Deuteronomy 7:9 “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations”
In Heaven or on Earth, there are no other god’s before the One who has declared and revealed His glory. To mankind, the eternal God has established His covenant of grace, He has revealed the splendor of His majesty in a way that the frailty of flesh can receive it.
The Lord has revealed many attributes of His glory, and what many think are common values are actually divine revelations of God’s eternal nature. The establishment of all that is good and holy has their origin within the likeness of God. A brief look into these attributes may inspire us to walk in them, knowing that by doing so, we honor the One whom we serve.
God is Love
1 John 4:16 “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
The world will be surprised to find that everything they thought was good and worthy of honor, actually came from God. Love is an attribute that is highly prized in both the world and in God’s Kingdom. But what many think is love, is actually just lust. Lust is what happens when a date turns into a one night stand. Lust is what draws two people together in mutual attraction and it is the fulfillment of lust that marks the sinful path of pre-marital sex.
When love is experienced, two heterosexual people experience a gift from God. Love is self-sacrificial, love serves the other, and it is God’s love that binds two believers together in holy matrimony. But the love of God is expressed far more broad than just in marriage relationships. When God calls the lost to repentance, He calls them to come experience His love.
It is love that calls, it is love that fills the hearts of those who believe, and it is love that leads believers through life and welcomes them into glory. There is so much that can be said about God’s love, expressed in friendships, in families, and in marriages, since love has an originator and God is the source.
The world gets to experience a form of love without knowing its origin or depth.
Luke 6:32-36 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”
The difference in love for the world (those apart from God) with those in God’s kingdom (followers of Christ), is that the world reciprocates love without reward. The heart of sin responds to love out of responsibility or due cause, but the heart filled with the love of God is overflowing to others without looking for a return. Love originates with God, pours into the hearts of the redeemed, and flows to others. This type of love brings glory to God and ultimately God rewards those who exhibit it in life.
God is love.
He isn’t just loving, He doesn’t show love only because others love Him…He is the originator of love and out of His mercy and grace love is known in weak vessels of dishonor–being made honorable by Jesus’ love, purchased by His blood.
1 John 3:16 “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”
Those who love God in return, understand that by obedience to His commandments, they express love through their actions.
The moral law (10 commandments) is the pathway of loving God in return. People cannot say they love God and continue to sin willfully. Believers may stumble in sin, but they do not practice sin out of love for the Lord.
God is Light
All that illumines the dark hearts of man is the expressed love of God revealing His light. The light of Truth revealed to the believer is given by way of the Holy Spirit.
1 John 1:5 “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
The Lord illumines the heart and exposes the intentions of the heart. The Lord illumines the pathway of holiness, and He illuminates the knowledge of His holiness to those who walk in obedience.
Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
The Word of God is a revelation of God’s glory. It leads people in righteousness and directs their course in wisdom. Sin darkens the heart and clouds the minds of those held captive in rebellion. Jesus was the embodiment of God’s light, revealing Truth and leading His followers in the way. When God gave His Holy Spirit, He illumined the hearts of His people.
John 12:36 “While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.”
The light of God will illuminate the entire world in God’s future kingdom. The faithfulness of God’s promise is that His people may dwell with Him forever.
God is Good
The pattern of God’s attributes is that they are exclusive to Him. He is the source of all love, all light, and also all goodness. For someone to truly exhibit goodness in their life, they must be in Christ manifesting His goodness to the world.
Luke 18:19 “So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is,God.”
The world loves to label everything as good. If someone does something they admire or if they think someone is particularly nice, they will exclaim “they are a good person”. The Lord says otherwise.
Isaiah 53:1-3 “The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity;
There is none who does good.
God looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
Every one of them has turned aside;
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.”
Not only is goodness exclusive to God, there is not one ounce of goodness in mankind. Mankind is corrupt to the core, lacks understanding of anything that is true, and cannot seek God on their own. For anyone to do anything good or of lasting value, they must have the God of all goodness working through them.
Philippians 2:12-13 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
Good works come from a life that fears God and obeys His commandments. When God expresses His will among His people, their actions are considered “good”. It is a mark of God when believers are found exhibiting His glory and walking faithfully before Him. They become living testimonies of His faithfulness.
God is God alone
There have been many attempts to replace God. Many idols formed by the hands of man and many so called prophets proclaiming God falsely. The Lord God almighty has revealed His glory and He will not share it with another.
Deuteronomy 10:17 “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.”
The Lord God has given us a clear picture of the attributes of His glory, with the expectation that His people walk in those same attributes. When a false god claims to be the same God of the Bible, the attributes of God’s revealed character dispels the myths of falsity.
Exodus 3:6 “Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.”
The lineage of God’s faithfulness was demonstrated through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God of Israel is not the false god of Islam. He is not one of the pantheon of god’s of the greeks, nor is He just another of the 300+ million god’s of Hinduism. Yahweh stands alone. Jesus is the image of God and He revealed His love, light, and goodness when He came as the blessed Messiah, redeeming His people from death to life.
Ezekiel 36:23 “And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.”
God does not and will not share His glory with another. He often used Israel to dispel foreign gods and remind the world that He stands alone. At the end of the age, every knee will bow before Him and worship Him as God alone.
The Lord deserves all honor, praise, and glory. He formed you, He formed this world, and He has made it for Himself. If you want to truly be fulfilled, know the One who formed you. He made you to be with Him and in doing so, you will find your purpose.
There are many aspects of Creation that reveal God’s glory, matter of fact I believe that every element of Creation reveals Him in some way. Ultimately, God is everything.
Only those who truly know Him can see how special He really is.
U.T. 