The Nature of God, A Call to Faith, Lesson 2, God, 11-13

Posted on May 31, 2011

The Bible never discusses the nature of God in abstract terms. It never defines God, or limits God by any description.

Nevertheless, there is one unified picture of God running through all the scriptures. This picture shows God as the One who is beyond all others, the source and creator of life. The Bible begins by saying, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” and this concept of God who was from the beginning of time, and the creator of all life carries all the way through the Bible.

Seldom did God introduce Himself to man. On the occasions He revealed himself, He simply spoke to man, and assumed that man knew who He was. On one occasion, Moses asked God, “Who shall I say sent me? Who shall I tell the people that you are?” And God answered, “I Am who I Am” and this is the meaning of existence.

This picture of God includes the recognition that God is the only God.

“I am the Lord thy God… Thou shalt have no other Gods before Me.” The jealousy of God does not come out of any pettiness or jealousy of other gods, but is simply because there are no other Gods to worship.

One who worships any other god is worshipping simply nothing. This picture of God also recognizes that man cannot possibly conceive of any adequate picture of God, and we are commanded not to make any graven image. There can be no images of God, because there is nothing enough like God to represent Him without distorting the idea of God completely. God can make man in His image, but man cannot make God in his.