Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this; that he understands and knows Me; that I am the LORD Who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on the earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

To whom will you liken God? Or what likeness will you give Him? (Isaiah 40:18)

Of all the various pursuits, quests, and questions that drive our daily lives, the question, “Who is God?” is the most important question we could ever ask. The answer to this question impacts every aspect of our lives and provides the foundation to make sense of life’s most pertinent questions such as, “Who am I?”, “Why do I exist?, and “Where is my life headed?” As hard as we might try, we cannot know the answer to these questions from our own effort because we cannot know God unless He reveals Himself to us. The good news is God has revealed Himself through His Word—the Bible. The God of the Bible is the One and only true God and these are some of the core truths God reveals about Himself:

Creator: God created the entire universe including all tangible and intangible aspects of it. He brought the universe into existence for His own glory and His own purpose through the power of His Word (Genesis 1; Hebrews 11:3).  It’s important to note God created the universe out of nothing (ex nihilo). He did not simply rearrange some preexisting material and shape it into the universe. God is unique in this manner. When humans use their creative capacities, there is a sense in which they don’t purely create something, but instead they recreate and rearrange. We simply take some material which already exists and reshape it according to our desired purpose.

Think of a building. All the materials used to construct it already exist in nature, but people are able to gather and reshape these materials into a structure for their own benefit. On the other hand, when God created the universe, He did not use preexisting matter; He brought it into existence by His own power and will alone. (Revelation 4:11)

Sustainer: God did not merely create the universe; He also continues to sustain its existence (Colossians 1:17). This means everything ultimately depends on God for its continued existence. This does not deny the laws of nature we observe through the disciplines of science. Rather, these laws may be understood as descriptions of the normal ways God upholds the universe. Many times, God works through His creation to accomplish His purposes. Every breath we take, every heartbeat, every step, is only possible because God upholds the consistent nature of the universe by His power.

Owner: Since God created the universe, He also owns it and everything in it, including humans. A vital subject in theology is known as the Creator/creature distinction, which highlights the vital distinction between God and His creation.  God is unlike anything in His creation, but He also has supreme authority over His creation. As His creatures, we are obligated to submit to His will and desire. Yet God is not some ruthless dictator; rather, He is benevolent, pure, and holy. This is crucial for us to understand because God determines the purpose of our existence. It’s to our benefit to adhere to God’s created order. Scripture tells us God made humans to have worshipful fellowship with Himself (Genesis 1:26-28; Acts 17:26-28). This unique privilege was granted to people, and our capacity to fellowship with God is what makes us different from animals. This is a wonderful blessing because there is nothing greater than knowing God Himself (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

Law Giver: Since God created the universe and owns everything in it, He is also the Law Giver. That means He sets the rules by which the universe operates. These rules include the laws of nature and the moral laws we are supposed to obey. God determines good and evil, and all people are obligated to submit to God’s moral judgments.

Judge: As God is the Creator of the universe, He is also the Judge, meaning He makes moral distinctions between good and evil, and He is the One Who administers the ultimate justice in every person’s life, repaying them according to their deeds. God is holy and perfect; therefore, He is the perfect Judge. He rightly punishes sinners according to the merits of their wickedness, and He rewards the righteous who abide by His Law. The problem is no one is righteous before God (Romans 3:23). All people sin and violate God’s perfect Law. We all choose to reject our Creator and live for ourselves and fashion gods (idols) according to our own preferences and desires. As such, all people deserve God’s holy wrath and eternal punishment (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10). In light of God’s perfect moral standard, all our good deeds fall woefully short. They may impress other people, but they are corrupted by sin and viewed as nothing but filthy rags in God’s holy sight (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:10-18). No person can save themselves by their good works because we have all sinned against our eternal, holy Creator who cannot turn a blind eye to the wicked. As a perfect Judge, God must punish the guilty. Our only hope is to have a Savior rescue us from God’s judgment for our sin.

Savior: The greatest news and truth anyone could ever know is God Himself has provided a way for people to pass out of His eternal judgment and into eternal life through the forgiveness of their sins. We can be restored to a peaceful relationship with God. He has made this provision through His own Son, Who entered into human history as a Man, Jesus Christ. Jesus is both fully God and fully man. He lived the only sinless life, and offered Himself up as a sacrifice for our sin on our behalf when He was crucified. On the cross, Jesus bore the full wrath and judgment of God which we ourselves deserved for our sin.

Three days after His death, Jesus was physically resurrected from the dead as proof God had accepted the payment of His Son and deemed His sacrifice as sufficient for the forgiveness of sins. Now, God grants eternal life and the forgiveness of sin to anyone who puts their faith (trust) completely in the Person and work of Jesus Christ, acknowledging Him as both Lord and Savior.

Lord: Jesus’ title of “Lord” speaks to His supreme authority over one’s life.            When a person truly acknowledges Jesus as Lord, they submit themselves fully to His authority. This means they seek to conform their life to Christ’s will by repenting of their sins and living according to the commands revealed in God’s Word (The Bible). It must be noted no Christian ever achieves a perfect repentance in this life (Philippians 1:6). We still have our sin nature, and every Christian must grow in their love of and obedience to the Lord (this is called sanctification). Nevertheless, for every true believer, there is a life-long transformation which takes place in a person’s life where they continue to conform more and more into the kind of person God calls them to be. An authentic and worshipful love for God is what motivates a Christian’s obedience as they delight in God Himself and seek to fellowship with Him.

Savior: Jesus’ title of “Savior” means that He alone saves a person from their sin and from God’s judgment. Salvation comes through no one else, nor by any other way. Jesus Christ is the only One Who can grant salvation (Acts 4:12). A person’s salvation has absolutely nothing to do with anything they have done, but it has everything to do with what Christ has done on their behalf (Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9).

God’s Triune Nature: As one would expect, God’s nature extends infinitely beyond the comprehension of our limited faculties. God has indeed revealed Himself through His divine revelation (recorded perfectly in His inspired Word). However, even though we can know God truly through His Word (that is to say we can know true things about Him), we can never hope to know Him exhaustively (meaning to fully comprehend every truth about Him). In Scripture, God introduces us to glorious truths about Himself which we cannot comprehend. One of these truths is His triune nature. Scripture makes it emphatically clear there is only One God (Deuteronomy 6:4). However, as God’s Word unfolds, He reveals His triune nature (Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:21-22). This is the glorious mystery that God is One in nature, yet three in Person: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God only has one divine nature (or being), yet He exists in three Persons Who each fully possess His divine nature. These Persons are co-equal, meaning each One is fully God since each fully possesses the divine nature. They are also co-eternal, meaning They all eternally exist at the same time. Even though each Person of the Trinity is co-equal and co-eternal, each Person has a distinct relationship and function within the Godhead. All attempted analogies to explain the Trinity fall short (such as the three forms of water, an egg, a triangle…etc.). In fact, they end up coming closer to heretical views which distort the true image of God and are long condemned by the church. Maybe Christians should learn to simply yield to the words God speaks in Isaiah, “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?” (Isaiah 40:18).