Who is God?
Who Is God? and How Can I Know Him?
Who is God? What a complicated, weighty and wonderful question. Complicated because God is obviously beyond our comprehension. How can finite minds really understand the infinite? How can the temporary fully grasp the eternal? Yet, it's a wonderful question since we can know Him, at least, the things he has revealed about Himself to humanity. And he has promised to help those who seek Him to know the unknowable through His Holy Spirit. It's a weighty question because the answer to it means everything. All that we think, every decision we make, all that we become, and even our eternal destiny depends on our answer to the question. Dare I say, the "correct" answer to the question of God's identity means everything, and is within the reach of our understanding. Yes, wonderful!
Many people have mis-perceptions of who God is, making the mistake of thinking we each have the right to believe what we want about Him, and molding Him into our image. Make no mistake, God is separate and independent of any of our beliefs about Him.
Some see Him as a divine policeman, waiting somewhere up there for us to break one of His rules, so that He can punish us swiftly and make our lives difficult. Others think He is like a permissive parent, barely paying attention to any of our lives and letting us get away with anything. Still others see Him as a "best friend" character. While He is most certainly a friend to us, this view sometimes cause people to lose sight of His holiness and transcendence.
So who is God really? There are only two ways to find out that answer....through the creation or from the Creator himself. So who does God say that He is?
He is the Creator, the Maker of the Heavens and the Earth. (Gen. 1:1) He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who chose to reveal His fatherly attributes through His dealings with a select group of children, the children of Israel. Through their failures we learn that God is just. After their repentance we learn that God is forgiving. Through their history we learn of God's mercy, love, and extreme power. He told us His name. He is "I AM", or in Hebrew, "Yahwey." (Exodus 3:13-15)
He is the maker and keeper of promises. The old covenant was broken by His children, so in His love, He made a new one, to provide a way to save all people from the punishment of sin. (Ex. 19, Jeremiah 31:31-34, Luke 22:20) He sent His Son Jesus to die in the sinner's place. On the cross, Jesus' death satisfied both God's attribute of justice and His attribute of grace at the same time. God is love. (1 John 4:16)
So, Who is Jesus? Most understand Jesus to be the baby, born in a manger, in Bethlehem, about 2000 years ago, and the reason we celebrate Christmas. Jesus is that and much more. He is God in every way. He is the second person in what is know as the Trinity. (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) Its likely that He is understood as a "Son" to the Father because of the virgin birth, and because it's the only way our minds can comprehend the relationship. In reality, its not humanly possible to understand the Trinity completely, how three persons can be one God.
Jesus has always been. He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. In fact, through Him all the world was made at the beginning of time. (John 1:1-14)
Jesus was born on the Earth of a virgin named Mary, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit. He was born perfect in every way, lived a perfect life, a life without sin, and died as a lamb of sacrifice on a Roman cross. While he walked among us for around 33 years, he was completely God and completely Man at the same time. This too is not understandable to finite minds. (John 3:16, Phil. 2:4-11)
People say different things about the identity of Jesus, all major world religions chiming in with opinions. But who does Jesus say that He is? He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but through me." (John 14:6-7)
Jesus is the great "I AM" who became the great "I AM here" He is the one who lived for you, died for you, and rose again from the dead for you. He is your only hope for salvation, for eternal life.
If you would like to follow Jesus, try reading these passages carefully and praying for God to help you understand them clearly.
Romans 3:21-24
Romans 6:23
Romans 5:6-8
Romans 10:9-10
If you want to claim the gift that has been offered to you, the gift of forgiveness for anything you may have done against God, confess all your sin to God in prayer, surrender your will to His, and accept Jesus as your personal sacrifice or payment for your sin.
If you don't know quite how to do that, or what to say to God, pray something like this: "Father in Heaven, I know that I'm a sinner. I admit to living a life to this point that has been against your will. But I confess my sin to you now and I turn away from it. I humbly accept the sacrifice of your Son Jesus on the Cross as the payment for my sin. I ask your forgiveness, now and forever. Save me, O Lord. In my thankfulness, I surrender my life to you now. In Jesus' name I pray this, Amen"
Get plugged in. Once you've given your life to the Lord Jesus, let another true believer know so you can have help in growing in your faith. Join a Bible-believing church in your area and study God's word in detail.
