Any exploration of God soon reveals that He is unique. Samuel proclaimed you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you… (2 Samuel 7:22). God stands apart from all others, with every aspect of His existence and character unequalled in His perfection. There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours (Psalm 86:8) explained David.
In this lesson we shall briefly consider some of the more obvious qualities of God which make Him incomparable and unmatched. These truths serve as a foundation for our future studies and our growing understanding of who God IS.
God is a Trinity
While the word ‘trinity’ is not found in the Bible, Scripture reveals God as being 3 in 1. That is, the one God equally manifesting Himself in three separate, yet like-charactered persons. Deuteronomy 6:4 tells us that the LORD our God, the LORD is one. There is only one God, and in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). This one God spoke everything into existence and there is no other besides Him (Deuteronomy 4:35).
Yet in Genesis 1:26, speaking about the creation of mankind, God said, “let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” When God speaks of Himself in the plural, He is telling us that He is not only one, but He is also more than one. Scripture explains that this one God exists in three persons who are coequal, coeternal, and self-existent. All three are inseparable and unified in all things. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit exist is perfect unison.
Matthew 28:19 identifies God the Father… the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each being distinct, yet one in holiness, in thought, and in purpose. Following Jesus’ baptism, Matthew 3:16-17 records, …behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he (Jesus) saw the Spirit of God (Father) descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” When Jesus, who is God the Son, was baptised, God the Father spoke from heaven affirming that Jesus was His Son, and God the Spirit affirmed the Father’s testimony by descending on Jesus as a dove.
The apostle Paul closes 2 Corinthians 13:14 with the doxology; the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. All three persons of God work in agreement, and all three are intrinsically gracious, loving, and desiring of fellowship.
God is Sovereign (Omniscient, all powerful)
Following Peter and John’s release from prison in Acts 4, they returned to their friends, and together they lifted their voices to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them…” (Acts 4:24). They worshipped God as the absolute ruler who had created everything and reigns independent and supreme over all. He stretches out the heavens like a tent… He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved. (Psalm 104:2, 5).
God is the owner of everything and everyone. Psalm 24:1 NIV, the earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Deuteronomy 10:14, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Therefore, nothing will ever happen to planet earth outside of God’s control and His timing for all events. Psalm 46:1-3 assures us that planet earth and the climate belong to the Lord, and we can trust God with His management of the earth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
God alone governs all that He has created. He is beyond challenge in His absolute authority and power. In 1 Timothy 6:13-16 Paul charged Timothy saying; in the presence of God, who gives life to all things… who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honour and eternal dominion.
Of all that can be known of God, His sovereignty towers above all human knowledge, all human reasoning, and all human strength and abilities. While technology seems impressive from a human standpoint, even the most advanced technology pales into insignificance when compared to God’s sovereignty. God speaks of Himself in Isaiah 46:9-10; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose. God is dominant, self-governing, and without influence from outside forces. He never weakens, He never gets stronger, and He never requires rest for the purpose of regaining lost strength.
In these last days he (God) has spoken to us by his Son (Jesus), whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he (Jesus) upholds the universe by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:1-3). In the beginning, before time or the universe existed, God created the heavens and the earth through Jesus Christ (Genesis 1:1; John 1:3). Christ not only created everything but maintains the existence of every atom in every molecule in the universe simply by His spoken word. God, through Christ, radiate life. Therefore, they are able to effortlessly breathe life into and sustain that life within anything and everything they create (John 1:4; 5:26).
Daniel proclaimed that God Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will (Daniel 4:17). Despite what mankind thinks, no ruler of any nation is there by their own choice. The apostle John declares the same; Jesus Christ… the ruler of kings on earth… (Revelation 1:5). Belief in God confesses this universal truth, which all nations should also proclaim; “The LORD reigns!” (1 Chronicles 16:31).
God’s sovereignty means He is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does (Job 23:13). In the believer’s life, it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). God invisibly works within His children to accomplish His purposes, and often His children cannot perceive His workings. Regarding mankind’s capacity to believe in Christ, God says in Romans 9:15-16; “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”
David explains in Psalm 139:16 NIV, Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. From the point of inception within the womb, before our human likeness was developed, God had mapped out the precise number of days each person would live on the earth.
Paul acknowledged that his apostleship was by the will of God (Colossians 1:1) and was not the result of his own desire. With this understanding, Peter could exhort the suffering believers in 1 Peter 4:19, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. Nothing happens outside of God’s knowledge and will, including suffering. The Bible speaks clearly, God is God alone. He reigns supreme and does as He pleases, where He pleases, when He pleases, and with whom He pleases. Psalm 103:19 declares, the LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
God is all knowing (Omniscient)
Put simply, there is nothing that God does not know. All the subjects which have not yet entered the mind of mankind, God already knows them fully. Everything in the physical realm and in the thoughts of animals and mankind, He knows them all thoroughly. God does not simply know about things; He comprehensively understands the entire microscopic details of all things which He knows. There is not one single thing in the entire cosmos of both the tangible and spiritual realms which He does not have a broad and complete knowledge of. Nothing escapes His attention, and nothing catches Him by surprize.
This is why Job could ask, will any teach God knowledge? (Job 21:22). The answer is obviously – NO! Elihu affirmed God is mighty in strength of understanding and perfect in knowledge (Job 36:5, 16). When thinking of a person’s heart, or their thoughts, the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). God is not limited by flesh and blood, but accurately perceives the inner-most thoughts of a person. The Psalmist confessed; your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16 NIV), God knows it all.
In Isaiah 40:14, Isaiah asks rhetorical questions of God; whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Again, the answer is obviously NO-ONE! No creature is able to add to God’s knowledge. God cannot be corrected because He is never lacking or in error. John sums it up perfectly, God, he knows everything (1 John 3:20). What a marvellous truth, God knows us best and yet He loves us the most.
God is all present (Omnipresent)
Humans can only be in one place at one time. No matter how fast anyone can move, both human or angelic, we are always fixed in one location. But not so with God. Our imaginations cannot grasp the reality of God’s intelligent and powerful presence being everywhere at the same time.
As John 4:24 tells us, God is spirit, therefore He does not suffer the spatial limitations or restraints that we do. It was this understanding which enabled the Psalmist to say; where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me (Psalm 139:7-10). There is no escaping the presence and attention of the Almighty.
This adds a greater understanding to Paul’s words; there is one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:6). God is present, in life, in death, in time and history, in eternity and timelessness, in every place in the universe, He is there. There is no place and no sphere in which He is not equally and fully present in the constant NOW of His existence. This is why it’s recorded that at the completion of creation, God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good (Genesis 1:31). He alone could see every facet of all creation in a snap-shot of time and presence because He was everywhere to observe all of creation.
God, through His Son Jesus Christ, can say “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). God sovereignly rules all human history simultaneously, without any physical or dimensional limitations of His created timeline. He exists in eternity, outside of time. He not only looks into time but is equally able to reach into history just as easily as He can reach into the present or the future, which are all foregone conclusions in His eternal presence.
Solomon exclaimed, the highest heaven cannot contain you (1 Kings 8:27), to which Isaiah 66:1 adds, thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” Time and space with their measurable dimensions create no limitations for God. God is unable to be escaped from. There is no hiding place, no place of silence where He cannot hear your words or perceive your thoughts. There are no circumstances where He is not present and fully aware of. Therefore, there is no time when God is not actively engaged with His children. Our inability to perceive His presence does not change the reality of Him being present.
God is all present, all knowing, all powerful, and all seeing. He is consciously aware of every piece of information and activity in all realms at the same time. He is present without restriction, in His full and glorious power.
Application:
- Worship, be thankful that you understand that God is neither like us nor the world. Worship God’s holy character and glorious actions. Do not worship the experience you have during worship, but worship God alone.
- Disciple others to know the majestic greatness of our glorious, holy, and merciful God.
- Tell others of our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). Come Lord Jesus!