WHO IS GOD?

Introduction

Who is God? Often, God is simply a word used in swearing (profanity) that many people use without giving any or very little thought to whom that word refers. But who is God? Let us see.

The Creator

The Bible says in the very first verse (Genesis 1:1), "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This shows that God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. In the subsequent verses, Moses describes the events of each of the six days of creation (Gen. 1:1-31). He affirms the six-day creation event in Exodus 20:11:  “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.” The Bible refers to the Creation some 200 times and specifically uses the word, creation, 9 times[1] (eight of which refer to the Creation as described in Genesis 1). The word is found in Mark 10:16, Mark 13:19, Romans 1:20,  Colossians 1:23, Hebrews 9:11, Hebrews 12:27, 2 Peter 3:4, and Revelation 3:14. Both Old and New Testament writers spoke of the Creation of the heavens and the earth. Jesus affirms the Creation in Mark 10:6 and 13:19.

So God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth (the Universe).

He Is the One God

Notice in Genesis 1:1 that God is singular; however, it comes from a plural Hebrew word ('elohiym {el-o-heem'}[2]. James Burton Coffman writes:

The word for "God" here is "[~'Elohiym]," a plural term, and by far the most frequent designation of the Supreme Being in the O.T., being used almost 2,000 times. Despite the plurality of this name, it is connected with verbs and adjectives in the singular.[3] 

There is one God. Moses said to Israel in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is…one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” It is important to note that the Greek word from which God is translated is not plural, but singular. So the inspired apostle affirms that there is one God.

In John 1:1-3, the Apostle John writes:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

Here, the apostle refers back to the beginning when all things were made. Though the Hebrew word for God in Genesis 1:1 is plural, John uses the singular[4] Greek word in reference to the Creator.  He also states that the Word was God and participated in the creation of all things. John identifies the Word in  verse 14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus is the “only begotten from the Father” (John 3:16). So, God and Jesus are one!

The Son and the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is also one with God. Moses writes in Genesis 1:1-3:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 

The Spirit is eternal (Hebrews 9:14). God is eternal (Romans 16:26; 1 Timothy 1:17). In argument form, we would say, God is the only being that is eternal. The Holy Spirit is eternal. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God.[5]

The three- God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.[6]

The Almighty God

God is the Almighty God (Genesis 35:11), our Father who blesses us  “With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb” (Genesis 49:25).

God Is Love

God is love (1 John 4:7-8).  God is “a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth” (Psalm 86:15).

God Is Good and Severe

God is good and kind toward those who continue in His goodness and severe toward those who fall. Paul writes in Romans 11:22, “Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.” 

God is a good God who cannot tolerate evil. One who accepts His grace will receive His goodness, but one who rejects His grace will receive His severity. The same is true with one who accepts His grace, then falls away. Paul writes in “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” 

Because of God’s love, He sent His Son to die for the sins of the world. Paul writes in Romans 3:23, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” He writes in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” After both of these statements, the apostle reminds his readers that God offers forgiveness for those who sin (Rom. 3:23-24; 6:23).

Conclusion

As Paul says in Ephesians 4:6, there is “one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”