The Bible is our most important source of Theology. It is divinely inspired and fully authoritative in revealing to us who God is, what He is like and what He has done throughout the ages. When we engage with it and study it, we get to know the one true and eternal God who longs to make Himself known to us, His image bearers (Genesis 1:26-27). The more we know God’s story through His Word, the more we know Him. The more we know who He is and what He said, the more we can discern (with the help of His Spirit) what His forever plan is for the world, what His will is for us individually (Romans 12:1-2) and how to navigate this life in a way that is fruitful and that honors Him.
When it comes to His unchanging nature and character, this is what God says He is in the Bible (and the list is non-exhaustive):
· He is One, the One and only God (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 46:9)
· He is Three in One: Father, Son, Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:26, Matthew 28:18-20)
· He is eternal (Genesis 21:18, Isaiah 40:28)
· He is holy (Isaiah 1:6, Revelation 4:8)
· He is righteous (Deuteronomy 32:4, Romans 3:21-26)
· He is love (1 John 4:16)
· He is faithful (Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 John 1:9)
· He is merciful and gracious (Psalm 136, John 1:16-17)
· He is sovereign (Genesis 14:19-20)
· He is omnipotent or almighty (Genesis 17:1, Revelation 4:8)
· He is omniscient or all-knowing (Hebrews 4:13)
· He is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-12)
· And more.
In his Gospel, John wrote that Jesus is the incarnated Word of God who dwelt among us showing us who God is:
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as one of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
If we want to know who God is, we need to read His Word. We must endeavour to understand it through the lens of who Jesus is and through the lens of His finished work on the cross, on our behalf. This is only possible with His help. The Bible says that God the Holy Spirit is our Helper, that He is the Spirit of truth who teaches us all things (John 14:26).
It is often helpful to think of the Bible as a mirror that we can look at to understand more about who we are as followers of Jesus. We not only get to read His Word and get to know Him through it, but the Bible also reads us, revealing to us who we are as His image bearers:
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:26-27
In this passage, we learn that we were created in the image of God to reflect who God is. But, as a mirror, the Bible also highlights things about us too:
For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of the soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
Hebrews 4:12-13
The Bible also reveals that we have turned away from God and from following His ways:
“… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ,…”
3:23 Romans
The passage goes on to say in verses 24 to 26 that through Jesus and His death on the cross, we have been forgiven of our sins and have been accounted as righteous in God’s sight.
In light of this glorious reality, the Bible also commands a response from us:
Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the Word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the Word and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:21-25 (emphasis mine)
We can respond to the Word of God in the following ways:
· Praise: an open declaration of God’s goodness because of who His Word reveals Him to be is and what He has done:
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
Psalm 103:1-4
· Confession: an open expression of repentance (a change of mind and stance) that leads us to ask God forgiveness when we realize we have deviated from His ways.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
· Petition: the act of asking God for help and for His intervention in any circumstance, especially when we’ve fallen short.
In Hebrews 4:15-16, we learn that in Jesus, the Son of God, “… we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” In light of this reality, the passage encourages us to “…draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
As a source of Theology, the Bible reveals to us who God is, what He does and His message to us. It reveals to us how and why He created us, how we felt short and how He saved us from our sins in Jesus. As a mirror, the Bible makes an open invitation to us to engage with it as it reveals to us where we are at, what we need and what we have in Christ. It also calls for a response from us and if we are weak (that will be the case more often than not) we can ask Him for all the help we need and He will help us become effectual doers of His Word for His glory so that we might live and change to become more like Jesus.