2. Attributes of the God of the Bible

2.1. What makes Him different from the gods of other religions?

In Christianity, the Almighty God, who designed, created, and maintains the universe, also wants a personal relationship with every man and woman, boy and girl. David, one of the Old Testament's kings, expressed his admiration for this when he wrote:

Psalm 8:3-4 says, “3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”

Our Creator constantly thinks about us. He takes as personal an interest in you as if you were the only person He had created.

- What is God’s dominant trait?

God is love (1 John 4:8)

God speaks to human beings from His own heart of love. What motivates Him is His selfless and sacrificial love.

The other character traits of the God of the Bible:

• Righteous and holy – Psalm 145:17

• Christ is also righteous and holy – Isaiah 53:11 and Acts 2:27

• Merciful, gracious, patient, abundant in goodness and truth – Exodus 34:5-7

• Full of compassion – Psalm 86:15; Psalm 103:13 and Lamentations 3:22-23

• Keeps His promises – Deuteronomy 7:9

• Mighty in strength and wisdom – Job 36:5

• Wisdom and knowledge – Colossians 2:3

• Is not bias – Acts 10:34-35

• Is good to everyone – Psalm 145:9

• Perfect and kind to His enemies – Matthew 5:44-48

• Delights in mercy – Micah 7:18

• Sacrificial – 1 John 3:16

• Perfect, God of truth and without iniquity, just and right – Deuteronomy 32:4

• His love is everlasting – Jeremiah 31:3; 1 John 4:19

• Faithful - Deuteronomy 7:9

• Good - Mark 10:18

• A Planner - Jeremiah 29:11

• Merciful - Ephesians 2:4

- What are the things that God cannot do?

• Cannot lie - Hebrews 6:18, Titus 1:2

• Cannot forget you - Isaiah 49:15, Hebrews 6:10

• Cannot be unfaithful - 2 Timothy 2:13, Deuteronomy 7:9

• Cannot be easily angered - Psalm 103:8, Exodus 34:6

• Cannot stop loving you - Jeremiah 31:3, Titus 3:3–6, 1 John 4:19

• Cannot be Imperfect - Matthew 5:48

• God cannot change His character - Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8, James 1:17

• Cannot break a promise - Psalm 89:34

• Cannot leave work unfinished - Philippians 1:6

• Cannot be over-powered or defeated - Jeremiah 32:17, Proverbs 21:30, Acts 5:39

• Cannot be manipulated or tricked or deceived - Psalm 44:21

• Cannot sin - 1 Peter 1:16, Psalm 145:17

- What does God hate?

• Lies - Psalm 101:7

• Haughty Eyes - Proverbs 6:16-19

• Boasting - Psalm 5:5

• Violence - Psalm 11:5

• Pride & Arrogance - Proverbs 8:13

• Wicked plans - Proverbs 6:16-19

- Why Jesus is the best being to look at if you want to know how God is really like?

Jesus spoke these words in reference to God the Father:

John 10:30 says, “I and my Father are one.”

John 14:9-11 says, “9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.”

Jesus is actually God in human form.

1 Timothy 3:16 says, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

- What makes Jesus different from the founders of other religions?

• He never sinned and only lived a holy life (2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:22).

• He was full of love and compassion (John 11:5, Matthew 9:36, Mark 1:41).

• He performed more miracles than anyone who has ever lived on Earth, and he only performed them for others, not for Himself.

• He has the ability to change a person from a sinner to a saint if they accept Him and abide in Him (Matthew 1:21, John 15:5, Galatians 5:22).

• He is the only founder who died, resurrected from the dead, and went to heaven (Matthew 28:7, Acts 4:33, Acts 1:9-11).

• We do not know whether the founders of other religions will go to heaven. He is the only one who can show you how to get to heaven, evidenced by the fact that He is already there (John 14:6).

• He is God in human form (1 Timothy 3:16, Matthew 1:23, Isaiah 9:6).He came to earth to save you because He loves you. 

• He has the power to bring you back to resurrect you (John 15:13, John 11:25-26, Psalm 22:16, Zechariah 12:10, Isaiah 53:5-8).

2.2. Why does God not physically appear to us today?

Imagine you are a multi-billionaire, and you hear about a village with very poor people. You have pity on them, and you renovate their village so that they have better housing with plumbing and electricity. You also give them all brand new cars. One day, you decide to visit them, but instead of them being happy to finally meet you and welcome you, they are mean to you. In addition to disrespecting you, they build a statue of someone else and place it in the town center and falsely credit them for the village's improvement. Would you show yourself to them again?

This is what happened to God.

- God did physically appear in the Old Testament.

1. Adam and Eve saw God and audibly heard His voice, but they still sinned.

2. The elders of Israel saw God and they still sinned against Him.

Exodus 24:9-11 says, "9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: 10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.n11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink."

Since nobody can see God's face and continue to live (Exodus 33:20) and has a very bright light making it impossible to properly see His features (1 Timothy 6:16), it means that they probably saw His figure, but not the details of His features. Nevertheless, God did physically appear, although they could not see what His face looked like.

- Some people in the Old Testament audibly heard God.

"Deuteronomy 4:10-14 says, “10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. 11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. 12 And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. 13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. 14 And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.”

After seeing and audibly hearing God, Aaron made the golden calf and Israel was involved in apostasy.

Therefore, even if everyone saw God, there would still be disloyalty and disobedience, making His continuous physical appearance futile and a waste of His time.

- God did physically appear in the New Testament.

1 Timothy 3:16 says “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

Jesus was lied about and harassed by the religious leaders. Then His own nation got Him crucified.

- What would God say if He appeared?

The Bible has God's will and what He wants us to do. Therefore, if God were to audibly speak, He would tell us to do what the Bible says, especially the New Testament. Why should He physically appear and audibly speak to tell us what we already know? If you are not obeying the Bible while you are not seeing Him, you will not obey it or take God seriously after seeing Him.

Some people argue and say, "But my desire is for Him to guide me in choosing a career, determining my future spouse, and addressing other matters that are unique to me and not found in the Bible." 

If you don't do what the Bible says, you won't listen, even if God appears to you and tells you what career to pursue and who to marry.

God has one interest and one interest only. Jesus said this before He ascended to heaven. He is only interested in getting people saved.

Mark 16:15 says, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

You should have a job because the Bible says that those who do not work should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). The Bible does not go into detail about career options, and therefore I doubt that it matters to God what career we choose (whether a tentmaker like Paul or a carpenter like Jesus), as long as we preach the gospel to bring more souls to His kingdom and your job does not interfere with this. The job should also not be unethical or sinful. We should assess our capabilities and talents to decide which career path we should take.

The Bible has already given criteria for what kind of person you should marry. Nevertheless, there are still Christians who choose to marry atheists and non-Christians (2 Corinthians 6:14). 

Since God’s main interest in the New Testament is us preaching the gospel, you need to ensure that your spouse does not interfere with this objective. 1 Corinthians 7:32–35 says that those who are unmarried easily do the Lord’s work without distraction. However, you need to assess your situation and pray to God about whether you should or should not get married (Matthew 19:10–12).

Back to main Table of contents