Attributes of God – Part 1: Nature of God
s we kick off this series, let me start first by declaring that our Mighty God is one “who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth” (Jeremiah 9:23-4). Part 1 focuses mainly on Spiritual and Personality aspects of God completely based on scripture. The unity of God or Oneness doctrine of God would be fitting as Nature of God but it is a big topic so we set it for upcoming Part 9 of this series. As a reminder, our bible teaching is and will always remain Christ centered. Let’s get right to it!
God’s Spiritual Nature
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:2). God lives in us believers and we also live in Him, think about that for a second! (Ephesians 2:22, Colossians 1:27, 1 Corinthians 3:16). Let's see more about His spiritual nature:
- That is why we can only enter heaven in spirit and not in flesh (John 3:5-6). God’s realm is spiritual, his kingdom is spiritual, and the Armor of God is spiritual gifts he grants us.
- God the spirit is the one that breathed into Adam (Genesis 2:7). So when you die, “the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
We got separated from God the moment when Adam and Eve sinned. Adam and Eve immediately succumbed to spiritual death after eating the forbidden fruit. That is why God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to redeem us back to our Father (John 3:17) in spirit. As sinners, we have to go through spiritual rebirth to reunite with our spiritual Father.
God’s Visible Expression
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul says:
- 15Now Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God. He existed before creation began, for it was through him that every thing was made, whether spiritual or material, seen or unseen… 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20).
John the Apostle also explains how Jesus Christ is God. We'll discuss this further in Part 2
- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John1).
God used flesh to reconcile his people back to Himself through Jesus Christ. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven (1 Corinthians 15:47-48).
God’s Attitude Towards Sin
God's nature is holy, all good, as such; sin is the antithesis of His nature. Sin separates us from God, just like what happened to Adam and Eve. The scriptures show us God’s attitude towards the wicked or sinners:
- But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath (Jeremiah 10:10).
- See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand (Deuteronomy 32:39).
- The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished (Nahum 1).
Nature Key Takeaways:
Understand, Overstand and Innerstand
Jesus Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God. Here is a clear example:
- Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work (John 14:8-10).
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