Throughout history, cultures have proposed a wide range of ideas regarding what God is like. Many tribal religions have worshiped an array of gods, with a god for lightning, rain, or the sun. Other religions have taught that all is God or part of the one God. Still others have suggested God cannot be known by humanity, such as the Greeks in Acts 17:23 who worshiped an unknown God.
With so many views of what God is like, how can anyone say he or she has the right view of God? First, it is clear that if something true about God can be known, it is true in all places at all times. In other words, two different people or cultures cannot have contradictory views about God and be accurate. If there is a God who is a certain way, then it would be a way that transcends individual and cultural differences. In addition, what is known about God could increase (the idea of progressive revelation), but God (as a perfect being) does not change.
The concern then becomes what foundation is used to determine what God is like. If there is an all-powerful God who created all things, then created beings could only understand what God reveals to them. This is the claim of the Bible that teaches God desires to be known (Psalm 46:10) and has revealed Himself through inspired Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
From the first verse of the Bible, we are told a single creator God exists: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). In addition, the one God who made all things sustains or controls all of creation. Isaiah 44:24 says, "Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: 'I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself.'" Many of God's other attributes are shared in various portions of the Bible, including love, mercy, justice, righteousness, and others.
In addition to Scripture, the Bible reveals that Jesus came to earth to show us the Father (John 14:7-9). Though fully human, Jesus is fully God as well, providing evidence through His sinless life, miracles, teaching, power over evil spirits, and His resurrection from the dead.
When taking the Bible's view of "What is God like?" seriously, it is clear that God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4), yet consists of three Persons in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20). He is both perfect oneness and perfect community, offering faith, hope, and love to those who trust in Him (1 Corinthians 13:13). God showed His greatest love through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus on the cross (John 3:16). Through this sacrifice, He calls sinners to trust in God's grace and to become His children (Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 John 3:1).
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