“God Is” Verses

God Is: A List of God Is Descriptions from the Bible

Below is a list of verses from the King James Translation of the Bible describing God, all utilizing the phrase “God is”. However, consider first His words to Moses:

Exodus 3:13-14 – And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

God’s description of Himself simply is that He is. There is no beginning in the term and no end. Now here is a list of a great many verses by inspired men describing what God is or is not:

God Is

God Is…

Numbers 23:19 – God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Deuteronomy 4:24 – For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

Deuteronomy 4:31 – For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

Deuteronomy 6:4 – Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

Deuteronomy 6:15 – For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 10:17 – For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:

Deuteronomy 33:27 – The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

2 Samuel 22:33 – God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

2 Chronicles 30:9 – For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.

Psalms 7:11 – God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

Psalms 46:1 – To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalms 47:7 – For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.

Psalms 50:6 – And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.

Psalms 54:4 – Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.

Psalms 59:9 – Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.

Psalms 59:17 – Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.

Psalms 62:7 – In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

Psalms 62:8 – Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Psalms 68:20 – He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.

Psalms 73:26 – My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

Psalms 74:12 – For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

Psalms 75:7 – But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

Psalms 84:11 – For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Psalms 94:22 – But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.

Psalms 116:5 – Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

Proverbs 30:5 – Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Isaiah 12:2 – Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Jeremiah 3:23 – Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.

Nahum 1:2 – God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

Habakkuk 3:19 – The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

Matthew 22:32 – I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Mark 12:29 – And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

John 4:24 – God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Act 10:34 – Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

Romans 1:9 – For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

1 Corinthians 1:9 – God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 10:13 – There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

1 Corinthians 14:33 – For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

2 Corinthians 1:18 – But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.

2 Corinthians 9:8 – And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

Galatians 3:20 – Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

Galatians 6:7 – Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Phillipians 1:8 – For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:5 – For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:

Hebrews 6:10 – For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

Hebrews 11:16 – But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

Hebrews 12:29 – For our God is a consuming fire.

1 John 1:5 – This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

1 John 3:20 – For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

1 John 4:8 – He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

1 John 4:16 – And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Last of the verses, is one very strong. For all the descriptions and attributes given of God, it is made clear that Jesus Christ is God. The Son, the Father, the Spirit, they are one. God is one.

1 John 5:20 – And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

There are many other verses in the Bible demonstrating who God is and His nature, but hopefully these few verses given will aid in understanding more about Him.

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What Liberalism is Not

There is in the Lord’s church a growing number of individuals who are seeking to change the practices that we find in the scriptures to conform to a more denominational perspective. These are departing from the teaching that is found in the Bible regarding salvation, worship, the church, and Christian living. It is good for Christians to be concerned about these things. We should not have any practices that are not authorized by the scriptures (2 John 9). We should seek to do all things according to the authority of God as revealed in His word (Colossians 3:17). We should “speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11). It is also the responsibility of the local eldership to “watch” over the flock to ensure that wolves are not coming in to steal the sheep (Acts 20:28-31). I want to go on record as being opposed to liberalism. I am opposed to any inventions of man that are inserted into God’s order of things, whether it be taking away from the plan of salvation or adding to the worship in a way that is unscriptural or teaching false doctrine regarding the place of the church in the scheme of redemption-I am directly 100% vehemently opposed to liberalism!!! There are some, however, who point and cry “liberalism” where there is no liberalism. I am equally opposed to this. In order to help us understand what liberalism is not, I thought I would write a few words about this.

Liberalism

Avoid Liberalism

First, liberalism IS NOT singing new songs or singing songs that are not in the book. I have never been to a new congregation in which I did not sing some new songs. Most of these new songs were in a book, however, some were not. In the case where the songs are not in a book, the song leader would put the words on an overhead projector. We did this at the church of Christ for the deaf so that the deaf could look up and see the words and the song leader at the same time. When you don’t have the words in a book, you use the best expedient possible to make sure that everyone gets the words because you can’t teach or admonish WITHOUT words (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16). Liberalism IS removing the words so that one is humming or making some other kind of noise.

Second, liberalism IS NOT using illustrations to help people understand the message better. If, when we preached, every word had to be scripture, there would be no preaching, it would just be reading the Bible. Jesus used illustrations from every day life to help the disciples understand His teaching. He used the sea, mountains, stones, fish, boats, farming, and the temple itself to illustrate many of the things that he was talking about. He left us an example that we can use illustrations from every day life as well to teach a message. Liberalism IS changing the message that Jesus gave so that we leave out necessary parts of the gospel such as the teaching about hell, baptism, faithfulness, attendance, modesty, the church, or marriage and divorce (1 Peter 4:11).

Third, liberalism IS NOT doing some things similar to the way denominations do things. Just because a denomination is doing something does not of necessity imply that we may not do it. Some people act like if a denomination is doing it, then we simply cannot do it regardless if it is scriptural or not. Denominations have buildings. Denominations have song books. Denominations have pews, baptisteries, pulpits, lights, and sound systems. Are these things wrong merely because the denominations have them? Of course not. Liberalism IS doing things like the denominations for the SOLE PURPOSE of imitating the denominations to be popular (1 Samuel 8:5-7).

It is beautiful that God has given us liberty in Christ to do many different things and make decisions on our own in matters of opinion and still be pleasing to Him. I, for one, am thankful that God has given us latitude in our lives in so many things. However, just because we have freedom does not necessarily mean that we MAY exercise it. In fact, the Bible teaches that if our freedom causes another person to sin, we should not use it (1 Corinthians 8, 9, 10). Having this in mind, I want to pass along some words of wisdom that were given to me by another many years ago. When hiring a school bus driver, you don’t hire a person who takes chances. You want someone who drives safely and stays as far away from danger as possible. In living my life as a Christian, I want to stay as far away from sin as possible. On the other hand, in my zeal to avoid sin, I may not make laws that God has not made and I must respect each person’s Christian liberty.

There are so many problems that exist within the church without having to create new ones. Let’s respect God’s wishes in regard both to what he has authorized and what he left in the area of Christian liberty. As the old restoration saying goes, “In matters of faith, unity; in matters of opinion, liberty; in all things, charity” and as the Bible says, “knowledge puffs up, but love edifies” (1 Corinthians 8:1).

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Lord Hear My Prayer

In Psalm 143:1 David pleads, “Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me, and in Your righteousness.” We all want our prayers to be heard and answered but the sad fact is many simply do not know how to pray. It is not uncommon in regard to prayer to hear folks say they don’t know what to say or how to say it.” Even the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1).

prayer

Lord Hear my Prayer

While Jesus answered His disciples with the model prayer (and the outline He sets forth for us there is indeed a great place to start) I want us to consider something Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:7–8 Jesus sets forth important factors that, if followed, will benefit us with regard to prayer. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” The application of this in line with our subject of prayer is that our prayer should be…

Simple. Jesus said, “Ask.” Asking is a prerequisite of receiving. Verse eight says, “For everyone who asks receives.” James said, “You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2). Pray is not as complicated as men often teach or think. Keep it simple, talk to God.

Intense. Jesus says, “Seek.” Seeking is a precondition of discovery. Again in verse eight Jesus says, “he who seeks finds.” Through the prophet Jeremiah the Lord said, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). Prayer should be a pouring out of ourselves to God.

Persistent. Jesus said, “Knock.” Knocking is the persistent action by which the divine storehouse of God’s blessings is accessed. Notice again Jesus says, “to him who knocks it will be opened.” We often think of persistence in prayer in the framework of repeatedly asking God for the same thing, but may I suggest that persistence here may have more to do with Paul’s instruction to, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). How persistent are we in prayer?

While these things will all help us in regards to aiding in the Lord hearing our prayers there is one other crucial factor that must be mentioned. Above all else, in order for the Lord to hear and answer our prayers, we must be right with God! James 5:16 says, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” 1 Peter 3:12 declares, “For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”

If you are not in a right relationship with God today you need to understand that your sins are hindering the ears of the Lord from hearing your prayers. Isaiah 59:2 proclaims, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”

Jesus died for every man on the cross, became our advocate, so that we might have access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18). If you will come to Him in obedience, repenting of your sins, confessing His name, and being baptized for the remission of your sins, He will cleanse you and open His ear to you. If you are a Christian who has fallen away, if you will repent and ask His forgiveness, you can once again enjoy the privilege of saying, “Lord, hear my prayer,” and the assurance that He will.

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The Turning Heart

“…Whose Heart Turneth Away…”

The book of Deuteronomy is a series of discourses from Moses shortly before his death to the second generation of Israel (remember that the first generation died in the wilderness) before they enter the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. The overriding principles contained in this majestic book are that which could prevent them from making the same mistakes as their parents in turning their hearts away from God, and they provide rich principles of application in preserving our faithfulness as New Testament Christians. For example, we can find the principle for guarding our hearts from apostasy in Deuteronomy 29:18-19:

heart

Turn Your Heart to God.

Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst.

Backsliding and apostasy always starts in the heart. Whenever we let other things (worldliness, pleasure and such like) to begin to take over the affections of our heart away from God and become more important in our hearts above our service to God and our spiritual needs and values, we are walking down the road toward backsliding and apostasy.

Consider one who starts to slide a bit. He starts to miss worship services. He misses Sunday night and Wednesday night. Then, first thing we know, he starts to miss a Sunday here and there. Now, if we can see what is taking place in his heart, it is already starting to turn away—something else is having first place in his heart initially. It continued to grow until at last, that became most important, and the outcome was, he ended up as a backslider and an apostate. Now if we go and locate the members of Southwest today who are no longer committed or loyal in serving the Lord, they ensued this same way. This is why Solomon says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). Subsequently, we need to fill our minds and hearts with spiritual things, because we cannot supply our minds with other things all the time without it affecting and influencing us.

God said it involves “man, or woman, or family, or tribe…” (Deut. 29:18). It can affect men today—we can become so engaged with our occupations until this expends all of our time. Whenever that occurs, we are stepping on perilous ground. The same thing is true with women, families and congregations. We can engage ourselves with things that do not have to do with spiritual development and growth until we lose sight of what our mission is, and we wind up in apostasy.

The Hebrew writer referred to Deuteronomy 29:18 by stating,

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears [Heb. 12:14-17].

He illustrates the matter in reference to Esau, who was a “profane person”—one who lacks respect and gratitude of spiritual values. Esau thought more of bread and red pottage of lentils than he did anything else (cf. Gen. 25:29-34). Whenever we get to the place where material things devour our thinking, we are walking down the road of Esau.

Note what one will pursue—one will “…bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination [“stubbornness” – marginal rendering] of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst” (Deut. 29:19). Far too many times, when we find people turning away and we start to speak with them about the risk of letting material things devour their minds, they respond, “I am alright. I am doing fine. I have peace—I am just as good as anybody else.” However, one cannot walk in the stubbornness of his heart and at the same time be pleasing to the Lord. Therefore, it is important for us to guard our hearts from turning away from God!

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Obedience and Jesus

Jesus, Traditions and Obedience

I find it remarkable that some have thought that Jesus’ rebuke of the devotion of the Jewish leaders to their traditions minimizes the importance of obedience. It is true that He had little regard for the traditions and rules these leaders had created. It is equally true that He believed that our relationship with God depends on our obedience.

Obedience is love

Obedience is Love.

He was so different from other teachers of His day. In the Sermon on the Mount, He contrasted His teachings with the teachings of the first century rabbis. In Matthew chapter five, there is a marked contrast between “You have heard that it has been said” and what “I say to you.” What they had “heard that has been said” was often where the Jewish leaders read a passage from the Old Testament and then gave their interpretation about what it meant. Sometimes they even added a “passage” to the Bible like, “you shall hate your enemies,” to fortify their traditions.

Man’s traditions can never negate God’s commandments. For example, the Old Testament never indicated that when the Ten Commandments said that you shall not kill, such would give license to hate a brother, call him a fool and treat him with contempt. This might have been what the rabbis said, but Jesus showed this attitude would negate any sacrifice they brought to God (Matt. 5:21-23). However, His rebuke of their “rules of righteous behavior” could never make void obedience to God. He was simply emphasizing obedience to all the teachings of the Bible.

Think also about how the rabbis taught that all that was involved in divorce was simply giving a writing of divorcement. Nowhere in the Old Testament was divorce permitted for every cause. Moses had given one reason (Deut. 24:1), yet the rabbis added their traditions to God’s words, forbidding adultery and allowing people to divorce for every cause. The rabbis’ teaching resulted in adultery, the very thing Moses had forbidden.

What did Jesus teach about obedience? He taught that any persons who ignored God’s commands and taught others that these commands were not important were the least in the kingdom. Those who taught others to keep His commands were the great ones in the kingdom (Matt. 5:19).

Do not be led astray. Jesus’ rebuke of the “rules of righteousness,” often based on a misinterpretation of what God said, never gives license for us to ignore what the Bible says. The only one who will enter the kingdom is the one who does the will of the Father (Matt. 7:21). Traditions, theirs or ours, must never give us permission to do wrong!

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