WHAT IS GOD LIKE?
Who among men can
answer the question, “What is
God like?” Not even the angels
comprehend the fullness of God. Yet,
this is a question that deserves
investigation. God is the most
interesting mystery in the universe.
He is the most wonderful subject that
can be studied. A few years ago, a
friend of mine was giving a seminar,
he asked the seminar audience,
“What is God like” and a
young married man responded saying,
“We cannot understand God. We
can’t even understand women, so
how can we ever hope to understand
God?” Given the response of the
audience, his point was well made.
How can a finite being comprehend The
Infinite I AM? How can a piece of
clay understand the ways of an
everlasting God who can speak words
and atoms obey? God is unlimited in
every direction and in every sphere.
God has always been alive. He never
takes a vacation. He never gets tired
or sick. He never sleeps. He hears
everything. He is everywhere at the
same time. He lives in the past, the
present and the future. He is
sovereign, has no equal, He has all
authority. He is Creator of the
universe. He sustains creation by
wonderful mechanisms. He gives us
breath in our lungs moment by moment.
He designs, creates and energizes. In
Him, there is life and there is no
life without Him. No wonder people on
Earth are so confused about God.
Something as large and encompassing
as God is beyond us. His vastness
contributes to the confusion that men
have about God because He can appear
to be something that He is not for
awhile. The truth about God is
ever unfolding, since the harmony
offered by His deeper truths requires
us to constantly update or change our
previously limited understanding of
truth.
The reason I write
that God can appear to be something
that He is not for awhile has to do
with a data processing technique
called sampling. Everyone uses it.
Sampling works like this: Suppose a
meteorologist visits Ohio during
February to determine what Ohio
weather is like. For three weeks, he
checks the weather at noon. He then
returns to Arizona and says,
“The sun does not shine in Ohio
during February.” In other
words, he sampled the weather every
day and based on what he saw, he
concluded the sun does not shine in
Ohio during February. In this
example, it might be hard to convince
the meteorologist otherwise because
he was personally there and did not
see the sun! My point is people reach
personal conclusions about God with a
sampling of data that is too small to
reflect the truth about Him. Even
though a person’s conclusion may
be logical within the limited scope
of evidence, the same conclusion may
not be accurate within the larger
scope of the whole picture! (Contrary
to what the meteorologist said, the
sun does shine in Ohio during
February. I saw it happen once!)
This explains why God gave us the
Bible. The Bible, written by 40+
authors, records God’s actions
over a period of 40 centuries. By
taking the Bible as a whole, our
sampling of God’s conduct is
large enough to get a more accurate
picture of what God is like.
We do not have to
understand everything about God to
live at peace with God. Before sin
came to be, there were only two
prerequisites for living peaceably in
God’s house: love and faith.
Because God’s ways are often
infinite and mysterious, His
creatures cannot immediately
understand Him. Therefore, God says
to all His created beings, “You
have to trust Me before you can
understand Me.” He says,
“As you begin to understand what
I am doing for you, your love for Me
will increase correspondingly!”
In other words, the more love God
bestows on each being whose heart is
capable of responding to love, the
greater the reciprocal response. If a
being’s heart is filled with
rebellion, expressions of divine love
cannot produce any redemptive effect.
(This condition is known as the
unparable sin.)
God regularly tests
the faith of Heavenly (and Earthy
subjects to make His principles of
love flourish within His kingdom.
Notice this repetitive process: Each
test of faith reveals the quality of
love operating within our hearts. The
stronger the test of faith, the more
powerfully we demonstrate our love
for God or others. The stronger our
love, the greater our faith! This has
been the process throughout the
Scriptures. I suspect, but cannot
prove, that Lucifer’s faith and
love for God was also tested. He
began to show signs of weakness
because he loved himself and his
agenda more that he loved God and
God’s agenda for him. God knows
each heart and He knows how to test
its core affection.
Before sin occurred,
faith and love were not as difficult
to sustain as they are now because
sinless beings are not naturally
prone to suspicion, doubt, arrogance
and rebellion. The angels as well as
Adam and Eve were created in
God’s own image; in other words,
they came from the hands of the
Creator with a propensity toward
righteousness. They did not have any
proclivity toward sin and were also
free of sin’s side effects. They
had no internal rebellion toward
their Creator. Because of sin, Adam
and Eve lost their propensity toward
righteousness. Since we are the
offspring of Adam and Eve, we have
inherited propensity toward
self-centeredness (selfishness). In
our sinful state we tend to be
suspicious of those we do not like or
know well, doubt full (two words)
about things we do not understand,
and rebellious toward any authority
that commands us to do things we do
not want to do. (Romans 8:6-8) In
short, the sinful heart is its own
god. This is why we have to be born
again – so that we can enter
into submissive harmony with our
Creator. Although our fallen nature
ever militates against love for God
and faith in God (Romans 7), our
Creator understands our rotten
situation! On the other hand, we have
to understand that our degenerate
condition does not change God;
instead, we are the ones who have to
be changed!
A Parable
Sometimes, a good
story illustrates a point better than
theological reasoning. This is why
Jesus often used parables. Following
His example, I am offering a parable
based in part, on a true story that
might give you renewed appreciation
of what God’s love is like:
“A group of 41
Navy veterans recently gathered in
Atlanta, Georgia, to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of WWII. In years gone
by, this particular unit had more
than 300 post-war survivors attending
its periodic celebrations, but the
number of veterans had dwindled to
41. Although members of the unit had
met at various places and times
during the past 50 years, the 50th
anniversary promised to be something
special because each of the 41 known
survivors promised to be there,
health permitting.
Through the years,
various members of this unit had met
as they could and celebrated the
victory of WWII with lively music,
banquets that were too fulfilling and
with stories of patriotism, valor,
suffering and triumph. Of course,
there were pictures and testimonials
that brought tears to every eye. The
best part of the celebration was the
opportunity to see one another, for a
brief moment, go back, and relive
those special situations and the
camaraderie that bonded youthful
hearts together as brothers.
During the testimonial
portion of the banquet, an elderly
veteran stood and told this story:
“I was assigned to a small
cruiser having a crew of about 30 men
in the South Pacific. We were
operating within a 100-mile radius
from Wake Island on the night of
August 3, 1944. Our cruiser was on a
routine search and destroy mission,
looking for enemy activity in and
around the tiny islands that dot the
sea in that area. There was very
little moonlight that night and
electronic snooping was primitive
back then, so we depended upon visual
contact or telltale sounds that might
reveal enemy position or activity. We
sat motionless about a half mile from
one island to just listen and
observe. Suddenly, without any hint
of danger, we took a torpedo in the
starboard side of the ship. A fatal
explosion followed this. Everyone who
survived the impact and explosion
knew this was the end of our small
vessel. An enemy submarine had
spotted us and they were poised for a
total kill. In times of war,
unthinkable things do take place. We
knew that upon sinking a small vessel
such as ours, enemy submarines would
sometimes surface and kill the
survivors with small machine gun
fire. By eliminating the survivors,
the location of the submarine would
be difficult to find.
The captain yelled,
“abandon ship” and as
quickly as possible, we detached two
of the lifeboats and everyone that
could, scrambled to get on board. The
cruiser went down fast – in less
than five or six minutes. Fire made
our escape very difficult. Shrapnel
from the explosion had ripped through
the cruiser fuel tanks and hundreds
of gallons of diesel fuel were
burning all around us. The sound of
air escaping from air locks in the
vessel, the sound of hot engines
being smothered by sea water, the
sound of injured men screaming for
help, the sound of ammunition
exploding and burning…those
sounds I will never forget…nor
will I forget the enormous sea of
fire all around us and the eerie
sight of our ship sinking beneath the
surface of the ocean.
We knew the fire would
kill us if we did not move fast. How
ironic, I thought, we were in greater
peril from the fire than from the
sea! Our captain, who finally
managed to get abroad yelled,
“Row, row fast.” Everyone
began pulling on the oars. As we were
moving away from the dangerous eddies
cause by the sinking ship, I heard a
voice in the fire cry for help.
Evidently, no one else heard the cry.
I yelled to the captain, someone is
calling for help! “Are you
sure,” he responded. “Yes!
I heard someone call for help.”
The captain ordered our lifeboat back
into the flames. By now, the crewmen
were pulling the oars in better
unison and we moved into the flames
quickly. As we entered the fire, I
saw an outstretched hand and I lifted
it with all the strength I had left.
Another member of the crew helped me
drag a severely injured, lifeless
body into the boat while the other
crewmen continued to row out of the
fire. The injured man had just joined
our crew and I did not know anything
about him except his name was Jim. We
finally rowed to safety and to our
great relief; the submarine did not
surface that night.
To our amazement and
great joy, we were rescued the
following day by reconnaissance
aircraft. Many of us remained
together until the end of the war. I
have wondered many times, what
happened to Jim. He was badly injured
and I doubt if he had lived very
long. He was airlifted to a med-evac
hospital and we never saw him again.
I’m sharing this story to give
recognition to Captain Rhoder and the
brave guys who risked their lives to
save one man, an unknown soldier, a
man that we knew little about and not
heard from him since. I believe I am
the remaining survivor of this event.
Such was the camaraderie and valor of
our unit.”
When the speaker
finished, a round of applause broke
up the emotional tension that had
quieted the room. The emcee stood up
and as he was preparing to introduce
the next speaker, an elderly man
could be seen making his way up to
the podium. He interrupted the emcee
and asked if he might speak. With
tears following, he went over to the
seated speaker, offered his scared
right hand, and said, “I am Jim
Thomsen I am the man you pulled from
the flames! Here is the hand you
reached for!”
Applause spontaneously
broke out. Everyone stood to their
feet. This was a moment too great,
too sacred and joyful to sit still.
The two men tearfully embraced –
the savior and the victim met for the
first time in more than 50 years!
Amid the jubilant applause a chant
began, “Speech, speech,
speech…” Jim took the
microphone and told the sequel:
“I have not attended an
anniversary convention before because
my assignment to this unit lasted
than a week. However, when the
personal call came inviting me to
come, I could not resist. I hoped
that I might find someone who knew
about the small crew I was assigned
to. I well remember the incident on
August 3, 1944. I had only been with
this particular crew for three days
when the torpedo left me badly
wounded and weak from loss of blood.
I do not remember every detail after
the explosion except two things. I
clearly remember looking up, seeing
outstretched hand that lifted me out
of the fiery water, and I remember
promising God that I would be a
preacher if He would save my life.
After my recovery and medical
discharge from the Nave, I have been
a lay preacher in the Baptist church
for nearly 50 years. This has been my
way of showing gratitude to God for
the gift of life. My joy is even more
complete because I can personally say
“Thank You” to the men who
saved my life.” Applause filled
the hall again. What a story. What a
reunion! What joy!
In considering this
story, a number of Bible parallels
become obvious. The captain of the
ship is the Father. “For God so
loved the world…”The seaman
reaching out from the boat to grasp
the uplifted hand is Jesus. The crew
rowing hard to the rescue is the
disciples of Jesus. The man calling
for help is you and I, fatally
injured by the curse of sin and
sinking quickly into a watery grave.
The war that produced this story
represents the daily contest that
takes place between good and evil.
The words and music of this old
gospel song by James Rowe and Howard
E. Smith came to mind and I share
them here because they are so
appropriate:
Love Lifted Me
I was sinking deep in
sin
Far from the peaceful
shore
Very deeply stained
within
Sinking to rise no
more
But the Master of the
sea
Heard my despairing
cry
From the waters lifted
me,
Now safe am I.
Souls in danger –
Look above!
Jesus completely
saves
He will lift you by
His love
Out of the angry waves
He’s the Master
of the sea
Billows His will obey
He your Savior wants
to be
Be saved today.
Love lifted me. Love
lifted me.
When nothing else
could help
Love lifted me.
This story is an
expression of what God is like. It is
not a complete definition of God for
God’s love is much larger than
we can understand. I hope that this
story encourages and begins to help
you understand what God is like.
The Gift of Jesus
I would like to
conclude this article with a concept
that that is most precious to many of
us. Sometimes, the phrase “The
gift of Jesus” is used to convey
the idea of the Father’s
generous love toward man in giving up
Jesus as our sacrificial lamb. While
this use is perfect and appropriate,
I would like to take this phrase a
step further to have you consider all
that Jesus gave for our salvation. In
other words, think of the phrase as
the gift that Jesus Himself gave to
us.
Jesus was required to
suffer everything that sin produces.
(2 Corinthians 5:21) In other words,
there is no depth of sorrow or
suffering that God Himself has not
felt personally. No greater
hopelessness exists than what Christ
experience on the cross. In other
words, when Jesus went to the cross
on our behalf, He died the second
death. Christ, our substitute, went
to His death without the hope of ever
living again. This is not to say that
He did not know about His
resurrection for He predicted His
resurrection on a few occasions.
(Matthew 12:40; John 2:19) This
apparent contradiction requires a bit
of explanation.
First, a few
statements about death. Understand
that humankind must be concerned
about two deaths. The first death is
often called “sleep” in the
New Testament because it is temporary
(John 6:39-54; John 11:11-13; 1
Thessalonians 4:15-17) and occurs as
a consequence sin (cancer, murder,
illness, etc.). The second death
occurs as the penalty for sin (the
wages of sin). In terms of being
dead, there is no difference between
the two deaths. (See “The State
of Man” – Study # 3 from
the Five Essential Bible Truths
series for an in-depth discussion on
this topic.) A dead person is a
non-existent person and knows
nothing. (Ecclesiastes 9:5,6; Psalm
115:17; Malachi 4:1-4) A big
difference exists in terms of how
each death occurs.
Living people know
that they will ultimately die. (Many
people do not realize that it is
possible to die twice or they would
certainly change the course of their
actions. John 5:28,29). Because we
know we will die, we hope the death
process will not be too painful or
take too long. However, the second
death is a much different matter
altogether. The second death occurs
through a justifiable execution of
sinners which God’s law demands.
(Genesis 2:17; Revelation 20:9) The
second death also includes the matter
of full restitution, but that is a
different subject. No recovery is
possible from the second death. It is
a death sentence having no appeal and
is God’s final solution for the
sin problem.
Jesus had to die the
second death to pay the penalty for
sin. If He had died from cancer or
illness, that would not have
sufficed. The Father had to execute
Jesus because the wages of sin demand
that sinners be executed.
Incidentally, this is why Jesus is
called the Lamb of God” and not
the Lamb of man.” Do not forget,
the thieves did not die on their
crosses the same day. In fact, it
usually took three or four days for a
person to die on a cross. Jesus was
executed. Just as God called Abraham
to sacrifice his only son, so the
Father sacrificed His only Son for
our redemption.
Since Jesus died the
second death, we can escape that
second death. This is because the
Father will accept Jesus’
execution on Calvary in our place if
we put our faith in Jesus! Follow the
twofold reasoning: First, God has
experienced the second death Himself.
Before sentencing anyone to the
second death, Jesus has been there,
done that. Second, since the second
death is a death from which there is
no recovery, consider what Jesus was
willing to give up for you and me:
Jesus was willing to cease to exist
forever so that I might have the
opportunity to live forever!!! Is
there any greater love than this? No.
Jesus gave up everything. Divinity
was willing to die so that mortals
might live!
How can a person
explain this contradiction: Jesus did
not know that He would rise again and
yet He could predict His
resurrection? The answer is simple.
Jesus predicted His resurrection on
the basis of His non-negotiable faith
in His Father. He knew that His
Father would keep His word to
resurrect Him and He uttered this
prediction on the basis of His faith.
Such was the faith of Jesus. Oh, that
we might have such faith in God!
Thank you Jesus for loving us so
much!
I conclude with a few
statements from “Streams in the
desert” pages 23,23 by Ms.
Charles E. Cowman (a daily devotional
book published by Zondervan). Ms.
Cowman died in 1960 at the age of 90,
but her work lives on, as it should.
Notice her comments on this text: “He
putteth forth his own sheep.” (John
10: 4, KJV)
“Oh, this is
bitter work for Him and us –
bitter for us to go, but equally
bitter for Him to cause us pain; yet
it must be done. It would not be
conducive to our true welfare to stay
always in one happy and comfortable
lot. He therefore puts us forth. The
fold is deserted, that the sheep may
wonder over the bracing mountain
slope. The laborers must thrust out
into the harvest; else, the golden
grain would spoil.
Take heart! It could
not be better to stay when He
determines otherwise; and if the
loving hand of our Lord puts us
forth, it must be well. On, in His
name, to green pastures and still
waters and mountain heights! He goeth
before thee. Whatever awaits us it is
encountered first by Him.
Faith’s eye can always discern
His majestic presence in front; and
when that cannot be seen, it
dangerous to move forward. Bind this
comfort to your heart, that the
savior has tried for Himself all the
experiences through which He asks you
to pass; and He would not ask you to
pass through them unless He was sure
that they were not too difficult for
you feet or too trying for your
strength.
This is the blessed
life – not anxious to see far in
front, nor careful about the next
step, not eager to choose the path,
nor weighted with the heavy
responsibilities of the future, but
quietly following behind the
Shepherd, one step at a time…The
Oriental shepherd was always ahead of
his sheep. He is down in front. Any
attack upon them had to consider him.
Now God is down in front. He is in
the tomorrows. It is tomorrow that
fills men with dread. God is there
already. All the tomorrows of our
life have to pass Him before they can
get to us.
God is in every
tomorrow,
Therefore I live for
today,
Certain to find at
sunrise,
Guidance and strength
for the way;
Power for each moment
of weakness,
Hope for each moment
of pain,
Comfort for each
sorrow,
Sunshine and joy after
the rain.”
Dear friends, this is
another example of what God is like.
