Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. —Revelation 1:4-5
Who is God? What is He like? These questions have intrigued people throughout the course of history. However, many have denied His existence. In the nineteenth century the German philosopher Feuerbach said that God is nothing but man’s projection on the backdrop of the universe. However, when I speak of God, I do not mean a God who exists only in one’s imagination; I am talking about the true God. He is real; He exists; it is a question of getting to know Him.
You may have many ideas about God and what He is like, but I want you to lay them aside and come with open minds to see what John says about Him. I believe he shows us four things.
1. God is a triune being. In his greeting in the Book of Revelation, John confirms this.
2. God is eternal. The second thing John makes clear is that not only is God triune, but also He is eternal. He put it like this: “Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come.”
3. God is spirit. The third thing John saw was that God is spirit. He is not material; He is not a physical being. Jesus Himself said that God is spirit when He spoke to the woman at the well: “God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
4. God became a man. The fourth thing John shows us about God is that God became human.
Grace and peace to you … from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings (Rev. 17:14). Someday He will come again, and on that day Paul tells us that everyone will worship Him.
Excerpted from A Vision of Jesus (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1999).
