The question, “Who is God?”, is probably the most asked question of all time, by both Christians and non-Christians alike.
To answer this question, and indeed any other question we have on Christianity, our first and only point of reference is the Bible. God’s handbook for all Christians – the creator’s Manual of Life for man.
What does scripture tell us of who God is?
Here we will have a look at what both the Old and New Testament’s say. The second book of Timothy tells us that all scripture, although written by man, is God inspired (men writing in the power of the Holy Spirit) and is useful in teaching us all things – all we ned to know about walking through life as a committed Christian – a born again believer:
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
God the creator:
Now in the very first verse of the very first book of the Bible we see that we are told that God is the creator of the heavens and earth.
Gen 1:1 (NIV)
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
He created all things including man!
Gen 1:27 (NIV)
So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
So here we have it – God is the creator of man – You and Me!
Now at this point you are probably saying to yourself that this is all very well, but who created God?
Much has been written about this and man ofttimes likes to make things intellectually and scientifically complicated. So, I‘m going to keep this explanation simple, I hope!
Our Christian walk is a walk of faith and our belief in God is an integral part of this faith walk. The more we walk in faith and the more we believe in the Bible, the more God will reveal himself to us through our belief in Jesus and by revelation through the Holy Spirit.
We must believe in faith that that God has always been in existence and that it is He that is able to create things where there was once nothing. This is how all things created came into existence, planets, sun moon stars, galaxies, man and so on. Just examine the scriptures below from the Old Testament and see for yourself:
Isaiah 40:28 (NIV)
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
Nehemiah 9:6 (NIV)
You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
And for good measure here’s one from the New Testament:
Colossians 1:16-17 (NIV)
16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
So, here we have it confirmed from the Bible that God has always been in existence, and He is the creator of all things.
God the sustainer:
We are told in the book of Colossians that God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) was here before all things came into being and that it is God that holds and maintains everything in its place. Everything God created was in, through and for Jesus – the Name above all names. The only name through which mankind can receive salvation.
Col 1:17 (AMP)
And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.]
God sustains and maintains everything, including life. He holds everything in place – all creation and that includes both you and me!
God is Spirit:
In the Book of John in the New Testament we are told that God is a Spirit.
John 4:24 (NIV)
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
God is spirit and is therefore invisible to the human eye. The Hebrew word for spirit in the Old Testament is ‘Ruwach – pronounced roo-akh (ref: Strong’s Concordance H7307)’, the word also has the meanings of ‘breath’ and ‘wind’ both of which we can feel and hear but cannot see.
This is the same for us as born-again believers. We can both feel and hear God in our spirit (which is the spirit of God within us) but we cannot see him.
In Genesis 2:7 we learn that it is the spirit of God within us that gives our bodies life. He enables us to breath and to live within the boundaries of the world that He has created for us which includes our earthly bodies.
Genesis 2:7 (NIV)
Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
God is love:
Whenever the New Testament writers are referring to God’s love, they use the Greek word ‘agapē’ – pronounced ‘ag-ah-pay’ which, when expanded to its full meaning, is translated in English as ‘a love that is unconditional, benevolent, charitable and freely given’ - we don’t have to do anything to earn it or give anything in return for it, we just need to receive it.
And as we receive God’s agapē love, so it is our duty as God’s children to show His love to others in all we do and in our service to Him.
This will bring glory to the name of Jesus! If we don’t have God’s love, then we don’t know God!
1 John 4:8 (NIV)
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
As believers we also need to realise that the fulness of God’s love also encompasses discipline and judgement. After man’s judgement, those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour from the heart will go to eternal life in Heaven, but thos who have not accepted Jesus will go to eternal punishment in Hell!
Hebrews 12:5-6 (NIV)
5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”[Prov 3:11-12]
Hebrews 9:27 (NIV)
Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
Matthew 25:46 (NIV)
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
God is our Father:
Probably the most famous bible verse that shows us that God is our Father comes from Matthew 6:9, the Lord’s Prayer:
Matthew 6:9 (NIV)
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
This verse is the start of the Lord’s prayer where Jesus is teaching the disciples, and ultimately us as well, how to pray. It is quite clear from this verse that we can address God as our Father!
When we are born-again we become, and have the right to call ourselves, children of God. And if we are children of God it, makes sense that He is our Father. Just examine the two verses following to confirm this!
John 1:12, 13 (NIV)
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we become born-again and therefore, we become the sons and daughters of God and He becomes our Father. A father better than any earthly father we will ever experience.
God is three persons but one entity:
This characteristic of God can be difficult to grasp for many new Christians. God is three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Commonly referred to in most Christian circles as The Holy Trinity.
When we examine the scriptures in Genesis 1:1, 2 in the Old Testament and in John 1:1-5, 14 in the New Testament we see quite clearly that God is three persons in one.
Genesis 1: 1, 2 (NIV)
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters
So then in the verses above from Genesis, we are told that God created the heavens and the earth and right there with Him at the very beginning is the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit).
Now let’s jump forward a few thousand years to the New Testament and the book of John – not the Baptist, but John the beloved disciple of Jesus, the one who wrote the Book of John.
In the below verses from the book of John we see quite clearly that the Word (The Bible) was with God in the beginning and in verse 14 it clearly states the Word was made flesh and lived among us, this is Jesus.
John 1:1-5, 14 (NIV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Now, what do these Genesis and John verses tell us? Simply this, they expose the full Godhead to us, Father, Son and Holy Spirit – The Holy Trinity!
Just to summarise these verses quickly into three main points, we have:
‘In the beginning’ was:
a. God – The Father
b. And Jesus (the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us) – The Son
c. And the Spirit of God – the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of God and thus the Spirit of Jesus
The Holy Spirit is God, just as Jesus is God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity – God in three persons. Just like there are three parts to an egg – yolk, white and shell, three parts but one egg!
Other scriptures referring to who God is:
There are many other scriptures throughout the Bible that refer to who God is, and I am listing a few of them in the table below.
I would encourage you to read and study them in your own time. The more you read God’s Word (the Bible), the more God will reveal himself to you and your mind will be renewed through the washing of the Word!
All verses are from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible.
Ex 3:14
And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus, shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
Nu 23:19
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
1 Tim 1:17
Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Prov 3:19
The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
Is 40:28
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
Is 44:24
Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
Rev 1:8
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Conclusion:
To summarise this section, we now know that God is:
- Love
- Our Father
- The creator of all things created
- The sustainer and maintainer of all things
- Spirit
- Three persons in one – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – The Holy Trinity
- Our discipline and our judge.
- Believed on by all born again Christians in faith
- Who is Jesus? (The Son)
Jesus the Man
Jesus was born supernaturally of a virgin, Mary the wife of Joseph. Before Joseph and Mary had consummated their marriage, Mary was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
The birth of Christ is told in Matthew 1:18-25 and was the fulfilment of a prophecy spoken by the Old Testament prophet Isaiah some 800 years before Jesus’ actual birth:
Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Isaiah 7:14 (AMP)
4 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Listen carefully, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel (God with us).
Immanuel is a Hebrew word and means: God with us. This tells us that God walked among us in human form as Jesus the Son of God!
Jesus the Son of God
Having been born miraculously through the Holy Spirit we can safely say that Jesus’ father is God.
Scripture also confirms this, at Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist just before he begins his ministry as an adult.
Matthew 3:16 and 17 (NIV)
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Jesus is God
Now this is a controversial topic and one that stumbles many people, particularly ‘religious’ people.
But there are many Bible verses that clearly show that Jesus is God. One of my favourite passages that shows this is found in the Book of Colossians and another is in the Old Testament in the Book of Isaiah:
Col 1:15-17 (NIV)
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
So, in the above verses we are shown many things that confirm that Jesus is God:
1. Jesus is the image of God who is invisible – the visible representation of the invisible.
2. He is the creator of all things created – the visible and the invisible.
3. He existed before everything else and his power holds things together.
4. And in Isaiah 9:6 the child born is referred to as ‘The Mighty God’ and The Everlasting Father
And just to strengthen this, let’s have a look at what the disciple John writes:
John 1:1-5, 14 (NIV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
When we examine the above six verses, they are quite clear in their exposition of Jesus being God and are easily understood:
1. The Word was God – verse 1.
2. All things were created by him – verse 2.
3. He is the creator of everything – verse 3.
4. He (Jesus) was the light of men – verse 4.
5. The Word was made flesh (Jesus) and lived among us – verse 14.
So here we have it, Jesus is God. He came to us in the flesh to identify with humanity and to sacrifice himself willingly for us on the cross so that all those that accept him as Lord and Saviour can be born-again of the Spirit, receive forgiveness of our sins and receive eternal life.
Romans 9:5 (AMP)
To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to His natural descent, came the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), He who is exalted and supreme over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
For in Him all the fullness of Deity (the Godhead) dwells in bodily form [completely expressing the divine essence of God].
Let me try and introduce you to Him as I have grown to know him – my friend, my comforter, my guide and my permanent connection to Jesus, God and my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, throughout the world!
When we examine what the Bible tells us about the Holy Spirit (or the Spirit of God or the Spirit as He is sometimes referred to) we can see quiet clearly just who He is, and just what He does, and just how important He is to God, to Jesus and most importantly, to us as believers.
Right, now let’s examine scripture and discover just who the Holy Spirit is. Let’s unfold the mystery together, shall we? In this section I will be repeating some of the verses that we have already covered but I believe this will be a good reinforcement of our topic!
Without trying to get too complicated, I suggest that we start at the very beginning.
Genesis 1: 1, 2 (NIV)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Okay then, here we are told that God created the heavens and the earth and right there with Him at the very beginning is the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit). Now, as I’ve said before (a bit of repetition is good), let’s jump forward a few thousand years to the New Testament and the book of John – not the Baptist, but John the beloved disciple of Jesus, the one who wrote the chapter.
John 1:1-5, 14 (NIV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Here in John 1 and in the very first verse, John takes us right back to the beginning, Genesis 1 verse 1.
Now, what do these Genesis and John verses tell us? Simply this, they expose the full Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit – The Holy Trinity!
Just to summarise these verses quickly, we have ‘In the beginning’:
a. God (and the Word which is Jesus) – The Father
b. Jesus (the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us) - The Son
So, does this answer our original question? Who is the Holy Spirit? I think so!
The Holy Spirit is God, just as Jesus is God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity.
Just like there are three parts to an egg – yolk, white and shell, three parts but one egg!
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD!
2 Cor 3:18 (NIV)
The Lord is the Spirit
And for good measure just look below and see what the apostle Peter said about the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts.
Acts 5:3- 4 (NIV)
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
Here Peter is chastising a fellow called Ananias about lying and asks in verse 3 why he lied to the Holy Spirit and in verse 4 he goes on to say that he has lied to God thus equating the Holy Spirit in verse 3 to God in verse 4 making them one person. The Holy Spirit and God are one!
Now that we know who the Holy Spirit is, let’s see how He relates to us as believers.
Although the Trinity or the Godhead is one God, when He (God) relates to the world (us), He becomes three distinct persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
So, in the Trinity, God the Father is the supreme creator, Jesus the Son is our Saviour and the Holy Spirit is the power of God, and thus Jesus, in action, he is also our comforter and guide and is also called the Spirit of Truth.
God sees believers as sinless as we belong to Jesus, and now, because Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, He has sent the Holy Spirit to be with us as our counsellor and to lead us in all truth to fulfil God’s purpose for us here on earth.
Everything the Holy Spirit does is for the Glory of Jesus and, with the Holy Spirit guiding us, everything we as believers do should also be to glorify Jesus!
Conclusion
To summarise this article, we now know who God is, He is:
· The Father
· The Son
· The Holy spirit
· The Holy Trinity
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NIV)
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and Praise. Amen!
Jesus, the Name above all names!
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