The God of the Bible has always been described in many ways. While He is sometimes referred to as someone whose ways cannot be fully understood, He is a Supreme Being that can be known and experienced personally. The Bible is filled with descriptions about who God is but ultimately, what sets him apart from the false gods of other religions is His perfect holiness. This means to say that God is not just loving, gracious, righteous, just and merciful but He is perfectly loving, gracious, righteous, just and merciful. He is the sole absolute standard of what is good and bad.
As we take a deeper look at the person of God, it is important to determine the reason why we are taking time to investigate the nature of the divine. While it is true that God is a complex and eternal being, it is not true that God cannot be known. This is one of the greatest truths that revolves around God: God revealed Himself to man.
The Bible is filled with stories of people who sought God, looked for God, searched for God and longed for God but whatever effort and pursuit man did, God made the first move of initiating the pursuit by revealing Himself to us. God disrupted the fabric of eternity and started world history by merely saying “Let there be Light”. Why is it important to bear this mind? Why is it important to always remember that it was God who revealed Himself to us? For two reasons: Humility and Doxology.
If God, in His grace, revealed himself to us, that means we did not do anything nor possess anything to make Him do that. When God made the first move of revealing Himself to us, we are to respond in humility by knowing our place before Him and the rest of creation. This also means that we cannot know anything about Him that He does not allow. The Bible has everything we need to know about God but not everything we want to know about God. While the Bible is complete, perfect and sufficient, Theologians believe that there are questions in this life and details about eternity that cannot be found in the Bible. So therefore, we respond in humility.
Doxology means “worship”. Anyone who engages in an endeavor or embarks on a journey of knowing God in a closer manner will eventually be confronted by the awesome glory of God. This experience is not a mere physical act where one simply raises his or her hands. It is not merely an intellectual exercise where one enters a new level of profundity. It is not also a mere experience of self-discovery as postmodernists define it. Anyone who encounters the glory of God will find one’s soul is gripped and arrested by the truth that there is no one like Him in the world and in the entire universe.
Is God a Person?
The word “person” is defined as someone who possesses certain abilities or traits, including consciousness, morality, and self-awareness. Today, the word is defined differently by philosophers and other experts but they all stand on common ground that a person is someone who has a mind, emotions and a will. A definition that theologians also agree on but with a distinct detail that God has no physical body.
So, is God a person? Absolutely. Without a shadow of a doubt, God is a person. The Bible teaches that God is not a force nor a vague concept invented by man. He is a definite person with divinely distinctive characteristics. God has a mind that bears unfathomable wisdom to create and sustain the world. He has pure emotions and can experience delight and displeasure. He has a will that is sovereign and absolute. God is not a human being but a holy being. So unlike humans, God transcends eternity and still remains as a perfect person.
God is “Holy, Holy, Holy”
In an attempt to take a close look at the personhood of God, it is important to bear in mind that God is holy. When people talk about God’s holiness, they usually think about God as someone who has moral perfection or someone who perfectly does what is right at all times. While this is true, it is also essential to remember that when the Bible describes God as holy, it means that God is set apart from the rest of creation. To say that God is holy means that He is entirely different from the world and the entire universe. By virtue of being the Creator, He has left imprints throughout all creation but creation can only reflect the glory and creative powers of God but can never attain God’s level of holiness and perfection.
Jesus: The God-Man
John 1:14 says:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The entrance and existence of Jesus Christ to the world gave undeniable evidence that God is a person. All of Scriptures attest to the person of Jesus Christ but it is most highlighted in the Gospel accounts. Jesus is sometimes referred to by theologians as the God-Man implying that Jesus is fully man and fully God. The incarnation of Jesus gave us a tangible picture of what God is truly like. This is not to say that Jesus is just another version of the God who revealed Himself to all of creation. Those who have met Jesus physically were convinced that He is God to the point that they did not just write about Him but were willing to die for Him. They saw with their own eyes and felt with their own hands to have the God of the universe dwell with them.
Jesus is God himself and just like how He answered the question of Thomas before he was crucified, He says to all who desire to know God more:
“If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.” John 14:7
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