Study 2 Objective: To Discuss What God is Like and Why it is Significant to the Believer...
God is glorious in His holiness (Exodus 15:11). Many theologians define holiness as the state of being set apart or dedicated for divine purpose. Holiness is the whole collection of attributes that defines who God is and that sets Him apart from false gods.
Hebrews 12:14 tells us that without holiness “no one will see the Lord”. “…as He who called you is holy, you also be holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16; Leviticus 11:44). We are to be “partakers of His holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). God is love and full of compassion (1 John 4:8; Psalms 112:4, 145:8) The above passage in 1 John says that those who know God are identifiable by their outgoing concern for others because God is love. Love flourished within the Godhead “before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24) because love is the inherent nature of God. Because He shows compassion believers are to show compassion to one another (1 Peter 3:8, Zechariah 7:9). God is gracious, merciful, forgiving (1 Peter 2:3; Exodus 34:6; Psalms 86:15, 111:4, 116:5, etc) An expression of God’s love is “the multitude of His mercies” (Lamentations 3:32). God is “ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness” (Nehemiah 9:17). “To the Lord God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him” (Daniel 9:9). “The God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10) expects His grace to be spread abroad (2 Corinthians 4:15), and for Christians to reflect His grace and forgiveness in how they deal with others (Ephesians 4:32). God is good (Luke 18:19; 1 Chronicles 16:34; Psalm 25:8, 34:8, 86:5, 145:9) Goodness implies that God blesses beyond expectations in kindnesses and mercies. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). |
The reception of God’s goodness is a preparation for repentance - “do you despise the riches of His goodness…not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4) The God, who is “able to do exceedingly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20), tells the believer to “do good to all” for he or she “who does good is of God” (3
John 11). Reflection How does studying what God is like help you as a Christian? Do you see how attributes of God inform us of how we should reflect His image? Are there personal areas in your own life that you need to take to God in prayer as a result of this study? God is for us (Romans 8:31) Of course, God is so much more than
physical language can describe. “His greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:3). How can we possibly know Him and reflect His image? How can we fulfil His desire that we be holy, loving, full of compassion, gracious, merciful, forgiving and good? God, “with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17) and whose loving character and grace-filled purpose does not change (Malachi 3:6), has provided a way for us. He is for us, and desires that we become his children (1 John 3:1). Hebrews 1:3 informs us that Jesus, the eternally begotten Son of God, is the very reflection of God’s inner being - “the express image of His person”. If we need a tangible concept of the image of the Father, Jesus is it. He is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). |