Who God Is (and Isn't) - Part One

Our last blog series dealt with our true identity.  To quickly recap, when we know what our true identity is, then we know the key factor to living a life of fulfillment and purpose! Click here to read the last blog!

Many of us have grown up knowing about God yet we’ve believed some deceptive lies about Who He really is.

Unfortunately, this can happen for a variety of reasons- false religious mindsets can tell us that God is a tyrant who simply wants us to bow before Him regardless. Life experiences, such as absent fathers, divorced parents, abuse, cultural influences (God is whoever you want Him to be) are just a few examples.

Personally, I grew up believing Father God to be distant and disconnected from my life. It’s not that He didn’t love me, but I never truly believed He could like me. In my mind God was like a tyrant, concerned about all my “do’s and don’ts�, waiting for me to make a mistake so He could punish me. How wrong I was!

It’s sad to say but so often in the Church today we teach that God is this way, a distant disciplinarian who cares little for His creation, making sure that we tithe and make good choices and then He will love us. This is FAR from the truth!

Over the last 10 years of my life I have encountered the Creator of the universe in ways I never had before! Not only is He full of unconditional love for ALL of His creation, He desires to have an intimate relationship with us. One that is up close and personal so that we can know Who He really IS.

All throughout the Bible we learn about the incredible attributes of God. There are hundreds of stories in the Bible that describe Who God is, verses that display His character and heart toward His creation.

One of my favorite verses is a classic, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.� John 3:16.

I memorized this at the age of six- powerful Truth about Who He is.

In this two part series I will be touching on some (of many) important truths about who God is in order to whet your appetite for MORE of Him.

It is my desire that this blog entry would combat some of the lies we’ve believed over the years about who God is so that we can walk in freedom!

The Trinity📷

Firstly we should state that God is Yahweh; Creator God; Father, Son, Holy Spirit; the Holy Trinity. Jesus was and is God. One of God’s name’s, as stated in Exodus 3:14 {when God was speaking to Moses}, is Yahweh {Hebrew} meaning, “I Am Who I Am�.

God’s name, Yahweh, is powerful, able to pierce darkness in ways nothing and no one can because He simply IS {everything good!}. Our finite minds have a hard time grasping this {trust me I know!} but it’s worth soaking in and meditating on. His name is POWER!

God IS Love

Throughout the Bible we are overwhelmed with stories about His love. 1 John 4:8 actually says, “God IS Love.�

God’s love is nothing like anything we could ever know on this earth. It’s nothing like what media portrays as love {that’s mostly lust!} and even the best marriage will never come close to the depth of Love God has for us, His children.

God’s love is unconditional, nothing we {believers and unbelievers} ever do can separate us from His love {Romans 8:38-39}- NOTHING. This can be hard to believe when surrounded by the circumstances of our lives. I’m sure many of us have had parents, family members, or friends abandon us or change their love for us but the truth is that God’s love never changes!

Personally it took years for me to finally believe Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.� It takes consistent Truth to overcome past experiences and replace them with His Love and Truth.

His Love Is Perfect📷

Something else amazing about Yahweh’s love is it’s perfect and casts out all fear {1 John 4:8}. In the midst of His love all fear disappears {whether it’s the fear of abandonment, loss, failure, etc}. His love causes all fear to be dispelled because it’s perfect.

First Corinthians 13: 4-8 describes the kind of love God has for us, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.�

His love never, ever fails us.

His love is perfect.

God’s Love Is Sacrificial📷

He sent His ONLY Son, Jesus, to come to earth to reconcile us unto Himself {John 3:16}. That is REAL love. Jesus WILLINGLY laid down His life for us- being fully God and fully man. He paid the highest price, one many of us will never know.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.� John 15:13.

His love is more than we could ever grasp in our natural minds. We need a fresh, Heavenly revelationof His love to capture our hearts in a new way.

God IS LOVE. Period.

Let’s take some time to soak this in over the next few days. Stay tuned for Part Two coming your way next week! 🙂