Bible Study
Who God is in Himself — holy, loving, faithful, and good. The attributes that make Him worthy of worship and steady us in every season.
Study this in the app →We were made to know God, not merely facts about Him. These passages reveal His character — the attributes that make Him worthy of our trust and worship, and that steady us in every season.
When God revealed Himself to Moses, He described His own character before anything else. Knowing who God is, not just what He requires, is the foundation of a settled faith.
“The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth... who will by no means clear the guilty.”
God's own self-description — mercy and justice together.
“The LORD is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness. The LORD is good to all. His tender mercies are over all his works.”
Echoed again and again across Scripture.
“He who doesn't love doesn't know God, for God is love.”
Love is not just what God does; it is who He is.
“Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”
His holiness — set apart, pure, ablaze with glory.
“For I, the LORD, don't change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.”
He is constant; His promises hold.
“Where could I go from your Spirit?... If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there!”
He is everywhere present — and near.
How does God describe His own character to Moses (Exodus 34:6-7)?
Answer: Merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love — yet just
When God reveals Himself, He leads with mercy and grace, slow to anger and overflowing in steadfast love — yet He does not ignore sin. Both His love and His justice are fully real, and they meet at the cross.
Word study: 'Loving kindness' is Hebrew chesed — loyal, covenant love that keeps its promises. It appears over 240 times in the Old Testament.
Context: This self-revelation is quoted again and again across the Old Testament (Psalm 103:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2) — Israel's treasured description of who God is.
What does 1 John 4:8 mean by 'God is love'?
Answer: Love is essential to who God is, not just something He does
Love is not merely one of God's activities; it flows from His very being. And John defines that love by the cross — 'not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son.' God's love is self-giving, not sentimental.
Word study: 'Love' is Greek agape — committed, self-giving love that seeks another's good, shown supremely at Calvary.
Context: John writes to a community tempted to split love from truth; he insists the two are inseparable in God Himself.
What does it mean that God is 'holy, holy, holy' (Isaiah 6:3)?
Answer: He is utterly pure and set apart in His glory
Holiness means God is set apart — utterly pure, wholly other, blazing with glory. Seeing it, Isaiah collapses with 'Woe is me!' — and then receives cleansing (Isaiah 6:6-7). God's holiness exposes us, then His grace restores us.
Word study: Hebrew repeats a word for emphasis; threefold repetition ('holy, holy, holy') is the highest possible superlative — holiness to the uttermost.
Context: The vision came 'in the year that King Uzziah died' — when an earthly throne emptied, Isaiah saw the true King, high and lifted up.
What does Malachi 3:6 reveal about God?
Answer: He does not change — He is faithful and constant
God's unchanging nature is the ground of our security: His character, promises, and love do not shift with circumstances. Notice the comfort in it — 'therefore you are not consumed.' Because He doesn't change, His mercy outlasts our failures.
Word study: Theologians call this immutability. It doesn't make God cold or static; it means His goodness and faithfulness never waver.
Context: Malachi spoke to a discouraged people who wondered if God still cared; His unchanging faithfulness was their hope.
What does Psalm 139 teach about God's presence?
Answer: He is everywhere — there is nowhere we can flee from Him
God is everywhere present — in the heights and the depths, in light and dark. For the rebel this is sobering; for God's child it is pure comfort: wherever you go, 'your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me.'
Word study: Theologians call this omnipresence. The psalm pairs it with God's intimate knowledge of us (vv.1-6) and His crafting of us (vv.13-16).
Context: David doesn't reason about God in the abstract; he marvels in worship at a God who is both infinite and intimately near.
God describes Himself as both 'abounding in love' and one who 'will by no means clear the guilty.' How can both be true?
Answer: At the cross, God's justice and mercy meet — sin is punished and sinners are forgiven
A God who simply ignored sin would not be good — and a God with no mercy would crush us all. The cross is where both hold perfectly: God's justice falls fully on Christ, so His mercy can flow freely to us. He is 'just and the justifier.' We never have to choose between God's love and His holiness; Calvary unites them.
Word study: Romans 3:26 uses two forms of the same root — God is dikaios (just) and the dikaiounta (justifier). Both at once, only because of the cross.
Context: Paul wrestles with how a holy God can forgive guilty people without ceasing to be holy; his answer is the atoning death of Jesus (Romans 3:25).
Since God says 'I, the LORD, don't change,' how should His unchanging character steady you in a shifting life?
Answer: His promises and love hold firm even when everything else moves
Feelings shift, people fail, seasons turn — but God's character does not. Because He does not change, the love that held you yesterday holds you today, and His promises don't expire when your circumstances sour. His constancy is not coldness; it is the bedrock you can build a life on. 'Therefore you are not consumed.'
Word study: Theologians call this immutability; Malachi ties it directly to mercy — God's unchanging faithfulness is why we are 'not consumed.'
Context: Malachi spoke to a discouraged, doubting people who wondered if God still cared; His unchanging nature was their ground for hope.