How We Describe God

Have you ever talked to a stranger, and during the conversation you increasingly felt he may be a fellow believer? He spoke positively of Jesus. He quoted scripture. He mentioned going to church last Sunday. But just as you were about to ask if he’s a Christian, he said something that immediately changed your mind. You realized he isn’t a Christian because his view of God is off.

Perhaps he believes God had a beginning. God started out as a man and later he became God. Then He created us as His spirit children. One day we’ll become gods just like Him, and we’ll create our own spirit children who can themselves become gods. This is what Mormonism teaches. Perhaps this person is a Mormon.

You know this guy’s view of God is not biblical, so how would you go about telling him what the God of the Bible is really like?

Or perhaps you talked to someone who considers herself spiritual, not religious. She believes in a god-concept or a higher power. She has a god that fits in with her idea of what god should be like. Her god loves her just as she is. Her god helps her with the daily struggles of life, but her god doesn’t require anything of her. She believes her idea of god is just as valid as anyone else’s. How would you describe the God of the Bible to this person?

Or maybe you talked to someone who doesn’t believe there is a God… and he’s very outspoken on this. He knows enough of the Bible to be dangerous. He quotes scripture that, to him, disproves the existence of an all-powerful, perfectly good God. But you can tell from his reasoning he also doesn’t understand the God of the Bible. For one thing, he takes the scripture he quotes out of context. How would you describe the God of the Bible to this person?

Describing what God is like to a non-believer is really quite simple. In fact, it’s no different than the way we describe Him among ourselves. We Christians don’t have any secret doctrines. We don’t say one thing to the world, and teach something completely different in private among ourselves. So, the question really becomes: How do we describe God among ourselves?

One way to describe God is by listing off His attributes, the qualities of His nature and character that set Him apart from everyone else. These attributes are listed in our creeds or statements of faith. Most churches have a statement of faith which sets in writing what that church believes. These doctrinal statements contain a section that list the attributes of God. For example:

• God is sovereign, meaning He is in absolute control of everything.
• God is omnipresent, meaning He is everywhere.
• God is the Creator of everything. Nothing exists except what He has created.
• God is holy. He is absolutely true to His character. He is a God of perfect integrity.
• God is righteous.
• God is merciful.
• God is loving.
• …and so on.

These traits summarize the character and nature of God. This is the way we describe Him in our churches, and it’s also the way we describe Him to non-believers.

Have you ever told your non-believing friends, “God loves you?” Well, that’s in your statement of faith: God is love. Or maybe you said, “God knows what you are going through.” That’s also in your statement of faith: God is omniscient; He knows everything. And maybe you said, “God can do anything. Nothing’s impossible for Him!” That’s also in your statement of faith: God is all-powerful.

Describing what God is like using simple statements such as “God is love” or “God is holy” is very helpful. It’s a good thing. It helps us to remember who and what He is. But it’s not the best way to describe God. These statements are useful for remembering the attributes of God so they can get stored away in our minds. But they don’t get the knowledge of who God is into our hearts. They don’t necessarily encourage a closer relationship to Him.

During His ministry years, Jesus taught His disciples and the multitudes much about God. But He didn’t teach them dry facts. Jesus didn’t whip a statement of faith out of His pocket and read, “God is preexistent,” or “God created everything.” Neither did He gather His disciples together for a Bible study and say, “Okay, disciples, today we’re going to learn about God’s omnipotence. So Matthew, look up this scripture, and John, look up that scripture. We’re going to prove from the Bible that God is omnipotent!” No, that’s not the way Jesus taught about God. He used a different methodology: He taught using parables.

How Jesus Described God

A parable is a simple, easy-to-remember story or illustration that uses analogies to teach about something that is real. Jesus did not speak in parables to entertain. He spoke in parables so that the knowledge of who God is would enter His listeners’ hearts.

Jesus spoke parables about things and people the multitudes were familiar with and could relate to. For example, many of His listeners were farmers, so Jesus described God as a farmer in Matthew 13:24-30. He told the story of a man who sowed wheat in his field, but at night, his enemy secretly sowed tares in that field. Tares look identical to wheat when young, but they’re poisonous. Eating them can make you sick and possibly kill you. So when the field workers discovered the tares, they went to the farmer to inform him of the situation. They asked what he wanted done about it. Should they remove the tares? He said no, because in pulling up the tares, they would disturb the wheat and reduce the harvest. Instead, he told them to let both grow together, and at harvest time the reapers would separate them. They would be able to do this because when the plants matured, the difference would be obvious. Mature tares don’t look like mature wheat.

Jesus then explained the parable to His disciples in Matthew 13:37-43. He said the field is the world, the harvest is the end of the age, and the field workers are angels who will separate the tares from the wheat, meaning the wicked will be separated from the righteous. We’ll look at this parable some other time in more detail. The important question for now is: Who does the farmer represent? In the parable, the farmer owned the field. In the meaning of the parable, God owns the field, so God is a farmer.

Jesus also described God as a vine-keeper or husbandman. In John 15, Jesus called Himself the True Vine, with His disciples as the branches, and His Father as the Caretaker of the Vine, who prunes and cleans the branches. So Jesus said God is a vine-keeper.

This wasn’t a new analogy. In the Old Testament, God is described that way multiple times. For example, in Isaiah 5, God planted a vine in the Promised Land. He did everything beneficial for that vine, but all it bore was wild (sour) grapes. This was an Old Testament parable of God’s relationship with His people, Israel. God did all kinds of good for His people, but all He got in return was disobedience and dishonor. So even in the Old Testament, God is described as a vine-keeper.

In the Old Testament, God is also described as a King (Psalm 10:16, Isaiah 33:22, Jeremiah 10:10). In the New Testament, Jesus described God as a king in His parable of the talents (Luke 19:12-27).

A rich nobleman had to go away for a time, so he distributed his money among his servants and told them to do business with it. He didn’t want his wealth to remain stagnant while he was gone. Eventually he would return and reward them for how good a job they did.

In Luke’s version of the parable Jesus gave the reason for this man’s trip: he was going to receive a kingdom (Luke 19:12). Notice he wasn’t going to start a new kingdom or conquer an existing kingdom. He was going to receive a kingdom that already existed. Someone else had the kingdom. That someone must be a king.

We know Jesus spoke of Himself in this parable. He was the nobleman. Later He would give His disciples a commission: spread the gospel, make disciples, and so on. Then He would leave to receive the kingdom from His Father. Eventually He would come back and reward His disciples for how good a job they did. We’re still waiting for Jesus to come back, but in the meantime, He has received a kingdom. This happened shortly after Jesus ascended to heaven. In Acts 2:36, Peter said God has made Jesus Lord and Christ (God’s chosen King).

Jesus’ Favorite Description Of God

So Jesus described God as a farmer, a vine-keeper, and a king. He used other analogies elsewhere, but His favorite was “Father.” He called God “Father” almost exclusively when speaking of Him. This began at an early age. When He was twelve years old, He told His earthly parents:

“Don’t you know I must be about my Father’s business?”

– Luke 2:49

Of course, the most obvious reason Jesus had for calling God “Father” was because God was literally His Father. But He also taught His disciples to think of God as their Father as well:

Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

– Matthew 5:16

Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

– Matthew 5:48

He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

– Luke 11:2

After Jesus ascended to heaven, the apostles carried this analogy on in their New Testament writings, teaching us to think of God as Father as well:

… Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

– Romans 1:7

For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

– Romans 8:15

Behold, how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! …

– 1 John 3:1a

Here’s how a parable works: You take something people know and use it to help them understand something they don’t know. The people in Jesus’ day were familiar with farmers, vine-keepers, and kings, so Jesus used them in His parables. Today, many or most of us are not very familiar with farming and kings, but we do know what a father is. Most of us know or have known our fathers, and some of us are fathers ourselves. So to understand God as our heavenly Father, we take what we have learned about fathers from our own experience and ask ourselves, “In what way is God like a Father to us?” What have we learned about fathers from our experience that help us know God better? Here are some things I’ve learned; maybe you can add to it :

• We know fathers give their children life. If it were not for our fathers, we would not be here. Well, just as a human father gives life to his children, so God gives us life (John 3:3,5-7).
• We know that a father is supposed to love his children. Hopefully your father loved you. In the same way, God loves us, His children (John 17:23).
• One way a father shows his love for his children is by providing for their needs. God shows His love for us by providing for our needs as well (Matthew 6:31-34).
• Another way a father shows his love is that he protects his children from harm. For example, he doesn’t give them things that are bad for them (like scorpions instead of eggs – Luke 11:11-13). Our heavenly Father only provides good things for us. He protects us.
• A good father disciplines his children. He trains them to live in a way that is good for them. He prepares them for life as adults. God also disciplines us for our good (Hebrews 12:9), preparing us for eternity.
• And, whether he realizes it or not, a human father serves as an example for his children to follow. Likewise, God wants us to be like Him (Matthew 5:43-48).

Five simple words: “God is our heavenly Father.” We can learn a lot from these words if we think and meditate on them! We can learn more about the character of God from the parables of Jesus than we can from just memorizing doctrinal facts. When it comes His parables, a picture really is worth a thousand words!

Understanding The Analogy Rightly

In reading and studying the parables of Jesus, it’s important to interpret them correctly. Most of us tend to understand the analogy of the parable backwards. What do I mean by that? Let’s take, for example, the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. We know the father in that parable represents God. So we think, “God is like a father.” But that’s backwards. God is not like a father. He is the Father. If you’re a Christian, God is more your Father than your earthly father could ever be, because your relationship with Him is eternal. Whatever connection you have with your earthly father ends with death. But your heavenly Father will always love you, He will always provide for your needs, and He will always protect you, throughout eternity. So, instead of thinking “God is like a father,” you should think “Human fathers are to be like God.” Earthly fathers are to reflect what God is like, not the other way around.

This holds true for the other parable analogies. God is not like a king: He is the King, and a human king is supposed to reflect the wisdom of God. God is not like a judge: He is the Judge, and a human judge is supposed to reflect the justice of God. The same can be said for shepherds, farmers, vine-keepers, and so on. When these people do their jobs properly, they reflect something of the character of God. I see this world as a stage containing many pictures, types, or reflections of the eternal reality.

• Man was created in God’s image to reflect what God is like—specifically the attributes of His character.
• The Old Testament tabernacle was only a picture of the heavenly tabernacle (Hebrews 8:5, 9:23).
• Jesus called Himself the “true bread” in John 6:32, meaning He is what the manna of the Old Testament symbolized.

What does this mean practically? It means, as a father, your children will learn what their heavenly Father is like by looking at you. That should be a sobering thought, for God’s reputation is in your hands.

The Limitations Of Parables

We can learn a lot about who God is as our heavenly Father by reflecting on our earthly fathers. But what if you didn’t have a good father? What if he died before you got to know him, or what if he was a bad father. That can hurt your understanding of your heavenly Father:

• If your father didn’t love you, you may not understand God’s love.
• If your father didn’t provide for your needs, you may have a hard time trusting God to provide for your needs.
• If your father was angry or violent by nature, you might expect God to be that way.
• If your father didn’t discipline you, you’ll be surprised when God disciplines you.

Reflecting God’s character to our children is a responsibility fathers should take very seriously. Those fathers who act very ungodly toward their children set a stubbling block before them, making it harder for them to know what God is like. When you think about it, the behavior of bad fathers amounts to practical slander of God’s character. Another word for this is blasphemy.

But even if you had an excellent father, his actions didn’t always reflect the character of God because he wasn’t perfect. Only God is perfect. Man is imperfect and finite. So regardless, whether you had a good father or a bad, your understanding of who God is as heavenly Father is also imperfect and limited. This is an important thing to keep in mind when learning about God from the parables and other analogies. All pictures of God are limited, because only God is perfect and unlimited. There is nothing and no one on earth that can be used as a perfect analogy for Him. There are no perfect fathers, no perfect farmers, no perfect vinedressers, shepherds, judges, kings, or any other picture for God. But despite these limitations, Jesus used parables often because the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

Reaching The Heart

A parable is better than a doctrinal statement because it encourages you to think about it—to roll it over in your mind. What you learn then gets into your heart. One reason the doctrine in parables enters the heart is because parables are easy to remember. For most people, remembering a story is easier than remembering dry facts.

When I was in grade school, I was not interested in history. I found it difficult to remember all the names and dates. But if I saw some historical event portrayed in a movie or television show, I found it much easier to remember and digest. I could see how all the events fit together and who did what. Remembering a story is easier than remembering facts. And a parable is just a story with meaning.

Many of you can remember the gist of the parable of the sower without having to look it up in your Bible. A man sowed seed in his field. The first seed fell on the wayside and was eaten by birds. The second seed fell on shallow, rocky soil, and died soon after it germinated. The third seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked it, preventing it from bearing fruit. And the fourth seed fell on good soil where it bore fruit, many times what was sown.

Jesus gave the meaning of the parable as well, which is also easy to remember. He said the seed is the word God, implying the ground is a man’s heart. The first seed is that which fell by the wayside. The word of God was not received in the heart because it was not understood, so Satan came and took away. The second seed which fell on shallow soil represents those who receive God’s word shallowly. It seems like they believe. They have joy, but they fall away later. The third seed is where worldly interests prevent the word of God from having its full effect, causing lack of spiritual fruit. And the fourth seed is where God’s word is fully received: it bares much fruit. God’s word has the greatest effect on those whose lives are represented by the fourth type of ground.

Because a parable is easy to remember, you don’t have to carry a Bible with you to read it. You can take it with you in your mind wherever you go. You can think about it as you drive down the highway. You can think about it while eating your lunch. You can think about it while you’re lying in bed, waiting to fall asleep. And as you do so, you can apply it to your life.

The parable of the sower is about the word of God bearing fruit in one’s life. I want to bear as much fruit as I can for Him. So as I think about the seed that fell among thorns, I examine my heart. What thorns am I allowing in my life? In other words, what things of the world distract me from God’s will for me? This is how I apply the lesson of the parable, and this is how the meaning of the parable gets into my heart.

A parable teaches about God’s character in such a way that we can understand something of the relationship between Him and us. So when you read your Bible and come to a parable, ask yourself, what does this parable teach you about God? How can you know God and relate to Him better? That should be the primary goal of Bible study: to know God better. As we get into the parables of Jesus, keep this goal in mind.