March 4, 2023
Just the Facts
Thanks to the magic of Nick at Nite, I remember the old television show Dragnet with its famous line, “Just the facts, Ma’am.”
Today, we’ll apply Sergeant Joe Friday’s approach to some basic facts that every Christian needs to know about God. These facts are called God’s Constitutional Attributes. Knowing these facts helps us understand Who God Is, How He Exists, and How He Functions. They also show us how great, how powerful, and how completely awesome the God we serve truly is, and how He is unlike any man-made Deity ever created.
So here are the facts.
1. God is self-existent.
He does not look to any other source for His meaning and being. He doesn’t need humanity to exist and does not depend on outside sources. (Acts 17:25)
2. God is spirit.
God is not restrained by the constraints of human matter. His existence cannot be observed by our physical senses. His form is spiritual, not physical. As a Spirit, God is immortal, invisible, and eternal. He lives in light that humans are unable to approach.
3. God is knowable.
Our God does not want to exist in a far-off galaxy, simply observing humanity. Instead, God wants humans to know Him and have a personal relationship with Him. Throughout the Bible, we see Him creating ways for this relationship to be possible.
Throughout the Old Testament, He revealed Himself to His people, He spoke through the prophets, He established a method for Israel to worship Him, and He miraculously intervened in their lives and history.
In the New Testament, God revealed more of Himself through the character of His Son, Jesus. As Jesus said, “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:7, ESV)
We can also know God through the Bible, where He told us everything He wants us to know about Himself.
4. God is eternal.
Granted, this one is hard for us to understand because we think of time as past, present, and future. However, God is timeless. He has no beginning and no end. He existed before the creation of the world, and He will never cease to exist.
5. God is omnipotent.
This means that God is all-powerful. He can accomplish anything He wants. Nothing can stand against the power of God.
6. God is omnipresent.
He is everywhere at all times. As David says, "Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." (Psalm 139:7-10, ESV)
7. God is omniscient.
He knows everything all the time, including the thoughts and intentions of men. He also knows what will happen before it happens—this is called foreknowledge.
8. God is wise.
“Wisdom is the joining of knowledge and truth with experience in life. God’s knowledge gives Him insight into all that is and can be. In view of the fact that God is self-existent, He has experience that we cannot even imagine, and His understanding is unlimited.”
I don’t know about you, but many of these character traits are absolutely mind-blowing for me. Looking at these facts, all I can do is stop and think about the greatness of the God we serve! Why He even bothers with a man like me is beyond my comprehension. Yet, that is what’s truly great about God—as powerful and beyond comprehension as He is—He wants us to know Him.
He desires to be involved in the intimate details of our lives.
It makes me want to shout along with David, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!….what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?…O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:1, 4, 9, ESV)
Weekly Memory Verse:
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!….what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?…O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:1, 4, 9, ESV)
New International Version (NIV)
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