The Nature and Character of God
We have been looking at the nature and character of God in our first series: Who is Jehovah? We can see more of His true reflection by seeing what the Bible teaches.
One of the greatest challenges to our faith is “Why do things happen in my life which don’t seem fair?” When we understand who God is, we will begin to understand why He does what He does. Our ignorance of His nature is at the heart of many of our grumbles about life.
Our faith must rest on the nature, character and attributes of God. Since God cannot change His nature, we can build true faith into our lives by knowing His nature. The following are the nature, character and the attributes of God:
1. God is one, in Unity with Himself, His purposes and His plans for us and for mankind are not divided, compromised or incomplete, Deuteronomy 6:4, 1 Corinthians 8:6.
2. God is without beginning or end, outside and free from the succession of time, eternal and infinite, Genesis 21:33, 1 Kings, 8:27, Psalm. 90:2, 145:3, Acts 17:24. God is unchangeable and unchanging, Psalms 102:27, Matthew 3:6, James 1:17.
3. God is present everywhere (Omnipresent), is all powerful (Omnipotent) and knows all actual and possible things, hidden from sight or open, (Omniscience) Psalms 139:1-4, 7-12, 147:4-5, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Matthew 11:21,19:26 and Revelation 2:11.
4. God is the supreme Ruler, independent of any authority outside of Himself, (Absolute Sovereignty), Ephesians – Chapter 1, esp. v. 21. He is independent of His creation and His creatures, or of the demonic realm, Psalms 115:3. He chooses to be involved with us
5. God has moral equality, without favouritism, (Absolute Justice), unbiased by history, creed or nationality, with everyone’s best interest at heart, Acts 10:34-35, Romans 2:11.
6. God seeks the highest good for all creation and all humans, even at His own cost, (Benevolent). He is completely unselfish in His dealings with us for the welfare of His creation and mankind, Deuteronomy 7:7-8, Exodus 34:6, John 3:16, Ephesians 1:5-8, Titus 2:11.
7. God’s goodness and grace are given to His creation, undeserved and without partiality, Exodus 33:19, 34:6, Psalms 145:9, Ephesians 1:5-8, Titus 2:11. God’s mercy shows His tender hearted compassion to all, Exodus 3:7, 17, Psalms 103:13, Matthew 9:36.
8. God is righteous, perfect and separate from sin, pure and holy. His actions are always trustworthy, (Truthful), 1 Samuel 15:29, Psalms 19:7-9, Jeremiah 9:24, 10:5-10, John 17:3, 17, 19, Hebrews 6:18, Titus 1:2. God is faithful to keep all the promises He makes, faithful to keep the covenant with Jesus for us. Numbers 23:19, Psalms 89:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:24.
9. God is a Person with relationship goals. He has self-cognisance, will, emotions, intellect and self-determination, (A Personality), Exodus 3:14, Genesis Chapter 3. God is the ultimate source of all life and is life, Exodus 3:14, Jeremiah 10:10, John 5:26.
10. God’s long-suffering nature shows His patience towards His creation and His people, waiting or their free will to come into action (Persistence), Psalms 86:15, Romans 2:4, 9:22.
Conclusion: Therefore, since God cannot deny His nature or His character, His dealings with us must be through supreme love, unchangeable in His perfect goals for us, completely just, full of grace, mercy and goodness.
Can we build our trust on this? Susanne Fengler, blog author
www.christianfoundations.jesus-treeoflife.info
Adapted from Charts from Christian Theology and Doctrine, pages 41-42. © Copyright 2011 From the Mentor’s Notebook, www.mentorsnotebook.com – All Rights Reserved
Tags: nature of God
Filed under: Foundations of our Faith, Resources to help you grow
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