What is God like?

Short answer

The Bible describes God as holy, unchanging, present everywhere and, above all, as love. We see His character most clearly in Jesus Christ, who shows what God is like.

The Bible does not give a list of definitions to memorize. It shows us who God is through what He says and does, and through people who met Him. Four features stand out again and again: God is holy, He does not change, He is everywhere, and He is love. No short page can say everything, but these four give a good picture.

God is holy

In the year King Uzziah died, the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord on a throne, with angels calling to one another.

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
Isa 6:3 · King James Version (1769)

John MacArthur explains that the word “holy” stresses God’s separateness from His fallen creation and His independence of it. The threefold repetition is for emphasis. The New Geneva Study Bible adds that Christian interpreters have also seen in it a pointer to the Trinity, while Jewish interpreters read it as praise of God’s holiness in heaven, on earth and in the age to come.

The vision shows what holiness does to a person. Isaiah was struck by his own sinfulness, and then God cleansed him (Isaiah 6:5–7). Matthew Henry notes that, according to John 12:41, Isaiah saw the glory of Christ here.

God does not change

People change with age, moods and circumstances. God does not.

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Mal 3:6 · King James Version (1769)

MacArthur explains that Israel kept existing only because the Lord’s character does not change and He is faithful to the covenant promises He made to the patriarchs. Albert Barnes adds that God’s name, “He who is,” already implies that He does not change, since change means either gaining or losing something, and God has everything in Himself.

This is good news. God does not tire of us, change His mind about His promises or stop being good. The New Testament says the same about the Father of lights (James 1:17).

God is everywhere

King David wrote a psalm about the fact that nothing can hide from God, and that we cannot escape His presence.

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Ps 139:7–10 · King James Version (1769)

Matthew Henry points out that this truth works two ways. No veil, not even the thickest darkness, hides a person or a deed from God, and the secret haunts of sin are as open to Him as public wrongs. But believers can never be removed from the comforting presence of their Almighty Friend. Albert Barnes calls this psalm the fullest statement of God’s presence everywhere in the Hebrew Scriptures, and sees in it above all comfort. The New Geneva Study Bible notes that God does not just know where David is: wherever he goes, God helps him.

God is love

John writes simply that God is love (1 John 4:8). Then he adds what this looks like.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:9–10 · King James Version (1769)

William MacDonald stresses that John does not only say “God loves,” though that is true. He says “God is love,” meaning love is God’s nature. MacArthur adds that those who are born again receive God’s nature, and so love becomes the mark of the people of God. According to Matthew Henry, the gospel shows that God is love: He forgives sinners in a way that agrees with His glory and justice.

This love is not weakness. It is the love of the same holy and unchanging God, who gave His Son to carry our sin.

Seeing God in Jesus

The Bible does not leave God a distant mystery. Jesus said that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father (John 14:9). If you want to know what God is like, read one of the Gospels and watch how Jesus welcomes the lost, heals the sick and gives His life. See Who is Jesus Christ?.

To learn more about how God has made Himself known, see Names of God and their meanings. And since He is holy and loving, the right response is neither fear alone nor casual familiarity, but trust with reverence.