The great man should not boast about his strength, the clever man about his knowledge, or the rich man about his wealth. Instead, the one who takes pride in himself should do so because he recognizes and knows that I, the Lord, am the one who rules the planet with justice, kindness, and love. For I take pleasure in these (Jeremiah 9:23–24).
A well-known British judge who was well-known for his fervent religious beliefs occasionally came with individuals who denied the existence of God. Every time, he would ask them to explain the god they rejected. He would tell them that he did not believe in the god they had just described after hearing their response.
How few people today actually know and comprehend God! “Modern men often search for God in vain,” a theologian once said.
The primary cause is that, instead than learning about God from God’s revealed Word, the Bible, most people learn about God from other people. For this reason, their conception of God hardly resembles the biblical revelation of what God is like.
Another explanation is that a lot of religious leaders have never been able to obtain the actual key that unlocks God’s wisdom. The key is found in the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, which is available to everyone who is called by the Creator and is prepared to accept who and what we are in His eyes (Isaiah 66:1-2). However, Acts 5:32 states that the gift of the Holy Spirit is only “given to those who obey Him”—a scriptural criterion that far too many theologians fail to acknowledge.
“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him,’ but God has revealed them to us [Christ’s true followers] through His Spirit,” says the apostle Paul, explaining the only way that limitation in human understanding can be overcome.Since the Spirit examines everything, even the intricate details of God, 1 Corinthians 2:9–10 emphasizes this point again.
Humans are powerless to understand God’s things unless they have the Holy Spirit: 1 Corinthians 2:14 states, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
So how do we actually go about learning about the things of God? One useful key is to get a deeper understanding of the wonders of creation and the vastness of the universe. The heavens declare God’s majesty. King David said, “His amazing craftsmanship is on display in the skies” (Psalms 19:1, New Living Translation).
However, the one indispensable resource for comprehending and knowing God is the Bible itself. As it says in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.”
While acknowledging that there are undoubtedly many more, let’s take a quick look at the ten main characteristics and attributes of God that His Word teaches.
1. Our Creator is God.
All things were created by God, the Almighty. However, for the past 150 years, the idea of evolution has grown to be a significant obstacle to the believe in God as the Creator. The intelligentsia around the world is dominated by this atheistic school of thought. The irrational belief in mindless evolution—a sequence of fortunate accidents—is actually the foundation for a large portion of current higher education.
The creation was carried out by God the Father via His Son, Jesus Christ. Take note of what the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 3:9, “God… created all things through Jesus Christ.” “For by Him [Jesus Christ] all things that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, were created,” he explained to the Colosse church, adding to this amazing revelation.According to Colossians 1:16, “all things were created through Him and for Him.”
Love of God, “the first and great commandment,” and love of neighbor are the two overarching themes that Jesus Christ used to summarize the Ten Commandments. There is a law of love contained in the Ten Commandments.
The Creator is Christ! This is confirmed in the book of Hebrews: “God…….has communicated with us in these final days via His Son, whom He has designated as the heir of everything, and through whom He created the worlds (Hebrews 1:1–2).
The first words of John’s Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” affirm and enhance the great creation story found in Genesis 1. He was with God in the beginning.Nothing was made without Him, for everything was made through Him (John 1:1-3). According to verse 14, Jesus Christ is “the Word” by whom God created everything.
2. Supreme Lawgiver is God.
The brother of the Lord, the apostle James, tells us that “every perfect gift that comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning, is from above” (James 1:17). God’s spiritual law is one of the greatest gifts He has given humanity. Then, in verse 25, this apostle calls it “the perfect law of liberty.” James 2:8 refers to it as “the royal law” as well.
A renowned legal professor from Britain once stated: “legal is everywhere. It is present in every living cell. It almost always has an impact on everyone. It controls every aspect of existence, even our afterlife…..It regulates our property, our travel, our sexuality, our relationships with our families, the food and drink we eat, and the air we breathe (Gary Slapper, How the Law Works, 2007, p. 1).
So why do so many religious people think and teach that the law of God is a kind of slavery? How they have perverted the Word of God! The rules of physics govern how the entire universe functions. Halley’s Comet will undoubtedly show up in the sky at a certain time. When the forces of anarchy triumph, our civilized civilization is severely damaged. Human society could not last for very long without the law.
“The Lord is our Lawgiver,” the prophet Isaiah declares (Isaiah 33:22). “There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy,” according to James (James 4:12).
In Matthew 22:36–39, Jesus Christ summarized the Ten Commandments into two overarching principles: love of God, which He called “the first and great commandment,” and love of neighbor. There is a law of love contained in the Ten Commandments. Because of this, God loves us and wants us to obey His commands.Furthermore, His commands are not onerous (1 John 5:3).
3. God is kindness.
Perhaps the most misinterpreted and misused word in the English language is the word “love.” It is most definitely not true love when it is a lustful desire to possess someone else.In the realm of TV and movies, love is frequently mistaken for lust. Many fantasy movies that encourage illicit sexuality lead people astray and lead them into sin. (It is uncommon to find stories in the entertainment industry about how wholesome relationships turn into true romantic love.)
Greek, which has the distinct advantage of having different words for different forms of love, was used to write the New Testament at first.The word that most characterizes God is agape. It usually conveys selfless, extroverted compassion for other people.
“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God,” says the apostle John.Anybody who is in love is aware of and born from God. However, since God is love, anybody who does not love does not know God (1 John 4:7-8, New Living Translation). Humans are continuously taught to love God and neighbor by our Creator.
According to Galatians 5:22, the primary manifestation of God’s Holy Spirit is love. It is the primary divine gift that every believer ought to pursue.
“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; rejoices not in iniquity [sin], but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things,” says the apostle Paul, describing how love should act in a person who has undergone spiritual transformation.Love is always there (1 Corinthians 13:4–8).
What is the most complete and ideal manifestation of God the Father’s love for sinful humans? God so loved the world that He sent His only born Son, so that everyone who believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life, according to the Bible (John 3:16).
4. God is a just and merciful God.
Justice and mercy are both embraced by God’s love. He is a just God, yet he also extends boundless mercy. The need to pay the price for our sins—our violations of God’s law—was a result of the divine quality of justice (see 1 John 3:4). But Christ died in order to atone for our sins because of divine kindness. Given that “the price of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), the blameless Christ died a torturous death in our stead so that the just God may likewise freely pardon our sins and provide us eternal life.
The Bible is concerned about sin! Revolt against God, who is against all evil, is what sin is. Cheap grace is wholly inconsistent with the Father’s divine nature and has never been a part of His purpose. Since we have all disobeyed His spiritual law, the first step in returning to Him is genuine repentance.
However, the greatest payment that could be paid—the shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ—was necessary in order to make reconciliation with the Father possible. According to the apostle Peter, “you were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, but with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
The world will be in order when Jesus returns to rule on earth, “and establish it with judgment and justice” (Isaiah 9:7). Additionally, take note of Isaiah 11:4, which states that “with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.”
God’s justice and judgments, which are liberally balanced by immense mercy, are something we should never ignore. According to James (2:13), “mercy triumphs over judgment.” In 2 Corinthians 1:13, Paul said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.”
5. God never ends.
“And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was,” is a prayer that Jesus Christ uttered just before His excruciating suffering and eventual death (John 17:5). The “hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began” is what the apostle Paul wrote about in his epistolary epistolary to Titus (Titus 1:2). God was there before the universe!
Keep in mind that, according to Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” declared the exalted Christ…..who exists, who has existed, and who will arise (Revelation 1:8). The phrase “the eternal creative existence of God” is expressed informally in Greek as “The Alpha and the Omega” (The New Bible Dictionary, 1974, p. 26).
One who has “neither beginning of days nor end of life” is mentioned in Hebrews 7:3 (verse 1); this is the High Priest Melchizedek, who subsequently took on the form of Jesus Christ. It is true that Christ exists “from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). For the scriptural basis, see our free ebook Who Is God?
“For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy,” is how the prophet Isaiah described this amazing fact about God (Isaiah 57:15). There has always been God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Word. They are spirit beings of the gods (John 4:24). They weren’t made by anyone. They existed before the beginning of creation, or the beginning of time. They never die!
6. God is a household.
“I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,” declared the apostle Paul (Ephesians 3:14–15).
God is a growing family rather than a closed Trinity. The opening remarks under the article “Trinity” in The Oxford Companion to the Bible provide insightful information regarding the Trinity doctrine:
The Trinity’s absence from the New Testament is startling because it plays such a significant role in later Christian belief.According to Bruce Metzger and Michael Coogan, editors (1993), p. 782, emphasis added, “the developed concept of three coequal partners in the Godhead found in later creedal formulations cannot be clearly detected within the confines of the [New Testament] canon.”
Understanding why the Trinity theory became a burden on mainstream Christian thinking requires an understanding of the term “later.” The idea was first developed by theologians not long after the Bible was published, and over the ages, others have added to and expanded upon it.
Unfortunately, the biblical reality that God is a divine family has been severely impeded by the Trinity idea.
The Father is the head of the God family, which currently consists of Jesus Christ, God the Son, and God the Father. According to Hebrews 2:10, their entire goal and objective is to “bring many sons [and daughters] to glory.” This has been organized from the start.
According to Colossians 1:18, Jesus Christ is “the firstborn among many brethren”—”the firstborn from the dead” (Romans 8:29). These verses indicate that at the first resurrection, when the righteous are raised to eternal life (see 1 Corinthians 15:49–54; 1 John 3:1-2; Revelation 20:6), many more will join the family as divine spirit beings like the Father and Christ.
Once more, check Ephesians 3:14–15. Those who are fully converted and have been given the Holy Spirit by God are already considered members of the family. At the second coming, they await the last action.
Then, according to Philippians 3:21, “Jesus will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body.” Then the phrase “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:18) can be used in its fullest connotation.
Only the firstfruits of God’s salvation are involved in this extremely significant step; in the end, He will add countless more people to His family.
7. The great Healer is God.
Despite all of the amazing successes and developments in medicine, people continue to suffer from diabetes, cancer, heart disease, AIDS, a variety of dangerous addictions, and a never-ending list of chronic illnesses. Some medications can help the body heal, but occasionally they have negative side effects. People still have a great need for supernatural healing.
Our Creator has enabled medical professionals and researchers to acquire amazing insights into the workings of our bodies over time. Jesus Christ never made disparaging remarks about the doctors of His day. As an example, He once declared in Matthew 9:12, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” Luke was dubbed “the beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14) and traveled far with the apostle Paul, penning much of the New Testament.
Having said that, the majority of Christians are unaware that the Bible refers to God as our healer. He declares, “I am the LORD who heals you” (Exodus 15:26). However, our mostly secular society does not often appreciate His miraculous abilities. The Bible claims that Jesus “could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them,” even in a small region of the Holy Land almost 2,000 years ago. And He was astounded by their lack of faith (Mark 6:5–6).
And yet, during His earthly mission, He performed many healings: Matthew 9:35 states, “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” Even those who identify as religious believe that the age of miracles is long gone and that many people today remain skeptical about supernatural healing.
A well-known theologian from Britain correctly disagreed with this popular opinion, saying that it is foolish to rule out the possibility of miracles due to either religious prejudice or scientific secularism. Given our belief that God is the all-powerful Creator of the universe, it is obvious that he has the authority to meddle in his own realm. We are not free to tell him what he can and cannot do, or to put him in one of our tidy little boxes (John Stott, Evangelical Truth, 2003, p. 124).
When people get sick, many Christians aren’t even aware of what the Bible says to do: “Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the church’s elders, who should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the Lord’s name (James 5:14). What is anticipated to occur?James 5:15 states, “And the sick will be saved by prayer of faith, and the Lord will raise him up.” However, as James 5:16 says, we are to leave the means and the timing up to God.
“Let it be unto you according to your faith,” declared Jesus (Matthew 9:29).
8. The ultimate planner is God.
In God’s eyes, every human being matters. The pinnacle of His bodily creation was the first man and woman. We are their progeny, after all, and He created them in His likeness (Genesis 1:26-27).
Speaking of His impending execution, Jesus Christ declared in John 12:32, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” God’s plan for humanity began with the offering of His Son as a ransom for our sins. However, His heavenly scheme is not over yet.
Paul revealed to the Christians in Ephesus his hidden purpose, which is to bring the universe, everything in heaven and earth, into unity with Christ. This is in line with the plan that he decided beforehand in Christ and will be implemented when the time is right (Ephesians 1:9–10, Revised English Bible).
Many things in the modern era are still chaotic and confusing. As stated in Romans 8:22, “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” This won’t be the case, though, always. Examine the following verse: “Not only that, but we also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the redemption of our body [at the time of the resurrection], the adoption [or full rights of sonship]” (Romans 8:23).
According to Paul’s earlier writing in Romans 8:19, “the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.” With the aid of His raised saints, God will make everything right. He is addressing the firstfruits of His family in this era of humankind because of this. In due course, many more will be called to salvation.
God will carry out His grand plan in the sequential order that the Bible reveals. By the annual biblical festivals, Our Creator has made all seven steps of His great divine plan visible.
9. God makes the future known.
The amazing rise and fall of nations, governments, and individuals mentioned in the Bible could not have been predicted by any human seer or prophet. Recalling the past events He has already completed is God’s advice to us all (Isaiah 46:9–10). “I am God, and there is none like Me, proclaiming the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done.”
According to Romans 4:17, our Creator “calls those things which do not [yet] exist as though they [already] did.” He possesses the strength, wisdom, and vision to see things through to completion in accordance with His grand design and purpose for humanity. “Yes, I have said that, and I will also see it through to completion. I will carry out my objective, as stated in Isaiah 46:11.
God not only predicts a wonderful world of wealth, peace, and prosperity in the future, but also a period of terrible disasters that man will initially bring upon himself. While we are blessed with many labor-saving devices our forebears could only dream of thanks to our rapidly rising contemporary technology, it has also developed many methods of self-destruction that pose a threat to our security.
In the meantime, exactly as God long ago predicted in His Word, there is an acceleration of crime and violence, illness and disease, famine and starvation, poverty, and unhappiness. He is a real God of justice, mercy, and compassion who will act to deliver mankind from its own self (Matthew 24:21–22).
Indeed, all human life would be horribly doomed and our fate would be sealed if God did not exist. However, He is our live, active God. He is profoundly concerned about our self-inflicted misery and is well informed of current global developments. We are utterly powerless to free ourselves from the fatal trap of rebellion that humanity has fallen into against our Creator.
For this reason, in order to deliver us from ourselves, God the Father will send His Son, Jesus Christ, back to earth (Revelation 11:15). For a thousand years of unfathomable bliss, Christ and His exalted disciples from this age shall personally and directly rule over humanity (Revelation 20:4-6). Many billions of people will experience genuine repentance during that millennium as a result of God’s word being sent from Jerusalem to all nations.
10. God is concerned about you.
Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997) raised awareness of compassion and caring in society. “She had the most princely gift of making the most insignificant person feel important to her, the recipient of her undivided attention, no longer excluded and ignored but brought into the warm circle, welcomed, cherished, made much of,” British historian and journalist Paul Johnson once observed.
One amazing quality that people occasionally ignore when thinking of our Creator is their compassion and caring nature. But David the King did not. “But You, O LORD, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in mercy and truth,” he cried out, according to Psalms 86:15–17. “He has helped me and comforted me.”
“When Jesus went out, He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick,” according to the Gospels (Matthew 14:14). Later, the apostle James recorded in James 5:11 that “the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.”
Many people experience a great deal of nervous concern because of this sinful society in which we live. However, in 1 Peter 5:6-7, the apostle Peter exhorts us to trust God and show genuine humility by “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” God is the best provider there is!
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,” is how David so eloquently expressed our Creator’s care and concern for you (Psalms 103:2-4).
In summary
The book of Ephesians contains a single verse that encapsulates all that God wants His people to know and comprehend about Him. “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened,” Paul wrote to the Christians he wrote to. “That you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power,” these are the things Paul prayed for the Christians he wrote to;”
We also pray that you would seek knowledge of your Creator, absorb what He reveals, and witness His power at work in your life!
