ODJ: What Is God?

October 5, 2016 

READ: Exodus 3:1-22 

God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (v.14).

A pastor resigned because he wanted to press the “very edges of religion and faith and God.” As science discovers unfathomable mysteries and as society challenges traditional beliefs, it can become difficult to think about God as we always have. The pastor confessed, “I don’t even know if we know what we mean by God anymore.”

The pastor is right. Our cultures are becoming more confused about foundational matters—what’s good, beautiful, and true—and if we take our cues from society, we’ll be confused too. Soon we’ll say, “I’m not sure if we know what we mean by anything anymore.”

But that shows we’re starting in the wrong place. What if we began with the Bible and let God tell us who and what He is? Then we would learn:

1. God exists in impenetrable freedom. God told Moses His name is Yahweh, which means “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). God dwells in a totally different plane of existence from us. He said, “No one may see me and live” (33:20). We’ll never grasp how God is three persons yet one being or how He rules all without impinging on our freedom. We’ll never fully comprehend God, and we know why. He’s God and we aren’t. But though we can’t know everything about Him, we do know a lot!

2. God freely binds Himself to us in love. God told Moses that He is “Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (3:15). The God who’s free to do anything has chosen to be our God! We have a long history together. He created us and then sent Jesus to redeem us.

When we become a child of God, we know what He’s like. He’s our Father who loves us more than we can ever know or imagine.

—Mike Wittmer

365-day plan: Acts 1:1-11