What Is God Like?
By Rev. Ron Purkey
Guest Columnist
Read: Psalm 139:1-24
“If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there…” (Psalm 139:8)
It’s possible to know what God is like because the Bible gives us a full revelation about God. There are hundreds of things we could say about him as revealed in the Bible, but here are four we may focus on:
First, the Bible teaches that God is a spirit. In the Gospel of John, Jesus is talking to a woman at the well. He makes a straightforward statement about God when he says simply, “God is spirit.” We might picture a sort of cloudy vapor, but that is not a picture of God. After his resurrection Jesus said, “Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have” (Luke 24:39). God’s spirit is not limited by a body.
Second, the Bible reveals God as a person. Everywhere in the Bible we read: “God does,” “God says;” “God loves.” Everything that we attribute to a person is attributed to God. He is a person who thinks, feels, desires, wishes, and is not bound by a body.
Third, the Bible declares that God is a holy and righteous being. From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals himself as being holy. God is perfect in every detail. He is too holy to endure sinful living because he is a good, perfect God. We all fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23).
Because God is holy, a gap exists between us and God. The Bible says, “your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden his face from you, So that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). Not only is the sinner separated from God, but God is separated from the sinner. Because God is holy, he can have nothing to do with sin.
Fourth, the Bible says that God is love. Many people have misunderstood that part of God’s nature. The fact that God is love does not mean that everything is sweet, beautiful and happy and that God’s love could not possibly allow punishment for sin. God must punish sin. God’s holiness demands that all sin be punished, but God’s love provided a plan of redemption and salvation for sinful people. It was the love of God that sent Jesus Christ to the cross. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). No matter what sin we have committed, no matter how dirty, shameful or terrible it may be, God loves us. But it is up to us to believe in Jesus Christ, ask forgiveness for our sins, and receive God’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life.
Let’s close with prayer, “Lord, we limit you so many times. Forgive our finite mind and fill us with your wisdom, power, and mercy, so that we may reach those you love today.”
Read Ron Purkey’s Bible Study Outlines at www.rtcol.com/purkey free on the website. Purkey has been an ordained Baptist Minister for 50 years.