One-To-One Week 5: Who Is God? the Pictures

One-to-one Week 5: Who is God? The Pictures.

Key Question: What pictures of God does the Bible use?

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God has always desired to reveal Himself. He has shown throughout creation, history and written word that He wants to know us. He came Himself, in Christ, to show us who He is (Hebrews 1:1-4). He says that knowing Him is eternal life (John 17:3) and that it is the only thing worth boasting about (Jeremiah 9:23-24). With His whole plan of creation He wanted to express Himself and reveal Himself. In His written word therefore He doesn’t just use words to explain who He is but pictures. We need to experience the realities of God not in words but in actions. That is why He uses pictures.

I don’t want us to have a picture of God as some far away thought and being in the clouds that we throw our prayers at and never live with. I want us to see some of the pictures He uses to describe Himself so that we might approach the unapproachable God. Remember that in all things God is perfect so He is a perfect Father and a perfect king and so on.

What pictures does the Bible use to describe God?

Shepherd. In Psalm 23 the Father is described as a good Shepherd, who tends and cares personally for His sheep. God personally protects us and guides us and feeds us and provides for us.
Father. Our Father in Heaven (Matthew 6:9, Romans 1:7) is protective like a good Father, holds us, teaches us, disciplines us and spends time with us.
Potter. (Jeremiah 18:6) Our God is the creator and shaper of all that exists (Isaiah 64:8). When we put things into His hands He shapes them to be as beautiful as they can be.
Judge. (Isaiah 33:22) God does not let us away with sin. He must remain true and righteous and pure. His judgments are fair and righteous and His standard of purity does not change. Sometimes it is right to remind us of our judgment.
The Lion of Judah. (Revelation 5:5) We sing about His being a lion, powerful and majestic. He is the glory of all the heavens and the earth.
The Lamb that was slain. (John 1:29) He is also the one who willing paid the sacrifice, suffered the loss and paid the blood cost for our sin.
the Rock and Foundation. (Deuteronomy 32:4) He is the one that faith is built on. If our view of Him is uncertain or wrong then our foundation is insecure. We trust fully in Him, our Fortress and deliverer (Psalm 18:2, Psalm 62:2).
the King of Kings. (1 Timothy 6:15) The Picture of a King is someone whose very presence is to be revered. You don’t approach the Queen with disdain, nor should you approach Him who is Lord of Lords and King of Kings lightly. He is the one who holds authority over all of heaven and earth. He owns the right to everything and chooses what He will. Our God is not fickle but He has the right to choose whatever He wants.
Light. (1 John 1:5). In God there is no darkness at all. He is not mixed up and there is no sin in Him. The light shines in the darkness and we cannot hide.
Friend. It’s hard to believe that this pure light, the King of Kings has called us friends but that is what we are (John 15:15). We were enemies of God (Colossians 1:21) and were reconciled to Him. We are friends, closer than a brother.
Husband. Although it is normally Christ who is referred to as the husband it is important that we see we were made for this special unique relationship with God (Revelation 21:2) that all of eternity has geared up for and is prepared for. The marriage of the Lamb will come and His bride is being made ready.

Can you think of any more pictures of God?

What pictures does Jesus use in talking about Himself?

Jesus is the exact representation of the Father (Hebrews 1:3) and if we can understand and picture Him we will better see the God whom we adore (John 14:7). Many of the same pictures are used of Jesus, the shepherd (John 10), the light (John 8:11) and husband (Ephesians 5:25-33) but there are more.

Bridegroom. Jesus is the one whom we as a church will marry. We are designed as a loving bride for the perfect groom (Mark 2:19).
Bread and Water of Life. He is all that is needed to sustain us, the fulfilling and quenching bread and water of life (John 4:10-14, John 6:47-51).
The Way, the Truth and the Life. These 3 pictures remind us of the uniqueness of Jesus, in perfection, in being the only solution and only need we have (John 14:6).
The True Vine. We are to be connected into Him, grafted and part of the same body (John 15:1-8)
the I AM. Jesus defines Himself as Jahweh, the only true God, the one with authority and power, the one who is the King and the Lord (John 8:58)
The First and the Last. Jesus presents Himself in glory in Revelation 1:12-18. He is the God whom we worship, the beginning and the end. He is not some servant of God or follower, He is the true God.
the Resurrection and the Life. Jesus was not only dead and made alive (Revelation 1:18) but He is the same resurrection for us, that we might be reborn (John 11:25).
Saviour. Acts 5:31 says that he is Saviour so that He might repentance and forgiveness of sins. We can truly be saved and forgiven because He is the Saviour.
The Gate. Jesus is the only way to God and the only access to heaven (John 10:7-10)

Can you think of any more pictures of Jesus?

What pictures does the Bible have to describe the Holy Spirit?

Wind and water. The wind blows wherever it pleases, you don’t dictate to God the plan. The water of life fulfils and quenches your thirst. (John 3:5-8)
Fire. The Holy Spirit is the one who burns in our lives, giving us vigour and enthusiasm, He is also the one who burns up our faults and failures.(Acts 2:1-4)
Counsellor. The Holy Spirit guides and directs us in our lives, shows us what God has in mind, leads us in the right direction.(John 14:16-17,26)
Dove. This is often the picture of the Spirit coming to rest on people, that He comes from outside into their lives. The gentleness and purity of a dove express that He can be grieved and driven away if we choose to offend Him (John 1:32-34)

Something else that might be helpful is to consider those pictures of God that really aren’t good. These might come from other religions or from the world around us, but certainly don’t describe the God of the Bible…

Santa Claus. The ideas of Santa Claus demean the God we believe in. He is not fickle enough to decide on a ratio of good and bad who deserves nice things. His justice is absolute and based on His standard, perfection. He doesn’t sit and watch, and pass judgment and isn’t a big, friendly, soft, bearded man.
Policeman. God isn’t out to get you, isn’t watching to catch you when you make a mistake. Perhaps it’s a better starting point than Santa Claus because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Job 28:28) but He is not out to get you.
Puppeteer. Now even though we believe God has plans for our life (Jeremiah 29:11) we don’t believe that He sits and controls us like a puppet master. You make choices every day about your life and you choose who you will be. You can’t blame Him for your choices and mistakes.
Little old Grandpa. Sometimes we just have a view of a nice wee old man who gives you sweets. We think He is powerless and soft and needs us to do stuff for Him. Our God is not impotent like this. He is all in all.
Some sort of spiritual notion. The idea of the ‘Gaia’ or spiritual essence that fills all things and the idea of karma, that good begets good and evil gives birth to evil come from Eastern religion. They are based on the notion that equality is everything and that God is just trying to even things out. The fact is that perfection is the state of equilibrium God created and that every sin deserves punishment and every good deed is just normal. There is no balance or levelling point. Somehow we bring these notions from Eastern Philosophy and movies into our faith but it destroys some of the core values. We have a real, individual, living God not an essence or notion.
Dualism. Dualism takes this one step further, suggesting there is a battle between good and evil and the gods of good and evil. That is not Christianity. God is not struggling in a battle to defeat Satan, he was defeated at the cross. God is not delaying the end of the battle because He is struggling to win, but giving people one more chance to choose sides. It is not weakness but patience that delays the final victory. We don’t need to pray that He wins, we need to pray for more of that patience.
Pantheism. Pantheism is the notion that all is God and god is in all and that the Universe and nature are all there is. If we start thinking this way we might treat objects better but we fail to recognise the true value of them as personally created by a loving and powerful God. Our God is over all things and reigns in glory.

It’s important not to think wrong of God and we’ll think a little more about that next week. A good picture of God can help us access Him as He wants, experience Him in a relationship as He designed.

When you pray, who do you pray to?

What pictures of God will you meditate on this week?