What do you know about God? If someone asked you to describe your understanding of who God is and how He operates in the world, what would you tell them? It was A. W. Tozer who wrote, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us" (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy). But far too often, we think far too little about God. Even when He comes to mind our thoughts about Him can be inaccurate or simply incomplete.
Tozer goes on to say, “It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy).
So, the question before us is “What is the nature of our God?” This is not the kind of question one should take lightly because the answer will reveal much about an individual’s moral well-being. Our view of God is the lens through which we view and understand the world. Once again, Tozer provides insight into this matter.
“…no people has ever risen about 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.” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy)
Determining our view of God is a worthy exercise that will pay dividends in the future. It will force us to face our errant ideas about the Almighty and bring them into alignment with what the Scriptures have to say about Him. Interestingly, God’s Word is one of the places where humanity is encouraged to question His identity and character.
To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him? – Isaiah 40:18 ESV
“To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?” – Isaiah 46:5 ESV
Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? – Exodus 15:11 ESV
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? – Micah 7:18 ESV
If we’re honest, there is much about God of which we are ignorant or, perhaps, indifferent. Some of us have known Him for decades but, if put to the test, there would be little we could share that could give evidence that we knew Him intimately. So much of what we know about God is academic in nature, a compilation of disconnected bits of information that bear little resemblance to the one true God.
If I asked you if you knew the President of the United States, you would probably respond by telling me his name. If pressed, you could probably tell me the year he was elected, his political party affiliation, his wife’s name, and your personal assessment of his administration’s policies and programs. Your knowledge of him would have been gleaned from news reports, the op-ed section of the local paper, and from the opinions of others. You would have had no personal encounters with him. No one-on-one conversations would have taken place between the two of you. Any claim to truly know him would be a stretch of the imagination.
Sadly, it’s likely that the average Christian has more familiarity with the Commander-in-Chief of our nation than they do with God. Some of us spend far more time keeping up with the Kardashians than we do with the Creator God. We live in the information age, a time when access to knowledge about virtually any topic or individual is at our fingertips. And yet, we suffer from a lack of intimacy with and intelligence about God.
The goal of this series of posts is to help us get to know our God better. To do so, we will explore the attributes of God that He alone possesses. As the verses above so clearly state, our God is without equal and totally incomparable. He is not one among many; He is the solitary and sovereign God of the universe whose power, knowledge, and all-pervading presence are unparalleled and non-reproducible. God can be mimicked but never matched. He is, to put it mildly, one of a kind. Yet, how easy it is to treat Him with a familiarity that borders on contempt.
To know God. That was the divinely ordained objective when God created Adam and Eve in the garden. They were made so that they might enjoy unbroken fellowship and undiminished intimacy with Him. But sin changed all that. Because the first man and woman chose to disobey God, they were banned from His presence. They found themselves cast from the garden and operating in isolation far from the one who had made them. And with each succeeding generation, humanity moved further and further away from the garden and, at the same time, far from the presence of God.
But God still desires for men to know Him, not just cognitively but intimately and personally. As the apostle Paul points out, God has revealed Himself in the universe He created. He has placed signs of His presence and proofs of His character all around us. Yet, most of humanity has remained blind to the evidence and oblivious concerning the God to whom it points.
They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. – Romans 1:19-23 NLT
Despite the sobering nature of Paul’s words, the prophet Jeremiah points out that God still longs for mankind to know Him, and he intimates that this relationship with God is not only possible but preferable.
This is what the Lord says:
“Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom,
or the powerful boast in their power,
or the rich boast in their riches.
But those who wish to boast
should boast in this alone:
that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord
who demonstrates unfailing love
and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,
and that I delight in these things.
I, the Lord, have spoken!” – Jeremiah 9:23-24 NLT
God is knowable but He is also irreplicable. There is nothing in all creation that remotely resembles Him. Even men, who are made in the image of God, are not mini versions of God. We can reflect His glory but are incapable of sharing it. Even in His thought processes, God remains distinctly different from humanity.
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT
Yet, we tend to view God as little more than a slightly more powerful version of ourselves. Because of the finite nature of our minds, we are incapable of fully grasping the “otherness” of God. Unable to comprehend His transcendence, we try to transform the incomparable God into a new and improved version of ourselves. The psalmist alludes to this common misconception when he quotes God’s assessment of man’s dumbing down of His divine image.
“…you thought that I was one like yourself.” - Psalm 50:21 ESV
The French agnostic, Voltaire is reported to have said, “God created man in His own image, and man returned the favor.” And his rather sarcastic statement supports what Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans.
…they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. – Romans 1:21-23 NLT
Failure to know and recognize God for who He is creates a vacuum in the soul of man that must be filled. When we neglect a proper understanding of God, we end up with false views of His character. We fabricate our own version of Him, leaving us with an emasculated, impotent deity who looks nothing like the God of the Bible.
Psalm 97:9 describes God as “most high over all the earth” and as “exalted far above all gods.” He is transcendent. That simply means that He is totally distinct from all that He has made. He cannot be reproduced and there is nothing that remotely mirrors His likeness. Psalm 99:2 adds that God “is exalted over all the peoples.” Men are not mini-gods. Being made in His image does not infer that we resemble God. That is why Isaiah 40:18 asks the rhetorical question: “To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?” The answer is “No one and nothing!” God alone is God.
God needs nothing. He has no lack or insufficiencies. He requires no complement or counterpart to complete Himself. He did not create humanity because He was lonely or needed companionship. Nothing was missing in God’s character; His being is whole and holy. The apostle John reminds us, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV). Timothy adds, “He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16 BSB).
Yet, God has made Himself known to men. He has displayed His divine attributes through the universe He has made. We are surrounded by the evidence of His power, glory, wisdom, creativity, grace, mercy, and love. Our very existence is proof that He exists. Even man, with his vast knowledge and scientific discoveries, has been unable to explain the universe's existence. Our most educated and well-reasoned theories are little more than shots in the dark.
In the book of Job, we have recorded the words of God as He confronts the arrogance and audacity of mere humans who question His will and His work.
“Who is this that questions my wisdom
with such ignorant words?
Brace yourself like a man,
because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me, if you know so much.
Who determined its dimensions
and stretched out the surveying line?
What supports its foundations,
and who laid its cornerstone
as the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
as it burst from the womb,
and as I clothed it with clouds
and wrapped it in thick darkness?
For I locked it behind barred gates,
limiting its shores.
I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
Here your proud waves must stop!’” – Job 38:2-11 NLT
Man has no business questioning God or trying to explain the existence of the universe apart from God. Everything, both the invisible and the visible, exists by the expressed will of God. He spoke and it came into being, and all that He made God reveals His glory and greatness. But that points out one of the most important aspects of God’s nature. He must reveal Himself to man to be known by man. Humanity cannot discover God on its own. Left to his own devices, no man would even attempt to find God. According to the apostle Paul, “no one seeks for God” (Romans 3:11 ESV), and his assessment echoes the words of David.
God looks down from heaven
on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
if anyone seeks God.
But no, all have turned away;
all have become corrupt. – Psalm 53:2-3 NLT
Amazingly enough, this transcendent, invisible, and unfathomable God has chosen to reveal Himself to man. And we will see more of His divine attributes on display as we continue our quest to know God better.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.