While it is impossible for our finite minds to fully comprehend an infinite God, the Bible gives us a good picture of His nature, and the natural world displays His Glory (Psalm 19:1). God is not a part of the physical universe, had no beginning, and will have no end. He exists infinitely outside of time and space and is everywhere present throughout His creation. There is nowhere hidden from His gaze, and he can see everything from the beginning to the end of time instantaneously and simultaneously (Psalm 139:1-4, 147:4-5, Proverbs 15:3, Matthew 10:30, John 8:58). He is immutable. Because nothing about God ever changes, He is altogether faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9). We can know that He will fulfill all of His promises. He is trustworthy. He requires nothing and is infinitely generous toward mankind, who is desperately needy. He knows our needs even more than we know them ourselves. He won’t always give us what we want, but we can trust him for what we need. Frequently, that includes suffering, but we will deal with that issue in future posts.
The Bible teaches that God is a God of love (1 John 4:7-21; John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Galatians 2:20) and that He wishes for no one to perish (2 Peter 3:9). He is patient, longsuffering, and merciful, and out of love extends His grace through the sacrifice of Christ to save us (Ephesians 2:4-5). He is all-knowing (Matthew 10:30, Psalm 139:1-4, Proverbs 15:3, 1 Chronicles 28:9) and all-wise (Romans 11:33, Romans 16:27, Psalm 147:5, Proverbs 3:19, Job 12:13) He is a just god, his morality requiring that all wrongdoing receive its just punishment. Wrongdoing against God is called sin.
God is all-powerful, the designer and sustainer of everything that exists. There is nothing that is logically possible and does not contradict His nature that He cannot do, and everything is under His sovereign control. He not only created the entire universe but interactively holds everything together (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:17). God is good, and the ultimate source of all that is good and right in our world (Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19, James 1:17). He is a God of truth. He is holy, perfect, and upright in all that He is and does.
He is also a personal god. The Bible teaches us about who He is so that we can know Him personally. He created us in His image for an eternal relationship with Him. If you have never read the Bible, I encourage you to get one and begin reading it. If you have read the Bible, I encourage you to read it again. The more time you spend in God’s word, the better you will know Him, and the more intimate your relationship will be.
This overview only begins to describe the greatness of God. Over time, I will expound upon some of these attributes. For now, I acknowledge that some of what I have outlined above is controversial. In future posts, I will try to clear up some of the controversy and how it all relates to living with eternity in view. I welcome any comments, questions, and criticism you may have.
Eternity in View 