How God Reveals Himself Through Actions

God has revealed Himself primarily in four overlapping ways: 1) actions; 2)names; 3) images; and 4) attributes. This week, our students will survey some of God’s actions. His actions are very important and must not be ignored. In fact, His actions speaks volumes and attest to Who He is. Erik Thoennes says, “ God shows who He is in what He does.”

God shows who He is in what He does.

Meaning, in creating the world God revealed His power and might within His beautiful creation. Imagine for a moment, there was just God. Only God existed in perfect harmony. Then, God spoke and created. Genesis 1:1 states, “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth.” Similar to Genesis, Exodus 20:11a says, “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.”

The terminology has led some to think that God had a beginning. In Genesis, this “beginning” was not God’s beginning, but the beginning of creation (Genesis 1:1-2:25). He has always existed and was not created. Everything else began at a specific point in time, but God has always been and will always be. “God, being eternal, has no beginning or end or succession of events in His own being. This is affirmed in Psalm 90:2: Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Grudem).

From the very beginning He revealed Himself through His act of Creation. Wayne Grudem says, “Every created thing gives evidence of God and his character.”

Every created thing gives evidence of God and his character.

The mere fact that God created everything gives credibility to his Lordship over all things.  In this regard, John Frame writes, “ Creation reveals God’s lordship. It establishes God’s ownership of all things, and therefore his lordship over all his creation…Creation displays God’s lordship attributes” (Psalm 24:1-2). Since God is the all-powerful, all-knowing Creator, it makes perfect sense that He is the owner of all things.

Another action of God is His judgment. Erik Thoennes writes, “God demonstrates his holiness, wrath, and justice when he curses human rebellion in the garden and judges the unrighteous through the flood in Noah’s day.” God is a Holy God and does not compromise when it comes to sin. In contrast, God is graceful and shows mercy. For example, “He shows His grace and mercy in establishing a covenant with Noah and Abraham…and in sending His Son to live and die for humanity. Whenever God acts, we see His character displayed” (Thoennes).

Whenever God acts, we see His character displayed.

 

Questions

Do you see how God’s actions truly reveal Himself to others?

Do you understand that all of life’s problems originate in a faulty understanding of who God is?

Can you identify some other actions in Scripture that reveal God’s actions?

Resources

Life’s Biggest Questions: What The Bible Says About The Things That Matter Most by Erik Thoennes.

Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know by Wayne Grudem.

Systematic Theology: An Introduction To Christian Belief by John Frame.