What is God Like?
It’s one of the most important questions in the universe: What is God like? Getting the answer to this question right matters if we care about truth, life, humanity, and happiness. The following is some of what God is like, with support from the Bible, and a few practical implications of each point. I’m sure a lot more could be said, but hopefully this is a good start.
There is Only One God
- Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
- Deuteronomy 4:35, 39 To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him….[39] know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.
- James 2:19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Practical implications
- It’s possible to believe in or worship a false god.
- Simply believing in God is not enough. Even demons believe that! We must not only believe in the one true God but also love and obey him (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).
God is the Creator of All
- Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
- Colossians 1:16 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.
- John 1:3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Practical implications
- It is wrong to believe that the universe and human beings came about through purely evolutionary means.
- As created beings we have a life purpose.
- As created beings we are accountable to our Creator.
God is Holy
- Leviticus 19:2 Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.
- Isaiah 6:3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
- Psalm 103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Practical implications
- God never makes mistakes, never lies, never does anything wrong.
- God is worthy of worship, devotion, and trust.
- We do not belong in God’s presence, because our unholiness is offensive and contrary to his holiness.
- God is uniquely qualified to be our judge and to choose fitting punishments for wrongdoing, as well as fitting rewards for righteousness.
- God is just; he will let no wrong go unpunished; he will always do the right thing.
God is Sovereign (In Control)
- Psalm 115:3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
- Daniel 4:35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
- Matthew 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
Practical implications
- We cannot thwart God’s plans.
- Nothing happens apart from God’s permission.
- God is steering human history towards his own appointed end for it.
- God is powerful enough to bring good from something bad.
God is Eternal
- Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
- Isaiah 40:28 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.
- Romans 16:26 [God’s truth] has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God…
Practical implications
- He had no beginning and will have no end.
- God is self-sufficient. He relies on nothing outside of himself for existence, meaning, or happiness.
- He knows the past, present, and future.
God is Immutable (Unchanging)
- Malachi 4:6 For I the LORD do not change…
- James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
- Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Practical implications
- God is not moody; he is consistent.
- God’s promises hold fast. He will not change his mind about them.
- God can be trusted.
- God is the greatest source of stability in the universe.
God is Omniscient (All-Knowing)
- Psalm 139:1-4 O LORD, you have searched me and known me! [2] You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. [3] You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. [4] Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
- Isaiah 46:9-10 …I am God, and there is none like me, [10] declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done
- 1 John 3:20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.
Practical implications
- God know everything there is to know.
- He knows everything about you. We should let this affect the way we live and pray.
- God is not surprised by anything.
- God knows the outcomes of his decisions before he makes them.
- God is not naive to anything.
God is Omnipotent (All-Powerful)
- Jeremiah 32:17 Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
- Job 42:2 I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
- Luke 1:37 For nothing will be impossible with God.
Practical implications
- God can do anything he wants, so long as it does not contradict his own nature.
- God can answer any prayer if he so chooses, no matter how impossible it seems to us.
- Nothing can overpower God’s plan or works.
- Evil will not win out in the universe.
God is Omnipresent (Everywhere)
- Jeremiah 23:24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.
- Psalm 139:7-12 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? [8] If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! [9] If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, [10] even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. [11] If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” [12] even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.
- Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
Practical implications
- You are never really alone.
- God sees everything everyone does and thinks.
- You’ll never be able to escape God, no matter how hard you try. You’ll only ever be ignoring him.
- God cares about his creation; he did not abandon us, nor will he ever do so.
God is Love
- 1 John 4:8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
- 1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.
- Romans 5:8 God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Practical implications
- All love in the universe has its origin in God.
- God must necessarily hate the things that destroy what he loves.
- God does nothing out of revenge or uncontrolled anger.
- Love is the highest good.
- God loved us before we loved him. He is the initiator of a loving relationship with him.
- God’s love is most powerfully displayed in the cross of Christ, where God died to atone for the sins of the world, that we might be restored to him.
Canadian Bible Guy 
Amazing bro