By Ruth Dusingize 
HIGHLIGHT: From the beginning of creation, God has desired to be in a close relationship with us. Although our understanding of His character is the target of Satan’s attacks, God reveals Himself to us most clearly through His word and through the life of His Son, Jesus. Ultimately, having a clear, beautiful picture of God is essential if we want to deepen our relationship with Him.
Memory Text: John 17:3 NKJV
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
SABBATH: INTRODUCTION
Eternal life begins with truly knowing God (John 17:3). But a misunderstood view of His character has left many hearts in spiritual darkness. This week we dive deep into Scripture to uncover the beauty of God’s goodness, mercy, truth, and unfailing love. As the Bible reveals who God really is, His character shines as the final message of mercy to the world—a revelation of love that saves and transforms. While we can never fully comprehend God, we can know Him more deeply. Join us as we rediscover who He is, grow closer to Him, and reflect His love to others.
SUNDAY: A CLEARER PICTURE OF GOD
Having a clear understanding of God’s character is essential in building a deep relationship with Him. The clear perception of His character is what the Devil has always fought right from Heaven where he as Lucifer, deceived a third of the whole angelic host about God’s character.
He further tempted Eve and planted doubts about God in Eve’s mind while in Eden. However, the true unchanging character of God’s omnipotence, omniscience, justice, mercy, loving-kindness, patience, wisdom, grace, forgiveness, will for our lives, power to defeat death, kingship and eternal nature are all well expounded only through Scripture.
(READ Genesis 3:1-5; Job 1:12; Isaiah 30:18; 46:9&10; Deuteronomy 7:9; 33:27; Romans 2:4; 1Corinthians 2:7; 2Corinthians 12:9; Matthew 6:14; Jeremiah 29:11; John 11:25; Psalms 47:8)
MONDAY: GOD IS HOLY
Holiness is the absence of sin. This is the Central attribute of God’s character. He is the Only One who is holy. He dwells in holiness and He is eternal with no evil at all. The love that God has for us springs from a position of pure holy love. This means that His love is free from any elements of sin such as selfishness, unlike human love.
Only God’s holiness allows and enables us to really love Him, because He is good from beginning to end. This holiness isn’t meant to scare us away from God but rather assure us and strengthen our trust in God because He can and must be relied on. In addition, God’s holiness drives a believer to utmost humility when in His presence just as Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel did for no man can behold God’s holiness and live due to our sinful nature.
(READ Leviticus 20:26; 1Samuel 2:2; Isaiah 57:15; Ezekiel 38:23; Revelation 4:8)
TUESDAY: GOD IS LOVE
The Bible defines God as Love and His love for us is perfect. This love was manifested in Jesus Christ who died for sinners such as you and I so that gap that sin brought between us and God can be bridged.
God sent Jesus to earth so that we might freely choose to respond to His love, revealed in His substitutionary death on our behalf. In addition, Jesus Christ also lived to show us God’s perfect character of love and above all, to draw people back to Himself.
(READ 1John 4:7-19; Genesis 1:27; 15:2; 22:13&14; Judges 6:15; Malachi 1:6; Psalms 97:5; Romans 5:8; Isaiah 59:1&2; John 12:32; 14:9; Hebrews 1:3)
WEDNESDAY: GOD IN CREATION
God is an all-powerful Almighty God. He brought everything into existence by word of His mouth as accounted in Genesis 1. On the other hand, Genesis 2 gives an account of God as One who came so close and was personally involved in creating man.
This is God, also known as Yahweh who intimately relates with His children and longs to have a deep and growing relationship with us as we grow deep in our knowledge of His character. And furthermore, the more we learn about the character of God, the more we will learn to love Him.
(READ Genesis 1:7; 2:7; Acts 17:27&28; Job 36:24-33; 37-39)
THURSDAY: IMMANUEL, GOD WITH US
Jesus Christ is God the Son and He was sent to us as a gift from Our Father. He reflects God and reveals Him as well. God’s love for us is most clearly expressed in His Son, Jesus Christ. Each Gospel writer had a personal experience with Jesus Christ, hence all this recorded knowledge ought to help us deepen our relationship with God.
Furthermore, God the Holy Spirit is the Comforter and Helper that Jesus Christ left us with upon ascension, which is evidence that God is always with us.
(READ John 14:9; Luke 1:3&4; Matthew 1:23)
FRIDAY: FURTHER THOUGHT
God calls His people to represent His character, but to do this, we need to know Him for ourselves. You may study that love for ages; yet you can never fully comprehend the length and the breadth, the depth and the height, of the love of God in giving His Son to die for the world. Eternity itself can never fully reveal it.
Yet as we study the Bible and meditate upon the life of Christ and the plan of redemption, these great themes will open to our understanding more and more.
(READ Testimonies for the Church, Vol.5, p.740 by Ellen G White)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS;
- How is God’s character misrepresented in our world? More important, how might you, at times, have misrepresented His character to others?
- Truly God is pure holiness; and when we come to Him, we must see Him as such. How does knowing this inspire you? In what ways does this challenge you regarding your own character?
- Many people have a distorted picture of God, which Jesus came to restore. What can you do to share a clear, accurate picture of God’s character to those in your sphere of influence?
- Consider again what you learnt from Monday’s reading. Although we’re clearly sinful and not holy, the Bible also makes some clear statements about God’s people living holy lives. Read 1Peter 1:13-16; Romans 6:22 and Hebrews 12:14. God is Holy and invites us to be holy. But what does it really mean to live a holy life?
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Shalom Insights