In counseling with many, many people, and speaking to audiences across the United States and around the world, I find that there is a fundamental flaw in our thinking that underlies the personal, spiritual, physical, and social problems we suffer with. That flaw is a misunderstanding of who God is and what He is like. I would like to take the time to replace this error with the truth, so that you can be free, at peace, and healthy. To understand who God is and what He is like, we need to turn to the Bible to consider what God has revealed about Himself. 

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19.

“For all things come from You.” 1 Chronicles 29:14.

Each of us need a love that is full, constant, unselfish, and personal; not incomplete, intermittent, selfish, or impersonal. Each of us need a respect that respects us completely, constantly, that gives to us, because it wants to; not partially, intermittently, so that it can get something from us, or because it has to. Each of us need an understanding that understands us completely, constantly, for our sake, because it wants to; not partially, intermittently, with ulterior motives, or because it has to. Everything we need, we need it fully, constantly, unselfishly, and voluntarily. 

That means that God is full, constant, unselfish, and personal. He has everything we need. He has more of what we need than we could possibly receive. He makes it available to us all the time. There is never a time when He will be unavailable, and we will not be able to get what we need. He doesn’t have to be coerced into giving it to us, because He Himself wants it for us. And He gives it to us unselfishly, for our sake, not His. 

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” Revelation 4:8.

“Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” Psalm 90:2.

God is infinite in existence. He had no beginning, and He will have no end. God exists in all time, past, present, and future. There never has been nor ever will be a time when there is no God. He existed forever before He created the first creature. He did not create us because He needed us, for God is the source of everything and has no needs. He created us because He wanted us. He didn’t create us so that we could fulfill His needs. He created us so that He could fulfill our needs. He isn’t absolutely dependent upon us. We are absolutely dependent upon Him. But, in giving us responsibilities, He removes Himself from the fulfillment of those responsibilities, and thus makes Himself dependent upon us for its fulfillment. Only in this way does He need us. 

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.” Psalm 139:1-4.

“For I am the Lord, I change not…” Malachi 3:6.

These passages tell us that God knows all things. He is always aware of all things. There is no new information for God. He already knows it all. Nothing can change His mind, for it is made up knowing everything. God knows everything about you, past, present, and future. He knows everything you have ever thought, said, or done and everything you will ever think, say, or do. Knowing everything about you, what does He think about you?

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” Isaiah 55:8-9.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.

“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.

“For God so loved [you] that He gave His only begotten Son, that [if you believe] in Him [you] should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

“having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” Ephesians 1:5.

There is nothing you can think, say, or do that will change God’s mind about you; for His mind is made up knowing everything already. You cannot think, say, or do something that He didn’t already know. You cannot do something so bad that He didn’t already know about, pay the price for, and offer you forgiveness for. He knows all about it already and has dealt with it already. 

God intends, through the life, death, resurrection, and heavenly mediation of Christ, to save you and be with you forever. He knows what you will become and what you will accomplish because of Christ throughout eternity. You only know yourself by your life so far, on this earth, in the context of sinful nature and all its weaknesses, failures, and misery. But God knows your eternal future in Christ. You can’t even imagine what you will become and what you will accomplish throughout eternity, but God knows.

He knows you are worth the price He paid for you. He knows you are worth every effort to set you free. He knows how happy, amazed, and grateful you will be throughout eternity, and that thought makes His suffering a joy. 

But God’s foreknowledge doesn’t remove our ability to choose for ourselves. Just because I know of Cain’s decision to kill Abel doesn’t mean that my knowledge removed Cain’s ability to choose at the time of the incident. And just because God knows what decisions we will make (for He also exists in the future) doesn’t mean I have no freedom to choose in the moment. God preserves my ability to choose in the moment, but He knows what I will choose, for He has seen it already. 

“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.” Psalm 139:7-10.

God exists in all space. If you travel in any direction at any speed for any length of time, God is there. You can never go where He isn’t already there. Therefore, you will never find yourself without God being there with you. He also exists in all dimensions, but He is distinct from His creation. His creation comes from Him, but it is not Him. 

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5.

You can never be abandoned by God, for God is wherever you are. He is always interested in you. His attention is always upon you. He is always aware of everything happening to, in, and through you. You can abandon Him, but He cannot abandon you. 

“Power belongs to God.” Psalm 62:11.

There is no beginning or end to God’s power. He is the source of all power. All things derive their power from Him, and nothing can have power apart from Him. God can create forever and empower everything He creates…forever. But His power is not indiscriminate. His power is subject to His character.

Laws are channels through which God gives His power to His creation. Because God is predictable, His laws are predictable. The sunrise and sunset are consistent because God is consistent (trustworthy). But God is not bound by or limited to His laws. He exists above them and can work outside of them when needed (miracles, divine interventions, etc.).

All things exist & function by God’s will & power. All things continue to exist & function by His continued will & power. God is presently, purposefully, personally, actively maintaining everything He created. If He were to cease to do so, the entire creation would cease to function or exist. Each heartbeat, each breath, etc. is only possible because God’s power is personally sustaining those functions and maintaining your life. In our next newsletter, we will continue looking at who God is and what He is like, so that we can be Getting to Know God. 

“For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” Psalm 100:5.

This verse shows us that every quality God possess (goodness, mercy, truth, etc.) He possesses to an infinite degree. There is no quality that God possesses partially. Therefore, He cannot have even the smallest bit of any quality that is the opposite of any quality He does possess. He is selfless therefore He cannot be a bit selfish. He is faithful therefore He cannot be a bit unfaithful. He is truthful therefore He cannot lie even a little. He is forgiving therefore He cannot be a bit bitter or resentful.

“…God is love.” 1 John 4:8.

God’s love is unselfish, selfless, and self-sacrificing. He does everything for the good of others, never for His own good. Everything He does is done with an expectation of good for others without an expectation of good in return from others for His own sake. If there was ever a need, He would be willing to deny or sacrifice anything and everything for you, if only it would work out for your good.

God’s love is infinite, and that which is infinite cannot change. God’s love for you cannot, will not, change. He loves you knowing everything you have ever thought, said, or done and everything you will ever think, say, or do. He loves you, not for what you can do for Him, but for what He can do for you. He loves you because He is love, not because you are currently lovely. He loves you because of what is in Him, not because of what is currently in you. If you are running away from Him or toward Him, He loves you just the same. If you are caught in a deceptive rebellion, or if you are cooperating with His efforts to set you free, He loves you just the same. There is nothing that you can do, by your own thoughts, words, or actions that can cause God to change His love for you.

You cannot buy His love for you by good behavior. Nor can you annul His love for you by bad
behavior. It doesn’t matter how many times you have given in to that particular sin, His love for you is no different than it was before you ever committed that sin in the first place. His love for you does not change. It cannot change. This infinite nature of God is our only hope!

But sin deceives & destroys. It causes us to separate ourselves from God. It deceives us into pursuing that which will destroy us as if it would help us. And we can become so affected by sin that we never see the need to accept God’s love and help, or we believe that we don’t deserve it, so we don’t accept it. Therefore, it is never safe to “play” with sin. But the sin never changes God love for us.

What if God was not infinite? What if God didn’t love you if you did wrong? What if God only loved you when you did right? What if God’s thoughts of you changed based upon your behavior? What kind of hope would you have? You would have to fear Him and cower. You would have to try to “pay Him off,” with much service, expensive gifts, church attendance, “good” behavior, or anything you could think of that would pacify His anger and earn His love. You could never love a god like that because you know that god doesn’t love you. He only loves what you can do for him or give to him. Is this your view of God?

When you read scripture, remember that God is unselfish, self-sacrificing love. If you read something in scripture about God that does not seem to match with His unselfish, self-sacrificing love, then know that you have interpreted that scripture the wrong way. Ask God to help you understand that passage in the context of His unselfish, self-sacrificing love, and over time, you will fall more and more in love with a God like that.

While God’s love itself never changes, how He manifests His love does change based upon circumstances. God’s love rebuked Peter often, but Judas rarely. God’s love was gentle and frank to the woman at the well, but commanding and authoritative when cleansing the temple. God’s love is manifested as needed to direct us in the right way. If we run off the road to the left, His love nudges us to the right. If we run off the road to the right, His love nudges us to the left. Circumstances do determine how God’s love is manifested toward you, but they never change how much God loves you.

God loves you, not what you can do for Him or give to Him. God’s love is for you, not for Himself. His love is always with your best interest in mind, not His. He will put Himself at a disadvantage to give you the advantage, and you can love and trust a God like that.

In the experience of a love like this you can’t help but be transformed into the same likeness. That which was unlovely in you becomes lovely. That which was unholy in you becomes holy. That which was unrighteous in you becomes righteous. By beholding you become changed.

“You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb…Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” Psalm 139:13,16-17.

God is infinitely personal. God knows every thought you think. He knows everything about you, including the number of hairs on your head. He listens to you as if you are the only person in the world. He pays attention to you as if there is no one else to pay attention to. He is aware of everything happening in your life. He experiences everything that happens to you. And He understands how you feel and why you feel that way.

“the Lord our God is holy.” Psalm 99:9.

God is holy and without any impurity. He is completely in harmony with His holy law, for His law is a reflection of who He is. He is perfect, whole, morally complete, and without an equal anywhere. He is the standard by which holiness is measured and where it finds its true definition. He has never been nor ever will be tainted by sin. He abhors sin and the corruption and destruction that it brings to all who are infected by it. But He loves His children that are infected by sin. Jesus endured being in the presence of sin as you and I might endure the sound of someone scratching a chalk board with their fingernails. But He came and endured because of His love for His children.

The defiling, corrupting, and destroying nature of sin cannot coexist with the sanctifying, purifying, and restoring nature of God. Darkness cannot coexist with light, for darkness is the absence of light. God Himself could endure the existence of sin forever, for He has infinite patience, infinite love, and infinite power, and infinite patience, love, and power is not personally threatened by sin, which is finite. Sin cannot threaten, corrupt, or destroy God, but it can threaten, corrupt, and destroy His creation.

That which is opposite God’s will, way, and character must be eliminated, because only God’s way brings light, life, love, joy, meaning, purpose, and everything we need. Anything contrary to God’s way brings darkness, death, selfishness, sorrow, meaninglessness, purposelessness, and everything that brings suffering. For His creation’s sake, God must eliminate sin. For His creation’s sake, He must universally restore His reign of love.

Sin cannot exist in the presence of a holy God. One day soon, God will reveal himself to all His creation, and His infinite glory will shine so bright that all creation will be charged with a holy glow. All, that is, except sin and sinners who have refused the light and clung to darkness. These will all be destroyed in the glorious presence of God, and once again, all creation will be in harmony with their Creator and sin will rise no more.

“Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus” Romans 15:5.

How much patience does God have? He has infinite patience. What, then, can overbear God’s patience? Nothing can! There can never be an intensity of evil or duration of evil that would cause God’s patience to come to an end. God does not destroy the wicked because He has had enough—because He can’t take it anymore. He didn’t bring the flood on the earth or destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because He couldn’t stand the wickedness anymore. God destroys the wicked for their own sake—because it is hell to live infected with selfishness and sin. He destroys the wicked for others’ sake—because their influence is infective and destructive. It is mercy for the ones infected with sin to be destroyed so that they don’t have to continue living infected with sin. And it is mercy for the ones who were influenced by that sin, that the destructive influence may come to an end.

Destruction comes when there is no more hope of rescuing any of the wicked from sin and restoring them to righteousness. When that hope is gone, it is mercy to end their existence rather than to extend it longer with only increasingly evil outcomes.

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.” Psalm 89:14.

God is merciful and just, but how merciful and just is He? He is infinitely merciful and infinitely just! He cannot change His mercy, nor can He change His justice. He cannot annul the punishment for sin, for infinite justice demands an exact payment. But His infinite mercy found a way to set the repentant sinner free, not by annulling His justice, but by Jesus becoming the object of infinite justice and paying the exact payment that each sin requires. In Jesus, the price for every sin that was ever committed and every sin that will ever be committed by every one that has or will ever commit sin, was paid in full. Infinite mercy found a way to maintain infinite justice and yet set the repentant sinner free.

But if his mercy is rejected and the perfect life of Jesus is not freely accepted in place of my own sinful one, then I will be left to face that perfect justice on my own. Jesus faced that justice so that I don’t have to. His life, death, and resurrection make that gift available to me, but it doesn’t force me to accept it. If rejected, I am the one to face that perfect justice on my own.

“There is forgiveness with You” Psalm 130:4.

God has forgiveness for the sinner, but how much forgiveness does He have? He has infinite forgiveness! There is no sin that is too evil, repeated too often, continued too long, or committed in combination with too many other sins for God to forgive. Sin is finite, but God’s forgiveness is infinite. There is nothing that you can ever do that will exhaust God’s forgiveness for you.

But God’s forgiveness will not be forced upon you. You must accept it freely for it to benefit you personally. Unfortunately, sin can deceive you so you may never accept that offered gift (again), so don’t play with sin.

God’s forgiveness is perfect, infinite, unchangeable, inexhaustible, and it is freely offered to you now.  Will you take it, or will you walk away from it? Will you accept the gift, or will you try to pay the price yourself? Will you believe in God’s infinite unchanging nature?

His love for you will never change. It can never change. He wants to give you His infinity. In Jesus, we are given the opportunity to be united to His divinity forever. Will you accept that great privilege, the privilege of infinitely being united with the infinite God? The gift is offered to you, not because of how you behave, not because of how good you are, not because of what you can do for God but because He loves you with an infinite love that cannot change, and His love can transform you into someone of infinite value and usefulness. Do you sense your need for that infinite gift? Will you take it right now?