God’s Character According To The Bible

God’s Character According To The Bible 

Do you really know what God is like?

As we diligently read, study, and meditate on the Scriptures, God’s character is gradually revealed precept upon precept, line upon line. Our personal views or perceptions of God’s character are insufficient and unreliable, often based on the good and bad experiences and outcomes of our lives. Some folks view God’s character through the lens of social and philosophical opinions. Trusted friends and family, while well-meaning, often provide misleading or unbiblical information about God’s character. Moreover, it is wrong and dangerous to embrace certain attributes of God’s character while ignoring all the rest. This selective practice often leads to a distorted image of God’s character, confusion, disappointment, and sometimes anger towards God. Subsequently, a state of spiritual paralysis can develop, or worse, doubt and unbelief can darken our minds and hearts.

The Scriptures are our only trustworthy source and authority for understanding what God is really like. The apostles spent 3.5 years learning at the feet of Jesus and are eyewitnesses to His divine character and nature, which is the express image of the Father (Hebrews 1:3). Matthew, John, Peter, James, and Jude walked side by side with Jesus and provided firsthand information in the Bible. Mark’s gospel records Peter’s eyewitness account of Jesus. The 13 Pauline Epistles, inspired by Jesus’ divine revelation, flow from a zealous Pharisee, the Apostle Paul. And then there are the 39 books of the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, where God’s character is on display. So if you want to know what God is really like, you must study the scriptures from cover to cover.

The Bible says that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8).  Malachi 3:6 says, “I am the god that does not change.” Therefore, we do not need to keep reimagining God the Father, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit to fit our ever-changing culture or society. His character and nature are immutable and unchangeable.

Attributes or qualities of God’s character

Take a moment and review some of the primary qualities of God’s character.

Love 

The Apostle John tells us in 1 John 4:7-12 that “God is love” and “love is of God.” In John 3:16, John says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 5:8-11, “while we were still sinners,” and “God’s enemies,” “Christ demonstrated His love for us” by dying in our place.

God created us and loves us. However, we rejected His divine love in search of a better life—the big lie. It began with Adam and Eve being convinced by Satan that God was holding them back from a better life (Genesis 3:5). Furthermore, we continue to this day rejecting God’s love, selling our souls to the devil in search of the big lie, a better life apart from God’s love. Consequently, all humanity has lost its way and is living outside of God’s love.

We rejected and abandoned God, but God did not reject and abandon us. To the contrary, God seeks to restore us to a right relationship through Christ, who paid the penalty for our sinful rejection of God. God’s loving kindness has prepared a way for us to return to him and receive forgiveness, healing, and eternal life. The steadfast love of the Lord is waiting for all to return to him. To receive the love of God, we must repent and turn to Him. It’s not automatic; you must deliberately turn to God.

Mercy and Grace

Mercy – not getting what you deserve.

Grace – getting what you don’t deserve.

The Scriptures offer an excellent example of the difference between mercy (Gr. eleos) and grace (Gr. charis). Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We are all guilty of sin and deserve the punishment, which is death, eternal separation from God in a place called hell. All who repent and turn to Christ will not suffer the punishment of eternal separation but be shown mercy, not receiving what they deserve.

The latter part of Romans 6:23 tells us that God offers the gift of eternal life to all who turn to Christ. The grace of God gives us what we do not deserve and cannot earn— eternal life. Therefore, eternal life is God’s gift received by grace.

Righteous

Numbers 23:19 and Hebrews 6:18 tell us that God does not and cannot lie. He is pure and the embodiment of integrity. His words are completely trustworthy, and he will do what he has promised. Everything that God does is holy, pure, and righteous.

We who are born again are made righteous. God has imputed (credited) Christ’s righteousness to us, so that we have become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). When God looks at a born-again believer, he sees a righteous person because of what Christ did on the cross. We have been redeemed and made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ. Without Christ, there is no righteousness. When God looks at us, He sees the righteousness of Christ, even though we are flawed and sinful.

Just 

Psalm 89:14 says, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne…“ God will provide justice when he deems it necessary. 2 Thessalonians 1:6 tells us, “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you.” In God’s justice system, revenge belongs to God, not us. (Romans 12:17-19)

He is perfectly fair and righteous, always doing what is right.

Holy

God is holy. He is beyond absolute moral perfection. Holiness is God’s unchangeable state of being. He is completely holy. All that he is and does flows through His holy perfection. His holiness is infinite. He is completely right and without sin. There is no fault in Him, and He will never fail.

Exclusive characteristics of God

God is sovereign, eternal, immutable, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and self-sufficient.

Conclusion

Understanding the character and nature of God is essential to developing a true understanding of God. Read, study, and pray.