Digging into the subject of the character of God is spiritually beneficial. Romans 1:28 says that the wicked do not like to retain God in their knowledge, so God gives them up to a debased mind. We must purposefully reject this wicked tendency to evict thoughts of God and instead set our minds on Him.
When Moses inquired about the character of God, God responded in Exodus 3:14, “I AM WHO I AM.” He is self-existent. God has no origin. This is difficult for us to understand because everything in this realm has an origin, a cause and effect. He had no beginning, and He does not depend on anything else for life.
The opposite is true of us. Colossians 1:17 says that “in Him all things consist.” Acts 17:28 says, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” He created us, and He sustains us. Malachi 4:2 refers to God as the “Sun of Righteousness” who arises to bless and heal. Everything revolves around Him and is warmed and blessed by His presence and provision. So when God commands us in 1 Corinthians 10:31 to do all things for His glory, this is not wicked selfishness, but in this, God is demonstrating His good love for us. His glory is not to our detriment, but is instead our greatest good.
This is also foreign to us because for us, the sin of selfishness and independence is at the root of all sin. From the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve sinned, the devil’s deception was that they could achieve some happiness and satisfaction apart from God. That continues to be how he sets out to deceive. We try to become the center of our own universe. You cannot become a Christian until you abdicate the throne of your own life. God must be King. This is a work in the heart that only the Holy Spirit can do.
He is a God who is who He is. He has no origin and no source of sustenance. My inability to comprehend Him points to my fallen limitations, but even more to His great glory.
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