#1 – Equipped to Know: WHAT IS GOD LIKE?
- Read the following verses. (All Scripture verses quoted in these forty lessons are from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted. All Bible quotations are italicized.)
- Take time to think about each verse. Let God touch your heart and reveal Himself more deeply to you. Dwell upon the wonder of who He is.
- Write down some of the things you learn about God’s nature. Write down your personal thoughts about Him.
- Think about the following questions:
- How may my personal life be affected by thinking about, and learning about, who God is?
How does knowing God’s character more precisely help me to better know my own being and purpose?
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1).
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Gen. 1:27).
Is anything too hard for the Lord (Gen. 18:14)?
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’” (Ex. 3:14).
Therefore say to the children of Israel, “I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage; I am the Lord” (Ex.6:6-8).
Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders (Ex. 15:11)?
The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin (Ex. 34:6-7a).
For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy (Lev. 11:44a).
The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression (Num. 14:18a).
God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good (Num. 23:19)?
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one (Deut. 6:4).
Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments (Deut. 7:9).He is the Rock, His work is perfect;for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He (Deut. 32:4).
Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; nor is there any who can deliver from My hand (Deut. 32:39).
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms (Deut. 33:27a).
The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s and He has set the world upon them (1 Sam. 2:6-8).
For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few (1 Sam. 14:6b).
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, Heaven and the Heaven of heavens cannot contain You (1 Kings 8:27a).
Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses (1 Kings 8:56).
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in Heaven and in earth is Yours; Your is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all (1 Chron. 29:11-12).
O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in Heaven and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You (2 Chron. 20:6)?
But You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, and did not forsake them (Neh. 9:17b).
I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You (Job 42:2).
For the word of the Lord is right, and all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the water of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations (Psa. 33:4-11).
Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast (Psa. 36:5-6).
The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me (Psa. 42:8).
For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine (Psa. 50:10-11).
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You (Psa. 63:3).
For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God (Psa. 86:10).
But You, Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth (Psa. 86:15).
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations(Psa. 89:1).
O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty like You, O Lord? Your faithfulness also surrounds You (Psa. 89:8).
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth go before Your face (Psa. 89:14).
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God (Psa. 90:2).
For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations (Psa. 100:5).
But You are the same, and Your years will have no end (Psa. 102:27).
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy (Psa. 103:8).
But our God is in Heaven; He does whatever He pleases (Psa. 115:3).
You are near, O Lord, and all Your commandments are truth. Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever (Psa. 119:151-152).
The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever (Psa. 119:160).
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into Heaven, You are there. If I make my bed in Hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me (Psa. 139:7-10).
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works (Psa. 145:8-9).
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite (Psa. 147:5).
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory (Isa. 6:3)!
Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand (Isa. 14:24).
For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back (Isa. 14:27)?
Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has taught Him? With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding (Isa. 40:13-14)?
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable (Isa. 40:28).
Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior… Indeed before the day was, I am He; and there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it (Isa. 43:10b-11, 13)?
I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God…Do not fear, nor be afraid; have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one (Isa. 44:6b, 8).
I am the Lord, who makes all things, who stretches out the heavens all alone, who spreads abroad the earth by Myself(Isa. 44:24b)I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me… I am the Lord, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things (Isa. 45:5a, 6b-7).
For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited,
“ I am the Lord, and there is no other” (Isa. 45:18).
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure” (Isa. 46:10).
For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit” (Isa. 57:15a).
But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to endure His indignation…He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens at His discretion…For He is the Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; the Lord of hosts is His name (Jer. 10:10, 12, 16b).
Am I a God near at hand…and not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places so I shall not see him?…Do I not fill Heaven and earth (Jer. 23:23-24)?
Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you (Jer. 31:3).
Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the Heaven and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers,…the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts. You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for Your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men (Jer. 32:17-19a).
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness (Lam. 3:22-23).
All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of Heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, “What have You done” (Dan. 4:35)?
Return to your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm (Joel 2:13b).
Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy (Mic. 7:18).
For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob (Mal. 3:6).
That you may be sons of your Father in Heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matt. 5:45).
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him (Matt. 7:11)!
With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26).
All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18b).
With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible (Mark 10:27).
The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one (Mark 12:29).
For with God nothing will be impossible (Luke 1:37).
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24).
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6).
Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from Heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness (Acts 14:17).
Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things(Acts 17:25).
He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:31).
Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance (Rom. 2:4)?
Let God be true but every man a liar (Rom. 3:4b).
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8).
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him (Rom. 11:33-35)?
We know that there is no other God but one (1 Cor. 8:4b).
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control(Gal. 5:22-23a).
But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:4a).
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (Eph. 4:6).
For by Him all things were created that are in Heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all thing consist (Col. 1:16-17).
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen (1 Tim. 1:17).
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5).
He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen (1 Tim. 5:15-16).
If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim. 2:13).
In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began (Titus 1:2).
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Heb. 4:13).
Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us (Heb. 6:17-18).
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful (Heb. 10:23).
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17).
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9).
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things (1 John 3:20).
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:8).
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10).
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come (Rev. 4:8)!
You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You have created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created (Rev. 4:11).