Who is God?

Since the beginning of time mankind has pondered, who God is. He did not choose to reveal much about himself probably because we couldn't understand it. He is another dimension in which we don't even understand the terms. This article summarizes what is revealed about him in the Bible. Please publish it liberally to spread the word about him. Notifying me at lynn_b2@yahoo.com would be appreciated. Total words 801.

Pharaoh asked, "Who is God that I should obey him" (EX 5:2)? The Lord taught him who he is by the plagues he sent to his people. Pharaoh learned of God's wrath, but never experienced his love and forgiveness. The Creator is a God of love to those that obey him, but he has no choice but to be a God of wrath to the ones that refuse to obey. His choice is based on our choice.

He is light and there is no darkness in him (1JN 1:5). This means that he is a perfect being that can have no fellowship with those guilty of sin, or it would be a reflection on him. That is just part of the story. He is not willing to destroy us because we all sin. Since the wages of a sin amount to death we deserve to die. God loved us so much that he sent his only son to die in our place so that we can live eternally if we put our trust in Jesus. This shows his true nature. First John 4:8 defines what he is. God is love.

He calls himself "I AM." We know that mortals will be, they are, and then we have to say that they were, when they die. God always has been, always will be, he has no beginning and no end. He is I Am because he is always present tense. He can see the past, present and future at a glance because time does not exist for him. He created time for us, but he is not affected by it.

God is a spirit (JN 4:24). A spirit does not have flesh and blood (LK 24:39). This means that he is not visible to human eyes. Jacob claimed to see and wrestle with God (GE 32:30). If it really was the Lord, he would have had to appear in a form that could be seen. He could not have seen in his true nature. John 1:18 states that no one has ever seen God. We know from the account in the book of Numbers that Moses spoke to God face to face, but that he could only see the form of the Lord (12:8). The Lord permitted him to see his back but indicated that his face must not be seen in Exodus 33:23. We are not given a description of what he saw.

In the above passage, the Lord spoke of his hand, his back and his face. Most scholars feel that he probably does not have body parts like we do, but was merely speaking in terms that Moses could understand.

In verse 20 of this passage the Lord said that no one could see him and live. We don't know if his substance is toxic to mortals or if the sight of him would take our life.

The Lord is omnipotent, meaning that he is not limited to anything he wants to do. Matthew 19:26 is one of several verses that declare "Nothing is impossible for God." The only thing he cannot do is break his promises to us because it is impossible for him to lie (HEB 6:18). He is present everywhere at the same time. Jeremiah 23:24 states that he fills heaven and earth. The word "omnipresent" is often used to describe this. The word "omniscient," is used to say that he knows everything (PS 147:4-5). These three words are not in the Bible; they are merely language used to describe him.

God is love which can be everywhere. You don't stop loving someone just because they are across the country or the world, or even if they have passed away. That is about as close as we can come to describing his substance. Whether he is like a vapor that covers heaven and earth, we have no way of knowing. If you don't understand what you know about the Lord that just proves that he is God. We wouldn't want a God that has no more power and understanding than we have.

Lynn Bradley is the author of the book, "Climbing the Heavenly Stairs." More information can be obtained from either of two sites by using the title for one, which is linked to http://www.thelynnbradleybook.com.