What are the most important things to understand about the nature of God?

Answer

The most important element of God’s nature is His holiness. Holy means “set apart,” and God is clearly separate from His creation based on His nature and attributes. Holiness is the foundation of all other aspects of God’s character. Revelation 15:4 says of God, “You alone are holy.” Revelation 4:8 describes the four living creatures who sing to God day and night, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” It is God’s holiness that makes Him the “consuming fire” that will judge all sin «for our God is a consuming fire.», (Hebrews 12:29). Beautiful doxologies exalting God’s holiness are found throughout Scripture, including Psalm 99:9; Psalm 33:21; Psalm 77:13; Psalm 89:18; Psalm 105:3; and others.

It is also important to understand that God is an eternal spirit «God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. », (John 4:24). He is one God «Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: », (Deuteronomy 6:4) who has always existed as three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He does not have a physical body (although the Son became incarnate). A doctrine is false if it denies the Trinity, views God the Father as a man, or denies the humanity and deity of Christ «For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. », (see 2 John 1:7).

God is also, by nature, sovereign. He is judged by no one and has absolute authority over the entire universe and everything in it. His sovereignTy is expressed in many ways, including His omnipotence. All of His ways are right, “The LORD is righteous in all his ways, And holy in all his works.” (Psalm 145:17), and whether mankind believes God’s ways to be “fair” is irrelevant. The Lord God is not constrained by time or place. He has a plan, He has had it from eternity past, and His purpose will be accomplished (Daniel 4:37; Psalm 115:3).

Another key aspect of God’s nature is His immutability. He does not change, being the same “yesterday, today and forever,” “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8). He states outright in Malachi 3:6, “I the LORD do not change.” Because of His unchanging nature, we can depend on His blessings: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows,” “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17).

The Almighty’s sovereignty speaks to His right to do whatever He wishes, and His omnipotence speaks to His ability to do so. He also knows everything, from eternity past to eternity future, everything we think, do, and say. He has personal knowledge of every person who has ever lived or will live, knowing them intimately in every way. It is encouraging to hear God’s words in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”

We must not overlook God’s wrath, which flows from His holiness. He has a righteous anger against sin, “God judgeth the righteous, And God is angry.”y with the wicked every day.” , (Psalm 7:11), and, due to God’s impending judgment, humanity requires the gospel message of grace and salvation. It is also inherent to God to love “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love; and he who dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him.” , (1 John 4:16), and in His affection for the world, He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” , (John 3:16). Nothing less than a flawless sacrifice would suffice.

Love transcends being merely an attribute of God; He is, in essence, love itself. This is explicitly stated in 1 John 4:8, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” God’s love is eternal. Being immutable, His love remains constant. His love is flawless and sacred.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).