The Nature of God

The following statement is the first principle the Lord gave to me as He began teaching me about how to live trouble free:

All scripture must be interpreted in the absolute knowledge of this truth. That God is Love.

If we do not understand that God is absolutely and only love, we will misunderstand His Word. This can cause us to think wrong thoughts about the nature of God, therefore not understanding His methods and motives. Understanding God’s nature is absolutely necessary in order for us to properly interpret His Word and His plan for our lives.

God is absolutely and only love. There is no deviation from this statement. It cannot be altered or changed. It is absolute truth. Some people say,” Well truth is different things to different people.” NO, God is truth and He doesn’t change based on popular opinion or doctrine and His nature is not defined by what we believe about Him or our life experiences.

Matthew 22:37

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. (AMP)

Love is the first thing we need to know about God. It is the foundation, the first of who and what God is and it is the basis of everything He created. Love is who He is and how He operates. It is what moves Him to do the lovely things He does. It is the force that emanates from His presence and it is His Glory! Love is the way He expects us to live, toward Him and others. He expects us to be motivated and moved by love in exactly the same way that He is.

1 John 4:7-8,19

My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. 8The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love–so you can’t know him if you don’t love. (The Message)

19 We love Him, because He first loved us.(KJV)

John is saying that love is the first of everything there is to know about God. God is love from the first (Alpha) to the last (Omega) of everything He does and plans to do. Love is the primary and only motive upon which He completes or accomplishes anything. John says that you cannot possibly know God if you do not know love. He said knowing God means that you know that He is love. So we should never accuse God of doing things that are not in His character and if we think that God is out there doing unlovely things then we really don’t know Him.

James 1:16-17

Do not be misled, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse]. (Amp)

Notice that James endeavors to convince people through this scripture that God’s nature is good. He says don’t be misled brothers, God is good. Obviously they had wrong thinking about God’s nature and James was finding it necessary to correct them. They must have believed that God was something other than good; they were deceived. This is a lie that’s been around as long as the devil been lying. He’s been telling that lie on God since he believed it himself. We have to completely get that deception out of our thinking. God is love, God is love, God is love! Now, not only is God love but he is also everything that is good and perfect and as much as He is good and perfect, everything he wants for us is good and perfect. “He who started a good work in you is faithful to complete it.” Why did he start a good work in you? Because He is good.

John 10:10-11

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His [own] life for the sheep. (Amp)

So anything that falls under the category of stealing, killing and destroying does not come from God. Jesus made a special point in the scripture to tell that us God is good and the devil is bad. It is inappropriate to think that God would use the enemy or his methods in any way or for any purpose. The Father can do the things He wants to do and never needs or requires any participation from the evil one. Here we see again that there was wrong thinking about the goodness of God. Jesus was finding it necessary to make this characteristic of the Father perfectly clear. Since we know that He only said what His Father told Him to say, then we also know it was the Father’s will for Jesus to make a distinction about the operation of good and evil and the differences between the two. Something God has been doing since He created man.

Ephesians 3:20

Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams] (Amp)

We should always believe the best of God! He is the one we can believe the best of. That way you can always trust him. It’s hard to obey by faith someone you don’t trust. God is better than we think He is! No matter how good we think God is He is better. We can never get to the end of God’s goodness because there is no end to God and since He is good, goodness is eternal. You could calculate a lifetime of excellent blessings and benefits for every person in the world that has ever lived and multiply that ten million times and God is still better than that.

1 John 5:3

For the [true] love of God is this: that we do His commands [keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and teaching]. And these orders of His are not irksome (burdensome, oppressive, or grievous). (Amp)

Since God is good He doesn’t want your life to be hard. He is all about making life easier, removing the burdens and destroying yokes. Why did He say that? Because He loves you and He is good. I am really emphasizing this point because so many people believe that God is doing bad things to somehow accomplish some great purpose in us through trouble. We have to get that LIE out of our thinking. I’ve seen so many people attribute evil doings to God. Every time a natural disaster happens people call it an act of God. Wrong, wrong, wrong! It’s time for that to stop. If the children of God do not know that He is good how will the world know? Christians must know the true nature of God so we can be a reflection of that nature to the world.

There are many different ideas about what love is and every person you ask might give you a different answer. Since God is love, He is the place love comes from then the only place for us to get the true definition of love is in the Word of God.

1 Co. 13:4-7

Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly.

Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. (Amp)

This is a beautifully detailed description of love. Not only do we see what love is but we also see what love is not. Sometimes understanding what something is not, helps us to define what it is. When reading this verse we can accurately understand the nature of love. What love does, how it operates and what motivates it. Here we see absolute truths that define love. It is forever patient, kind and enduring. In its eternal state is never selfish, resentful, prideful, touchy, afraid, or rude. It never pays any attention to a suffered wrong and does not keep a record of it. Love is the most powerful force in the universe; nothing can weaken or diminish the power of love and no weapon formed against it can prosper.

Living in obedience to these principals of love will set you free from all trouble. They exude forgiveness, mercy, patience, peace, goodness, kindness and selflessness. There are such great rewards when you live the love life. Anything other interpretation than the Bible’s definition is not love (God).

Understanding the true nature of God helps us to operate skillfully in our covenant with the Father. It enables us to see a deeper more intimate and personal view of who God is as well as a more accurate depth of the love He has for us. It is the Fathers great desire to demonstrate His love to us and the world in order to manifest His goodness. It must be our greatest quest to live out this same love in our every day lives in an effort to draw a clear and accurate representation of the Fathers love to the world.