Who is God, actually?

Whether you believe He exists or not, the word “God” carries significance. His name makes up part of our daily vernacular, and the world comes to a standstill due to cyclic traditions that are celebrated in His honor, such as Christmas and Easter. The acronym OMG has become an internationally recognized catchphrase.
As a Christian, God is more than a buzzword or a reason to enjoy a bank holiday. He is our Father, our Creator, and the anchor of our faith. With around 2.3 billion people declaring themselves to be believers, God has more followers than any social media presence on earth.
That’s a lot of love for someone you can’t see or get autographs from.

So, who is God, actually?

These 6 points will hopefully give you a clearer perception of who God is.

1. God is the Creator of heaven and earth

“In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.”
Genesis 1:1-2 (NRSV)

The book of Genesis is the first book of the Old Testament. It is known as the “book of beginnings”, not only because it introduces the entire Bible, but because it records the story of Creation – how God created heaven and earth. Genesis continues to record God’s creation of day and night, the sun, moon, and stars, as well as vegetation and man. It also reveals man’s need for a redeemer and consequently, the foreshadowing of Jesus’ coming.
Science claims its own theories for man’s existence, such as Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, or the origin of the universe, such as the Big Bang Theory.
However, the thing about the Bible is, is that it requires faith to believe it. God’s word is infallible. In fact, the whole basis of believing in God is faith. In 2 Corinthians 5:7 it states, “for we walk by faith, not by sight”.

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2. God is the great “I AM”

“God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ He said further, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’’”
Exodus 3:14

When God revealed His name to Moses in the Old Testament, He referred to Himself simply as “I AM”.
In the Old Testament, a person’s name was a reflection of their character or even their calling in life. Abraham, for example, means “Father of a great multitude” which makes sense, as God promised Abraham that his offspring would be as countless as the stars in the sky (Genesis 22:17).
God is known by many names – Elohim, Adonai, Jehovah, Emmanuel – just to name a few. Though His names may change, God’s character stays the same, throughout the ages, regardless of our circumstances. In Revelations 1:8 it states “’I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”
Hence, God is the great “I AM.”

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3. God is part of the Trinity

”The Father and I are one.”
John 10:30

“For through Him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.”
Ephesians 2:18

In the hymn “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty”, one of the lines of the lyrics goes as follows:
“God in three persons blessed Trinity”
The Trinity refers to the existence of God as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as a triune God.
During Jesus’ 3-year ministry, Jesus referred to Himself on numerous occasions as belonging to God – not only as His son but that they were one and the same.
The connection between Jesus and the Holy Spirit is quite evident in the New Testament. When John the Baptist baptized Jesus, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove and God spoke out, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17).
Jesus also tells the disciples that though He is leaving them, the Holy Spirit will come to reside with them instead (John 14:26).

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4. God is love

“Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
1 John 4:8

Our definition of love is not the same as God’s definition. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 describes God’s love – a perfect love for us that surpasses any human capability to love another person.
When the Bible says that God is love, it is declaring God’s character. God loves us because that is who He is. He can’t and won’t stop loving us – even when we make mistakes or commit a sin – because that is simply not His nature.
God does not force His love on anyone. It is because He first loved us, that we seek a relationship with Him in response to His offer of love.

“We love because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19

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5. God gave us His only son

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
John 3:16

When Adam ate the apple from the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, it resulted in the fall of Man. Since then, we are separated from God through our sinful nature.
However, God does not want to be separated from us. He created us in His own image, in order that we would be in fellowship with Him, love Him, and glorify Him.
However, as long as we are held captive by sin, we cannot be in the presence of God (Isaiah 59:2). Therefore, He sent His son Jesus to us to pay the ransom price for our freedom, in order that we may be reunited for all eternity with Him (Romans 5:8).
Jesus, who we have already established is God, additionally assumed the mortal coil of man, complete with our human frailties. He took on all of our past, present, and future sins and brought them to the cross of Calvary where He was crucified.
With the blood that He spilled on the cross, Jesus broke the chains that sin had kept us in, thereby freeing us to have eternal life with our Father (Isaiah 53:4-5).

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6. God’s grace saves us

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9

What is so beautiful about God, is that He offers salvation to everyone. It doesn’t matter what mistakes you have made in the past, whether you have followed another religion, or even if you are a kind natured person who regularly helps elderly people cross the road.

God’s salvation is a gift that He freely gives – it cannot be earned.

In order to receive the gift of God’s salvation, we need to recognize in faith that it is God’s grace that saves us. We need to acknowledge that Jesus died on the cross for our transgressions, for it is only through Him that we can enter into a relationship with God (John 14:6). We must repent for our past mistakes and inequities (Romans 3:23).
If we do all of this, we are born again. Not only does God forgive us for all of our sins, but we can start a new spirit-filled life in a loving relationship with God. He is our Father, and we are His children.

God is just as relevant for us today as when He first created us out of dust and breathed life into us. In a broken world, His grace is a way out of the darkness; His love is a lamp at our feet and a light on our path as we walk in eternal fellowship with Him.

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