What is God Like?

The Image of the Invisible

Pastor Matt Hammett

"Jesus-centered spiritual formation is the process of being transformed into the image of Christ, through a relationship of intimacy with God, by the power of the Spirit, in order to live a good and beautiful life of faith, hope, love, joy, and peace - a life that will be a blessing to oneself and to others and will glorify God now and for all eternity."

- James Bryan Smith

What is God like? What is your picture of God?

Exodus 34:5-7
5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.

"What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us."

- A.W. Tozer

"The single most important thing about us is our idea of God and  its associated images."

- Dallas Willard

The Distant God

The Critical God

The Authoritative God

"If we have a negative picture of God, the more religious we become, the worse it gets."

- William Temple

The Benevolent God 

Exodus 34:7
...maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.

1. God's judgment is not God's preferred course of action. 

2. God's judgment flows from His justice, which is inseparable from His love.

3. God's judgment is often experienced as the natural consequences of our sin.

Punish = Consequences

Children often experience the consequences of the sins of their parents.

"No matter how deep our darkness, God is deeper still."

- Corrie Ten Boom

Exodus 34:5-7a
5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.