Step One
What is God like?
Do you think a god or gods exist? If so, what do you think that god is like?
There are many ideas about God. The Christian Bible claims to be God’s revealed word about himself. In other words, the Bible is what God wants us to know about himself.
The whole Bible teaches us about God, but a great place to start is Acts 17. In this chapter is a man named Paul, a Christian and an apostle of Jesus. He taught a group of people in the ancient city of Athens who had never heard of the God of the Bible. Let’s look at the key points that Paul summarized about God.
God is One
Acts 17:24
“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth….”
The first fundamental truth about God is that he is the only god. Some religions teach that many gods exist, but the Bible teaches that there is only one God. The most important text in the Old Testament of the Bible makes this declaration:
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
“The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Monotheism—the belief in only one God—is not only controversial in our modern times¹, the contemporary society of the biblical authors laughed at the belief in only one God. Yet this conviction was so central to those like Paul who believed the Bible that they recited this declaration (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) when they woke up every morning and before they went to sleep every night. Jesus said this was the most important commandment in the Bible².
Other ancient cultures and religions told stories of rival gods quarreling with one another and competing for power. People were often concerned about which gods to appease. So it is a relief to hear God’s own declaration:
Isaiah 45:5
“I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God.”
How is the idea of one God different from what you have heard or thought about the existence of a god or gods? Does this seem like good news to you?
GOD IS CREATOR
ACTS 17:24-25
“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth....”
The second fundamental truth about God is that the one God is the maker of all things. Look at how the first sentence of the Bible begins:
GENESIS 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The Bible tells us that God is the creator. This means that everything else is his creation. Thus, God is in a category of his own.
The beauty and complexity found in the natural world are compelling indicators for the existence of a Creator God.
Imagine exploring a cave and finding a beautiful artistic mural on the wall, depicting animals, humans, the sun, and mountains. You would naturally assume an ancient artist painted this masterpiece. You would probably not think the mural was formed by random dripping of water along the cave wall.
Or imagine walking in a forest and coming upon a watermill in a stream. Because of its complexity, even if you don’t know who made it, you would assume it was designed and made by a creator.
Likewise, the beauty and complexity of the universe give us reason to think that the universe was carefully designed and created by a Creator God. Think about sunsets, flowers, the size and tilt of the earth, its distance from the sun, the human body; all of these point to a creator.
Have you ever considered that the universe might have been created?
GOD IS KING
ACTS 17:24-25
“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth....”
The third fundamental truth about God is that because God is One and Creator of all things, he is the true and rightful ruler of all things. God is the king and the universe is his kingdom. The Bible celebrates God’s sovereignty over creation as just and good for all.³
“The LORD reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
PSALMS 96:10, 97:1-2, 103:19
GOD IS GREAT
ACTS 17:24-25
“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”
It makes sense that because God is the one “who made the world and everything in it,” he is infinitely powerful. Paul pointed out that God is independent of everything. God does not live in man-made temples, nor does he need humans to provide anything for him. It is actually God that takes care of us.
God is not only the creator; he is also the sustainer of everything. God designed and maintains the laws of nature, such as gravity. He keeps the sun burning, the earth orbiting, and our hearts beating. God provides for the needs of humans and all of his creation.
ISAIAH 40:28-31
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
God is great beyond our comprehension. God is eternal—he has always existed and always will exist. He is infinitely wise and strong. God knows all things and is everywhere at all times. Nothing can hinder his purposes.⁴
We just talked about God’s greatness from the Bible. How do these ideas about God compare with other conceptions of God you or others had?
GOD IS GOOD
God’s nearness, provision, and holiness shows us the next fundamental truth about God: He is good.
ACTS 17:26-28
“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’”
In the passage above, Paul says that though you may or may not have realized it, “God is actually not far from each of us;” he has always been near you. He continually protects you and provides for you.
The Bible tells us that every good thing you have is a gift from God⁵— sunshine, rain, food, water, shelter, health, strength to work, friends, and family. God does not give these gifts to people because we are good and deserve them but because he is good and shows mercy to the good and evil.⁶
Similarly, in another city, Paul explained about the goodness of God to some other people who had not heard of the one true God:
ACTS 14:17
“Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”
God is not distant, uninvolved, or unconcerned with us. On the contrary, he desires to satisfy your heart with good because he is good and kind.
Another word the Bible often uses to describe God’s goodness is holy.⁷ This means that God is set apart as perfectly pure and good. No part of God is cruel or evil. God desires what is best for us. He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone because he is good, righteous, and loving, as we will see in the final two points.⁸
What is something good that you have experienced or received recently?
GOD IS RIGHTEOUS
The Bible teaches that God is righteous. God is the definition of what is right, good, and just, and he will always act accordingly. God will always do what is right for the world. To understand this aspect of God’s character, we first need to consider another important question. How should humans respond to the Creator God who gave us life and everything?
ACTS 17:29-31
“Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed...”
Humans are God’s offspring—meaning out of all of creation humans were uniquely created by God. The beginning of the Bible says, God made humanity in his own “image” and “likeness.” This means that God created humans for a special relationship with God and a unique role in creation.⁹
Because of this, the Bible says we ought not to think of God as an idol. In other words, we ought to give God the honor and thanks he deserves as God. But, unfortunately, whether we have taken God’s gifts for granted or have not even acknowledged his existence, all humans have failed to honor God as God.
Later, in another place in the Bible, we see humanity’s failure to honor God as sin.¹⁰ Failing to honor God has led us to also fail to treat other humans with the love and respect they deserve as God’s offspring. It has also led to humanity’s abuse of the rest of God’s creation.
The world has become corrupted by sin (for example, hate, injustice, and oppression) and sin’s effects (for example, suffering and death). God’s heart is grieved to see people harming one another and dishonoring him. What will God do about this?
Instead of immediately punishing us for our sins, God has graciously and patiently overlooked our ignorance. But now he commands us to repent—turn toward him and give him the honor and thanks he deserves. We must turn toward God now because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness. What does all of this mean?
Because God is righteous, he will righteously judge the world and remove everyone and everything destroying it. This judgment is happy news if we are among those who honor God. But because we are all guilty of sin, we are all part of the problem and fall under God’s condemnation.
What problems in the world do you wish could be different? Have you ever thought about how things could be made right?
GOD IS LOVE
God’s righteousness also means that he is committed to us and restoring our special relationship with him that he destined us for. God made the world, and God will rescue the world because God loves the world. God showed his righteousness by rescuing us even though we are part of the problem. How did he do that? Let’s see what the Bible says.
ACTS 17:30-31
“...but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
This is making a quick allusion to the man God appointed and raised from the dead—Jesus Christ. God planned to righteously destroy evil and righteously save sinful humans through sending his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ freely gave his life to die for the sins of others. Three days later, God raised Jesus from the dead. This assures us that God has not abandoned us and that he deeply loves us. Let’s read about this from the Gospel According to John:
“For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
JOHN 3:16
God’s Son refers to Jesus Christ. We will get to know Jesus more in Step 2 and look at the meaning and importance of his death and resurrection in Step 3. For now, it is sufficient to say that in sending Jesus God did what was necessary to make a way to restore his creation and reconcile our relationship to him forever. God has done this for you because he loves you.
The proper response to God’s love is repenting and believing in the one God has appointed and raised from the dead: Jesus Christ. This is how we live rightly toward God and toward others. The more we learn about God, our maker, the more we begin to understand who we are and who we were truly meant to be.
We just learned that God is one, creator, king, great, good, just, and that he loves you. Which of these points were new for you? What do you resonate with?
1 The first chapter of the Bible (see Genesis 1:26) hints at what is later made explicit: the One God exists in Three Persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. See Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14. See also Beginning to Walk as a Disciple: Baptism Preparation Guide (Page 129).
2 The word translated “LORD” in Deuteronomy 6 is in fact God’s personal name. It is translated as “LORD” out of respect for God’s name.
3 God’s Kingdom is a major theme throughout the Bible. We will explore this theme more in the following Steps.
4 Isaiah 46:9-10, Isaiah 40:9-26, Job 38:1-41:34
5 James 1:17
6 Matthew 5:45
7 Isaiah 6:3
8 Ezekiel 18:32
9 Genesis 1:26. We will explain this more in Step 4.
10 Romans 1:21-25 & 3:23. We will explain this further in Step 3.