Take 1 minute and write down as many words as you can think of to describe God. Share them with each other.
What would you like to know about God?
Who God is, is beyond our comprehension, yet He wants us to know Him. One way God reveals Himself is through His Word – in His names, descriptions, and even word pictures. Read Isaiah 40:10-11.
Isaiah 40:10-11
Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
Discover: What character traits of God are revealed in this passage?
Share: What different pictures come to your mind from the descriptions?
Reflect: In what ways does a shepherd need to be mighty and strong yet also gentle and tender?
GOD REVEALS HIS CHARACTER AND ATTRIBUTES
Isaiah 40 goes on to describe other attributes of God and explains how those attributes bless us at different times and in different ways. Read Isaiah 40:28-29.
Isaiah 40:28-29
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Discover: What is God called in these verses? What characteristics of God are revealed?
Reflect: Was there ever a time when you felt empty or weary but God gave you strength?
Share: What difference can it make in our experience that God is like this?
When Moses asked God to show Himself, God explained that He couldn’t do that because His glory would be too much for Moses to bear (Exodus 33). But He spoke His name to Moses, a description of God that is repeated over and over in the Bible, as in Psalm 145:8-9.
Psalm 145:8-9
The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.
Discover: What characteristics of God are expressed?
Share: How have you experienced God’s mercy and/or His grace?
Reflect: What do you think it means that God is slow to anger? What difference does that make?
Share: How have you seen or experienced God’s goodness?
As we discover more and more about who God is, we find the amazing assurance that He never changes:
Psalm 102:25-27
Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain . . . you are the same, and your years have no end.
Discover: According to Psalm 102, how is God different from His creation?
Reflect: What assurance and comfort does it give us to know that God never changes?
[NOTE: This attribute of never changing is known as the “immutability” of God.]
GOD REVEALS HIMSELF THROUGH HIS NAMES
In ancient cultures names were very important. Names reflected a person’s identity, role, or character. Often people were known by several names that emphasized different aspects of their life and character.
Let’s look at two names by which Abram (who was later called Abraham) knew God. Read Genesis 14:22 and 17:1.
Genesis 14:22
But Abram said . . . , “I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth . . .”
Genesis 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless…”
Reflect: What does the name “God Most High” say about His authority in the world and in our lives?
Discuss: How does society respond to the claim that God is the Creator (Possessor) of heaven and earth?
Reflect: In what areas of our lives is it difficult to acknowledge the authority of God as our Creator and Designer?
Discover: How was Abraham to respond to God?
Other names and attributes of God include: Lord of Hosts (1 Samuel 17:45), everlasting (Genesis 21:33), true (Jeremiah 10:10), faithful (Psalm 33:4), God who sees me (Genesis 16:13), provider (Genesis 22:14).
God is altogether different from us. He is holy, mighty, all-powerful, compassionate, merciful, and loving. He is incomparable!
Discover: What is God called in Deuteronomy 10:17?
Deuteronomy 10:17
“For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God . . .”
Let’s take a few minutes to praise God for who He is.
GOD DESIRES THAT WE KNOW HIM
Some people view God as exalted and distant, too great to want to be involved with us, while others treat Him casually, like a buddy to hang out with. Read Isaiah 57:15.
Isaiah 57:15
For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.”
Discuss: How can we balance reverence for God with delight in knowing Him personally?
Reflect: Why do you think it is important for us to get an accurate picture of who God is?
As God revealed Himself in His Word, He also unfolded His plan for redemption. He makes it clear that He wants to have a relationship with each of us. We see this in Isaiah 43:10-11.
Isaiah 43:10-11
“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior.”
Discover: What makes God unique in comparison to everyone else?
Discover: What three verbs does God use when He explains how He wants us to have a relationship with Him?
Discuss: What is the difference between knowing, believing, and understanding something or someone?
Reflect: What could help us to grow in each of these areas?
JESUS MAKES GOD KNOWN
Discuss: What do you find challenging in getting to know someone you can’t see?
God’s names, His character, and His attributes are all ways that He has revealed Himself to us. Hebrews 1:1-3 tells us another way.
Hebrews 1:1-3
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high . . .
Discover: How does Jesus make God known to us?
Discuss: What does this passage tell us about God’s commitment to have a relationship with us?
Reflect: How does Jesus answer the challenge of getting to know the unseen God?
The Gospel of John introduces us to Jesus as the Word who became flesh to dwell among us (John 1:14). Read John 1:1, 17-18 and John 14:9.
John 1:17-18
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Reflect: What do you think it means that grace and truth came through Jesus?
Discover: What claims about Jesus are made in these passages?
Discuss: How do these passages help us respond to someone who does not think that Jesus is truly God?
Reflect: What does what you know about Jesus, what He said and did, tell you about God and his character?
Jesus also told us a lot about how God the Father sees and feels about us. Read Matthew 10:29-31.
Matthew 10:29-31
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Discover: What does God know about each bird, and how does that compare to what He knows about us?
Reflect: How do you feel about God having such intimate knowledge and care for you?
WE RESPOND TO WHO GOD IS
God is worthy of worship, honor, glory, and praise. Psalm 29:2 says “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.”
Discover: How does Psalm 33:8 direct us to respond to who God is?
Psalm 33:8
Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
Sometimes reverence of God is referred to as “fearing God.” This does not mean that we are to be afraid of Him, but that we honor Him and respect His authority and power as Almighty God. Psalm 147 describes God’s desire for our worship.
Psalm 147:10-11
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.
Discover: What two words are used to describe God’s response to our worship?
Reflect: Why does our worship make a difference to God?
Our response to God develops and deepens over time as we get to know Him better. We saw in Isaiah 43 that God wants us to know, believe, and understand Him.
Share: What are you currently doing to get to know God better in each of these areas?
As you spend time in God’s Word, continue to ask yourself:
- What does God want me to KNOW about Him?
- How will that change what I BELIEVE about Him?
- How will that help me to better UNDERSTAND who He is?
GOING FORWARD
Clarify: What thoughts or questions do you have?
Summarize: What are some ways that God has revealed Himself? What are some things you have learned about God’s heart?
Apply: What would you like to do this week to get to know God better?
Pass it on: Who is someone with whom you could share what you are learning about God?
Reinforce:
As you read these passages, discover what they tell you about God. Ask Him to dispel any wrong perspectives you may have.
Isaiah 43:1-13
Isaiah 40:1-31
Colossians 1:15-29
Psalm 145:1-21
Psalm 147:1-20
Hebrews 2:14-18
Hebrews 4:14-16
Isaiah 43:1-13
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
who are deaf, yet have ears!
All the nations gather together,
and the peoples assemble.
Who among them can declare this,
and show us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right,
and let them hear and say, It is true.
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.
I, I am the Lord,
and besides me there is no savior.
I declared and saved and proclaimed,
when there was no strange god among you;
and you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God.
Also henceforth I am he;
there is none who can deliver from my hand;
I work, and who can turn it back?”
Isaiah 40:1-31
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord‘s hand
double for all her sins.
A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
An idol! A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
He who is too impoverished for an offering
chooses wood that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
to set up an idol that will not move.
Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Colossians 1:15-29
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Psalm 145:1-21
A Song of Praise. Of David.
I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.
All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you!
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
[The Lord is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.]
The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
The Lord preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
Psalm 147:1-20
Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
The Lord lifts up the humble;
he casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre!
He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares rain for the earth;
he makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the beasts their food,
and to the young ravens that cry.
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
He makes peace in your borders;
he fills you with the finest of the wheat.
He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and rules to Israel.
He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his rules.
Praise the Lord!
Hebrews 2:14-18
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Hebrews 4:14-16
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
