Many of us may recall the episode in Acts 17:22-32.  The Apostle Paul took full advantage of the polytheistic worship in Athens.  He noticed on Mars Hill that there was a monument to "The Unknown God" -- just in case the polytheistic worshippers had accidentally omitted some god they ought to be worshipping!  Paul told them about THE ONE TRUE GOD about whom they knew nothing.  He wasn't successful; they were too superstitious.  But he WAS wise!  He at least stirred up interest.

 

It would SURELY seem today that such a sermon as Paul's would not be needed. But it IS needed even more than it was in Athens!  Many "believers" in THE ONE TRUE GOD don't seem to know Him at all!  Israel was for a long while the only nation which had any knowledge of the true God.  But their faith in Him dwindled, and they lost the benefits of the covenant He had made with them.  Their knowledge of Him dwindled.  Fortunately, for the sake of their faithful forefathers, Israel will soon be re-introduced to their God and find themselves in a position to be used by Him as an instrument in blessing the other nations of earth -- after Israel again has learned to revere Him and accept His will.

 

For a short time, the new Christianity introduced by Jesus also had a wonderful knowledge of the one true God.  But time has changed that.  Pagan concepts and warped doctrines of a worldly-minded religious hierarchy have over the centuries made the one true God virtually unrecognizable by what glibly calls itself "Christianity."  It is a parallel to what happened with Judaism.  As sad a story as it is to tell, the vast majority of Christianity now has no idea of who God is or what He is like.

 

The time in which we are living has, blessedly, brought to light so much of what has been lost about the knowledge of God.  And to know Him, His character, His plans, and what He is now doing and will shortly do, is to find for our souls a fire of appreciation and devotion.

 

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Look first at God's name -- a name which He, Himself, revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:11-14.  Why should we care about His name?  Because in the Bible, names represent character.  But God's character is SO BIG that no normal name or word can contain it!  So God chose to represent Himself to us by a common but important VERB.  And that verb is "to be" -- perhaps the most common of all verbs in any language.  An explanation of this name is not only revealing, but heart-warming.

 

When God spoke His name to Moses, He spoke it in Hebrew in the First Person -- that form of grammar which we use to speak about self.  He virtually said to Moses, "My name is "I am being what I am being."   Then He added, "When the people want to know who sent you, Moses, tell him that 'I am being' sent you."  When Moses finally told the people God's name, he CHANGED the grammatical form to what we call the Third Person form of the verb.  That is the form by which we refer to someone else.  So Moses said "He is being" sent me to you.  Thus God's name has become the third-person form of the Hebrew verb "to be" -- elongated by God Himself to "He is being what He is being."  That word in Hebrew is "YAHWEH."   (The English translation, "Jehovah," doesn't even come close!)

 

How does His name help us to know Him?  God's point for us is that His character is SO BIG and incomprehensible for us mortals, and so far ahead of us, that we will know Him over eternity by all the things He becomes to us in His wonderful works.  We will constantly be seeing what he is BEING -- what He is BECOMING in our sight as time continues to pass.  Consequently, as Jesus said, "This is eternal life that they may know You (God)."  He will always be becoming what He is becoming -- and it will never be any less than stunningly wonderful.

 

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God has not always been -- and even now rarely is -- seen for who He is.  He has been     so misrepresented that many view Him as unfair, partial, unfriendly, weak, vindictive, perpetually angry -- and, even worse, as a torturer of all who don't listen to Him.  

 

But Our God is passionately IN LOVE with the creation He has made.  Everything He is doing is for their eternal blessing, whether they be spirit beings or humans.  He gave His son (Jesus) to die for humanity because He so much loves the world.  (John 3:16)  After all, it was His plan that decided to make humans -- and nothing has changed the intention of that plan.  He will not let that be a mistake!          And that love for the world existed long before Jesus came to help it -- and it has continued even through man's period of disobedience.  God has from the beginning,     and continually since, been in love with us and is working toward our eternal blessing -- even though we might not well see how!  Nevertheless, as the Apostle teaches, "GOD IS LOVE."  THAT love is the Greek word agape, and it can well be defined as always doing that which is for the eternal best for everyone affected.  Sometimes we cannot see how the terrible events of the moment could possibly be for our best.  But He does!

 

Obviously, He DOESN'T love the state things are in.  He doesn't love our corruptions of His character.  He doesn't love what mankind is doing.  But that, to Him, is no problem at all.  HE CAN FIX ALL OF THAT.  And He will -- when what is happening has provided for us some vital and necessary lessons for our welfare throughout eternity.

 

The point is this:  No matter what we might imagine that impugns God's character, the problem is with US, not with HIM.  Our imaginations are poisoned.  But God can overcome that, too! 

 

 

Philosophers of all ages have inquired about WHY God permits evil if He could do something about it.  The Biblical answer is SO SATISFYING.  (See the Article of the Month for July, 2025.)  Simply put, He wants us to have free choice.  But He wants us to UNDERSTAND what poor free choice will result in.  Once that lesson is learned, He will give us the opportunity to CHOOSE right and life.

 

Loving peoples have wondered how eternal torment can fit into the picture of a loving god.  It cannot.  There IS NO SUCH THING in the Scriptures if we take the time to study the matter.  DYING, itself, seems so out of harmony with God's character.  But, even though we die for a good reason, death will soon end, and all who have died will return with the opportunity of eternal blissful life.   (See the same Article of the Month already mentioned.)  

 

The fact is, man is experiencing the devastating results of disobedience so that he can soon choose to gleefully conform to God's simple rules for His creation.  The experience with evil is the the most effective training possible to ensure that we freely choose lives of righteousness over lives of selfishness.  Then the entire universe will sing in the joys it will experience.  (Isaiah 14:7)

 

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The Scriptures indicate that God has four primary attributes -- Wisdom, Justice, Love, and Power.  There are many more, but these four well summarize the BALANCE in His character.  These attributes do not work independently.  They temper each other so that no extreme can dominate.

 

Most people might most fear POWER.  But if Power is under the strict limitations of Justice, Wisdom, and Love, Power becomes a wonderful thing.  It is the promise that everything God has promised, He has the Power to fulfill.

 

JUSTICE might make many of us cringe!  We all realize that, in our imperfections, we have violated and do violate strict justice.  But, here again, God's love and mercies have provided a way that justice will be satisfied without our suffering long-term hurt from it.  Nevertheless, we can confidently RELY on JUSTICE, knowing that no one ever will be treated unfairly.  "God is no respecter of persons" is a Scripture we can adore!  JUSTICE prohibits such favoritism.  NO ONE is going to be slighted or left out of what God has planned for us all.

 

WISDOM dominates all of these attributes in that nothing is done by any attribute that does not, in the end, work for good.  There are no mistakes with God.  God has no "Plan B" because His "Plan A" is so perfect that it cannot fail.  When we have finally seen and experienced "what it all means," we will glory in His wisdom forever -- and that will be a basis for faith and confidence that for all eternity, nothing can go wrong.

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Most people may be under a terrible misunderstanding of LOVE.  God's love is not the "warm fuzzies" that excuse our wrongs just because He likes us!  Of the four attributes, Scripture personifies only LOVE.  It says "God IS Love."  His devotion and fairness and planning for the very best for each individual being is a part of His character which will make all of His creatures adore Him.  This is perhaps the most UNKNOWN part of our God -- the most uncelebrated part of Him.  Oh, yes!  Many TALK of His Love, but how many know the scope of it -- the vast and wonderful benefits it promises, and the lack of vindictiveness it represents.  Too many "believers" WANT to see others hurt ("punished").  Too many "believers" don't know God at all!

 

 

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