“We all believe in the same god” is a phrase that is frequently stated. It is usually said to make everyone feel comfortable, no matter what religion they are. But the statement is not true. We all do not believe in the same god. Some religions do not require or even recommend a belief in the existence of a god. Two examples of this are Buddhism and Unitarian Universalism. Their adherents may or may not believe that there is a god. Some religions are polytheistic (poly = many, theo = god), that is, they believe in many gods. Two examples of this are Hinduism and Mormonism. Although these religions are very different from each other, they both believe in multiple gods. Some religions are monotheistic
(mono = one, theo = god). Judaism, Islam and Christianity all believe in one God. The Islamic god (Allah) is above all and marginally engaged in the affairs of men. The God of the Christian Bible is intimately involved in this world, so much that He entered our world as a human in Jesus Christ.
The God of the Bible has revealed himself as one God yet three persons or beings. Using shorthand, Christians often refer to God as the Holy Trinity. The word Trinity means one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Three in One God, the Holy Trinity is not something we can fully grasp. How can God be three, yet one? But this is how God reveals Himself and we accept.
Generally speaking, we think of the Father as God who made all things. Yet the Son and the Holy Spirit had a part in creation. We think of the Son, Jesus, as God who became a human being and died and rose again, to save us from sin and death. We think of the Holy Spirit as God who brings us to faith, and helps us live in the faith. Yet there are not three gods, but One God.
God is holy. The Bible is clear that the living God does not like sin. What is sin? Sin is selfishness, pleasing yourself without consideration of God and others. Sin is knowing what is right and not doing it. Sin occurs in our thoughts, and can be seen in our words and deeds. Sin is what separates us from God. As human beings, we constantly think of ourselves and what we can get for ourselves. God hates sin, and being just and holy, He insists on justice, and demands that sin be punished.
God is love. But the Bible also says, “God is Love” (1 John 4:8). In the Father’s love for you, He made you and gave you existence. He gifted you with life, abilities, personality, and a spirit. And even more, in Jesus’ love for you, He gave Himself to death upon the cross, taking the punishment for your sins, so that you may receive forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. In the Holy Spirit’s love for you, He brings to you the Good News of Jesus’ love and enables you to believe and receive it.
If you just think of God as holy, you will live in guilt and in terror of God’s judgment upon you. You will have no peace in life or when facing death. Previous generations of Christians made this error and lived in fear of God. Our age tends to make the opposite error: we only think of God as loving. If we only think as God as an innocuous loving figure, we will ignore His commandments and get stuck in our sin and selfishness. We will end up hurting ourselves and others as we persist in sinful patterns. Even worse, we might believe that there is no need for the Savior – who needs a savior if God loves us and accepts all our behavior? It is vital to hold to these two truths about God: He is holy, and He is loving. In the cross of Jesus, we see the holy God punishing sin, and the loving God forgiving and saving the sinner.
There is much more that the Bible says about God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, such as:
God is all powerful.
God is everywhere.
God is everlasting.
God knows all.
Here are some wonderful thoughts about God from Psalm 103:8-17:
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children,
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