What is God Like?
Throughout history there have been a range of ideas of what God is like. With so many views of what God is like, how can anyone say he or she has the right view of God? The question then becomes what foundation is used to determine what God is like? If there is an all-powerful, all knowing, all present, all loving God who created all things, then created beings could only understand what God reveals to them. Guess what? This is the exact claim the Bible makes! The Bible teaches God desires to be known (Psalm 46:10) and has revealed Himself through inspired Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
For further study on inspired scripture, see the blog titled: "Inspired Word of God...or Not?".
From the Beginning
From the first verse of Genesis, we are told God exists: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). The God of the Bible, who made all things, sustains all of creation. Hebrews 1:3 says, "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:" For further study read: Genesis 8:22, Job 33:4, 38:33-37; Ps. 36:6, 104:1-35, 135:6-7, 145:16-17; Matt. 10:29-30; Acts 17:28; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:17.
Many of God's other attributes are shared in various portions of the Bible, including mercy, justice, righteousness, and others.
God is Infinite - Self Existing, Without Origin
The fact that God has existed forever is possibly the most difficult attribute of God to be understood (Col. 1:17, Ps. 147:5). In our limitedness, grasping the nature of our limit-less God is like holding onto air as it blows across sky.
Pastor A.W. Tozer wrote, "To admit that there is One who lies beyond us, who exists outside of all our categories, who will not be dismissed with a name, who will not appear before the bar of our reason, nor submit to our curious inquiries: this requires a great deal of humility, more than most of us possess, so we save face by thinking God down to our level, or at least down to where we can manage Him."
God Does Not Change
God is who He is. His character never changes. His plans do not change. His promises do not change. God is dependable and trustworthy, and the same yesterday, today, and forever! (Mal. 3:6)
God is Perfect in Wisdom
God is infinitely wise, consistently wise, perfectly wise (Rom. 11:33).
God is Faithful and True
All of God's attributes are interconnected, it is who He is (Deut. 7:9, 2 Tim. 2:13). He does what He says He will do, for example the prophecies of a Messiah occurred exactly as the Word indicated it would. Good will triumph over evil; death and the grave will be defeated. And the redeemed of the Lord will enter into an eternity of worshiping the triumphant King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
God is Just
God always does what is right and good (mercy) toward all humanity (Deut. 32:4). All have and will be warned, all will be judged. The Good News is that though we all stand upon the commandments condemned, His mercy seat is a covering. Through Christ we are covered with His robe of righteousness and we inherit eternal life. Our sins are removed from the book of record, and remains in the book of life. See: Ex. 32:32-33; Ps. 56:8, 69:28, 139:16; Dan. 7:10, 12:1; Mal. 3:16; Lk. 10:20; Phil. 4:3; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 3:5, 13:8, 17:8, 20:12-15, 21:27, 22:18-19.
We have before us two options eternal life or not. God does not force a decision we have freedom of choice. Each decision has a reward one eternal life the other not.
The Four "Omni" Attributes
The four “omni” attributes of God characterize him as all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere present, and all-good. Each of these involves the other three, and each provides a perspective on the all-embracing lordship of the true God. Possessing perfect, unlimited goodness and love.
Omnipotence
Omnipotence means all-power, supreme power. This means God can do what he wants (Job 11:7-9). It means he is not subject to physical limitation like man is. Being omnipotent, God created and has power over wind, water, gravity, physics, etc. God’s power is infinite, or limitless.
Scripture affirms God’s omnipotence by saying that God does whatever he is pleased to do (Ps. 115:3; cf. Isa. 55:11 and Jer. 32:17, Ps. 135:6). Nothing is too hard for him (Gen. 18:14). His word is never void of power, so when he speaks, everything in creation obeys him (Isa. 55:11). We know of course, that creatures did not and do not obey him. God gave humanity the freedom of choice – an expression of his love – so this potential existed from the beginning. And, we know the record of Adam and Eve. But God has control even over sinful actions, he does not cause a sinful action or a hardening of ones heart but he will permit it to reach its full potential and has used it to bring about his providential plan (i.e., Satan with Job, Pharaoh with Israelite's, Haman with the Hebrews, Judas with Jesus, etc.). God will allow sin to develop to its fullest, then he will destroy it and it will rise not a second time (Nahum 1:9).
It is inferred by some that God “can do anything”, but that doesn’t quite reflect the full biblical teaching. There are things that God cannot do. He cannot lie (Titus 1:2, cf. Num. 23:19), nor, similarly, can he perform any immoral action. Since God is perfectly holy and good, he cannot do anything evil. And, since he is perfect truth, he cannot do things that are logically contradictory. His truth is a perfect consistency of thought and action.
God rules not only the important events of human history but also the lives of individual people. He knits us together in our mothers’ wombs (Ps. 139:13-16). He exerts his power to save sinners, to bring forgiveness and new life (Eph. 2:8-10). Our salvation is entirely the work of God’s power, not at all our own work.
Omniscience
Omniscience means all-knowing. God is all all-knowing in the sense that he is aware of the past, present, and future (infinite knowledge). Nothing takes him by surprise. His knowledge is total. He knows all that there is to know and all that can be known.
God’s power is not a blind power. Everything God does has an intelligent purpose, a definite goal. And since, as we’ve seen, God’s power is universal, so also is his knowledge. In knowing his own intentions, God knows everything in himself, in his creation, and throughout history. Scripture often refers to the universality of God’s knowledge (Ps. 147:5, John 21:17, Heb. 4:12-13, 1Jn. 3:20). It often mentions that God knows detailed happenings on earth, even in the future (1 Sam. 10:2, 1 Kgs. 13:1-4, 2 Kgs. 8:12, Ps. 139:4, Acts 2:23, 4:27-28).
Some theologians have referred to passages like Gen. 18:20-21 as teaching God’s ignorance. But Scripture assumes God’s omniscience pervasively, and it is far more likely that such passages should be interpreted consistently with that assumption. In Gen. 18:20-21, for example, God does not admit ignorance, but declares that he is gathering facts for an indictment, preparing the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for judgment. God uses this method of interaction, communication with his creation; but this does not mean he doesn't already know. Here are other instances of the same, these are but a few:
- Garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve warning (surely die) about what would happen if they ate from a forbidden tree. After the fall of mankind, God asked Adam and Eve questions, then pronounced judgments (on the earth, and the serpent).
- Cain and Able, God gave Cain warning (sin lies at your door). After Cain murdered his brother, God asked Cain questions, then pronounced judgment (Cain was cursed from the earth, driven out, and marked).
- Flood. In this instance, God did not ask questions but gave a 120 year warning that a global flood would come. Judgment would come upon all those that rejected God and his mercy by refusal to get into the ark. The flood came upon those people and the whole earth.
God asks us deep, penetrating questions because He wants us to think; not because he does not already know.
Indeed, God’s omniscience is based on his authority, for he is the supreme judge of all things, and he is the ultimate standard of what is true and false. Not only does God know what is true, but he is the very nature of truth. Truth is what he is (John 14:6). So, it is inconceivable that he could be wrong about anything.
Omnipresence
In the Heavenly Kingdom there is order. The Father operates or works through his Son. The Son operates or works through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works or operates through the angels. The final link of the chain is that the angels attempt to work in and through human beings. What is being said here? The Godhead is not personally present everywhere. The Godhead remains in communication with all of their creation through the administration through the angelic host. In other words, God is omnipresent through the ministration of His angels.
Some may get nervous with the idea that His angels are the messengers of God, so let’s qualify what is being said here. God does not need to be personally present everywhere in order to know what is happening everywhere. Do you believe that God knows the end from the beginning…that the Holy Spirit know the end from the beginning? Does the Holy Spirit know now what is happening in countries, cities, in towns, homes, the mind of a person, etc.? Of course He does, he knows the end from the beginning. His infinite mind knows everything that is happening simultaneously in the universe. The questions is then, does He need to be physically present everywhere in the universe? No. In other words, He is omnipresence through his infinite knowledge (omniscience)
Through his omniscience, He physically comes into contact with his creation through the ministration of his holy angels. You know very well that Jesus taught us to pray, in fact, he taught us to pray this way: Our Father which art in heaven… Now, 1 Kings 8:26-27 says that ‘the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee’ meaning, His presence is everywhere. BUT, does that mean His presence is personally everywhere? Verses 28-29 tells us that he is going to be present through His eyes, and where does He dwell? In heaven (v. 30).
Is He personally present on earth, as he dwells in heaven? Absolutely. How? He is present on earth through his infinite knowledge (omniscience). SO, He is omnipresent through his omniscience. Jeremiah 23:23-24, does this tells us that God is present everywhere? No. It says God ‘sees’ everything, everywhere. You can’t hide from Him because he can see you…because he knows all. Psalm 139 is not talking about the omnipresence of God, rather it is talking about the omniscience of God. (View “Revisiting the Godhead” videos 3 and 4 by clicking the link; or they can be found under About / What We Believe.)
Think of it this way. The Holy Spirit is the General of the heavenly host (angels) and sit in the command center of the universe. And, you could say, the angels are His foot soldiers. In the central command, the Holy Spirit knows everything that is happening simultaneously in the whole universe – even though He is located in that place. He is present everywhere, because he knows everything. The Spirit remains in communication with God’s creation through his infinite knowledge. He directs the battle on earth through the angelic host. Some examples of angels sent to interact with humans: angel that guarded Eden, Abraham and Lot regarding Sodom and Gomorrah (angels emitted light), Daniel and the angel Gabriel, the angel that opened Christ's tomb and sat on the stone (emitted light), Elisha prayed to see the angels that surrounded the city...these are a few examples to consider.
Omnibenevolence
Omnibenevolence, or the belief that God is all good. The idea of an all-loving God can be found in many different parts of the Bible (Ps. 86:15, John 3:16-17). Christians believe that God loved humanity so much that he chose to send Jesus to Earth so that people could have eternal life. The idea of an omnibenevolent and omnipotent God can cause people to raise the problem of evil in the world. It can be difficult for people to accept that an all-loving and all-powerful God would allow his creation to suffer. If we rightly understand the cosmic conflict that we are in we can better understand the bigger picture. Although there is suffering and trials, we have great promises from God, we just have to hold fast until he returns.
God is good, merciful, loving, and full of grace.