Who Is God?

Hi sweet friends! Sometimes it’s good to just look at who God is and be awed by Him. Today I’m sharing an adaptation of one of my talks that focuses on our Savior and God! I hope that as you read through it, you’ll take some time to consider the greatness of God and bask in His presence. He is so worthy!

Here is, “Who Is God?”:
When I was a little girl, my daddy used to say, “Well that sure is a deep subject for a shallow mind.” How true that is for today’s topic. In fact, out of all the topics I’ve ever spoken on, this is the most difficult. You see, how can I possibly explain who God is. 
If I spoke on God every day for the rest of my life, I couldn’t even begin to convey the greatness of who He is. 
We often try to explain God by using awkward examples that pale in comparison to the magnificence of who He is. We attempt to describe the Trinity using water or an egg. But Isaiah 40:18 tells us there is nothing we can compare Him to. 
We try so hard to make sense of who He is. But God is not confined to our reason or logic. Psalm 94:11 says, “The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile.” And Isaiah 40:13 tells us it’s impossible to know the mind of God.
He is veiled in mystery – Yet throughout the Word of God we find His constant invitation to know Him more.
Jeremiah 29:13“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 9:23-24  says, This is what the LORD says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches. but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the LORD.”
I may never fully understand the fullness of who God is, but He calls me to understand and know Him to the extent He has made Himself known.
Psalm 19:1 tells us the heavens declare the glory of God. So we know that we can get a glimpse of God when we see the stars against the night sky, feel the cool wind blow, or hear the birds singing at sunrise – we see the imprint God.
But if we really want to know Him, we need to peel back the pages of God’s Word where He has revealed Himself most.
As we scan through Scripture, we find He has chosen to reveal Himself in three distinct ways. 1) through His various names 2) through His titles and 3) through His characteristics.
Today we’re going to look at all three.
In the very first sentence of the very first book of the Bible, He is introduced as Elohim – our Creator God, our All Powerful King and Judge – He is the One who spoke the world into being – Psalm 33:6 says by His Word the heavens were made and He breathed the stars into existence.
He is I AM – Literally I Am Who I Am & Will Be What I Will Be – It is the name God gave to Himself when Moses was shaking in his sandals over the call the Lord had just placed on His life. Afraid of what he knew he would faced, Moses cried out, “Lord, who shall I say is sending me?” To which God replied, you tell them I AM THAT I AM is sending you. He alone is self-existent and eternal. He is God and there is no One like Him. He is matchless and unrivaled. 
He is El Roi – the God Who Sees : He is El Berith – the God of the Covenant : He is El Elyon – the Most High and Exalted God : He is El Olam – the God of Eternity : He is El Shaddai – the Covenant Making God : He is YHWH – the Covenant Keeping God.
Throughout the Old Testament, people would often add a title to His name as they saw Him work int their lives. 
In Exodus 17 – when Moses was in a show down with Amelek – he found that every time he held the staff of God up, the children of God would win, but when his arms grew tired and the staff went down, Israel began to go down as well. That’s when Joshua stood on one side and Aaron on the other and helped Moses hold that stuff up until the battle was over. Moses built an altar in that place of victory and called it YHWH Nissi – the One Who goes before me proclaiming victory.

When an angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon in Judges 6 and gave him his marching orders, he knew God was calling him to something that was bigger than himself. Something beyond him – even dangerous. But the Lord assured him of His presence, peace and victory. That’s when Gideon accepted the call, built an altar to God and called it YHWH Shalom – The One Who brings peace
In Psalm 23, we find the name YHWH Rohi – The Lord is my Shepherd
In Exodus 15:26 the Lord declares to Moses, He is YHWH Rapha – The Lord our Healer
In the midst of Abraham’s greatest test, God showed up as YHWH Jireh – And provided Himself a ram in the thicket. He is the Lord our provider.
The Bible goes on to tell us He is the Son of God and the Son of Man, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, He is the Redeemer and the Resurrection, The Wisdom of God and the Word of God. He is the Potter and the Prince of Peace; The Mediator and the Messiah, He is the Light of World and the Lamb of God, He is the Great Shepherd and the Great High Priest; He is the Door and the Deliverer, the Bread of Life and the Bridegroom. He is Immanuel – He is I AM.
Throughout scripture we find His character described as good, faithful, true, holy, righteous, just, sovereign, merciful and mighty; all power, all knowing and all present; He is tender, kind and loving.
He is greater than our minds can conceive, yet He chooses to take up residence in the hearts of man. He is Holy, yet He made a way for us to enter His presence through the cross of Christ. 
He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. There is nothing too difficult for Him to do, yet He tells us to cast the simplest cares on Him for He cares for us.
I could spend the rest of my life talking about the greatness of God – His attributes and His character, but if He is all these things, yet He is not Love, then we would have no hope.
Go with me for a minute….
It is His love for us that motivated a predetermined response to the fall of man. Have you ever thought about God’s response to Adam & Eve’s sin? It’s not like he was surprised by the whole thing and had to try to figure out a plan to fix the situation.

He knew before He ever created them that they would disobey Him and He would have to send His Son to redeem mankind. He knew it, yet He created us anyway. If I knew I was going to make something that would cost my son his life, I would never create it. Would you?
The essence of Who God is, is wrapped in His love. 
God is holy. But if God was Holy and was not love, sinful man – you and I – would only experience His wrath. 
His holiness demands perfect purity – His love extends grace.  
His righteousness requires justice – His love extends mercy
God is who He is and in our attempts to know Him more or to make sense of who He is, it’s important to remember that we can’t turn God into Who we want Him to be.
Many people say they believe in God, but they really don’t know Him. They haven’t even tried to get to know Him. They know that we were created in His image yet they try to create Him in their own image. Their idea of who they think He is or should be.
If we don’t base our view of God on who He presents Himself to be then create our own skewed version of Who He really is.
But probably one of the most surprising aspects of God’s character is the fact that He is personal. He gives us the privilege of knowing Him on a personal level.

I might get a phone call from someone who says, “Is Mrs. Shoot there?” Well – that personal obviously has no idea who I am & so I try to graciously hang up on him.

After speaking at a conference, someone might come up to me and say, “Mrs. Shott” or they might even say “Sister, or Stephanie.” They know who I am but they don’t really know me.

Then there are people who come up to me and say, “Hi Stephanie” and these people know me a little more. I have a relationship with them. They’re someone I’ve spent some time with.

Then there are those who really know me well. They call me “Steph.” These people are more of my inner circle. They are my family and friends. We hang together. Spend time together. Laugh and cry together. We know each other.

Finally, there are just a few people who know me best. A couple of them call me “Mom.” They’re they ones who know I’m here for them no matter what. They know I love them and always have their best interest at heart. They know I’d lay down my life for them and do whatever I could to see them succeed.

THE QUESTION IS – HOW DO YOU KNOW GOD? DO YOU KNOW HIM AS A DISTANT GOD? SOMEONE WHOSE NAME YOU KNOW, BUT THAT’S REALLY ALL YOU KNOW? DO YOU KNOW HIM AS A FAITHFUL FRIEND OR AS ABBA FATHER?
You see, the more time you invest in knowing Him, the better you will. He longs for you to know Him, not just as Elohim, but also as Abba Father.
The more you know God, the more you will find that He is not only everything you need, He is all you need.
What are you facing that’s bigger than He is? What are you going through that He does not see?

It’s exciting to know that as we get to know Him more, we learn who He desires to be in our circumstances. He is the Covenant keeping God Who delights in making Himself known. He loves you with an everlasting love. You are inscribed on the palm of His hand, You are the object of His affection and the apple of His eye. He know the numbers of hairs on your head and the thoughts of your heart. He is your Creator, Sustainer, Savior and Friend.

I wish I had words to covey the greatness of God. The majesty of who He is. He has no rival. There is nothing we can compare Him to. He is beyond our comprehension. He is Higher than the highest. He is Greater than the greatest. He is Better than the best. He is I AM.
Oh, sweet sister, I’m so thankful I can’t fully explain God. Aren’t you? If I could He would be as big as my grandest thought. Trying to understand who God is, sure is a deep subject for such a shallow mind.
Yes, He is beyond our understanding, yet He has made Himself known to us in ways we have yet to discover.
My prayer is that as you seek to know Him more, you will find that He is not only everything you need – He is all you need.
I pray you will use this lesson and begin to see God with new eyes and a fresh heart as you teach your children to do the same.
May the Lord bless you and keep you, may He make His face shine upon you. May He give you peace.

2 Comments

  1. A lot of good linguistic and exegetical study. I, too, pray that we can know him better. Great study.

  2. Only through reading His Words and staying in constant contact with Him will allow us to know God better 🙂 Great blog

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