Who is God? Part 1

This subject alone has so many aspects to it, so many that a long paper could be written about it. But I want to take the time to do these aspects one at a time. For this way I can go into specifics and not involve so many details that would pertain to another aspect. And I would like to being with asking the question, "Is God male or female?"

Note -- All Biblical text comes from the New King James Version.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:26-28

We know that Genesis chapter 1 speaks of the creation of the earth. Specifically, we want to look at the creation of man. "'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness'... So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." Man is created in the image of God. But what is this image of God? Does that mean that we look the same as God? That all our physical features are like God's?

When we closely examine scripture there are two things about God that become quite clear. First off, God is a spirit, He does not possess human characteristics nor does He possess limitations. Secondly, all Scripture agrees that God has revealed Himself to mankind in the form of a male.

God’s true nature needs to be understood. God is a Person, obviously, because God exhibits all the characteristics of personhood: God has a mind, a will, an intellect, and emotions. God communicates and He has relationships, and God’s personal actions are evidenced throughout Scripture. From www.gotguestions.org

Let us go back to our first point -- God is a spirit. Because God is a spirit, he does not possess any physical human characteristics. However, scripture uses figurative language to give God these characteristics. The reason this is done is to help man to understand God. Because God is outside of our comprehension and physical means, the Bible helps describe who God is by using figurative human characteristics. The proper word for this is Anthropomorphism, in essence meaning to give human characteristics to a deity. For man to understand who God is, the Bible has provided a way on our own level to help us understand. We hear that God is love, God is merciful, He is genuine, compassionate, easily angered, a jealous God, the list could go on. But notice humans also experience these things. We love, we can be merciful, we can be angered, jealous, many things. It is only logical to state that the Bible is God's way of showing us who He is on our own level of comprehension.

But it still remains, what makes us different than the rest of the animals on this planet? What is so special about being created in God's image? The answer lies within what "image" means in the context of creation. Let's again look at Genesis 1:26-27:

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

We note that both male and female were created in the image of God. Nowhere else in creation mentions this. So we know whatever "image" is, it is only meant for mankind and not the animals on earth. This alone makes man greater than all the creatures on the earth. Reason for this: The image and likeness of God means that man, like God, has a mind, a will, intellect, emotions, and a moral capacity. Animals do not possess a moral capacity, nor do they possess an immaterial component like mankind does.

The image of God is the spiritual component that humanity alone possesses. God created humanity to have a relationship with Him. Humanity is the only creation designed for that purpose. www.gotquestions.org

Man and woman are patterned after God, they are not "tiny" copies God, as I even once thought. Because there is male and female here for mankind, does not mean God needs to have male or female features. Remember, to be made in the image of God has nothing to do with physical features. This is something I have just learned and I have such a better understanding! Our likeness to God and the image we share with God is that we have a mind, our intellect, we have a will, we have a moral capacity. This is what being made in the image of God really means. It has nothing to do with physical features! And that alone, this truth alone makes me so excited about my life!

In knowing that God is a spiritual being and does not possess physical characteristics, this, however, does not limit how God will reveal Himself to mankind. The Bible contains everything, a revelation God gave to mankind about Himself and is the only objective source about who He is.

Scripture itself contains approximately 170 references to God as "father". By what we know in our own culture, one cannot be a father unless that person is a male. Just like one cannot be a mother unless that person is female. If God wanted to reveal Himself to man as female, the word "mother" would have been used. In looking at both the Old and New Testaments, we find that only masculine pronouns are used to describe God. Jesus Himself referred to God as "father". It is interesting to note that in the Gospels alone, Jesus referred to God as "father" nearly 160 times!

Of particular interest is Christ’s statement in John 10:30: “I and the Father are one.” Obviously, Jesus Christ came in the form of a human man to die on the cross as payment for the sins of the world. Like God the Father, Jesus was revealed to humanity in a male form. Scripture records numerous other instances where Christ utilized masculine nouns and pronouns in reference to God. www.gotquestions.org

In looking throughout the Bible, there is no doubt that God is referenced as male. In the Epistles alone, 900 times the word theos -- a masculine noun -- is used in direct reference to God. There is such a consistent pattern in Scripture, the use of masculine titles, nouns, pronouns, to describe God. Now, we know that God Himself is not male, but He chose the masculine to reveal Himself on mankind's level of intellect. The same is with Jesus. The Old and New Testaments refer to both God and Jesus with masculine titles and names. God chose this way so that we can grasp who He is.

At the same time, although God will make allowances to help us understand who He is, we need to be careful not to force God in a box, by placing limits on Him that are not appropriate to His nature.

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How you gonna reckon with a God like this?
When you gonna face what you can't dismiss?
Whatcha gonna say to the... Soul Kiss that is my God?
Fearsome like the sag in a fat man's chair?
Sweeter than a patch of Rogaine hair?
How do you define what you can't compare?
This is... My God

And there's no use explaining what can't be contained

I'm not following a God I can lead around
I Can't tame this deity
That's why Jesus is the final answer
to Who I want my God to be!
He's Who (I want my God to be...)

How you gonna reckon with a God this Great?
Why you gonna measure what you can't equate?

Whatcha gonna say to the... Checkmate that is my God?
Stronger than the burn of an aftershave?
Tender as a burger in the microwave, rarer than the air in an empty grave?
This is... My God

And there's no use explaining what can't be contained

How we gonna work this out?
To fabricate a God like this?
No doubt
We'd end up worshipping a Christ of our own design
But Jesus doesn't fit that profile
His ways aren't mine

I'm not following A God that's imagined!
Can't invent his deity
That's why Jesus is the final answer
to who I want my God to be
He's Who I want my God to be!

Newsboys -- "Who?"