Additional Texts: Genesis 17:1; Psalm 139:5-12; Proverbs 16:33; Jeremiah 9:23-24; Matthew 24:11; John 1:14, 18, 21:17; Romans 1:20, 8:16; Galatians 4:4; Ephesians 1:11, 2:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 1 Timothy 3:16, 6;16; 1 John 3:20; Revelation 15:3.
We return today to a subject we began several weeks ago. We asked the questions, “Who is God and what is He like.” We began with His names and discovered four of them: Yahweh, the One who is eternal and self-existent; His second name is Elohim, the God who is supreme and sovereign; His third name is Adonai, the One who is Lord and Master; and finally, God’s name, found in both the Old and New Testaments, Ab, the One who is Father.
In the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew’s gospel, the Lord Jesus stated that in the last times “Many false prophets will arise and mislead many” (Matthew 24:11). It is essential, therefore, that we understand the truth about who God is. “More than anything else in the life of the church today, we need a fresh emphasis on the priority and absolute authority of the living God, the real God with whom we have to do in life and death, in judgment and grace. A new understanding and a fresh encounter with the full-sized God of the Bible is a necessary prerequisite for genuine revival among the people of God. Our people need to hear again about the God of creation and redemption, the God of holiness and love, the God of grandeur, majesty and omnipotence who, in His supreme sovereignty, disdained neither the virgin’s womb nor the old rugged cross” (Timothy George).
Pedantic misunderstanding about the nature of God causes foolish distortions of His power and authority. One man called him “the big man upstairs,” while another claimed that “God was his co-pilot,” neither of which is true. The sovereign God and Lord of all there is, does not intend to sit by to merely assist, He is the God who is in control of all things. Life moves forward under His precise command and time marches consistently and incessantly to a conclusion only He has chosen. It is His design that we humbly follow Him as He leads us through our lives, dependent on His wisdom and grace. Our God has revealed who He is to us in His Word and it is there we will find the truth of His will for this present age.
Our focus has been on God the Father, but both God the Son and God the Holy Spirit enjoy complete equality with the Father in all divine attributes. To say that God is all-powerful is also to say that all three members of the Divine Trinity are all-powerful to the same unlimited degree. Over the centuries, theologians have determined that the Scriptures speak of several attributes of the true and living God, but our time will limit us to a smaller number of them. The ones we will discover will be treated in an introductory manner, hoping that you will continue your study of God so that, as the prophet Jeremiah stated, “Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:23-24).
So, what is an attribute? An attribute is an adjective or a noun used to describe a person or a thing. For our purposes today, they are words that describe an idea about God. The Bible uses words like love, righteousness, holiness, grace, knowledge, truth and eternity to tell us about who God is and what He is like. Other words, not actually found in the Bible are also used: words like personality and immensity, are discovered from biblical teaching. These words are perspectives of God’s whole being. The attributes are God Himself; not just parts of God. We know what love is because God is love; we define love by the love of God. Love is not one thing placed alongside other attributes, but is God Himself.
The Apostle Paul points to God’s attributes in Romans chapter 1, where he wrote, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). God’s sovereign Lordship is found in His eternal nature and He is Lord over all of His creatures and creation. God is Lord of all because He controls everything He made and He rules over all with supreme authority and permeates all creation with His presence. Today we will explore four of God’s amazing attributes: God is Spirit, He is omnipotent, He is omnipresent, and He is omniscient. We begin with the truth from John 2:24: “God is Spirit.”
GOD IS SPIRIT. (John 4:24)
The Woman at the Well. In the fourth chapter of John’s gospel, we find ourselves in the midst of our Lord’s ministry on earth. The Lord Jesus and His disciples had decided to travel from Judea to their homes in Galilee through the region of Samaria. The Jewish people of the first century had strained relations with the Samaritans, making this journey somewhat difficult. After sending the disciples into town to buy food, Jesus encountered a woman at Jacob’s ancient well and asked for a drink. This encounter with this particular woman was Jesus’ purpose for diverting through Samaria. It was against ordinary social convention for a Jewish man to ask a Samaritan woman for a drink, or even to speak to her at all. But Jesus did anyway. Inevitably, the conversation turned to true worship. What, after all, is true worship? The woman had confused true worship with a place–either Jerusalem or Samaria. But Jesus explained that true worshipers worshiped the Father in spirit and truth, not in so-called sacred places. In fact, these are the people whom the Father was seeking. Why does God seek those who worship Him in spirit and truth?
God Is Spirit. The explanation is found in verse twenty-four and has to do with God’s divine nature. He is spirit. Jesus says specifically, “God is spirit.” These three simple words in English translate three simple words in Greek, “pneuma ho theos.” In the original text, “spirit” is emphatic, showing that God is a spiritual being. God is not composed of physical material. This attribute distinguishes the true and living God from all idolatrous forms of worship. Since God is spirit, He cannot be pictured in any physical form. The truth that God is spirit has implications for worship. To the Samaritan woman, Jesus explained that worship must focus on spiritual realities not physical formalities and is, therefore, not limited to time and place. As Christians, we must worship God “in spirit and in truth”, that is, in a manner consistent with God’s true spiritual nature.
God created a physical world and created us with the physical senses to interact with the physical world. We cannot see God with our physical eyes; hence, Scripture says, that God “possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:16). God created human beings with a human spirit. Paul wrote that God will sanctify us entirely in our “spirit and soul and body” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). With our spirit we are called to worship God in spirit. When we are saved by grace, our spirit, which was “dead in trespasses in sin” (Ephesians 2:1), was made alive through the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ, and was joined eternally to the Holy Spirit, who now bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16).
The Miraculous Intervention of Jesus’ Incarnation. Again, this attribute was true of all three members of the Trinity. God the Father is spirit and, of course, the Holy Spirit is spirit, but in eternity past, so was God the Son. But then something miraculous took place. The eternal Son, in order to provide Himself as the sacrifice and substitute for sinful man, supernaturally took upon Himself the physical nature of a human. Thus, the Scripture says, “When the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law” (Galatians 4:4). The only reason for the incarnation of the Lord Jesus was to provide for us lost and helpless sinners the only way of eternal salvation.
No wonder the Apostle John said with amazement, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory” (John 1:14). Not only did Jesus become human, but He was born human, lived a human life, breathed air, ate food, and walked on the earth–the Creator of gravity allowed it to temporarily control Him while on earth. John goes on to tell us that “No one has seen God at any time;” of course not, He is spirit, we cannot see Him with human eyes; but, “the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:18). The eternal Second Person of the Divine Trinity, who was spirit, became human so that we can know God. How much should we praise and worship our Savior!
GOD IS ALMIGHTY. (Genesis 17:1, Revelation 15:3)
God Is All-Powerful. God’s names and titles in the Bible tell us that He is almighty, omnipotent, and all-powerful. God has the power to do anything that is consistent with His nature. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to him and told him He was God Almighty, El Shaddai, the God of all power. In Isaiah’s first chapter, God is the Mighty One of Israel and in Isaiah nine, Jesus, the incarnate Son, is the Mighty God. Several times in Revelation, in chapter one, chapter fifteen, and chapter nineteen, God is called the Lord God Almighty or pantokrator in the original language. As God Almighty, He will conquer Satan, completely destroy his evil world system, remove all wickedness and sin, eradicate sickness, suffering and death, establish His own kingdom of righteousness, and reign over all creation. Along with His power comes everlasting authority over all.
Nothing is too hard for God, and nothing is impossible for Him as cited in Genesis 18:14; Job 42:2; Jeremiah 32:27; Zechariah 8:6; Matthew 3:9, 19:26, 26:53, Luke 1:37, 18:27; and Ephesians 3:20. In addition the Bible tells us profoundly that the Almighty God does whatever He pleases in Psalm 115:3, Isaiah 14:24, 27, 46:10, 55:11, and Daniel 5:35. According to Psalms 8, 19, 24, 29, 33, and 104, God’s works reveal His omnipotence, thus declaring His glory.
Things the All-Powerful God Will Not Do. While God is certainly all-powerful, the Bible tells us there are some things He will not do. These are things that are not in harmony with His nature. God cannot sin or approve evil (James 1:13). He will not lie (Hebrews 6:18). He cannot be unfaithful or break His promises (2 Timothy 2:13, Hebrews 13:5). Nor can He do anything that is by definition impossible, such as making a square circle, a round rectangle, or a four-sided triangle. From our human perspective, it sometimes seems that things happen by chance; at random. But there are no accidents and things do not happen by chance with God. Even such things as rolling dice or flipping coins are ordered by Him, as Proverbs 16:33 clarifies, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” That is why Scripture says so boldly that God, “works all things after the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11).
God Empowers Christian Living. Christians often face what appear to be insurmountable difficulties and threatening events and at such times it is of benefit for us to remember that nothing is too difficult for the Lord, just as the Angel of the Lord announced to Mary (Luke 1:37). The Lord promises to impart His strength to His people by faith. Those who wait and rely on the Lord will soar on wings as eagles (Isaiah 40:31) and they will be able to do everything through Christ who strengthens them (Philippians 4:13). The truth of God’s omnipotence calls us to live by faith. We remember the account in Mark’s ninth chapter, when after returning from the Mount of Transfiguration, the Lord Jesus encountered a man whose son was possessed by an evil spirit. The man was powerless to help the boy but now in his presence was the omnipotent God, Jesus Christ, who told him, “All things are possible to him who believes.” Here was not an issue of the Lord’s divine power, but an issue of the father’s faith. God is unlimited in His ability to accomplish great things for those who will trust in Him by faith.
GOD IS EVERYWHERE PRESENT. (Psalm 139:5-12)
God Is Always Perfectly Present. The attribute that teaches that God is present everywhere is known as omnipresence. This means that God is in the universe everywhere present at the same time, filling each and every part of it with His whole being. Stated in another way, God transcends all limitations of space and yet is present at every point in space with all that He is. God is greater than all that is created and is independent of His creation; and He is, therefore, transcendent. Solomon, Israel’s king, understood this when he dedicated God’s temple in Jerusalem. After years of planning and construction, the king prayed in the glorious temple as it began its service, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built” (1 Kings 8:27).
Omnipresence differs from pantheism which identifies the universe with God. The false view, pantheism, teaches that God is in everything. The Bible affirms that God is present with you as you listen to this message, whereas pantheism falsely teaches that God is in the pew in which you are sitting or in the carpet on which your feet rest. The truth is that God is always active in His creation but is not to be identified with it.
No Place to Flee from God’s Presence. Because God is spirit, rather than a material being, He is able to be everywhere at once. In Psalm 139, David reflected on this truth when he wrote, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me.” This is the biblical teaching of omnipresence. God, in the totality of His existence, is present throughout the universe.
David recognized that there is no place where he could go where God could not be found. Nowhere in His creation is God absent or inaccessible. Jeremiah joined David in proclaiming God’s universal presence, “Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord, “And not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:23-24). In Matthew’s gospel, the angel instructed Joseph to give to Jesus the name Immanuel, which means, “God with us.” In Jesus Christ, God is present among His people. Before ascending to heaven, Jesus promised to always be present with His disciples. In times of trouble, danger, or catastrophe, believers in Jesus Christ can be assured of God’s personal presence to provide comfort and guidance.
GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING. (1 John 3:20)
God Knows All Things. We call God’s full and complete knowledge “omniscience.” By that we mean that God’s knowledge and understanding is all-inclusive and infinite. The Apostle John wrote, “God is greater than our heart and knows all things” (1 John 3:20). God’s omniscience includes all things concerning Himself and all His works. Isaiah wrote, “Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:9-10).
Humans have been created with the ability to learn and retain knowledge. But God’s knowledge is infinite and unlimited. He knows the precise history of all things, including all people from before the foundation of the world. The Psalmist wrote, “The Lord knows the thoughts of man” (Psalm 94:10). God in His omniscience knows every sinful thought and deed. Turning again to Psalm 94 we read, “How long shall the wicked exult? They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly; All who do wickedness vaunt themselves. They crush Your people, O Lord, and afflict Your heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger and murder the orphans. They have said, “The Lord does not see, nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.” Pay heed, you senseless among the people; and when will you understand, stupid ones? He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see?” (Psalm 94:3-9).
God Knows the Future. God’s full and complete omniscience is the basis for predictive prophecy. Because God knows the future, Isaiah was able to announce the coming of Cyrus to deliver the Jews 150 years before it actually happened. Because God knows the future, Daniel was able to predict the rise and fall of empires and nations. Because God knows the future, He inspired the Scriptures to reveal His soon coming in the Rapture of the Church and His Second Coming to establish His Kingdom. Our omniscient God has given us the ability to know. God knows everything exhaustively, yet our knowledge is finite and limited, but we can know Him. The book of Proverbs tells us that the key to true knowledge is to fear the Lord: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7).
What is God like? God knows everything, He is everywhere present, He is all-powerful, and He is spirit. This great and awesome God with all of His amazing attributes chose intentionally to become human like all of us for one supreme purpose and that is to offer eternal salvation to all who would trust in Him. Is this great and mighty God, Jesus Christ, your personal Savior today? If not trust in Him right now.
