With those who believe God is dead, those who have taken prayers and Bible readings out of the schools, and those who wish to do away with our motto, "In God We Trust," we can see the growth of atheism in this present world. One cause of this growth is the lack of knowing what and who God is. Not only do those outside the kingdom of Christ have this insufficient understanding of what the name of God means, but many of the brethren have no true meaning of God.

What Is God?

"God is a Spirit" (John 4:24). This is about as far as most men would go in describing our heavenly Father. This is like saying that a Rolls Royce is a car, for a Volkswagen is also a car. Thus one has only begun to describe God when he says that He is a Spirit.

God is an eternal being (Romans 1:20; Psalms 102:12). He has no beginning or no end. He has no youth or no old age. God was always before, is now, and always will be (Job 36:26).

Not only is he everlasting, but God is self-existing, immutable, and universal (John 5:26; Acts 17:24-28). God is not dependent on anyone like man is, for He has life. He is never changing. He is just the same now as He always will be. The presence of God is not limited, but His existence is everywhere. There is nothing that can be hid from Him (Mark 4:22).

What Does God Possess?

God has I almighty power and infinite knowledge (Matthew 19:26; Acts 15:18; Romans 11:33). There is, nothing too hard for our God to perform, for He formed the heavens and the earth by merely speaking words from his lips (Jeremiah 32:17; Psalms 33:6, 7, 9). We can hide nothing from Him because he is all-knowing (Acts 1:24).

The heavenly Father is holy or pure (I Peter 1: 15; 1 John 1: 5). He is righteous and faithful (John 17: 25; 1 John 1: 9). He loves man, and showed this great love by the gift of His son to be sacrificed for the world (John 3:16; 1 John 4:8, 16). He is also merciful and truthful (Romans 9:15, 18; Hebrews 6:18).

Who Is God?

God is called by many other names throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament, He is also referred to as Jehovah and Lord (Exodus 6:3; 20:2). He is called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 3:6; Matthew 22:32). Christ calls Him an Holy and Righteous Father (John 17:11, 25). He is the God of glory (Acts 7:2), the God of love and peace (2 Corinthians 13: 11), the God of patience and comfort (Romans 15:5) the God of hope (Romans 15:13), and the God of all grace (1 Peter 5: 10).

Conclusion

Since the name of God is to be praised and used with reverence and not used vainly, then we all need to be concerned how we use His name and who we are meaning when we say God. This writing is but a very brief description of our Almighty Father, but may it help us all to be thoughtful of what is behind the three letters G, 0, and D.

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XV: 43, p. 2
September 9, 1971