The Bible says that God is Spirit. Therefore, getting to know God is more difficult than getting to know each other. So, if we are still in doubt about the character of God, we may look at the life of Jesus. When we know how Jesus is, we know how God is. John 14:9 “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” Some more attributes of God are given below.
1. God is trustworthy: If we get to know who God is, we do not need to be afraid that He will be different tomorrow. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”. God always keeps His promises.
2. God is Righteous: Deuteronomy 32:4 “A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He”. He loves truth and justice, and He hates lies and injustice. This perfect righteousness we also see in Jesus.
3. God is Merciful: Exodus 34:6-7 “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” That is fulfilled in Jesus. In His mercy, God sent Jesus to die for our sins. If we believe in Jesus, God adopts us as His children.
4. God is Just: He is no respecter of persons in the sense of showing favouritism (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 18:30). God is omnipotent; He is all-powerful and can do anything that pleases Him, but His actions will always be in accord with the rest of His character.
5. God is Sovereign: He is supreme. All of His creation put together cannot thwart His purposes (Psalm 93:1; 95:3; Jeremiah 23:20). God is spirit, meaning He is invisible (John 1:18; 4:24). God is a Trinity. He is three in one, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. God is truth, He will remain incorruptible and cannot lie. Further, God is Eternal. He has no end and no beginning.
Reading through some of the names of God can also be helpful in our search for what God is like. They are as follows:
Elohim - strong One, divine (Genesis 1:1)
Adonai - Lord, indicating a Master-to-servant relationship (Exodus 4:10, 13)
El Elyon - Most High, the strongest One (Genesis 14:20)
El Roi - the strong One who sees (Genesis 16:13)
El Shaddai - Almighty God (Genesis 17:1)
El Olam - Everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28)
Yahweh - LORD “I AM,” meaning the eternal, self-existent God (Exodus 3:13, 14).
Dr Ashwin Drummond
Laddertoheaven.co.in