The question of who God is is something that people have been asking since time began. Is it possible for us to know about God? Where do we go to find an answer to this question and when we have an answer, what impact does that have on who we are?
In order to frame who God is, we should first identify the nature of God. According to the Bible, He is a personal, loving, moral and everlasting being who created the world. The Bible also says that we were created in God’s image, and so, shouldn’t we share His characteristics and maybe even His goals? If meaning and purpose can be found in what is true in life, then perhaps our answer of who God is, is closer than we think?
God the Creator
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1 v 20
Have you ever looked at a mountain range, a forest, or the ocean and thought how beautiful it was? Why are we drawn to admire these natural things? Research suggests that love and admiration are central to our emotional well-being. In general, people who give and receive love, report more positive feelings in their bodies as a result.
People who live in towns and cities are told to go out into nature to improve their mental health. Have you ever heard anyone say that being next to nature brings them closer to God? Or, one is closer to God in the garden than anywhere else on earth? I believe it’s because He designed these things especially to catch our attention, and that He created us to enjoy Him – the Creator – through his creation.
The loving God
“God has shown himself to us in the person Jesus and His rich love for us in this, that whilst we were still sinners, Christ [Jesus] died for us” Romans 5 v 8
Humans are relational beings. We tend to thrive when we know we are loved and even more so within an accepting community. We don’t do so well when isolated from others. If we were made in God’s image, then it follows logically that God is relational too and doesn’t distance Himself from His creation. Unlike other creatures, God made us different. Animals function out of instinct, not needing to consider what is right or wrong. But we have free will, we purposely interact with our environment and one another. Out of our own free will we make judgements, decisions and can choose how we live and love.
God made us to have free will, with which to choose or reject him. He sent his son Jesus to be the fulfilment of hope, for all those He created and the embodiment of love that we so strongly recognise in ourselves and others.
Jesus as God
‘The son (Jesus) is the radiance of God’s glory, and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by his powerful word.” Hebrew 1 v 3
We are all searching for the truth to believe in. For me, that’s Jesus. Many people think that all religions are the same, but I would argue that Christianity is different. The Bible tells us that we can’t earn our way to God, but that it was God who made it possible for us to have a close relationship with Him, by sending to us his son Jesus. Compare this to other religions who insist that you must earn your place in paradise by doing certain things, praying the right prayers and balancing your actions between what is good and bad.
God desires us to want him more than anything else. It’s only by the free gift of God’s loving kindness that we can be in a relationship with him, not by how good we are! Jesus took the punishment for our sin on himself and that is how God saves us. It’s not by what we can do, it’s by what He has done. No other faith teaches this.
Every other great religious leader received their revelation about their god in dreams or written accounts of just one man. In contrast, Jesus claims to be the one God and although he did not write one word of the Bible, we have plenty of historical written evidence and many witnesses, that tells us that Jesus lived, and did amazing miracles, to demonstrate that he was indeed God.
God made us so that we could enjoy his creation and knowing that we were helpless without him, showed how much he loved us by sending Jesus who is the very nature of God in every way. If you’d like to know more about him, we’d love to chat more with you.