(The next four lessons are taken largely from Wayne Grudem’s Bible Doctrine published in 1999 by Zondervan.)
God wishes for us to know him, even though sin has dulled or minds and blinded us to God’s existence and glory to a very great extent. Creation itself testifies to God’s nature and power.
The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Psalm 19:1–4 (NKJV) For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Romans 1:20 (NLT)
Knowing God begins when the Holy Spirit arouses us from our death-like state, causing our hearts to yearn for the One who yearns for us. God awakens our hearts, enlivens our spirits, opens our spiritual eyes, and unstops our deaf ears so that we can perceive him. The Bible calls this being drawn to God.
For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. John 6:44 (NLT)
We cannot know God unless the Holy Spirit opens our understanding. When he does this inside us, faith arises in our hearts.
Faith is a spiritual gift which takes us beyond the limitations of the human mind and allows us to connect with God. Jesus called this being born of God, born of heaven, or born again.
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” 5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” John 3:3–8 (NLT)
When this happens, our spirits are joined to God’s Spirit, becoming one with him, giving us the “mind of Christ” and allowing us to have thoughts that transcend our natural sinful abilities. As a result, we begin to know God experientially.
But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. 1 Corinthians 6:17 (NLT)
But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. 13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. 14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:10–16 (NLT)
The Bible is the gold standard for truth. Everything we learn about God from the Spirit will agree with the written word of God.
Therefore, it is important for us to devote ourselves to reading and studying the Bible under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, if we want to learn more about God.
Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. John 17:17 (NLT) When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’ John 16:13–15 (NLT)
But we should always remember that knowing about God is not the same as knowing God.
We should not allow ourselves to settle for gaining information about the Lord without experiencing him. This is why worship, prayer, and “waiting” on God are so important.
This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3 (NASB95)
One area of the knowledge of God concerns his character. Theologians divide his traits or attributes into two categories: incommunicable and communicable. The incommunicable attributes of God are qualities he possesses that we do not share. The communicable attributes are ones we can share with him.
Independence or Self-Existence
God does not need us or any part of creation for any reason.
This attribute is sometimes referred to as his self-existence. Nevertheless, he loves his creatures which glorify and bring him joy.
He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, 25 and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. Acts 17:24–25 (NLT) Who has given me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven is mine. Job 41:11 (NLT)
Only God is self-existent. Every created thing came from him.
God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. John 1:3 (NLT) Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God. Psalm 90:2 (NLT)
God’s being is qualitatively different from ours. He is altogether “other,” even though we are created in his image and bear some similarities. He is the great “I am” whose thoughts and mind transcends ours.
My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8–9 (NLT)
Unchangeableness or Immutability
I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. Malachi 3:6 (NLT) God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? Numbers 23:19 (NLT) But you are always the same; you will live forever. Psalm 102:27 (NLT)
God does not change in his being, character, purposes, or promises.
But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken. Psalm 33:11 (NLT) I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him. Ecclesiastes 3:14 (NKJV)
Because God does not change, we can trust him to keep his promises. He is an anchor in a turbulent world in which everything else is like shifting sand.
So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Hebrews 6:18–19 (NLT)
God can change his mind in the sense of changing how he responds to us based on our actions. Such a case is found in Jonah 3:10.
When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it. Jonah 3:10 (NASB95)
This change of mind merely delayed his judgment of that pagan nation. His eternal purposes did not change, only the timing.
Eternity
God has no beginning or end but exists outside of time while retaining the ability to act inside our historical timeline.
Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. Psalm 90:2 (NASB95) All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen. Jude 25 (NLT)
God created the heavens and earth, thus introducing time. He existed before creating these things, outside of time.
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:3 (NASB95)
Because he exists outside of time, he sees all history from beginning to end. He knows and controls everything. This is directly related to his being omniscient or knowing all things.
Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; Isaiah 46:9–10 (NASB95)
Eventually time will cease (Revelation 10:6 – “delay” is the Greek word chronos meaning time.), but God will continue to exist, as will all those who share in his eternal life.
God intersects time with his divine purposes.
These special moments in time are sometimes referred to as “chairos” moments, rather than simple time or “chronos.” Such “chairos” moments are also referred to as the “fullness of chronos.” An example of this is Galatians 4:4-5.
But when the fullness of the time [chronos] came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4–5 (NASB95)
God created time, rules over it, and uses it for his own purposes. (Bible Doctrine, Wayne Grudem, p. 78.)
Omnipresence
God does not have size or spacial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places. (Grudem, p.78.)
Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord, “And not a God far off? 24 “Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 23:23–24 (NASB95) Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” 12 Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. Psalm 139:7–12 (NASB95)
God’s presence cannot be contained or limited.
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built! 1 Kings 8:27 (NASB95)
God is “other,” and we cannot define him using our human limitations. We do not believe that God is his creation as do pantheists. Instead, we believe that the Creator is distinct from what he made.
The Creator is also our Sustainer, holding the entire creation together through the Word of his power.
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power… Hebrews 1:3a (NASB95)
Although God is everywhere, he is also said to “far” from the wicked and “near” to the humble. This is a reference to how we can enjoy his presence because of the relationship we have or do not have with him. God is present in hell (Psalm 139:8), but his presence in that regard relates to his being there for judgment. Experientially, those in hell are not able to enjoy his presence.
These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 2 Thessalonians 1:9 (NASB95)
Unity
God is not divided into parts, yet we see different attributes of God emphasized at different times. (Grudem, p.81)
All of God’s attributes are always equally present. God is both merciful and just. One attribute cannot be divorced from the other. Therefore, each attribute helps us better understand the others. This means that God is always the same. He is not wrathful in the Old Testament but loving in the New. He is always the same.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 (NASB95)
Some of his attributes are emphasized at various times, but the others are still present. For example, the creation emphasizes God’s unlimited power and wisdom, but the other attributes are present, too.
We should never single out one attribute of God as being more important than the others.
For example, love should never be emphasized to the exclusion of recognizing his justice. He never acts contrary to his attributes; so, if it appears to us that he did, we simply do not have the correct perspective. We should strive to know him in his entire being as the Holy Spirit reveals him to us.
God revealed to Moses that he is who he is, not necessarily who we want him to be.
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Exodus 3:14 (NASB95)
Idols are false representations of God that cater to what we want God to be like and wish him to allow. The true God is holy and demands holiness from his people.
Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Leviticus 19:2 (NASB95)
