A Better Picture Of God

The Bible gives us the best picture of God. The Bible explains why we’re here. The Bible also shows us that God is in control and teaches us about His love.

From the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation, we read about God. Both the Bible and Jesus tell us about God. The Bible tells us that God is all-powerful ( Job 1:12 📖 ). God knows everything ( Isaiah 46:9, 10 📖 ). God is just ( Isaiah 30:18 📖 ). God is filled with mercy ( Deuteronomy 7:9 📖 ). God is loving and patient with us ( Romans 2:4 📖 ). God is wise ( 1 Corinthians 2:7 📖 ). God saves us with His loving-favor ( 2 Corinthians 12:9 📖 ). God forgives us ( Matthew 6:14 📖 ). God has a plan for our lives ( Jeremiah 29:11 📖 ). God can wake us up from the dead ( John 11:25 📖 ). God is a strong King ( Psalm 47:8 📖 ). God is everlasting ( Deuteronomy 33:27 📖 ). The Bible tells us so much more about God. These Bible truths give us plenty of reasons to love God and want a relationship with Him. The more we know God, the more we will love Him. We also will want to be close to Him in our hearts.

Who was the first person to doubt God’s love? Lucifer was. Lucifer’s doubts about God caused war in heaven. Since then, “Satan never stops inventing new ways to keep people busy. Satan wants to keep us from learning more about God.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, volume 5, page 740, adapted. Satan doesn’t care what we believe about God as long as we believe the wrong thing.

Read about the snake’s (Satan’s) conversation with Eve, in Genesis 3:1–5 📖 . What was the snake’s plan? What lies did the snake tell Eve about God?

Satan’s message to Eve was: “God is keeping secrets from you. God doesn’t want what is best for you. You can’t trust God.” Satan tries to tell us these same lies today. Ellen G. White tells us about Satan’s plan when she writes, “From the start of the worldwide war between God and Satan, the devil lied about God. Satan tried to get men to reject God’s law.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, page 338, adapted.

What are some false ideas or beliefs about God that we are taught in this life? Are there times in the past when your behavior showed people a false “picture” of God? If yes, what can you do to change with the Holy Spirit’s help? How can you show God’s love to the people around you?