Bible Stories

The mainstream Christian view of God, which has been so muddied and pulled out of shape in our time, came from the Bible. How then does the Bible present God?

The God of the Bible is the self-revealing Creator acting as Redeemer. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments find their unity in this common theme. The Bible’s history books tell how God is carrying through a great plan for the salvation of a vast international community which the New Testament calls the church.

This plan started with God’s promise in Eden that he would rescue mankind, the call of Abraham and the making of a nation out of his family. Now it has issued in the life, death, resurrection, present reign and promised return of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was physically descended from Abraham by the royal line of David. Jesus is now eternally alive; the one mediator through whom sinful people may come to God. The whole of the Bible calls us to respond to God, and expresses the response people made to him for what he has done, is doing and will do as lord of the universe and saviour of his people.

Mainstream Christianity has always seen the whole Bible as God-given in a special, normative way which makes it our abiding rule for faith and life, a source and standard for settling what constitutes true belief and obedience.

According to the Bible, the Creator has spoken to people, sometimes directly, sometimes through messengers, to declare who he is, what he wills and plans, and what must be done to please him. In the pages of the Bible, God reveals to his people, not only in words but also in action, what he is like and what he can do.

In the Old Testament, God’s way of making himself known, particularly in his special relationship with Israel, is called his ‘name‘. In the ancient Near East a person’s name declared his nature and function. For example, the name Abraham means ‘father of a multitude’, and Jesus means ‘the Lord saves’. To ‘know God’s name‘, then, is to worship and trust God as he has shown himself to be.

In the Old Testament God has several specific names, each proclaiming some aspect of what he is:

• El, Eloah, Elohim, ‘God‘, designates him as superhuman and strong.
• Elyon, ‘God Most High’, means the exalted one.
• Adonai, ‘Lord‘, marks him out as ruler.
• El Shaddai, ‘God Almighty’, points to his gracious power.
• Yahweh, ‘the Lord‘ (Jehovah, as it used to be rendered), God himself explains to Moses as meaning ‘I am what I am’ or ‘I will be what Iwill be’ — ‘I am’ for short. This most significant name, sometimes amplified as ‘the Lord of (angelic) hosts’, is evidently meant to declare that God, like the bush which burnt but was not consumed, is eternally self- sustaining and self-sufficient. It also indicates that God is unchangeably committed to his people. He will always keep his covenant promise; he will rescue and redeem his captive people.

Certain key aspects of God’s character are constantly celebrated throughout the Old Testament:

• Love which freely blesses, patiently endures and gladly forgives the penitent;
• Faithfulness to his people and his promises;
• Anger that brings just retribution on those who defiantly choose evil and stick to it.

They are illustrated in all the ups and downs of Israel’s history — the exodus; captivity and deliverance in the days of the judges; the kings and the divided kingdom; the Babylonian captivity and return. They are also seen in God’s dealings with individuals.

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