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Chapter 1  Part I

Basics

Sections

The concepts in the first half of this chapter are fundamental to understanding what God is like, as they concern basic attributes of his being. These include attributes which show God to be very different to us, but also attributes which indicate that he is like us in that he is a personal being.

God’s Form

God is one

[Jesus, quoting Moses:] Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. … 32The expert in the law said to him, “That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him.   Mark 12:29b, 32 NET

God is a single entity. He is only one being.

God is spirit

God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.   John 4:24 NET

God’s nature is spirit; he is a spiritual being. So God is not a physical being, in contrast to people and particularly to idols.

God cannot be seen by people

[Paul, speaking of God:] He alone has endless life and lives in inaccessible light. No one has ever seen him, nor can anyone see him. Honor and eternal power belong to him! Amen.   1 Timothy 6:16 ISV

God is everywhere

“I am a God who is near,” says the Lord. “I am also a God who is far away.” 24“No one can hide where I cannot see him,” says the Lord. “I fill all of heaven and earth,” says the Lord.   Jeremiah 23:23-24 NCV™

Note that “Lord” is the personal name of God.

God’s Glory

The Bible often speaks of God’s glory in reference to his wondrous being. In doing so, it has in view God’s essence and/or his attributes. Regarding his essence, God’s glory pertains to his essential being itself, such that his presence is on occasions perceived as his glory and spoken of in terms of it. Regarding his attributes, God’s glory emanates in part from his attributes – such as his power – which in a sense reflect the glory of God’s essence and presence.

Glory is a prominent and key attribute of God

They [kings] will sing about the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord!   Psalms 138:5 ISV

All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.   Romans 3:23 CEV

The fact that it is God’s glory that people are measured by or compared to, underlines that glory is a key attribute of God.

God’s glory manifests his presence

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently toward heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.   Acts 7:55 NET

Here “the glory of God” is correlated with “God” himself – and so God’s presence.

In association with his glory, God is surrounded by brilliant light

[Ezekiel, describing a vision of God:]  I then saw what looked like a throne made of sapphire, and sitting on the throne was a figure in the shape of a human. 27From the waist up, it was glowing like metal in a hot furnace, and from the waist down it looked like the flames of a fire. The figure was surrounded by a bright light, 28as colorful as a rainbow that appears after a storm. I realized I was seeing the brightness of the Lord’s glory!   Ezekiel 1:26-28a CEV

God’s glory is evidenced by the universe that he has made

The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky displays his handiwork.   Psalms 19:1 NET

God’s Personhood

God is not a “thing” but a personal being with who we can interrelate.

God has a mind – knowing and understanding things

For the Lord is a God who knows; he evaluates what people do.   1 Samuel 2:3b NET

[David:] And you, Solomon my son, obey the God of your father and serve him with a submissive attitude and a willing spirit, for the Lord examines all minds and understands every motive of one’s thoughts.   1 Chronicles 28:9a NET

God has a will

[Paul, to believers:] In the Messiah we were also chosen when we were predestined according to the purpose of the one [God] who does everything according to the intention of his will, …   Ephesians 1:11 ISV

God has feelings and character

But the Lord God felt sorry for his people, and instead of destroying the temple, he sent prophets who warned the people over and over about their sins.   2 Chronicles 36:15 CEV

You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.   James 5:11b NET

God communicates

After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, 2in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world.   Hebrews 1:1-2 NET

God interacts with people, responding to their needs

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.   James 4:8a NET

[God, speaking of a person devoted to him:] When he calls out to me, I will answer him. I will be with him when he is in trouble; I will rescue him and bring him honor.   Psalms 91:15 NET

God’s Eternity

God has always been alive, the first of all things

Your throne, O Lord, has been firm from the beginning, and you existed before time began.   Psalms 93:2 GNT

This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says, their protector, the Lord who commands armies: “I am the first and I am the last, there is no God but me.   Isaiah 44:6 NET

God will live forever

[King Nebuchadnezzar:] I extolled the Most High, and I praised and glorified the one who lives forever. For his authority is an everlasting authority, and his kingdom extends from one generation to the next.   Daniel 4:34b NET

[Paul, speaking of God:] Now to the eternal king, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.   1 Timothy 1:17 NET

God transcends time

Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day.   2 Peter 3:8 NET

God dwells outside of the limitations of time, not bound by its finite perspective. From his eternal perspective, diverse periods such as a day and a thousand years are both small, even insignificant. To God the distinction between them is merely relative.

God is self-existing

For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.   John 5:26 ESV

God does not change

All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change.   James 1:17 NET

Pray for persecuted Christians