Knowing God Part 1: His Essential Nature
Updated: Oct 22
God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you. Exodus 3:14 (HCSB)
One of the greatest pursuits of the Christian life is coming to know God more fully. Not merely knowing what He has done, what He requires, or what He has promised, but understanding who He is. It is easy to approach God through the circumstances of our lives, considering His goodness when we receive blessings, His mercy (or judgment) when we have sinned, or His faithfulness when we are struggling. Yet God's character is not defined by our experiences. He is who He is, eternally and unchangeably, whether we understand Him correctly or not. The more accurately we understand His nature, the more deeply we can appreciate His works, trust His promises, and worship Him in spirit and truth. Scripture reveals certain essential attributes of God that distinguish Him from everything He has created. These are not merely qualities He possesses, but perfections inseparable from His very being and are extremely helpful when life seems to go awry.
1. God Is Self-Existent – Ex. 3:14; John 5:26. When Moses asked God for His name, the Lord answered, “I AM WHO I AM.” Everything in creation owes its existence to something beyond itself, but God has no beginning, no cause, and no source outside Himself. He exists independently of everything and everyone. Jesus declared that the Father has life in Himself and has granted the Son to have life in Himself. God does not derive His existence from creation, nor does He depend upon creation to continue existing. All things depend upon Him, while He depends upon nothing. What a remarkable foundation for our faith! The One upon whom we depend is Himself dependent upon no one.
2. God Is Eternal – Ps. 90:2; Rev. 1:8. God has neither beginning nor end. Moses declared in Psalm 90:2 that from eternity to eternity, He is God. Time does not govern Him as it governs us. Generations rise and fall, nations emerge and disappear, and human lives pass but God remains. His existence does not diminish with the passing of centuries, nor does His future become uncertain because circumstances change. The God who was faithful to Abraham, Moses, David, and the apostles is the same God who holds our lives today. His eternal nature assures us that neither death nor the passage of time can exhaust His promises.
3. God Is Infinite – 1 Kings 8:27; Ps. 147:5. When Solomon dedicated the temple, he acknowledged that even the highest heavens could not contain God. His greatness cannot be measured by the dimensions of the universe, and His understanding is beyond calculation. Every created thing has limitations, whether of size, knowledge, power, or duration. God is subject to none of these creaturely limitations. Yet the wonder of His infinite nature is not simply that He exceeds our understanding. It is that the One whom heaven itself cannot contain nevertheless makes Himself known to finite human beings. We will never exhaust the depths of His greatness, but we can genuinely know Him because He has graciously revealed Himself.
4. God Is Immutable (He does not change) – Mal. 3:6; James 1:17. God does not change in His essential nature, character, or faithfulness. He cannot become more righteous, more loving, or more holy because He is already perfect in every attribute. Neither can He diminish in any of these perfections. James describes Him as the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. This does not mean that God is inactive or impersonal, nor does it mean that His dealings with people remain identical regardless of their responses. Rather, His actions consistently express His unchanging character. When He extends mercy to the repentant or judgment to the rebellious, He is not becoming a different God. His immutability provides extraordinary confidence because His promises rest upon a character that cannot deteriorate.
5. God Is Self-Sufficient – Acts 17:24–25; Ps. 50:10–12. Paul explained to the Athenians that God is not served by human hands as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life, breath, and all things. God did not create humanity because He was lonely, incomplete, or in need of companionship. Neither does He require our worship to satisfy some deficiency in Himself. He is perfectly complete. This truth changes how we understand our relationship with Him. Our worship does not enrich God, but it rightly acknowledges His worth. Our obedience does not supply something He lacks, but expresses our love and submission to Him. Our service is a privilege granted by the God who needs nothing yet graciously invites us to participate in His purposes.
6. God Is Spirit – John 4:24. Jesus told the Samaritan woman that God is spirit and that those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. God is not a physical being confined to a particular location or dependent upon a material body. He cannot be contained within a temple, represented adequately by an image, or approached merely through outward religious activity. True worship concerns the heart's response to the God who has revealed Himself. This is especially significant in light of Jesus' conversation with the woman, who was concerned about the proper geographical location of worship. Jesus redirected her attention from sacred places to the nature of the One being worshiped. Because God is spirit, genuine worship must be grounded in truth and arise from a heart rightly related to Him.
7. God Is Invisible – Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:17. God's essential nature cannot be perceived through ordinary human sight. Paul describes Him as the invisible God, yet declares that Jesus Christ is His image. This is one of the most extraordinary truths of the incarnation: the invisible God has made Himself known through His Son. Jesus did not merely provide information about the Father; He revealed the Father in His person, character, words, and works. As Jesus explained to Philip, whoever had seen Him had seen the Father (John 14:9). We are not left to construct an understanding of God from imagination or speculation. The invisible God has revealed Himself through Scripture and supremely through Jesus Christ.
8. God Is Immortal – 1 Tim. 6:16. God possesses life that cannot be extinguished. Paul declares that God alone has immortality, emphasizing the unique, underived, and indestructible nature of divine life. Human beings are mortal, and even the eternal life promised to believers is received through Christ rather than possessed independently. God, however, cannot die, decay, or cease to exist. This makes the incarnation and crucifixion particularly profound. The eternal Son truly assumed human nature and experienced death in His humanity, yet His divine nature did not cease to exist. Through His death and resurrection, the immortal God has provided eternal life for mortal people. Our hope of resurrection rests upon the One whose life cannot be overcome by death.
9. God Is One – Deut. 6:4; 1 Tim. 2:5. The confession that the Lord is one stands at the heart of biblical revelation. There is only one true God, not a collection of competing deities, each exercising authority over some portion of creation. He alone is Creator, Sustainer, Judge, and Savior. His unity also means that His attributes are never in conflict with one another. His justice does not compete with His love, nor does His mercy require Him to abandon His holiness. Every divine perfection belongs to the one indivisible God. Consequently, the believer does not have to choose between trusting God's goodness and fearing His holiness. Both belong perfectly and eternally to the same God.
10. God Is Triune – Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:13. Scripture reveals that the one true God eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These are not three gods, nor are they three temporary expressions of one person. Each is fully divine, personally distinct, and eternally united in the one divine being. Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize in the singular name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Paul likewise joined the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in his benediction to the Corinthians. The doctrine of the Trinity is not an attempt to explain away the mystery of God, but a faithful recognition of what He has revealed concerning Himself. Our salvation reflects this glorious truth: the Father sent the Son, the Son accomplished our redemption, and the Holy Spirit brings us into living fellowship with God.
Consider what these ten attributes reveal when understood together. The God who has no beginning has chosen to involve Himself in our brief lives. The One whom the heavens cannot contain has made Himself known to us. The God who needs nothing has graciously provided everything necessary for our salvation. The invisible God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, and the immortal One has conquered death so that we might live eternally with Him. His unchanging nature assures us that His promises remain trustworthy, while His perfect unity assures us that His holiness, justice, mercy, and love are never divided. And through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we have been brought into fellowship with the living God. Knowing these things should do more than increase our theological understanding. It should deepen our reverence, strengthen our confidence, humble our pride, and enlarge our worship. The more clearly we understand who God is, the more fully we recognize what an extraordinary privilege it is to belong to Him.
Reflect
1. Which of these ten attributes of God most challenges or strengthens your present understanding of Him, and how should that truth change the way you trust, worship, or obey Him?
2. Have you allowed your circumstances, emotions, or personal expectations to shape your understanding of God's character rather than allowing His revealed nature in Scripture to shape your understanding of your circumstances?
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I confess that my understanding of You is limited, and that I have sometimes allowed my circumstances to influence how I perceive Your character. Forgive me for measuring Your faithfulness by my experiences rather than by the truth of Your Word. You are eternal, unchanging, infinite, and perfectly sufficient in Yourself, yet You have graciously made Yourself known to me through Your Son regardless of my circumstances. Thank You that although you need nothing you have loved me, redeemed me, and invited me into fellowship with You. Through Your Holy Spirit, deepen my understanding of Your nature and transform my heart as I come to know You more fully. May my confidence rest in who You eternally are, my obedience reflect my love for You, and my worship become increasingly worthy of the greatness of Your name. Make me more like Jesus Christ as I grow in the knowledge of You. In His name I pray, amen.
We will cover 10 more of His perfections, His Knowledge, Power, and Presence next time!