God the Father is the eternally existing God. When Moses asked God
to reveal his name, God said that he is “I Am” (from a Hebrew word meaning “to
exist”). See Exodus 3:14.
Jesus referred to God as “Father.” See the Lord’s Prayer: Matthew
6:9ff. God is both transcendent and immanent. God is transcendent—he is
superior to the universe. Through His Son, He created the universe (see Gen.
1:1, Col. 1:15,16), and the Holy Spirit was active in the Creation process (see
Gen. 1:2). He is all-powerful (omnipotent). See Psalm 33:6-11. God is
all-knowing (omniscient). See Job 37:14-16.The Lord never changes (immutable).
See Malachi 3:6. God is light. See 1 John 1:5. God is a Spirit. See John 4:24.
God is immanent —he is present throughout the universe
(omnipresent). He is here with us. See Acts 17:24-27. Since God is a Spirit, he
cannot be seen. But God has revealed himself through theophanies. A theophany
is a visible appearance of God. Examples of this include God appearing as a
pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21), and as a burning bush
(Exodus 3:4). God is personal—not merely a force. God’s personality is shown by
the fact that he loves (1 John 4:8) and hates (Proverbs 6:16-19). (For details and for free course
visit <www.missionstraining.org>)
