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Objective

In this lesson, we’ll discover that God is a Spirit who has no limitations of space or time, and we’ll explore eight essential qualities that describe His existence.

Key Verse

John 4:24: God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

Introduction

In our last lesson, we saw that God has revealed Himself to us. He wants us to know Him and to make His glory known in the world. The commandment to love God “with all our heart” is only possible if God can be known and desires to be known.

Deuteronomy 6:5: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Mark 12:30: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

To love God truly and fully, we must know who He is. All of Scripture reveals the character of God. This is why we must study and teach the Bible. We’ll be doing this as we study the most basic qualities of God. In this lesson we’ll look at eight qualities that describe His existence.

• God is a spiritual Being
• God has no beginning or end
• God needs nothing outside Himself
• God always remains the same
• God is completely powerful
• God knows everything
• God is everywhere
• God is the ruler of everything

God Is a Spiritual Being

We should listen carefully to how Jesus described God’s character. Speaking to the Samaritan woman, Jesus said that “God is a Spirit.” This is the most basic thing Jesus said about God, and it’s where we should begin. Let’s look at the context of what Jesus said.

John 4:20-24: Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Jesus is saying that God is not limited to any place. He is not to be found in a single holy mountain or a single holy city, since He does not have a bodily form. This is why the Children of Israel were commanded not to make representations of God. Images of God always lead to idolatry because we start to worship the physical image itself. We are to worship God “in spirit and truth.”

Exodus 20:3-4: You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

Christ is the only representation of God in bodily form. He is therefore worthy of our worship.

Colossians 1:15: The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Hebrews 1:3: The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

John 20:28: Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

If God is a Spirit, then why does the Old Testament say that He has eyes, ears, and arms?

Psalm 34:15: The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry.

Isaiah 59:1: Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.

God is described to us in terms that we can understand. But He is not limited by a physical body or by physical space. He is not bound by time and He needs nothing outside Himself. The spiritual nature of God, therefore, is the most basic thing we must know about God’s existence.

God Has No Beginning or End

God is eternal. Unlike the things of this world, God has no beginning or end.

Psalm 90:2: Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Isaiah 57:15: For this is what the high and exalted One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.

When we try to imagine something that has always existed and will always exist, our minds struggle to understand this truth. We live in a world where everything has a beginning and an end. But God exists outside of time itself. He created time, so He is not limited by it. This means that God never grows older, never becomes weaker, and never learns anything new because He has always known everything.

(Notebook Moment: How does it comfort you to know that God has no beginning or end? What does this tell you about the security of His promises to you?)

God Needs Nothing Outside Himself

All living things rely upon other things to live and survive. This is true for people, animals, and plants. But the One who created all things is entirely sufficient in Himself.

Acts 17:24-25: The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

If God does not need anything, then why did He create the world? God certainly does not need us, but He wants us. He wants us to reflect His glory, to fellowship with Him, and to share in His life forever.

Isaiah 43:7: Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.

1 John 1:3: We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

John 17:21: That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

This truth about God’s complete self-sufficiency should humble us and encourage us at the same time. It humbles us because we realize that God did not create us because He was lonely or because He needed our help. It encourages us because we know that God chose to create us and love us purely out of His grace and goodness.

God Always Remains the Same

The things of this world change and pass away. People change their minds, circumstances change, and even our feelings change from day to day. God alone never changes.

Malachi 3:6: I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

Hebrews 13:8: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

God never changes His mind. His purposes are eternal.

Numbers 23:19: God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

Hebrews 6:17: Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.

Why, then, does the Bible speak about God as though He does change His mind? Because God is described to us in human language in the only ways we can understand. These passages speak of God’s sorrow and God’s mercy.

Genesis 6:6: The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.

Jonah 3:10: When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

When the Bible speaks this way, it is helping us understand God’s responses to human actions. God’s character never changes, but His actions toward us can change based on whether we obey Him or rebel against Him. A loving father never stops being loving, but he may discipline his children when they disobey and reward them when they obey.

God Is Completely Powerful

Everyone can see the power of God in nature. If God created all things, then God is completely powerful and nothing is too hard for Him.

Romans 1:20: For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Genesis 18:14: Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.

If God is completely powerful, then why does He allow sin to continue? Why does He allow suffering? We need to remember two biblical truths that answer these questions:

• God gave man a choice to be obedient or disobedient to God
• God will eventually judge all sin

God could have created us like robots that have no choice but to obey Him. But true love requires the freedom to choose. God wanted creatures who would love Him freely, not because they had no other option. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, sin entered the world and brought suffering with it. But God has not abandoned His creation. He sent His Son to provide salvation, and He promises that one day He will judge all sin and make everything right again.

(Notebook Moment: When you face difficult circumstances, how does it help you to remember that God has the power to help you, even if He chooses to work in ways you don’t immediately understand?)

God Knows Everything

The prophecies in the Old Testament tell us about God’s complete knowledge.

Isaiah 46:10: I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’

God knows us better than we know ourselves.

Psalm 139:1-6: You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Paul tells us that all knowledge and wisdom are found in Jesus Christ.

Colossians 2:3: In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

If God knows everything, then why do we pray? Doesn’t God already know what’s going to happen? We pray because God has commanded us to come to Him with our needs. This is one of the ways we worship Him as we declare our complete dependence upon Him. Prayer also changes us as we align our hearts with God’s will and learn to trust Him more completely.

God Is Everywhere

God is not limited by space or time. He is present everywhere and at all times.

Psalm 139:7-12: Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Proverbs 15:3: The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

If God is everywhere, then how can anyone be separated from God? God can withdraw Himself from mankind. He will withdraw His presence eternally from those who do not believe. Being separated from God does not mean that God is not present—it means that people are cut off from experiencing God’s love, mercy, and blessing.

This truth about God’s presence everywhere should both comfort us and challenge us. It comforts us because we know that we are never alone and that God sees everything we face. It challenges us because we know that God also sees our thoughts, attitudes, and actions when we think no one is watching.

God Is the Ruler of Everything

As we have seen, God is completely powerful, knows all things, and is present everywhere. God is also the rightful ruler over all things. We acknowledge His complete authority when we call Him “Lord.” At the end of time, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Philippians 2:11: And every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

God’s sovereignty means that He has the right to rule over His creation. This includes the right to establish moral laws, to judge those who break His laws, and to show mercy to those who repent. Because God is perfectly holy, just, and loving, we can trust that His rule is always right and good.

Some people rebel against the idea that God has authority over them. But this rebellion is like a creature trying to tell its creator how things should be done. God’s authority is not oppressive—it is the loving rule of a perfect heavenly Father who knows what is best for His children.

(Notebook Moment: In what areas of your life do you find it most difficult to acknowledge God’s authority? How might your life change if you truly trusted that God’s rule over you comes from His perfect love and wisdom?)

Conclusion

What should our response be when we think of how great God is?

First, we should worship Him, since He alone is worthy. When we understand that God is a Spirit who is eternal, self-sufficient, unchanging, all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere present, and sovereign over all things, we realize that no one else deserves our worship and praise. Every other god that people worship is either a creation of human imagination or a created thing that depends on the true God for its existence.

Second, we should thank Him for allowing us to know Him and live with Him forever. The fact that the infinite, eternal God wants to have a relationship with finite, temporary creatures like us is amazing beyond words. We should never take for granted the privilege of knowing God personally through Jesus Christ.

Third, we should trust Him to provide for our needs. If God has all these magnificent qualities, then we can trust Him completely with every detail of our lives. The God who created the universe and sustains it by His power can certainly take care of our daily needs. The God who knows everything understands exactly what we need before we even ask. The God who never changes will be just as faithful tomorrow as He is today.

When we truly understand who God is, it transforms how we pray, how we face difficulties, how we make decisions, and how we treat other people. The God we serve is not a distant, powerless deity—He is the living God who is intimately involved in our lives and who has the power to accomplish His perfect will in and through us.

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