Who Is God?

...The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger,  abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished...

Exodus 34:6-7

Who is God? How would you answer that question? Would your answer come from

your own beliefs, or would your answer be based upon what God has revealed about Himself? Man can only truly know God through God’s own revelation of Himself given to us throughout the Old and New Testament scriptures.

Moses wanted to know God. He asked to see God’s glory. The following morning, God came down in a cloud on Mount Sinai. He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming the description of Himself in the Exodus verses above. Did you know that this description is God’s most repeated description of Himself? Therefore, these are things about Himself He wants us to know and remember.  

· God is compassionate (merciful) and gracious.

Through Isaiah, God declares, The LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you (Isaiah 30:15). God’s grace is extended to us through Messiah, the exalted Jesus Christ.

· God is slow to anger.

Jesus’ promised return will end the day of God’s grace. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise...he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Receive God’s grace through belief in Jesus!

· God is loving, faithful, and forgiving.

God, who will faithfully fulfill every word He has spoken, has promised that every wrong committed by those who trust in Jesus will be forgiven. Believers are held in God’s steadfast, unconditional love forever.  

· God is just.

God has also declared that those who reject Jesus will stand guilty before Him, a destiny He wants for none of His creation.

Amazing! God’s repeated Old Testament description of Himself is the New Testament gospel in a nutshell!

Lord, thank you that from Genesis to Revelation you have one way of salvation—through belief in Jesus!

Jan Burkhart