E100 - Hope’s Harbor Gritty Bible Devotions - The Attributes of GOD - What Makes Him Great - Part 1
Hope’s Harbor
Gritty Bible Devotions
Episode #100
Title: The Attributes of GOD – What Makes Him Great – Part 1
Date: April 3, 2023
Contact: info@hopesharbor.net
Key verse(s):
Intro: This is the 100th episode of this podcast. For those of you who still listen, thank you!
In this particular series on the attributes of GOD, I will review Tozer’s book ‘The Knowledge of the Holy’ and look through the 18 attributes of GOD and present them here in abbreviated form for ease of study.
Knowledge of GOD’s attributes will strengthen our faith and lead us to a deeper reverence for GOD. And this fulfills the prayer “May your Name be Hallowed”, or Reverenced, found in Matthew 6:9 – “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”
Attributes for the purpose of these episodes are qualities or traits of a personality, in this case, the personality of GOD. Who is He? Can we really know GOD or only know about Him?
We’re going to see how we can not only know GOD through His divine personality but also look at ways to develop our relationship with GOD on that personal level.
Devotion focus: Learning how to know GOD personally –
Religion can be rigid and impersonal. It’s easier to go through religious rituals when attending a place of worship than it is to develop the relationship between us and GOD. Why is that? I believe part of the reason is we are afraid of what GOD will require of us if we get too close. It’s better to keep our distance, perform rituals told us by the professional church leaders in order to keep GOD happy and go about our business.
In this series, I want to go beyond mindless rituals. I want to get close to GOD. The best way I know to do this is by learning about GOD’s personality traits. What is He really like behind the image most of us have about Him?
Have you ever heard someone say when referring to GOD, “The Man upstairs?” As in “I asked the Man upstairs.” Or, “Gotta keep the Man upstairs happy.” The more I learn about GOD, the more I see how utterly disrespectful statements like these are.
And so, let’s begin a look at who GOD is. When Moses asked GOD His name in Exodus 3:13 and 14 listen to GOD’s answer.
‘Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?"
And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
This interaction with Moses alone informs us that GOD is unlike us so no words exist to answer Moses other than GOD declaring He exists. That’s it. Now, there are numerous places throughout the Bible when GOD’s nature is described, but those descriptions are relative to things we know, things that surround us.
Sometimes GOD appears as fire like He did with Moses in Exodus 3. Other times He appeared as a man, once like a dove, and again as fire in Act 2:3 – ‘Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.’ This was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
The point here is to guard against trying to envision GOD as other than who the Bible describes Him. Throughout this series keep in mind that GOD is love and GOD is light. Studying other of His attributes will help us develop a deeper understanding of GOD and by this deepen our reverence, or respect, for the Creator of all that we know, including this vast universe in which our speck of a planet hangs.
Let me go ahead and get this out of the way, just please keep in mind any negative behavior I describe as being common in every church, at least in America today, I’ve practiced. I only bring up this behavior as evidence we don’t respect GOD nearly enough. Regardless, having been indicted as guilty, I am trying to change how I worship GOD, not only in church but throughout my daily life.
Go into any Protestant church in America before the Sunday service, and what will you see going on around you? If you attend church already, surely you know. If you don’t attend, try looking online and watching the congregation prior to the service starting. Next, the music – what’s it like Then, the setting.
I contrast what is common in American church services with those I’ve attended in 3rd world countries, on 3 continents. The first time I attended a worship service outside was in Asia. The Christians there met in a stand of trees surrounded by rice paddies. Cattle grazed among the trees and the herders drifted over and joined us. We sat on blankets spread about on the ground. While the pastor delivered the message a cow came up to me sniffing. I tried to push it away. It slobbered me with its tongue. Afterward, as we shared a meal, the pastor invited the herders to eat with us. It was a New Testament experience. Oh, and by the way, the reason these Christians met like this was so they wouldn’t be hunted down and persecuted.
It other places Christians I worshipped with met in mud or tin huts with dirt floors. Many of these churches didn’t have power. The locations and accommodations aside, our brothers and sisters in these 3rd world countries had a reverence for worship stemming from their reverence for GOD. They also revere the Bible.
My hope with this series is we will gain a new appreciation for all we have in GOD. We only exist because of His good will toward us.
The first attribute to look at – GOD’s sovereignty. For GOD to be sovereign over all creation He must be all-powerful. This means there is nothing He cannot do within His nature. Also, when GOD uses His power, He doesn’t expend it. If He did expend it in the way of a battery, He would be less than He was. Therefore, GOD’s power is constant and available for Him to maintain His sovereign rule over all He created.
When GOD said in Genesis ‘Let there be…” and something came out of nothing, it all happened as a result of His Word of power. And that Word power which created all we know still sounds forth today. What do you think would happen if GOD rescinded the command “Let there be…?” I’ll tell you, creation would simply disappear. And listen, there would not remain so much as a speck of dust to accuse Him of failing to keep His Word. There would only be… nothing.
So why does GOD allow us to continue as the human race, hell-bent on our own destruction? Because He saw before He ever created us and the world we live in, that we would eventually side against Him. The precipitating event was when Adam bit into that apple. Knowing as GOD did how His creation would turn against Him; He made a way for us, all of us, to choose Him over the coming destruction. That way was the cross on which Jesus died.
But still, I wonder, why not just end this creation and start over, except this time, don’t allow people to have free will, so we don’t choose wrong again.
Since He hasn’t done this or something similar, there must be a reason He allows us to continue as the human race. What is it? I believe that within the sovereign power of GOD’s nature of love, He still sees in us, all that He created us to be and that we are redeemable. This is important – this redemption is available for every man and woman, but it is only given to those who ask for it.
If you will dwell on this truth concerning GOD’s love for us, how it moved Him to send His Son, Jesus, to die for our sinful rebellion against Him, and how forgiveness is free for the asking… will it help you feel safe? Will it make you feel loved? Will it give you peace, knowing no matter how bad life is on this earth, we have heaven waiting for us?
If you want to know the answers to these questions you must evaluate what I’ve put forth here. Study it for yourself and see if what I claim is true. The answer lies within your Bible.
Summary: To keep this study of GOD’s attributes from becoming dry theology, keep in mind that the study is intended for us to learn how to draw close to GOD in real ways. How to develop a friendship with GOD, all the while maintaining a healthy respect for who GOD is. First GOD is sovereign, holding all power and authority. GOD does not answer to any man or woman. We must answer to Him.
Action to consider: Memorize this verse:
1 John 4:16 – ‘And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.’
Next week’s devotion: The Self-existence and sufficiency of GOD