God’s True Nature

What you believe about God profoundly impacts your life. If you believe He is harsh and angry, you will never feel safe in His presence. On the other hand, if you believe He is good and merciful, you will be eager to draw near to Him.

To have a real relationship with God, we need to get to know Him better. If you’re not fully committed, passionate, and sold out for Him, it’s probably because you don’t understand how completely committed, passionate, and sold out God is for you. If you think God is angry and unpredictable, you’ll probably push Him away, especially when you mess up. If we don’t understand God’s true nature, we’ll be easy targets for the devil’s intimidation and condemnation.

Understanding the connection between judgment in the Old Testament and grace in the New Testament is crucial for living a fulfilling life in Christ. The Old Testament has some tough passages that can be confusing. On the one hand, it talks about God punishing people who don’t obey Him. On the other hand, the New Testament shows a different picture of a loving and forgiving God. At first, it might seem like we’re dealing with two different Gods. But the real issue isn’t that God is angry and loving at the same time. It’s that we don’t fully understand Him.

God didn’t suddenly become kinder between the Old and New Testaments. In Jeremiah 31:3, God declares: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” God has always been merciful and full of love. Malachi 3:6 affirms this: “I am the Lord, and I do not change.” 

The God of the Old is also the God of the New. So, if God hasn’t changed, what has changed? The change lies in the way we relate to God.

Under the Old Testament, there was no idea of a new birth to redeem man. As a result, the only means God had to address sin was through judgment. This was the covenant that the people were obligated to uphold, and it was crucial in guiding them toward the realization of their need for a Savior. 

Some Christians read the Old Testament and think God is cruel. But they don’t realize the distinction between the Old and New Covenants. So, they mix their purposes, and that makes it confusing about who God really is. The Old Covenant Law wasn’t meant to show us God’s love or help us get close to Him. It was meant to show us God’s perfect standard, which we could never meet, and to make us realize that we could never earn righteousness. Christ fulfilled the perfect standards of the Old Covenant, earning righteousness on our behalf. This righteousness enables us to draw near to God with unhindered closeness.

The Law makes sin come alive in us (Romans 7:9). It doesn’t help us overcome sin but actually strengthens it (1 Corinthians 15:56). The Law keeps us comparing ourselves to God and to others. We might reason: “I may not be perfect, but I’m better than others, so I must be acceptable.” However, God doesn’t evaluate us based on a comparative scale. As James 2:10 emphasizes, even a single violation of the Law makes us guilty of all violations. The Law wasn’t a strict rule book to earn God’s approval. Instead, it showed us how we fell short of God’s perfect standards and encouraged us to reach out to God for mercy.

The Law, a ministry of death and condemnation (2 Corinthians 3:7-9), was meant to silence us rather than lift us up. It wasn’t meant to help us connect with God; instead, it was designed to lead us to our own downfall. When people thought they were doing good, God’s standard raised the bar and showed them that they couldn’t succeed without Him.

Under the New Covenant, Jesus bore the punishment and wrath that sin deserved at the cross. When you finally comprehend that God doesn’t judge you based on your inability to adhere to the Laws of the Old Testament, but rather on the accomplishments of Jesus on your behalf, you will truly grasp the depth of God’s love for you.

The cross transforms everything. If you haven’t truly felt the weight of your sins, you won’t fully understand the freedom that comes with the cross. And if you’re judging yourself by the Laws of the Old Testament instead of letting His grace define you, you’re missing out on the opportunity to have a close relationship with Him.

Understanding the true nature of God will transform your life. God is love, and He unconditionally loves you. He doesn’t see any sin because the debt for your sin has been fully paid. There is no way to pay what His Son has already paid. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace (Romans 6:14). Rather than striving to prove to yourself that God loves you, let God prove His love to you.

When the revelation of God’s grace comes alive in your mind and heart, your faith will flourish, and you will begin to receive more profound understanding from God than ever before. Once you receive a genuine revelation of God’s nature and the extent of His love for you, you will no longer hide from Him; instead, you will hunger for Him and seek Him out. Your life will become a powerful testament to His goodness. And what you have freely received, you shall freely give.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:7-10).

God so loved you, and He so loved me. The love of God has been freely given to us. He never sees the faults I see; He only sees my need. May I continually receive the revelation of His grace, liberating me from the yoke of bondage. May I be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. May Jesus, full of grace and truth, be manifested in my life—again and again and again.