Introduction
“We believe in God.” That is how the second article of the Shiloh Bible Church doctrinal statement begins. Now, that might seem like a rather simplistic and innocuous statement. After all, it’s not uncommon for people to believe in God. But in reality that is a very profound and powerful statement.
In his book The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer writes, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most [significant] fact about any man is not what he—at a given time—may say or do, but what he—in his deep heart—conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.”
I think Tozer is right. Our conception of God shapes who we are. But how do we even know what God is like? We know what God is like because He has revealed Himself to us in His Word—the Scriptures. And we considered the fact last Sunday morning that the Bible is the Word of God. The first article of our doctrinal statement reads: “We believe that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is inerrant in its original writings, being communicated by the Holy Spirit to holy men of God.”
God has disclosed Himself to us in this Book—the Bible. And so the question we need to answer is: “What does the Bible say about God—who He is and what is He like?” In order to answer this question, let’s start at the beginning. Please turn with me in your Bible to Genesis 1:1—the very first verse of the Bible.
Genesis 1:1 states, “In the beginning God …” At the very outset, the Bible does not offer arguments to prove the existence of God. Rather, it assumes the reality of His existence. “In the beginning—God.” God as Spirit has always and will always exist.
This morning I would like to share with you 3 attributes or characteristics of this Eternal Spirit that we worship. First of all, the Bible reveals that God is …
1. PERSONAL
That is, God is a person. You say, “Doug, every religion believes that!” Well, no, not really. For example, there are 500 million Buddhists in the world. And the Buddhist religion does not believe that God is a person. But Christianity does. Christianity believes that God is a personal being. And as a person, God possesses intellect, emotion, and will. Look at Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created.” It requires a person with intellect, emotion, and will to create.
Consider God’s intellect for a moment. The Bible teaches that God is omniscient—that is, He is all-knowing. He has known from eternity past everything that will happen. He not only knows everything that will happen, but He also knows everything that could have happened, but didn’t! Someone said, “Has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God?” God is omniscient—He is all-knowing.
And this all-knowing Person created us in His image. Look at what it says further down in the chapter in Genesis 1:26-27: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
The Creation story demonstrates that God—as a person—created you as a person with intellect, emotion, and will—the ability to think, to feel, and to act.
God is a person. The second article of the Shiloh doctrinal statement reads this way in its entirety: “We believe in God the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who has revealed Himself to man in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.” In this article, we confess our belief that God is a Trinity—three Persons in one God. I fully admit to you that I cannot adequately explain this. It’s a mystery. It’s beyond our full comprehension. But that’s what the Bible teaches. The Trinity is clearly taught in the New Testament, but it is implied in the Old Testament as well.
For example, look at Genesis 1:1 again: “In the beginning God.” The Hebrew word here for “God” is Elohim. Elohim is the most frequently used name for God in the Old Testament. And that word Elohim is plural in Hebrew. Over in Deuteronomy 6:4 we read: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” The word here for “God” is the word Elohim. Elohim (plural) is echad—“one.” The Hebrew word echad means “one in plurality.” It’s used elsewhere in the Old Testament to describe a cluster of grapes—a plurality in one.
The Triune God is also implied in the verse we just looked at— Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.’” “Us … our … our.” Who is that referring to? God isn’t talking to angels—they didn’t create man. When God said, “Let us,” He is referring to God in Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
So, God is a person. And He has revealed Himself to us in His Word as a Trinity—one God in three Persons.
Let’s move on to consider a second attribute of God this morning. Not only is God personal, but He is also …
2. POWERFUL
And I refer you once again to Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Just think of it—the God of the universe is the One that brought all things into being. The writer of Hebrews informs us that: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” God merely spoke, and all creation came into being. Now, that’s power!
As a matter of fact, the Bible describes God in terms of being omnipotent—all-powerful. Turn over to Genesis chapter 17. God established a covenant with Abram, promising him personal, universal, and national blessings. In Genesis 17, God reaffirms His covenant. And as He does, notice how God reveals Himself to Abram. Genesis 17:1 states, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.’”
That word for “almighty” is the Hebrew term shaddai. Some of you old-timers here—like Rich Myers—will remember the award winning song that Amy Grant sang back in 1982—El Shaddai. Well, the word shaddai occurs 48 times in the Old Testament and it is only used in reference to God. God is almighty—He is all-powerful. He is omnipotent.
Now, when we say that God is omnipotent we don’t mean that He can do anything. There are certain things that God cannot do. You’ve heard that old question that skeptics have raised: “Can God create a stone so large that He can’t lift it?” And the answer to that is “No, of course not!” If He could do that, then He wouldn’t be God. The fact of the matter is that there are certain things God cannot do because they are inconsistent with His nature. For example, Titus 1:2 tells us that God cannot lie. Lying is contrary to His nature so He can’t do it. 2 Timothy 2:13 says that God cannot go back on His word—He cannot break a promise. That would be inconsistent with who He is.
And so God is powerful. He is able to do anything that is in harmony with His nature and person.
There is a third attribute or characteristic of God that I’d like us to consider. God is personal; God is powerful; and thirdly, God is …
3. PRESENT
God is everywhere present at all times. We refer to this as the omnipresence of God.
You’re in Genesis 17. Now turn ahead 11 chapters to Genesis chapter 28. You’ll remember that Jacob was the grandson of Abraham. And in Genesis 28 we find Jacob running for his life from his brother, Esau. When Jacob went to sleep that night, God appeared to him in a dream. And in that dream God reaffirmed to Jacob the covenant that He had made with his grandfather, Abraham. Look at what it says in Genesis 28:16: “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’”
Just think of that—“Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” You see, we have the same problem that Jacob did. God is everywhere. His presence is right here among us—even if we’re not aware of it.
A medieval monk name Brother Lawrence wrote a series of letters to a friend. Those letters were compiled into a book entitled Practicing The Presence of God. And in it, Lawrence encourages us to practice the presence of God—to develop the habit of being acutely aware of God’s presence in our daily lives.
God is personal. God is powerful. God is present. There is one particular psalm that highlights and emphasizes these 3 attributes of God. And I’d like you to look at this psalm with me this morning. So please turn to Psalm 139 in your Bible. The superscription over the psalm simply reads: “For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.” So this is a psalm written by King David to be used musically in the worship of the Lord.
The omniscience of God is seen in the first 4 verses of Psalm 139. Verse 1 begins: “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.” God is omniscient—He is all-knowing.
The omnipresence of God is seen in verses 7-10: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” God is omnipresent—He is everywhere present at all times.
And the omnipotence of God is seen in verses 13-14: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” God is omnipotent—He is all-powerful.
Application
Now, you might be saying to yourself, “This is all well and good, Doug. But what does this have to do with me? What practical difference does this make in life today?”
You’ve been married a little over 25 years. You and your spouse have raised 3 children—one will soon finish college and two are gone—both happily married. You’re looking forward to some relief and relaxation in the near future. You’ve worked hard, you’ve been faithful to your mate, and you’ve given yourself to the marriage. Then out of the blue one night your spouse sits down next to you and says, “I have to tell you something. I can’t keep it from you any longer. I don’t love you anymore. I want out of this marriage. There is someone else in my life. I’m divorcing you.”
What do you do? Where do you turn to find hope in the midst of such rejection and pain? This is where what you believe about God makes all the difference in the world.
Do you truly believe that God is omniscient? Do you really believe that He knows everything before it happens? If so, then you know that this event did not take God by surprise. You know that God is not sitting in heaven wringing His hands, saying, “Wow! I sure didn’t see that coming! Now what I am going to do?” You can rest in the fact that God knew from eternity past that you would be facing this exact problem right now. And that He allowed it to happen for His glory.
Do you truly believe that God is omnipotent? Do you really believe that He is all-powerful? If so, then you know that He has the resources and the capability to see you through this heart breaking experience. And that He is able to work in and through it for your spiritual growth.
Do you truly believe that God is omnipresent? Do you really believe that He is everywhere? If so, then you know that He is right here with you now. And that He will walk right next to you—right by your side—every difficult step of way. He will never leave you or forsake you.
Conclusion
I’d like you to listen once again to the statement I read earlier by A.W. Tozer. “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. … The gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most [significant] fact about any man is not what he—at a given time—may say or do, but what he—in his deep heart—conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.”
That is so true. What you believe about God is of utmost importance. It directly affects how you live your life and how you face the problems that you encounter everyday.
“We believe … in God.”
Let’s pray.
I know that I’ve only shared a few of the many attributes of God with you this morning. I know that I’ve just scratched the surface—I’ve just shown you the tip of the iceberg. But I trust it has wetted your appetite to know God even better. Take a minute to talk to the Lord about what we’ve just considered, and then I’ll pray.
(Silent Congregational Prayer)
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty! God in three persons, blessed Trinity.
God, help us as we read your Word not simply to learn about you, but to come to know you personally and intimately. We are reminded of your words to Abraham: “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.” And so as we meditate upon who you are—Almighty God; the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent One—we do pray that such knowledge would affect us in a very profound and practical way. We do desire to walk before you and to be blameless, living our lives in a manner that honors you and brings great glory to your name.
We ask this all through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Benediction
