What Is God Like?

Close your eyes and ask yourself the question in the heading.

No question in life is more essential. Our life flourishes or is impoverished based on our mental picture of God. No person or people have ever risen above their God-concept. Let’s return to the beginning to get in touch with His original revelation of Himself in Genesis 1. In 1:26, Scripture uses the plural words “us” and “our” to describe God. At His core, this one God is a Plurality-in-Unity, which fries my mental circuits. However, what is clear is that God is relational at His core from before time began.

What else do we see in seed form from the creation account in Genesis 1:3-25?

 

Read this section several times with this statement fixed in your mind: “Creation reflects its Creator.” What do you personally see in Genesis 1 that reflects God? Before continuing, first jot down some thoughts because active learning accelerates growth.

God is good: Six different times Genesis states: “And God saw it was good.” Why do you suppose God repeated this refrain each day? God settles something essential about His character from the get-go. We need never doubt again. God is good (this includes His love, mercy, compassion, grace, kindness, goodness, tenderness, just to mention a few characteristics of His goodness). Everything God thinks or could think is good. God can only do good because He is good. Every good thing we have comes from the loving, gracious, caring hand of our Father. This describes our God! He is on our side, constantly looking to do us good.

God is great. God is prior to, and independent of all He creates. The true and living God speaks a free and sovereign command and it happens. “And God said, ‘Let there be’…and it was so.” He has the ability and power to bring anything and everything to pass that is consistent with His character. This suggests that God is great. He is unlimited. The God of the Bible is the Sovereign King of the universe, Maker of all. He can do whatever He chooses, whenever He chooses, however He chooses. All creation is, therefore, dependent on God and will one day answer to our Creator. Begin all our thinking with Him.

God is generous. The variety and vastness of creation suggests that God is outwardly focused, overflowing with generosity. God chose to create. He was not pressured. No one twisted His arm. God freely and generously gives to bless by filling people with His own life. It’s who He is, overflowing abundance. God found great pleasure in creating us.

Our relational God is the good Father, the great King and our generous Husband. What is your connection to this relational God?

This came from my book, Foundation Stones. I also have a web-site with tools, books and "more than Bible studies" that have helped me to live out of this spiritual DNA, www.JimFredericks.com