[This post is in a weekly devotional series called Everything New. Sign up here if you’re interested.]
How can we summarize what God means when he tells us he simply is? When Moses asked God what his name was (for there were many alternative names for gods), God’s answer was, “I AM WHO I AM.” This was not a typical name such as “god of thunder,” or “lord of water and earth,” but the simplest, most comprehensive, most absolutely fundamental descriptor.
God is. That is the essence of who he is. Before anything else existed–before mountains or horses or angels, before even matter itself existed–God was. He is the one unalterable reality. So we can worship him anytime, anywhere.
He exists not as an impersonal energy in the universe, but as “the living God.” “The Father has life in himself” (John 5:26). No one brought God to life. He is the one living being who had no birth, and so he is the Father of all who have been born. Moses, Joshua, David, Isaiah, and other voices in the Old Testament drew people’s attention again and again to “the living God.” This is what made him different from the other gods whose statues sat on shelves.
The Old Testament prophets spared no sarcasm in talking about false gods who, because they were not alive, could not be life-giving. Isaiah depicts a man cutting a tree, using some of the wood to warm himself, and “from the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, ‘Save me; you are my god'” (Isa. 44:17). Biting sarcasm!
Elsewhere (40:20) he talks about a man who looks for wood that he hopes will not rot before his god is carved. Scandalous! “He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.” (Hard to respect a god that keeps tipping over. Do you bend your head if he’s leaning one way or the other? And if he topples over, wouldn’t that suggest that you may fall no matter how strong your allegiance to this deity?) Hosea said the people “consult a wooden idol and are answered by a stick of wood” (Hosea 4:12). Just how many intelligent comments have you heard from a hunk of wood lately? And so in the New Testament the apostle Paul commended one group of believers as those who “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9), because if one thing is true about idols, it is that they are the most lifeless, ridiculous objects on the face of the earth.
Those of us who have no wooden statues on the hearth, however, are no less capable of idolatry. Whenever we make up an idea of God to suit our purposes, we are idolators. The same is true when we put something or someone above God as the determinative influence in our lives.
The only kind of God worth worshipping must be a living God. If he is living and all-powerful, he is completely outside of our control. What other kind of God could exercise authority and control over our enemies?
Excerpt from Putting the Pieces Back Together: How Real Life and Real Faith Connect. Click for more.
Such a sobering thought. That if we place anyone or anything above God… that is idolatry. Jesus even spoke in the Gospels that our dear family needs to come below Him. Our dad and mom and siblings we need to “hate” or (love less) when it comes to being devoted to the Holy One.
Idols—–yes, that is one thing, but so is money & work, as well as other addictions! I know, I was one who seems to worship work, (work-a-holic), and money, needed more to get more. After more than 25 years in my walk with Christ, I think I finally got it starting about 7 years ago. God had to humble me and take all these things away from me, and bring me down to my lowest level to realize that I had created work & money as “idols” in my life. I have lost it all now due to my own foolishness, but I’m happier for it all cause God made me realize that He is the living God!!
God is also a jealous God, who only wants us to serve him, love him and accept his son as our Savior. Oh, and what a precious gift that is!
Yes, Our God is a living, merciful and compassionate God. He is far above the millions of Gods and Goddesses all put together in other religions. He is always ready to forgive our sins and the hope of ‘Life after Death’. We, his followers are fortunate to worship Him.
God is God,God is no man,the mind of man can never fully comprehend the true nature of God.
When God said,”I AM that I AM” He was saying anything you want ME to be that is what I will be.
This is the difference with idols; who do not reveal themselves, and that is why we have an assuarance in the One True Living GOD through CHRIST JESUS.
right- on my brother,right-on amen HE IS TRULY I AM
God is creation itself, present at every moment in time. When you look up and realize you’re looking at infinity, and God is bigger than that, how beyond incomprehensible is that? Holy, righteous and and incredibly jealous, yet gracious and merciful. A God who lives inside us, yet we cannot see or touch Him. Keeping Him first, living by faith and not by sight, is a daily, sometimes minute-to-minute dying to self, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing, but when we step off the path, give into the worldly temptations that are constantly bombarding us and put other people or things above Him, we are indeed idolators. Walking out our salvation daily is not always easy thing but so worth it when you seriously consider a Christless eternity. How long is eternity anyway??
Ephesians 1:18 is what we looked at today in Bible Study..We belong to Him..That is to awesome for my mind to grasp..Just as the thought of My Holy Father Being Life, Love and creation.
I am born in His image what else is there.. To me nothing. Yet if I am not careful and alert something will come to me that I put before God in my life…I need to be aware by worshiping HIM and praising Him for all He gives…
I pray that MY FATHER IN HEAVEN WILL HELP ME USE THE GIFT HE HAS GIVEN ME TO BRING A HARVEST OF LOST SOULS… And I will not let go of HIM, ever…
I worship a never ending GOD,,who is alive.
That is what He has put into all our hearts … To seek Him first.. Every one needs to know that that is what they are searching for and nothing else!!
He is our safe place..He is my Home…
These words just do not express what I am trying to say but I cant think of any words that do!!!
Much love and light to you all. I enjoyed the article. The irony here is that idolatry is precisely what makes us human beings. Every thought that misses the mark of the transcendent AND immanent God of spirit and truth is a fallen, idolatrous thought. One cannot point the finger and call another an idolater without revealing him/herself as one–a fact which speaks to the unsearchable mysteries of Almighty God. Peace and good cheer to you all.
Hi there,
Just a quick note to thank you for the newsletters that you send from biblegateway.com. I appreciate your efforts very much.
: )
This excerpt reminds me of how I felt when I received the revealation of God’s introduction to me. “I AM” was the most absolute and full description God could give to me; it calmed me and put ease to my anxiety, fear,and impatience as I embraced the gift of salvation and began the new and unfamiliar journey of Chistianity in 1998. I was in Awe of his might, power, wisdom,love,and glory and these are all entailed in this precise and simple name. What a priviledge and honor it is to be loved by and serve a living God…Amen! This excerpt emphasizes the priviledge of being a part of God’s plan.
I’ve always been a believer in the supreme being, God. Although I have not always lived a life that was appropriate to His way. But I also have faith that if I keep trying to live the best way possible, that I will be in Heaven when my days come to an end. I am 73 now and still ticking pretty well, but I also am aware that ever one’s days are numbered by God, so I live one day at a time the best I know how.
I am so glad i read this email from you al it summs up all the truths about my mighty God the great I am who i am no need to put any titles he is who he is the one and only real living God aman.
I just think it ‘s so wounderful how they talk about a piece of wood and people bowing down to it and that wood topping over, just like our lives if you don’t trust the one true God who is worthy to be praised. Many Blessing’s to you all xx
I have always enjoyed holy sarcasm when speaking of the idols of the Bible. The ones we put in front of the Lord are not so funny and not so evident. May the veil be lifted from us. Amen.
Keep in mind, this is God’s sarcasm more so than the prophet’s as scripture is God’s words. So this sarcasm is another of God’s Attributes. So enjoying learning more about Him!
I’d like to make a comment to Dave<Henrico. It's wonderful that you believe in and have faith in God and are trying to live the best way possible . To be truly "saved" and someone who will be in Heaven for eternity with all other believers, we must believe that God sent His son, Jesus, to save us from our sins. Jesus lived as a man, although He is truly God incarnate, and He was the perfect sinless lamb who died on a cross for our sins. He shed His blood. The Holy Spirit (the 3rd member of the Triune God) raised Jesus from the dead three days later and Jesus was taken into Heaven and now sits at the right side of His Father, God. That is the basis of the Christian faith – the good news of the Gospel. We must believe in Jesus and His sacrifice for all mankind. Jesus is the only way to salvation. God bless you richly!!
Sometimes one wonders about the existence of God – I mean – how can such a God be so infinite, yet cares about little me? You cannot do justice to God by giving adjectives. He is and is way beyond what our little mind can fathom. That’s why we will be with him for eternity because I believe it will take that long to get to know him. God bless!!!! Keep up the good work that is so badly needed in world of darkness!!!
Michel