Who is God?

How do you explain who God is?

My first thought, when asked, was that He is the universe’s creator and everything in it. Period. He is also the absolute, eternal, infinite, holy, or set apart God. Even though He is a big God and set apart as holy, He is also relational in that He is always where we are to listen and guide us. Then, my mind began down a rabbit hole of attributes or character traits of God. I will write about these next, but let’s return to the answer you came here for!

The Trinity

God is a triune of Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is called the Trinity, meaning three in one. While you will not find the word trinity in the bible, the concept of God being three persons but one being is. 

To put the trinity in perspective, let’s first look at WHAT and WHO we are. We are all human beings. Human beings are WHAT we are. Allison Weaver is WHO I am, and no one is entirely like me in the human beings on earth. I am not all human beings, either. 

Now, God is one being. One being is WHAT He is. 

The second part of the trinity is WHO He is. He is Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit. God is three persons. 

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one being. This is the Trinity. Understanding the concept of the Trinity can be complex, and we will not be able to understand this fully, but we can continue to learn about what He is as the Trinity.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal in being, power, and holiness. They have all the same attributes, but they have different roles. They, as one being, did create everything. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.“(American Standard Version) The Hebrew word for God in this verse is ‘Elohim. This Hebrew word is the plural form of God in Hebrew, ‘ Eloha. So, the Trinity is recorded as being right there at the beginning of creation. As sin entered this world, their roles became apparent throughout the bible.

Roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

God the Father

The Father laid the foundation for our pardon from sins to have a personal relationship with Him. He said He would send a redeemer. In Genesis 3:15, God says, “And I will put enmity (open hostility) Between you and the woman, And between your seed (offspring) and her Seed; He shall [fatally] bruise your head, And you shall [only] bruise His heel.”(Amplified Bible) God is telling the serpent (devil or Satan) that tempted Eve to sin in the first place that there will be an offspring of Eve that defeats him. This offspring is Jesus, God’s son. 

Jesus the Son

Jesus, the redeemer, saved us from the consequences of our sins by paying the penalty for us on the cross. This was explained best in the book of Hebrews. In the Old Testament, the blood of sacrifices atoned for the people’s sins, giving them forgiveness. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, only needing to occur once to atone for the sins of all people now and in the future.

“²² In fact under the Law almost everything is cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [neither release from sin and its guilt, nor cancellation of the merited punishment].²³ Therefore it was necessary for the [earthly] copies of the heavenly things to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves required far better sacrifices than these. 

²⁴ For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but [He entered] into heaven itself, now to appear in the very presence of God on our behalf; ²⁵ nor did He [enter into the heavenly sanctuary to] offer Himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶ Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer over and over since the foundation of the world; but now once for all at the consummation of the ages He has appeared and been publicly manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. “(Hebrews 9:22-26 AMP)

After Jesus died as the sacrifice for all sin, we must only ask for forgiveness, and the Father will forgive us.

Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit was sent to indwell those who recognize Jesus as the deliverer of sin and ask to enter a relationship with the Father. The Holy Spirit is here for comfort and guidance, to be our conscience or convict us of sin, and to give us a desire to obey God. It is recorded that Jesus said, “26 But the Comforter, [even] the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.”(John 14:26 ASV)

Who is God?- For Kids

There are analogies used to explain the Trinity, but there is a better option than these. For example, an analogy used is the Trinity is like water in three forms: solid, liquid, and gas. Water is still H2O as a solid, liquid, and gas. That is a fact. But the liquid turns into a solid when cold and gas when hot. God does not turn into the Holy Spirit or Jesus. So, this is how I would approach the Trinity with children.

God is three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is 100% God. Jesus, the Son, is 100% God, and the Holy Spirit is 100% God. Three persons as one God. This is hard for adults to understand, too. In the bible, Moses asked God Who do I tell the Israelites you are? God answered, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14 NIV) God just is who he is, and there is no other “little g” god like Him or as big as He is. 

We know He made us, loves us, and wants to have a relationship with us. That is why Jesus died on the cross to get punished for what we did wrong. Jesus wanted more than anything to be our brother and for us to know His Father. Because when we tell God we believe that Jesus died for us and ask for forgiveness, we are adopted by God and become His son or daughter. Then, the Holy Spirit helps us know what to do or say that is good and pleasing to God. That means when we go to do something wrong, we will get a feeling that we should not do it or feel guilty and ask for forgiveness.

Conclusion

God is revealed as a triune being. This is the only way to describe Him. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one in being and power, yet they each have their unique role in God’s plan of redemption.

God the Father is the love of God. He is the one who cared enough to create the universe and everything in it. He is sovereign and in control and always has been.

God the Son is the one who took on human flesh and lived a sinless life. He came to die for our sins. He did what no one else could do. And when he died, he was resurrected and went to heaven to be with the Father.

God, the Holy Spirit is with us. He is given to us as a gift to help us know and follow Jesus. He empowers us to live a life full of love and serving others.