Understanding God’s true identity is so important in a world that constantly speaks false things about God and paints a negative image of Him and His works. We can easily become swept away into various theories about God if we aren’t paying attention to what God has revealed about Himself. In Matthew 16:13-17, when Jesus asked His apostles “who do men say that I am?” their response was “some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” So, the true identity of Jesus was clearly lost on most of mankind. Notice how everyone had His identity pinned down as a truly great and historical person, but none had His identity right. Until Jesus asked His apostles “who do you say that I am?” Then we finally hear the reply “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The Lord’s response to this truthful confession is “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” So, the Lord is telling them that they had not learned His identity from men, they learned it from the God of Heaven. It is God who reveals His own identity to us, and He has done just that, we only need to take a look.

There are several ways that God has shared information about His identity with us:

1. In the Creation: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” -Romans 1:19-20. Paul spoke to the Romans about the vivid testimony of God’s identity which God left us in what He made. From God’s creations, we can understand His vast power, His supreme intelligence in design, His providential care by which every part does its share in the cycles to sustain life. There is much to learn about the identity of our Designer by considering the things He designed and how He designed them. But this is only the beginning! We understand our Creator first by opening our eyes, then we discover His word, which He has given to all men, to give us a definitive understanding of why we were created by Him, how we got into this mess of sin and suffering, and what He has done to deliver us from it.

2. In His Words: On occasions, the Lord God will talk straightforwardly about His identity. One of the greatest scenes of this is when Moses asked God “Please, show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18). The Lord agreed, saying, “I will make all my goodness pass before you.” As God passed by Moses in the cleft of the rock, Moses saw an inexpressible brightness, a light so bright, that when Moses came down, the skin of his face shone brightly. The people were so fearful of the brightness radiating from Moses’ skin, that they placed a covering over his head (Exodus 34:29-35). Something significant happened when God passed by Moses. Moses did not see just the brightness of God’s glory, but he also heard an explanation of why God is so bright and glorious. As God passed by, He spoke, saying “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” God is so bright because of who He is; His identity. His glorious character is something that can be expressed both visually and through words.

3. In His Commandments: Another way we can better understand the identity of God is by considering the commandments which He has given to man. Using the example of the 10 Commandments, consider that, before God speaks a single commandment, He first announces His identity: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” -Exodus 20:2. Only after stating His identity, does He command: No gods before me, no carved images to bow to, no misuse of His great name, and no work to be done on the day He consecrated. These first four commandments are related to the very identity of God, who He is, and what He has done. To act against these commandments was to deny who God is. The rest of the ten commandments also affect God’s identity: Honor fathers and mothers because God is to be honored as our father (Exodus 4:22-23, Ephesians 3:14-15); do not murder because life is in the hands of God alone and man is made in the image of God (Deuteronomy 32:39, Genesis 1:27); do not commit adultery because God made man male and female that the two become one flesh (Matthew 19:4-5); do not steal because the Lord makes poor and rich (1 Samuel 2:7); do not bear false witness because God does not, nor cannot lie (Numbers 23:19), and do not covet because only God can satisfy (Hebrews 13:5). Therefore, we see from these examples, that the very commands which God gives to men emphasize who He truly is.

4. In His Deeds: The Old Testament text is filled with this one statement: “that you may know that I am the Lord.” This is what God often said to His people when He did a great thing for them. When God does something according to His compassion, love, mercy, etc. it is an opportunity for man to learn the identity of God.

Jesus explained that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” -John 3:16. The idea behind “God so loved” is determined based on one’s interpretation of the word “so.” In denominational circles, the word “so” is interpreted as an added emphasis on God’s emotion. But when one looks at the original koine Greek text, it’s clear that Jesus meant for the word “so” to mean something. The word he used (houtōs) is defined as “in this way, after this manner.” Therefore, the Lord is explaining that God, after this manner, loved the world: He gave His only Son. God’s identity of Love is understood by us through His action toward us; especially His action in sending us His Son to die for us. May we continue to explore the wonderful identity of our God.

by Tanner Campbell