Who is God? - Day 1
“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:15
Remember, God is perfect in all His ways, the greatest and highest authority, and most worthy of all of our praise! Who is God? You may have heard God referred to by many names. Many of these in use today are not found in Scripture. We hear God irreverently referred to as “the Big Guy”, “the Man Upstairs”, “Higher Power”, “the Force”, and many others that we won’t dishonor Him by repeating here.
Along with these names come perceptions of God based on who people think he is. So, who is God? Can we truly know who God is? Does God leave it up to us to formulate our own opinion of who He is? These may be some of the questions you may have asked about God. I’m sure we could add a lot more, like, Is God real? If He is real, where did He come from? What can God do? What can He not do? Does God control everything? Is God limited in His abilities and powers? Does God really care about us? What is the point of all our pain and suffering? With all these questions, what people really want to know is, what is the meaning of life? Am I being manipulated, or can I somehow manipulate God?
The good news is that God knows all of our questions and He does care. That is why He chose to reveal Himself to us through His written Word, the Bible. He desires that we know Him.
"For thus saith the LORD* that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right." Isaiah 45:18-19
Previously, we learned that God is the main focus of all Scripture. He is the main character of the Bible as well as it’s author. The questions we have about God can only be answered by God, and He does answer them. God reveals the answers to our questions as we read His revelation of Himself, the Bible. The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself. We learn who God is as we read about the things he has told us of Himself recorded in Scripture. God reveals Himself and who He is by what He says, backed up by what He does, and He does so in the Bible. He has given us a wonderful bounty of knowledge of Himself as a great gift. Through Scripture we are drawn into a love relationship with God. As we grow in our relationship with Him, He reveals who He is.
“Thank you, Father, for such an awesome gift, the Bible. Teach me who You are so I may know You, love You, believe You, trust You, serve You, and glorify You, forever.”
*NOTE:
In the Old Testament the spelling of the names of God indicate which Hebrew name is being translated.
Lord = Adonai
LORD = Jehovah or YHWH
God = Elohim
GOD = Jehovah or YHWH
