Who is God?
"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting
to everlasting, You are God."
The Bible: Psalm 90, verse 2
There are many different ideas and opinions about God in the world. A person's image of God depends very much on how he is shaped. From birth we are under the influence of education, the media and school, which shapes our thinking.
In addition, there are the numerous religions of this world, in which one or more "dieties" are worshiped. There are people who believe in the supernatural, but for whom God is just an impersonal "higher power." Some religions teach that God is nature or that God is in us humans. For still others, God is nothing more than a name in a dusty book....
Many people have a negative attitude towards God. Reasons for this are, on the one hand, painful experiences that are associated with pain and disappointment and which make some doubt God's love and justice. The church, too, with its murky past that some associate with God, has been a major contributor to the wrong image people have of God today (See: true and false church).
However, most people reject God because they do not know who and what God really is.
God - allmighty Creator
The Lord God speaks:
"Ah Lord God! behold, You have made the heaven and the earth by Your great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for You."
The Bible: Jeremiah chapter 32, verse 17
The Bible describes God as the living Creator of all things, without beginning or end. Everything was created by God and everything exists through Him, both the visible and the invisible, the material and the immaterial. It is He who gives life and order to everything and who maintains it. The universe and nature are the work of God. All physical natural laws also have their origin in God. God himself - in contrast to everything that has been created - is neither bound to space and time nor to the laws of nature. Therefore, God can be everywhere at the same time; both spatially and temporally (in the present and in the future). For there is absolutely nothing that limits God.
We, humans, are God's creatures, just like all animals, each of which God created according to its own kind and - as well as humans - with manifold genetic variation. While God exists independently of us humans, we humans cannot exist independently of God. Because it is God's spirit or breath of life that makes and keeps us alive (See: Creation or Evolution).
God - faithful and true
The Lord God speaks:
"I am that I am."
The Bible Exodus chapter 3, verse 14
God introduces himself in the Holy Scriptures with the name "J-a-h-w-e" or "Jah-Hu-WaH" (not "jehovah"), which means "The Eternal Being" in Hebrew. Later, because of people's deep reverence for God, the four letters YHWH (the so-called tetragram) were used to avoid having to pronounce God's holy name. Even later, the name of God was replaced by the title "LORD", which was intended to emphasize God's majesty as creator and ruler. The name of God, which has not changed since time immemorial, is a description of his nature. On the one hand, it expresses that God has always existed and will continue to exist for all eternity. On the other hand, His name means that God remains the same, then, now and in the future. This means that there is no change in God and that God is faithful in every way and His Word is completely trustworthy.
God - the one and only
"I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."
The Bible: Isaiah chapter 44, verse 6
After man turned away from his creator and thus lost contact with the true God over time, he began to make his own gods and worship them. These false gods are referred to as “idols” in Scripture. Various characteristics and abilities were attributed to them and statues were usually erected, which usually had similarities to people or animals, while God expressly commanded not to take a picture of Him or to compare Him to anything living creature. The sale of portable idols and statues, which were usually kept by their owners in their homes, was often a lucrative business for traders. It was not uncommon for the worship of idols to be associated with vile religious rites that deeply displeased God. These included, for example, sexual orgies that were celebrated as so-called "fertility rituals", which in turn led many people to turn away from the true God and instead worship those false gods. The sacrificing or burning of children in fire was also part of some idolatries....
It was not uncommon for the worship of such idols to involve abominable religious rites that deeply displeased God. This included e.g. sexual orgies, which were celebrated as so-called "fertility rituals" and led many people to turn away from the true God and instead to worship those false gods. Also the sacrifice or burning of children in fire were part of some idolatry....
Today there are a variety of things that people worship instead of their Creator or place at the center of their lives, e.g. themselves or other people (such as rulers, idols or partners), other beings (such as animals, angels or the devil) or objects or inanimate things (such as cars, money, sports clubs, technology or science). On the other hand, he has almost completely forgotten the true, living God to whom man owes his life. Only in challenging times or under difficult life circumstances do some people start to ask about God, while in good times very few people think about Him....
God sees the worship of any kind of idol as an abomination, i.e. as something particularly repulsive. Because in doing so, people rob the only true God of the honor that is due to him, and at the same time offer it to useless figures that are in truth nothing other than the work of people, who can neither see nor hear nor help....
God - the Holy One
"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is,
and is to come."
The Bible: Revelation chapter 4, verse 8
God is neither a part of man nor a product of human imagination or craftsmanship. God is also more than spiritual energy or an indefinable force in the universe. Although God is invisible, he surrounds us on all sides. And although God has no physical form, He still has a personality that includes many different characteristics.
Above all, God reveals himself to be holy. On the one hand, this means that God is above everything and everyone and that there is no creature that is equal to God. This fact alone makes God worthy of worship. On the other hand, it means that God is completely good, just and pure, free from any evil. That is why nothing evil or sinful can stand before God. There are numerous accounts in the Bible where people to whom God revealed Himself in dreams or visions fell to the ground as if dead in awe because they saw God's glory, which is brighter than light, and could not bear His pure and holy presence in the face of their own imperfection.
God - love
"God is love; and he that
dwelleth in love dwelleth
in God, and God in him."
The Bible: 1st John chapter 4, verse 16
More over, God reveals himself as a personal God who seeks community with his creatures and who wants to be very close to us humans. We humans can communicate with God and experience how God leads and directs our lives and how He helps and provides for us. Because everything we are, everything we have and everything we need comes from God.
(See: 10 reasons to love God).
God reveals himself to us as a benevolent ruler full of love and compassion. Even more: God is love itself. This means that God fundamentally has good and benevolent intentions for us humans and that God finds joy and pleasure in doing good and giving away His love to us. Because that's exactly what God created us for. Furthermore, God is a faithful friend and reliable partner who stands by everyone who loves and trusts him in every moment of their lives and never abandons them
God - our father
"Our Father in heaven (...)"
The Bible: Matthew chapter 6, verses 5-15
God also reveals himself as our heavenly Father, who always has the best interests in mind for us human children. Just as Jesus lovingly called God "Abba" (Aramaic: Father), he also taught people to call on God as their Father. The fact that God wants to be our father describes the deep personal relationship that God desires for us human children. God's fatherly love is expressed, among other things, in the “parable of the prodigal son,” which is recorded in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15, verses 11-32.
However, the fact that God loves us humans does not mean that how we live is arbitrary to God. Just as a true father gives the children he loves useful rules and shows them boundaries in order to enable them to grow up healthily and protect them from arguments and harm, God also gives us humans certain commandments that to enable us to live together safely and peacefully without fear and worry on this earth. God created us humans so that we live to His glory and in unity with His will. In the Bible, God points us to His will (See: The credibility of the bible).
Since God is the one who gave us life and this earth, it is up to Him alone to decide how we should live on it. Because God also knows every person inside and out, HE basically knows best what each of us needs and what is really good for us; even better than ourselves. Every person who trusts God and acts according to His command can experience for themselves how it brings God's blessing and true joy in life to them and their fellow human beings (See: What does faith mean?).
God - the just judge
"Before the Lord: for He comes to judge the earth: He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth."
The Bible: Psalm 96, verse 13
God continues to demonstrate himself as a just judge who loves truth and justice and hates injustice and lies. This means that God neither tolerates evil nor stands by endlessly when people despise Him and His commandments. The fact that most people ignore God's commandments (whether willingly or through ignorance) while following their own desires and values, thereby elevating themselves above God, has led to countless grievances on our planet since the creation of the world from which humanity continues to suffer today and which are only getting worse as time goes on.... (See: God and suffering)
For this reason, God repeatedly intervenes in what is happening on this earth to limit the suffering that people cause in the world and to help those who ask God for help. Furthermore, because God is just, he has appointed a day when he will hold accountable for his actions every person who disobeys his will and is unwilling to repent from evil. Unlike humans, God is neither corruptible nor does he ever bend the law. Because with God there is no injustice. Rather, God rewards each person according to what they deserve (See: The way to salvation).
God - gracious and merciful
"The Lord is merciful
and gracious, slow to anger,
and plenteous in mercy."
The Bible: Psalm 103, verse 8
At the same time, God is merciful and abounding in grace. God has no pleasure in judging us humans for our evil deeds. Rather, it is God's express will that we humans be reconciled with our Father in heaven and live happily and in peace on earth. If God immediately punished every sin a person commits, none of us would be alive. For the punishment for sin according to God's standard is death....
But instead of condemning us, God offers to forgive our sins and accept us as His children. Here we see how much love and patience God shows us humans. The precondition for this is that we confess our wrongdoings and sincerely repent. Although this does not undo our actions, from this moment on they no longer stand between us and our Heavenly Father. But that's not all: God gives eternal life to everyone who converts to Him. So we can enjoy fellowship with God forever and ever; and this in a future world in which there will no longer be war, disease or death.
God - the source of life
"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
The Bible: Psalm 34, verse 8
every human wants someone who loves him and cares for him and with whom he feels safe and accepted. Someone he can trust implicitly and rely on 100% at all times. Someone who knows him, who understands him, who knows all his needs and who he knows for sure always has the best in mind for us. The only one who can fulfill this claim and also perfectly satisfy the deep inner longing in the heart of every human being is God.
We humans, on the other hand, are only able to give another person what he or she needs to a limited extent. On the one hand, this is related to the fact that every human being is needy himself and can only exist in the long term and respond to the needs of others if his own basic needs are met. In addition, people often have selfish or even deceptive intentions. Furthermore, the reality is that relationships between people are changeable and volatile, now more than ever. God, on the other hand, who himself does not need anything because he has everything from himself, is able to satisfy all our needs. That's why the bond with God forms the foundation of every person's life.
Restoring this lost relationship between us humans and our Creator and Father is the goal of God's plan of salvation, which God realized through Jesus Christ (See: Who is Jesus Christ?).
"Bless the Lord, O my soul!"
The Bible: Psalm 103, verse 1