Who IS God, really?!
We just spent an amazing week at Mount Hermon’s Family Camp in Santa Cruz with Keri’s family.
Have any of you heard of Mount Hermon? Of course, many of you locals know it well. It’s not the Mount Hermon in Israel, but it’s named after that—a beautiful retreat in the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Did you know Keri and I “met” there at 5 years old and there is video footage of us singing onstage! The same auditorium stage we were married on over 20 years later!
Dr. Thoennes is a bible professor at Biola University and a pastor at Grace EvFree in La Mirada.
Well, last week we had the special treat of listening to a speaker named Dr. Erik Thoennes.
When Keri and I were undergrads at Biola University, we both stayed up all night in order to obtain that coveted signature from the Bible department for the lucky few to get into Dr. Thoennes upper division bible class: the Character of God.
I’m sure you’re wondering, what was this class like?
Well, imagine this. For a whole semester, we had to wrestle with and think through who God is, what His heart is like, and how each characteristic is seen and expressed in Scripture and our lives.
We even had to memorize the rich definitions of God’s character and write them verbatim for an exam!
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
So, as you can imagine, listening to Dr. Thoennes’ teaching again this week was amazing. I wanted to share with you a few of the powerful definitions of God’s character, some that He even used this week.
Dr. Thoennes first reminded us how we often don’t scratch the surface of who God is beyond saying “God is good” or “Don’t use his name in vain”.
But who is God really?
Take a moment and read over these characteristics below, consider each word.
Notice what parts of you are drawn toward worship.
And notice what parts are resistant to a certain word or phrase.
Talk with God about these things for a moment.
It is so important that we have an honest conversation with Him about who He is and how He is involved within our very real circumstances, as this reflects and impacts who we are and who we become.
Here’s just a taste of God’s wonderful character:
God’s Holiness:
God is absolutely and uniquely excellent above all creation (majesty) and without sin (purity).
God’s Peace:
In God’s being and actions he is separate from all confusion and disorder, yet he is continually active in innumerable well-ordered, fully controlled, simultaneous actions.
God’s Will:
God approves and determines to bring about every action necessary for the existence and activity of himself and all creation.
God’s Unchangeableness (Immutability):
God is unchanging in his being, perfections, purposes, and promises, yet He does act and feel emotions in response to different situations.
God’s Omnipresence:
God does not have size or spacial dimensions and is present everywhere with his whole being, yet he acts differently in different places.
Oh man, I could keep going! These are so good! There’s something so refreshing to consider how big, how involved, how right, and how different God is!
What came up for you as you read these?
What thoughts came to mind?
Any emotions?
One last thing. Keri and I, at our wedding at Mount Hermon, while standing upon that old auditorium stage, had this wonderful verse from Jeremiah read over us.
It summarizes so much of God’s character, our deep need for Him, and the Life that comes from knowing Him more. May this verse become our heartbeat and our prayer:
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me,’
’That I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.’”