God is a Personal Being
The Lord is good to everyone; His compassion rests on all He has made
Psalm 145:9 (CSB)
God did not simply create the world and then sit back, ignoring it. Instead, God actively engages with His creation because He is a personal being who cares for it. To understand the personal nature of God, we must acknowledge that He is intelligent, spiritual, and personal.
INTELLIGENT
When we examine the world around us, we acknowledge that God is an intelligent being. The idea of intelligent design conveys this truth. We observe order and complexity in creation, indicating that it required an intelligent designer, who is God. He embodies perfect intelligence. Take a moment to let the complexity, beauty, and existence of creation reveal to you the Lord's intelligent nature.
SPIRITUAL
God is spirit. God reveals this truth to us in John 4:24 and supports it throughout the New Testament in passages like Colossians 1:15 and 1 Timothy 1:17. In these scriptures, the Lord is described as invisible. Even though God is spirit, we understand that He is a personal and living being. He communes with us and works in our lives. While we may find it difficult to grasp the concept that God is spirit, we must arrive at a point of accepting this truth in faith, as God has made this theological truth known to us.
PERSONAL
God is a person. Yes, God is spirit, but He also possesses a personal nature. We recognize God as a person due to several characteristics we associate with personhood. First, God is self-aware. In Exodus 3:14, the Lord identifies Himself as "I am that I am." Second, God has the ability to self-determine. He has the freedom to act and do as He chooses. Scripture affirms this nature in passages like Romans 9:11 and Hebrews 6:17. Third, God experiences emotions. In Psalm 145, the passage for today, we find that He has compassion. In other places in Scripture, we see God express anger, grief, sorrow, and empathy.
When seeking to understand God, it is crucial to firmly hold onto the truth that God is an intellectual being. We must acknowledge that God is spirit and recognize God as a person. Although we may not fully grasp these truths, we steadfastly hold onto them in faith.
QUESTIONS
How would you describe the importance of God’s goodness and his nature as a personal being?
How does the personal nature of God strengthen your faith?
