Character of God

Bible Study Notes | July 10th, 2024

 

God Is a Personal Spirit … so you can have intimate fellowship with Him. Our awesome God is gloriously incomprehensible. The following are four of the many ways He is beyond our understanding. God is infinite. Unlike us, God has no limits or boundaries. He is not confined to the dimension of space. His love, holiness, mercy and all His other qualities are unlimited in their scope and expression. God is self-existent. Unlike everything else in the entire universe, He had no beginning. Because He is the Creator, He is the only One who exists outside of the created order. God is eternal. He is not bound by the dimension of time. He created time as a temporary context for His creation. With God, everything that has ever happened or will ever happen has already occurred within His awareness. God encompasses all of eternity! God is self-sufficient. All creation relies on God for existence, but He has no need for anything. He does not need our help. He only offers us the privilege of being involved with Him in the fulfillment of His purposes. God is gloriously incomprehensible, but He is also a personal Spirit. Through His infinite love and goodness, He has provided a way for us to have an authentic, personal relationship with Him. First, God revealed Himself to us in His Word, the Bible. The Scriptures provide us with a clear description of what God is like and what is important to Him. Second, God came down from heaven to live on earth. For 33 years, human beings could observe the incarnate God through their senses as they walked and talked with His Son, Jesus. Third, God destroyed the barrier of sin and selfcenteredness that separated us from our holy God. His perfect Son, Jesus, died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Fourth, God sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in Christians with His presence. Our Creator God did all this so we could go beyond just knowing about Him. We can actually enter into a warm friendship and intimate family relationship with Him. What a gracious offer and an awesome privilege! “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13, New International Version) 1 “Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence Him.” (Psalm 25:14, Living Bible)

God Is All Powerful … so He can help you with anything. God merely spoke the universe into being — a universe that astronomers estimate contains more than 100 billion galaxies. But all the power contained in this entire universe is but a small representation of the unlimited power of God. The combined energy of all earth’s storms, winds, ocean waves and other forces of nature do not equal even a fraction of God’s almighty power. God’s power is inherent in His nature. All power has always been His and will continue to be His for all eternity. Any power that we have is given to us by God. Because God is all-powerful, He has the ability and strength to do whatever He pleases. His power is not restrained or inhibited by any of His created beings. People and nations are powerless when confronted by His might. Our amazing God is capable of doing anything — as long as it does not violate any of His other attributes. No task is too big for Him. He never fails. And He is never tired, frustrated or discouraged. Yet our all-powerful Creator cares for us, and He longs to exhibit His power in our lives. David writes, “When I look at the night sky and see the work of Your fingers — the moon and the stars You have set in place — what are mere mortals that You should think about them, human beings that You should care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4, NLT). No matter what you might be facing, God can help you. Nothing is too hard for Him. No need is too great for Him to meet. No problem is too complicated for Him to solve. No foe is too strong for Him to conquer. No prayer is too difficult for Him to answer. The Bible promises, “By His mighty power at work within us [He] is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream” (Ephesians 3:20, Living Bible). If our hearts and motives are pure and we truly seek to do God’s will, then there is nothing too difficult for us as we depend on His strength. “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13, NLT) 2 “O Sovereign LORD! You have made the heavens and earth by Your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for You!”

God Is Present Everywhere … so He is always with you. God is always with us. Because He is an infinite Spirit, He is not restricted to being in one location at a time. He fills every inch of space throughout the universe with all His wonderful personal attributes. Although God is distinct from His creation, all His creation exists within Him. In Acts 17:28 we are told, “In Him we live and move and exist” (New Living Translation). We live in His glorious presence every moment of every day. When we are alone, God watches what we do. When we do something good that nobody else knows about, God sees it and will reward us accordingly. He also sees the bad things we do in secret. Hebrews 4:13 states, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to whom we are accountable” (NLT). We actually have the presence of Almighty God living inside us. The apostle Paul wrote, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16, NIV). God wants us to “consciously” live in His presence each day. His ever-presence makes it possible for us to be in constant communication with Him and to depend on Him in every situation. But often we ignore His presence because we are so preoccupied with our lives. Sometimes we even forget He is with us while we are busy serving Him. Yet God’s magnificent presence is all we need for any challenge that may come our way. No person or circumstance can ever remove us from the presence of our loving God. He is always with us, hearing our cries for help. He is always with us, protecting us from danger. He is always with us, watching what we do. He is our ever-present God, Savior, Lord and Master — our dearest friend. [Jesus said,] “I will be with you always.’