Who is the Lord- His Names Defined.

Did you know that words have meaning? Sometimes we read the Bible and gloss over phrases without fully sitting with their weight. But it’s okay to slow down, wrestle with the Word, and meditate on what things mean.

God is love.

In Exodus 3:14, when Moses asks God what he should say to the Israelites, God replies, “I AM who I AM… tell them ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” That phrase—“I AM”—translates to being or to be. That’s powerful. God is declaring His existence, His essence. He is being itself—life itself.

We often separate the “spiritual” from the “practical,” but what if the practical actually helps us understand the spiritual? What if logic and meditation, together, help us see the nature of God more clearly?

John 4:24 tells us, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” Paul echoes this by referring to God as “the immortal, invisible, the only God” (1 Timothy 1:17). Using both inductive and deductive reasoning, we begin to see: God is Spirit—and His Spirit has character.

Let’s look at just a few of the ways Scripture reveals God's nature:

• Wisdom – Proverbs 8 (a personification of divine wisdom)

• Compassionate – Psalm 103:8 ("The Lord is compassionate and gracious...")

• Love – 1 John 4:8 ("God is love.")

• Light – 1 John 1:5 ("God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.")

• Justice – Deuteronomy 32:4 ("All His ways are just.")

• Holiness – Isaiah 6:3 ("Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty...")

And of course, in Isaiah 11, we see the Spirit of the Lord prophesied to rest upon Jesus—wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord.

Application:

This week, take time to meditate on who God is.

• Choose a characteristic of God each day (e.g., “God is love,” “God is holy”).

• Find the scripture that supports it.

• Look up the definition of that word.

• Ask yourself: What does this mean for my understanding of God? What does this mean for my life?

  
  

This may mean some things about you, your behavior, or your lifestyle may have to change!

Let your spirit engage with truth—because in doing so, you’ll begin to encounter God not just as an idea, but as a living being, presence, and reality.

Amen.