Pr Joshua Yong

Exodus 3:13-14 – “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

The fourth question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is “What is God?” The question here is not phrased as “Who is God” but rather, “What is God?” It is therefore a question that seeks to understand the attributes of God beyond a superficial way. This is a very needful question that we must ask today whereby the answer that one provides will reveal how we actually view God. How a person views God will not in any way change the truth of what God is – God will still be God, no matter what a person may believe concerning Him. But when professing Christians adopt a view of God that is not in line with what the Bible has revealed, then it not only displeases God, it will also lead to all kinds of errors and problems.

1) The Need to Know God

The problem that Christianity is facing today is that Churches have surrendered their high view of God and have replaced it with their own man-made ideas. Such a distorted view of God is reflected in the way they view His Word; how they view the person of Christ; and how they approach God in worship. When men begin to question the inspiration, inerrancy, infallibility and preservation of God’s Word; or when they deny a six-day literal Creation; or when they attack the authenticity of the miracles of Christ, you know that their view of God has changed.

On a personal level, many Christians also do not seem to reflect an appreciation of a high view of God. We see an unwillingness to obey and to submit to God which stems from a cold and careless devotion and a lack of reverence for and fear of God.

Hence, what we need most urgently today is to return to a pure and biblical view of God.

2) Can We Know God?

But can we as tiny, puny man know God? Spurgeon wrote regarding the incomprehensibility of God: “As well might a gnat seek to drink in the ocean, as a finite creature to comprehend the Eternal God. A God whom we could understand would be no God. If we could grasp Him, He could not be infinite. If we could understand Him, He could not be divine.”

Left to ourselves, we will never be able to find out and to know what God is. Apostle Paul declared in Romans 11:33 – “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” The Psalmist also declared: “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:3).

These verses declare the greatness and the majesty of God. As God is so great, we would be helpless if we were left to our own devices to search out God. If we try to form our own imaginations of who God is, what we will end up with will be distorted images of God. The Bible calls it idolatry, where man have “changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Romans 1:23). 

But we thank God that He has revealed Himself to us. We can now know Him through His Word and in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

3) We Know God Through His Word

The Westminster Shorter Catechism’s answer to the question, “What is God” is: “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” The biblical descriptions of God given in this answer are also known as the attributes of God.

When we study God’s revelation of Himself in His Word, we are studying God’s attributes. God’s attributes are the qualities which God has revealed to us concerning Himself. They answer our question, “What is God?” The study of God’s attributes is not an academic exercise, but when such a study is embarked upon devotionally, it will impact and shape the way the believer lives his life in relation to God.

In Exodus 3:13-14, when Moses was called by God to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, he wanted to know what he should say to the people regarding the identity of the one who has sent him. That was when God told Moses to say that “I AM” had sent him.

This was God’s revelation of Himself to Moses. The name “I AM” describes God as the self-sufficient and self-sustaining God. This means that God exists in and of Himself, and He is independent of anyone and anything, and does not rely or depend on anyone or anything for His existence.

This wonderful declaration also tells us that God is pleased to reveal Himself to His people. He has not left us in our ignorance and blindness, but He takes delight in us knowing Him. What is required of us, however, is that we must seek God so that we might know Him as He ought to be known.

Man’s stubbornness and rebellion against God can be reflected and seen in many ways, but such stubbornness often stems from the sinful rejection of what God has revealed to us concerning Himself. As God’s children, we cannot be ignorant of God. It must always be our desire, delight and greatest honour to know who our God is.