped (Gen.
24:26;
Ex. 4:31;
2 Chron. 29:28;
1 Cor. 14:25;
Rev. 7:11) and served (Matt.
4:10;1
Cor. 6:19;
Phil. 3:7;
1 Thess. 1:9;
Heb. 9:14).
Though there are many other concepts of God in the world, the Bible
alone presents God as the only God in existence, the Supreme Being who is a
Trinity. The Trinity is the doctrine of one God in three
persons, not three gods, not three modes. Pantheism presents God as an
impersonal presence existing in all things, containing all things, and part
of all things. Atheism says there is no God. Deism says God exists but is
unknowable and untouchable.
The Bible speaks of God as knowable, personal, real, alive, self-aware,
and very much concerned with the affairs of this world. It does not defend
God's existence nor try to prove it. Instead, the Bible simply assumes it
and says that it is the fool who says there is no God (Psalm
14:1).
Some of the biblical names of God are "Jehovah or Yahweh" (Exodus
3:14, lit. "I AM"), "Elohim" (the Hebrew word for 'god', i.e.
Gen. 1), and "Adonai" which means "master" or "lord." "Jehovah" is often
joined in usage to the word "elohim" as in
Gen. 15:2. It is also joined to other words. For example,
Jehovah-jireh which means "the Lord will provide" (Gen.
22:13-14); Jehovah-rapha which means "The Lord who heals" (Exodus
15:26); Jehovah-shalom which means "the Lord our peace" (Judges
6:24); and Jehovah-tsidkenu, which is "the Lord our
righteousness" (Jer.
23:6). In the NT, God is known as the "Father" (John
17) and the "Word" (John
1:1,14),
etc.1
God is Sovereign. He is in control of all things and supreme over all
things. No one is more powerful than Him and He answers to no one. He had
no beginning and has no end (Psalm
90:2). God decrees what will occur; that is, all things occur
according to His plan (Acts
2:23. But this is not to say that God is the author of evil.
Instead, in His sovereign plan, He allowed for it to occur.
God is the creator of the Universe (Gen.
1;
Isaiah 44:24;
John 1:1-3;
Col. 1:16-17), not a part of it. God is the redeemer who became
a man in Christ Jesus (John
1:1,14;
Col. 2:9;
Phil. 2:5-8;
Titus 2:13). God is our Savior.
God is forgiving (Eph.
1:7;
Psalm 86:5), merciful (Exodus
34:6;
Psalm 67:1;
James 5:11), holy (Isaiah
6:3;
Rev. 4:8), eternal (Psalm
90:2;
1 Tim. 1:17), and perfect (1
Kings 8:27; Psalm 139).
The Incarnation
In the incarnation, God became man. It says in Col. 2:9, "For in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form" (NASB). Jesus is God in flesh, our redeemer. It was necessary that God become a man to atone for our sins because a sinful man could not fulfill all the Law of God and offer a sacrifice to God the Father of sufficient quality to remove our sin. God had to become a man so that He could die for the sins of men. In this, we have the sacrifice of a loving God who humbled Himself to become one of us and die at our hands for our sins so that He might give eternal life to those who accept His sacrifice (John 1:12; John 3:16).
by Matthew Slick www.carm.org