What Is God Really Like?

Quick, open another window and zip on over to Google/images. Enter the word God in the search box and look at the images that come up, or just look at both of the images I have embedded in this post.

Do you see how they are all different? One of the ministers at my church the other day preached on this very thing…how we all have a different image of God. He quoted The Knowlege of the Holy by A.W. Tozier when he said the image that comes to our minds when we attempt to see God reveals the most important thing about us.

Tozier goes on to say:

Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech. She can never escape the self-disclosure of her witness concerning God.

Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question,”What comes into your mind when you think about God?” we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man. Were we able to know exactly what our most influential religious leaders think of God today, we might be able with some precision to foretell where the Church will stand tomorrow.

Without doubt, the mightiest thought the mind can entertain is the thought of God, and the weightiest word in any language is its word for God. Thought and speech are God’s gifts to creatures made in His image; these are intimately associated with Him and impossible apart from Him. It is highly significant that the first word was the Word: ”And the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” [John 1:1] We may speak because God spoke. In Him word and idea are indivisible.

God’s nature is most certainly revealed in scripture. We are told in James 1:17…Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. The God that guided Moses, the God that gave wisdom to Solomon, and the God that gave His son is the same God leading and guiding me today.

God is omnipresent which means He is everywhere at all times. God can be seen throughout the universe, in all living things, and in all humans all in the same instant. No matter where go go God is already there. Psalm 139:7 and 8 tells us… 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.

God is omnipotent meaning He has unlimited power and authority including conquering sin and death. Matthew 19:26 tells us…Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

God is omnicient in that He is all knowing. His knowledge, awareness, and perception is unlimited. Psalm 147:5 explains…Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.

There are those that argue any attempt to understand the power of God can actually take away some of his power. However, this argument is flawed. Understanding how a lightening bolt travels to the Earth or what circumstances must be present to feel an Earthquake does not diminish the power of those occurances. While we may discover basic natural principals such as the DNA code or the possible causes for genetic defects many also have many unknowns.

Getting to know God should be the highest priority of our life. Proverbs 1:7 states…The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise widsom and discipline. Proverbs 1:9 goes further…They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.

That being said, however, God wants us to known him. He does not want us to merely create an image that is appealing to us. He wants us to be in His word and really understand Him.