Knowing Our Perfect God
We have a relationship with a big God and it is important to learn about allof His character.
If we only focus on one or two of his attributes we will have a distorted image of who He really is. In the lesson previous to this one, we considered how God is sovereign, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, and present everywhere. This lesson will cover another five of God’s character attributes: the fact that He is unchanging, holy, just, love, and truth.
One or two scripture passages are included for each attribute, but the Bible is filled with many more descriptions of God’s character. You can easily use an on-line Bible reference such as Bible Gateway (www.biblegateway.com) to learn more about each attribute of God and deepen your understanding of who God is. As you consider each character quality, take time to think about each one and how that specific attribute shapes your view of God … and your relationship with Him.
God is Unchanging
Since we are always changing our minds or moods … it is hard to imagine anyone or anything that is always the same. In all of our human relationships, change is inevitable. But with God, no change is possible. His character is unchanging. He never changes his mood, never “cools off,” and never stops loving us, which means that He is completely trustworthy, dependable, and stable.
God never changes … his love for you also never changes. It doesn’t fluctuate with your emotions or deeds. It is also important to understand that because God never changes … his Word will never change!
What do the following verses tell you about God’s unchanging character?
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Malachi 3:6: “I am the Lord, and I do not change.” (NLT)
Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (NIV)
If I believe that God is Unchanging, I will
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God is Holy
God is righteous and set apart from us. His holiness means He is perfectin every way .
God has never thought an unrighteous thought … and never will! He is absolutely pure and perfect in every way! Holiness is a part of God’s very essence. It is unique to God and alone … and it is beyond our comprehension.
Psalm 145:17-20 teaches us that, “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy” (NIV).
What do you learn about God’s holiness from the verses in Psalm 145?
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Revelation 20:12-15 says, “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” (NIV).
What do you learn about God’s holiness from the verses in Revelation?
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Sin is the exact opposite of God’s nature … and without Christ’s death for you on the cross, you would be totally rejected from his presence. Christ’s death and resurrection give you access to our Holy God. This holiness is truly beyond explanation.
Knowing that God is Holy means
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God is Just
When we say that God is just, we are saying that He is perfectly and completely fair. God is the Supreme Judge of the universe. He cannot make a mistake … and He is always totally fair in His judgments.Jeremiah 9:24 tells us that God is the one “who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth” (NIV). God will always be fair by his perfect standard.
What do you learn about God’s character when you read the following passage?
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Romans 8:1-4: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Sprit who gives life has set you free from the laws of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully me in us, who do not live according to the flesh by according to the Spirit.” (NIV)
Because God is Just, I can be confident that
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God is Love
God will never love you less … and He cannot love you more! The Bible tells us that God doesn’t just have love … “God is love!” (1 John 4:16, NIV, NLT, CEV). The fact that your Heavenly Father sent Jesus to suffer and die for you on the cross demonstrates the depth of his love for you.
What do you learn about God’s love when you read the following verses?
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1 John 4:7-8: “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (NLT)
Ephesians 3:17-18: “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (NIV)
Because God is Love, I can
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God is Truth
Today’s world is saying, “There are no absolutes. Truth is what you believe or what you say it is. What may be truth for you is not truth for me.”
Everything He says is true.
How would you define “truth”?
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In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him” (NIV). He also said in John 17:17, “Your word is truth” (NIV).
God cannot lie. He is totally trustworthy. Everything He says is true.And His truth is clearly revealed in the Bible, His Word.
It is possible to read God’s words of truth and not understand them or be changed by them. It is important to remember that we need God himself to reveal His truth to us. Since God is Truth, you can always count on Him … and you can always trust his promises to you! Someone once said, “When you know God, really know God, what you don’t know is irrelevant.”
Because God is Truth, I can
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Application:
Of the five attributes listed in this study, which one is most real to you?
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Which one gives you most comfort?
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Which one is most confusing?
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Which one do you want to learn more about?
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