God’s Character
Who God Is
Why Knowing God Matters
Everything in the disciple’s life rests on one question: what is God truly like? Scripture does not leave that question to imagination. God makes Himself known through creation, through His Word and covenant dealings, and finally and fully in Jesus Christ. This study begins with who God has revealed Himself to be—holy and loving, righteous and merciful, faithful, wise, powerful and unchanging—because trust, worship, prayer, obedience and hope all depend upon knowing the God who has made Himself known.
How Scripture Reveals Him
God takes the initiative to be known, and the study follows His self-revelation: who He is in Himself—eternal, Spirit, the one true and living God—and the moral glory of His character: holiness, love, goodness and mercy, righteousness and justice, truth and faithfulness, together with His wisdom, power and unchanging nature. These are not competing qualities. Scripture reveals one undivided divine character: His love is holy, His holiness loving, His mercy righteous and His justice good.
The one God is known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit—near to His people and worthy of all worship. In Jesus Christ the Father’s character is made visible, for the Son makes Him known, and by the Spirit believers are increasingly conformed to Christ’s likeness. We do not become eternal or all-powerful, but we are called to reflect God’s mercy, patience, truth and holiness.
Topics in this study
- God Makes Himself Known
- Eternal and Self-Existing God
- God Is Spirit
- The One True and Living God
- God’s Holiness
- God’s Love
- God’s Goodness and Mercy
- God’s Righteousness and Justice
- God’s Truth and Faithfulness
- God’s Wisdom and Knowledge
- God’s Power and Sovereignty
- God’s Immutability
- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
- Unity of God’s Character
- God’s Omnipresence and Nearness
- God’s Glory and Worthiness of Worship