The One God
From the very beginning, man has worshipped and served a great variety of different gods. Religion abounds in the world. There are so many different religions that it is very difficult to keep track of them all. New cults seem to be appearing everywhere. Even those who call themselves atheists have their gods — the gods of pleasure, riches, and power.
Yet the Bible teaches us that there is only one true God. That true God is Jehovah — the Lord. He alone is the God Who created the world and He alone must be acknowledged as God in the world. We read in Deut. 4:39, Know therefore this day and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. The God of the Bible is the true God of heaven and earth. There are no others. All other gods are idols. They are the creations of the imaginations of wicked men who refuse to worship Jehovah, the true God (Rom. 1:21-25).
Thus the true God requires that we worship and serve Him alone. In the first commandment of the law He says, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Ex. 20:3). We may not have idols, but we are to have the God of the Bible. We are to trust, love, obey, serve, and worship Him alone. But we cannot do that if we do not know Who He is. It is impossible to trust, love, and obey someone whom we do not know. We must know Who He is and what He is like. We learn of God — Who He is and what He does — in the Bible. God Himself tells us about Himself.
God Is Spirit
The Scriptures teach us that God is a Spirit. Jesus told the Samaritan woman, God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24). God in His very essence, His being, is Spirit. He does not have a body as we do. He has no physical eyes, ears, mouth, hands, or feet. He has no material form. God is invisible. We cannot see God. No man will ever see God in His pure essence. Thus the apostle John tells us, No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (John 1:18).
This is why God forbids man to make any representation of Him. He commands, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them... (Ex. 20:4-5). Because God is Spirit no earthly form can possibly properly represent Him in all of His great glory. When wicked men make images of God, they change the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. (Rom. 1:23).
God Is Personal
God, as a Spirit, is not some impersonal force. He is not an unconscious power that is in all things. There are many who conceive of God in such a way. To them, He is the impersonal force of the universe. But the Bible teaches us that God is personal. He is a rational, moral being Who thinks, talks, and performs all kinds of work. As a personal being, God loves and hates, He saves and damns, He hears and answers prayer. He is the God Whom we can know, love, and trust — personally. Thus the Psalmist could pray, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. ...In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. (Ps. 18:1 & 6).
God Is Perfect
God is not only a personal Spirit, but God is absolutely perfect in all of His being. There are no imperfections whatsoever in God. There is nothing in God that can be improved upon or made better. God, in His infinite perfection, is Himself the standard of all perfection. Thus Scripture declares, ...God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (I John 1:5). This means that God makes no mistakes. He never does anything that is immoral or wrong. In all that He is and all that He does He is absolute goodness. This is why Jesus answered the rich young man, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God... (Matt. 19:17). God alone is absolutely good. He is not merely the supreme good, the greatest good, but God is the good.
No man, therefore, has the right to judge God. No one may call God into question for what He does. How absurd to think that the sinful creature can accuse God of injustice or unrighteousness. We are not perfect and we are not good. God is infinitely perfect and absolutely good. Thus the Bible says concerning God, ...he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest thou? (Dan. 4:35). No! We dare not stand as judges over God. Rather He is our Judge, Who requires that we give answer to Him for all of our deeds.
God Is Transcendent
God, because He is God, is infinitely exalted above all His creation. He is transcendent above all. God is so high, so completely beyond all other beings that there is a great impassable gulf fixed between the world and His infinitely glorious Being. There is no one and nothing in all the universe that is like unto Him. Moses and the children of Israel referred to that fact when they sang, Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? (Ex. 15:11). The Psalmist echoes this sentiment when he says, For thou, Lord, art high above all gods. (Ps. 97:9). God is so high that He must bend Himself down (figuratively speaking) to behold even the things of heaven. The Psalmist says, Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! (Ps. 113:5-6).
Because God is transcendent above all creatures, He is also incomprehensible. The creature, of himself, cannot begin to comprehend the great and glorious God. He is too high for us to understand. Our finite minds cannot possibly reach out and apprehend the Infinite God. The Scriptures make that very clear, Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. (Job 11:7-9). It is only because God has revealed Himself to us in the Holy Scriptures, that we can know Him. God Himself tells us about Himself. Apart from that revelation, we cannot know Him.
God Is Immanent
All of this does not mean, however, that God has nothing to do with this world. He is not like a watchmaker who makes his watch, winds it up, and then lets it run by itself without any interference from him. God is not unconcerned about this world. He is intimately involved in all the affairs of the world. He is immanent (remains in) in the world. As the transcendent God, He is present in every part of the creation. Thus the apostle Paul could tell the people of Athens, he (God) giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. ...though he be not far from every one of us: For in Him we live, and move, and have our being... (Acts 17:25-28). God is near to all of us. We do not live, we do not even move, we have no existence apart from God's presence with us in His greatness. This means that we are utterly dependent upon Him. We are not independent. We can be nothing and we can do nothing without Him.
