Stonecroft Ministries Trinity Bible Study What is God like? series Lesson 2 to be translated for Pastors and women in Africa

(To be translated into various African languages)

What is God Like?

Purpose of the Lesson
• Discover more about what the invisible God is like
• Learn how to know Him better
• Appreciate the infinite nature and unapproachable holiness of God

Introduce any new people and suggest that they write the answers in today’s lesson and finish Lessons 1 and 3 at home before the next session.

Prayer

Eternal Father, we worship You. We have learned that You had no beginning and will have no end. We acknowledge You as the great Creator of all that exists. Help us think correctly about You as we read Your Word. We pray in the name of Jesus, amen.

Guide’s Comments

You may have heard of the teacher who noticed a second grader totally engaged in the picture he was drawing.
“What are you drawing, Timmy?” she asked.
“I’m drawing a picture of God,” he answered.
“But, Timmy,” the teacher responded, “no one knows what God looks like.”
“They will know when I finish my picture,” Timmy replied.

We didn’t have to draw a picture of God in our lesson today, but we were asked to paint a word-picture of what we think God is like.

1. Using a few simple words, describe what you think of or see when you think of God. Be honest and accurate in what you think about God. At the end of the study, this question will be asked again. (Encourage each one to share.)

In all the different things we have mentioned in our answer to this question, we have only touched the surface. There is still much more to say.

Don’t be surprised if you didn’t know what to write. Perhaps you were trying to give a very wise answer. However, it is impossible for any of us to adequately describe God. That is why the question asked us to record what we think or see when we think of God.

Our thoughts are not big enough to understand God. He is not like anything or anybody. There is nothing to which we can compare Him. Even the best of what we think about God is a poor expression of what He really is. But, in spite of this, God is a subject about which we cannot be neutral.

What we think about God is the most important thing about us.

To be able to think accurately about God, many of us will have to break the habit of thinking of Him as having a physical body that can be seen, or even as having a ghost-like body. Such ideas limit the real nature and character of God.

“God is not the sort of person that we are; his wisdom, his aims, his scale of
values, his mode of procedure differ so vastly from our own . . . We cannot know him unless he speaks and tells us about himself.”

The Bible is the best resource for information about God. He really wants us to know Him, so He has progressively revealed more and more about Himself throughout the Bible.

Now we will discuss what we learned about God from the Bible readings.

Suggest that each person choose a verse and read it to the group.

Weekly Bible Reading

(Use your Bible or Africa Bible Verse Handbook.)

Each day this week, read the Bible verse for the day from your New Testament and state what each passage says about God.

1 Corinthians 1:9 . . . . . (God is to be trusted)

Romans 16:27 . . . . . (The only One who is all-wise)

Luke 1:37 . . . . . (There is nothing that He cannot do)

John 3:16 . . . . . (He loved us so much He gave His Son to die for us, so we could have eternal life.)

Numbers 23:19 . . . . . (He is not human, but divine. He does not lie, repent, or change His mind. He does what He says He’ll do.)

Revelation 15:3-4 . . . . . (God is righteous, true, awesome, great, holy, and just. The nations will come to worship Him because of His justice and great works.)

Revelation 1:8 . . . . . (He is eternal. He is the beginning and the end.)

• Select the verse from the Weekly Bible Reading which is most meaningful to you at this time. Think about what that truth means to you personally and apply it to your life.

How did you apply or put into practice the verse you chose?. . . . . Did it affect your week? Tell us what happened. . . . .

If no one speaks up, you may share the difference the verse you chose made in your week. This will give them an idea of how to personalize what they are learning.

Turn in your New Testament or Africa Bible Verse Handbook and read Colossians 1:15-16 . . . . . What a powerful description of Jesus this is! What does it say about God in the first part of verse 15? . . . . . (God is invisible)

God does not have a physical body. Our natural thinking is full of error when we suppose God has the same conditions of existence and limitations that we have. We did not give ourselves existence, nor did we create the air, food, or water which we need for our life to continue. However, God exists complete in Himself. He needs no other source than Himself to continue His existence forever.

Everything that we see in the world around us was either created or made. But God was not created, nor was He made. God is different from everything else. His name is I AM. He is and always has been, which means He is eternal. He will never have an end.

Another way that God is different from us is that we are human—He is divine. We are physical beings.

Question 2 tells us something else about God.

2. What does John 4:24 say about God?. . . . . (He is Spirit)

God is not limited to a body. He is Spirit and can be every place at the same time.

The Bible teaches that God is infinite. That means that He is not limited in any way.

Many verses in the Bible tell us this. Several are given in our Study Book. (Ask someone to read them.)

Our God Is Limitless

Solomon prayed,

“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”
— 1 Kings 8:27, NIV

“Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?

They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do?
They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?
Their measure is longer than the earth
And wider than the sea.” — Job 11:7-9

He Is Beyond Our Comprehension

“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
He does great things beyond our understanding.” —Job 37:5
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
Neither are your ways my ways,”
Declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are my ways higher than your ways
And my thoughts than your thoughts.” —Isaiah 55:8-9

Our minds are limited, but God is unlimited! We are sinners; He cannot sin. He is perfect in every way. God is greater than we can grasp.

In your New Testaments or Africa Bible Verse Handbook turn to Romans 11:33-36 . . . . .

The Bible speaks of His majesty. Psalm 145:5 says, “I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works.”

Our minds cannot contain God because He is infinite, or exceedingly great and endless. Much about God is a mystery to us because our finite or limited minds cannot understand the infinite mind of God. However, we can accept the things we do not understand by faith in what God says, because we have a trustworthy reference—the Bible. God gave us His Book to use in our search to learn what He is like.

3. A divine attribute is a quality or characteristic that is true about God. Each of the following verses includes a divine attribute of God. Read the verse and write the attribute on the line.

a. 1 John 4:8 . . . . . (Love)

b. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 . . . . . (Faithful)

c. James 1:17. . . . . (Unchanging)

d. Mark 10:18 . . . . . (Good)

e. Hebrews 1:8 . . . . . (Eternal justice)

f. Luke 1:78 . . . . . (Merciful and tender)

g.1 Peter 1:15-16 . . . . . (Holy)

Accept the different forms of the word.

Example: Goodness, faithfulness, just, etc. It is the attribute and not the form of the word that is important at this time.

Attributes of God

God Is Love

Love is an attribute of God, but not a definition of God. God defines love. Love does not define God. It expresses the way God is, just as His other qualities do.

Faithfulness, goodness, mercy, justice, and holiness all express the essence of God. He is always all of these different qualities at the same time. God’s love is always holy. It is always good, faithful, merciful, and just.

We do not know how to define love, but we know how love is revealed. Love desires the good of all and never wants harm or evil to come to anyone. Love gives all things freely and sacrificially to the one who is loved. God loves each of us as individuals.

This giving, self-sacrificing, unchangeable love, which God has for those who worship Him, is not found in any religion of the world. Love is what makes Christianity different, because God’s love desires our good. God, whose very essence is love, is among His people, loving them, enjoying them, and lavishing them with blessings. Read 1 John 4:7-16. . . . .

There is much more to learn about God’s love. It is so vast and immeasurable that we will never completely understand it. Read Ephesians 2:4-5. . . This is how God expressed His love to us.

God Is Faithful

We can depend upon God because He is faithful. He keeps His promises. We can live with hope for the future because God’s faithfulness never fails.

When explaining the faithfulness of God, we see the oneness—the unity—of all His attributes. We could say the attributes of God explain each other and reveal the perfection of God.

To find out what the Old Testament says about the faithfulness of God,
read Deuteronomy 7:9 and Psalm 92:1-2 in your Bible or Africa Bible Verse Handbook.

God Is Unchanging

One of the attributes of God which we have not mentioned so far is the fact that God does not change. We know that God cannot be unfaithful because that would require Him to change. God is perfect. He cannot fail. Read Malachi 3:6 . . . . .

The next attribute is goodness. We know that to be full of goodness is to be kind, cordial, loving, honest, virtuous, morally excellent, and righteous. We understand the quality of goodness because we have times when we consider ourselves to be good.

God Is Good

Divine goodness is different than human goodness because God is perfectly good in every area all of the time. Jesus said, “Only God is good.” Read Psalm 107:1. . . . .

God Is Just

When God acts justly, He is not doing it to conform to our standards of justice. He is simply acting like Himself. God is always, only, fully God, and can never be anything other than He is. He is just. Read Deuteronomy 32:4. . . . .

There is nothing in God’s justice that forbids Him from being merciful. None of His attributes are in conflict with another.

God Is Merciful

Mercy is an attribute of God. He is full of compassion and always merciful as well as just. Even in executing justice, He is merciful. He is always dealing with humankind with infinite and inexhaustible mercy. Divine mercy is not a temporary mood with God, but an attribute of God’s eternal being. God was merciful before time began and His mercy will extend through all eternity. Read 2 Corinthians 1:3 . . . . .

God Is Holy

Divine holiness stands apart. It is unique, unapproachable, unattainable—beyond our understanding. God is pure, with absolute moral perfection. The quality of the divine holiness of God is unique to Him.

Because God is holy, His attributes are holy. Whatever we think of as belonging to God must be thought of as holy.

What does the Bible say about holiness? Read 1 Samuel 2:2 and Psalm 99:9. . . . .

4 a. What does God expect of Christians?
1 Peter 1:13-16 . . . . . (to be holy in all we do)

b. According to 1 Corinthians 1:30, how can we become
holy? . . . . . (by being put right with God through Jesus Christ)

We know we are not holy and can never be holy, as God is. But, when we receive Jesus Christ, we receive all that God is. In 1 Corinthians 1:30 we are told that Christ in us is our wisdom and holiness. We are put right with God and are set free. Christ is our holiness.

There are two powerful verses in Jeremiah chapter 9 that are essential for daily living.
We

This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
Or the strong boast of their strength
Or the rich boast of their riches,
But let the one who boasts boast about this:
That they have the understanding to know me,
That I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
Justice and righteousness on earth,
For in these I delight,”
Declares the Lord.” —Jeremiah 9:23-24

We have only begun to see what God is like. Why don’t we discover a few more powerful truths about Him?

Three Unique Attributes

God has all power. He created this world and everything in it by speaking it into being. He controls it all. He has power to perform miracles. So we say God is omnipotent (ahm-NIP-oh-tent).

God knows absolutely everything. There is nothing He does not know. God’s power and His knowledge are inseparable. We call this His omniscience (ahm-NISH-ents).

God is everywhere at the same time. He is present everywhere all the time. We say God is omnipresent (ahm-nee-PREH-sent).

5. Read the following Bible verses and write which of these three qualities of God each verse expresses—omnipotence, omnipresence, or omniscience.

“. . . And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.”
—Matthew 28:20
(omnipresence; ahm-nee-PREH-sents)

“. . . I am God Almighty . . . Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
—Gen. 17:1; 18:14, NIV
(omnipotence; ahm-NIP-oh-tents)

“There is nothing that can be hid from God; everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before his eyes. And it is to him that we must all give an account of ourselves.” —Hebrews 4:13
(omniscience; ahm-NISH-ents)

Summary

From what we discussed in Lessons 1 and 2, list some words that describe God. You may write these words on the blank page at the end of this lesson . . . . .

(Words describing God:

Spirit	limitless	infinite
faithful	just	merciful
holy	beyond our comprehension	unchangeable
has all power—omnipotent
knows all things—omniscient
is everywhere—omnipresent)

A.W. Tozer, a noted Christian author, said, “The God we must learn to know is the Majesty in the heavens, God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth, the only wise God our Savior. He it is that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, who stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain and spreadeth them out like a tent to dwell in.”

Are you beginning to have an awareness of the absolute magnificence of God? Do you sense His holiness, purity, and wisdom? Can you comprehend the fact that there is absolutely no limit to His being? . . . . .

If time allows, encourage people to share.

For Lessons 3 through 6, you will write your own prayer to close your study time at home. This will give you an opportunity to express your thanks to God and to ask Him to help you apply the biblical truths in your own life. Your personal prayer will not be shared in the group.

Next week we will see what the Bible says about where God is.

Closing Prayer

Almighty God, thank You for all we have learned about You. We are thankful that You are everywhere, that You have all power, and know all things. You are an awesome God. We are glad You love and understand the people You created. We praise You for all our blessings. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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