Who is this God?

Since the beginning of the year, I have been reading through the Old Testament, asking myself the question, who is this God? This God who claims to be sovereign over the whole earth, with ultimate power and authority, what are His attributes? Is His grace as abundant in the Old Testament as it is in the New? As women of faith, can we trust Him? My answer is a resounding “yes!”

As I read through my journal today, I am reminded of just how big our God is. To begin, here are a few of my observations.

Who is this God?

1) He is the one who created the earth. He brought forth the sun, moon, and stars that shine down upon us. Brilliant balls of glowing fire twinkle across an expanse so deep we cannot imagine its ends. He made the breadth of the sea, swarming with life so colorful, not even the brightest rainbow could compare. God made the flowers and trees with thousands of species, clothing each hillside with its own unique attire. Then He made the animals, some playful, some fierce, yet living in a circle of perfect cadence. Finally, He made His crowning jewels. Us. The Trinity-God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, looked down and said, “Let Us make man in our image, after our likeness.” More beautiful than all creation, He made man and woman and placed them in a garden where every need was supplied. Then He looked down on His creation and said that it was good.

Genesis 1:1– “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

John 1:1– “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”

John 1:14– “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

2) He is a god who is just. Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve when they fell to the temptation of Satan.  This broke God’s heart . After all, He had created us as His crowning jewels to live in eternal communion with Him. Yet, God’s perfect justice required punishment. Adam and Eve were banished from the garden of Eden and man was separated from God. At first glance, one might ask how a loving God could punish them. But think back to a time when evil went unpunished and ask yourself if you want to live in a world without justice. If we are honest we would all answer no. The truth is, every human is unrighteous, on the same playing field with even the evilest of evil. James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law, but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”  Thankfully, God’s justice is perfect justice. He will not allow evil to go unpunished and this is a good thing.

3) He is sovereign, a god who possesses supreme and ultimate power. He alone has authority over all the earth, and He is Lord over His creation. That means He is Lord whether you have acknowledged Him as Lord or not.  His purposes and plans will not fail, and He has not left them up to chance.  Throughout history, God raised up men of faith to carry out His plan in order that salvation could be brought to a stubborn and unworthy people. Each and every act in the Old Testament, points to the coming of Christ, and the ultimate plan God had to save His people.

4) He is the one who justifies the unjust. At first this seems like a paradox. And yet, when we sit in the tension of God’s requirement for justice and His willingness to offer himself as the means for our justification, it brings us to our knees.  He is a god slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and forgiving. He offered grace to His people, not because of their righteousness, but in order that His covenant with Abraham would be fulfilled and that He would be glorified. (Deut. 9:1-8). This was a supreme act of mercy and one that could only come from a perfect, holy God.

Ephesians 2:4-10 : “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were DEAD in our trespasses, made us ALIVE together in Christ—by faith you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no man may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

5) His is a god whose glory shines like no other. He went to extremes to have the Israelites build a tabernacle grand enough to inspire our imaginations to think of heaven. And yet we can only imagine what it will be like to sit in His presence. When I think of the most beautiful things of the world, I’m reminded that God is a god who makes and loves beautiful things. This world is full of beauty—a colorful sunrise, snow covered mountains, the rise and fall of the ocean tide crashing against a white caped beach, a baby’s smile. He is a god who wishes to bless us with good things. He has placed evidence of His love all around us…the glorious beauty of a high mountain valley full of wildflowers,  the vast expanse of the heavens, the smile of a stranger, and the familiar touch of a loved one. He has set a table full of extravagant blessings that our human minds can barely imagine. Even as I sit here my mind struggles to think of words to adequately describe His love for us, and I can only think of the one Lover of my soul.  After all, He is the one who took my dry bones and brought them back to life, washed me as white as snow and made me a new creature. Friends, Jesus alone is worthy to cup our fragile hearts in His hands and carry us to eternity.  He did this so that His glory would shine like the sun.  All glory to God in the Highest and to His Son Jesus Christ!

As the old hymn says, “My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’s blood and righteousness.”

“In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” I John 4:10

Praise God for His sovereignty, and His love. Praise Him for His grace and mercy which was extended to His people from the beginning of time!