The most important – and indeed revolutionary – God-fact we have in the Bible is that God is love. (1 Jn 4:8) God is not just loving; He does not just act in loving ways; He is, we are reliably informed, love Himself. God’s love means that He eternally gives of Himself to others. (Jn 3:16) God’s love is steadfast and unfailing, not based on feelings, but based on His covenant and compassion. God delights in us (Zeph 3:17); He loves us with passion (see Song of Songs) and lavishes His love on us (1 Jn 3:1); He loves us faithfully and assures us that nothing at all will ever be able to separate us from His love (see Rom 8:37-39). That kind of solid, unshakeable love becomes the wellspring of all life and obedience; it’s a love which is totally different to so many religions which view God simply as a wrathful, vengeful deity.
God is also righteous and just. (Deut 32:4, Gen 18:25) He will always do what is right and just; His ways are perfect. (Ps 18:30) This can be hard for us to accept and understand, but gives us a solid framework for life, for we all long for justice. It is also reassuring, for as Christians it means we can exchange our imperfect righteousness for Christ’s perfect righteousness and therefore can find peace with God. (Rom 3:25-26)
God is merciful and gracious. (Rom 3:24-25) He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, but offers us pardon, forgiveness, grace and mercy. Mercy is God’s goodness towards those in misery and distress, and grace is God’s goodness to those who deserve only punishment. Our whole relationship with God is based on His mercy and grace; we can’t earn these, but can only receive them gratefully.
God is both generous and good. These are similar attributes to mercy and grace in that they are both manifest chiefly in how God treats people. (Js 1:5, Titus 3:5-7) Over the years, a myth has grown up that God is mean and stingy and really quite nasty, but the truth is in fact the complete opposite. God is good and all He does is good (Ps 119:68); ‘no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.’ (Ps 84:11) The enemy sows seeds of doubts into our minds about God’s goodness (as he did with Eve in the Garden of Eden); our imperfect perspective on eternity also makes us question God’s goodness at times, but having faith means having confidence and assurance that what we see is not the whole picture and that God’s goodness will not let us go.
God is forgiving. (Micah 7:18) We can be sure God’s forgiveness will cover all our sins (1 Jn 1:9) and as we receive forgiveness, we can then receive God’s power to forgive others, setting us free from bitterness, grudges, hatred and animosity.
God is both faithful and patient (see Ex 34:6, Ps 25:10, Neh 9:29-31). God’s faithfulness and patience mean He has not given up on us and are therefore the bedrock of our hope (see Phil 1:6, 2 Pet 3:9).
