Who Is God?
Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down? Who holds the wind in his fists? Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak? Who has created the whole wide world? What is his name—and his son’s name? Tell me if you know! Proverbs 30
EVERY human has an embryonic understanding of the God who reveals Himself in the Bible. Scripture reveals this Truth in Romans 1:
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” When we express emotion or when we gawk at the beauty of nature or when people marry; or, even when we breathe air we naturally, subconsciously acknowledge the Creator. I doubt that once a man reaches the age of reason, he never considers the possibility of a Being who is supreme, omniscient, and omnipotent. For many of us, it was this thought that served as our burning bush and its flames continuously warms us with a Holy Love (1 John 4)!
It seems to me in the 21st century, filled with endless educational possibilities, we have only grown in ignorance of the Holy. For instance, the idea of God is no longer propositional—something to be believed, questioned, or denied; it is categorical and “God” no longer transcends the intellect or hubris of men. Consequently, no personal and immanent God can exist, rather He is thingified by the imagination of men who attempt to create His significance and the square footage in which He can roam. The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them (Psalm 2)! Human intellect, however, has evolved beyond the idea of doubting the existence of a “God”, because the veracity of Darwinism and the Big Bang Theory have proved to be evasive and mythological— abstract nothingness that confuses more than it clarifies. Yet, our childlike curiosity demands we identify the cause and sustenance of our existence.
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them (Psalm 2)!
The stumbling block arises when we attribute the works of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to idols formed and given power by human imagination. How loathsome is the educated ignorance of our day! From an objective sense, there are various gods that humans acknowledge. The Psalmist exposes the nature of these gods in Psalm 115 as he boasts:
“But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats.” Our society casually speaks of and about God, and because of this mindless chatter there is no mark of distinction since many claim the honor. As a result, God is merely an idle word, a cliche.
Everything said thus far has been to support my premise which also consists of my challenge. The God of the Bible is the True God and there is no one like Him in Heaven or on Earth! However, how can this knowledge be flavor to our salt or oil to our lights? Well, first, we must understand that the word God is a noun, but in Scripture it can be used as an adjective to describe El Shaddai. In many places the Bible will use that noun-adjective as a title. In other words, God’s name is interchangeable with His title because His name and His title express who and what He is. His name allows a more intimate experience with Him. God’s revelation of Himself to us is the sole intent of the Bible. Allow me to illustrate with this mental image: Mrs. Johnson is my teacher at school, but outside of that setting she assumes another title dependent upon her context, nonetheless within every context her name remains the same and the level of intimacy between those who know her name and her title differs. Similarly with God, the title God doesn’t tell us who He is, rather what He is.
God’s name is interchangeable with His title because His name and His title express who and what He is.
Isaiah illuminated His undisputed, Godship in his poetic monologue:
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom (Isa. 40).”Again, the title God, explains what He is, as it highlights how He behaves and helps us to structure our relationship accordingly. We cannot forget a title is only an indicator that assists us in interpreting the object. This brings me to the meat of this essay, the title God is connotative not denotative. By this I mean there is an obvious chasm like that of life and death between the God described in the Hebrew Bible and the god described in the Quran. This line may be stretched even thinner within specific Christian denominations. Therefore, the phrase, “God bless you,” expressed in the Orient and in the Occidental speaks to two different deities; furthermore, how the deity is understood is dependent upon the context. That’s why Fredrick Douglass laments, “I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial [God] of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical [God] of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the god of this land [God]. I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels.” And throughout antiquity we even see the great king, Nebuchadnezzar testify of the uniqueness of the YHWH, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants (Dan 3:28)!
There is a very real possibility that ‘God bless you’ to a stranger could be received as spiritual abracadabra.
I shall conclude with my challenge. Christian, Scripture reveals that our God cares about details, it is fair to say He personifies fastidiousness. Therefore, if we are to be perfect as He is, then our language must be prudently meticulous (Pro. 15:28). As my audience, I counsel you: First, speak about YHWH the way He describes Himself. In doing this alone, I believe a mass spiritual revival could take place. There are myriad names He attaches to Himself. To use a name of God in an evangelical matter, could very well produce much fruit. As the listener will inevitably inquire of how and why El Shaddai possess that name or they may inquire of its definition. Second, to bless someone saying, “God bless you,” does two negative things. (1) it affirms the life of the deity they believe is God. Consider that there are men who defy YHWH, break His law, and have no concern for His glory as they live as if He doesn’t exist. Thus, to speak vaguely falsely reassures them of their ignorance; (2) to use God’s title in worldly spaces robs YHWH of His glory. Don’t forget the word God is connotative, not denotative. There is a very real possibility that ‘God bless you’ to a stranger could be received as spiritual abracadabra, whereas “May the Lord, the God of Israel, or something similar is specific and brings glory to the One who can bring about the blessing you requested. Surely the One who made the mouth of men is different than the God whose mouth was created by men. And even in the monotony of life, Jesus the Christ should reign, and His glory be scattered. Sincere Christian you know the true God who lives. May the way you speak of Him add light and peace to this dark, terrible world.
“The god of many of our churches is not the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but a mere figment of the imagination. Modern theology has invented a ‘god’ which is finite. The twentieth-century God is little more than an abstraction, an impersonal “First cause”, or, if a being at all, one far removed from this world and having little or nothing to do with mundane affairs.”
