Who is God?

Genesis 1-11 

Personal Note: First, thank you for participating in this study. Your comments and questions are so encouraging. As we consider “God’s Story in God’s People,” we are spending time in Genesis again. We studied through the book of Genesis last year; however, this time I am taking a slightly different approach. The previous Genesis study, along with Job, Isaiah, John, Romans, and Revelation, is available on the Living Grounded YouTube channel. Additional information is shared at the end of today’s devo. 

In our study of God’s Story in God’s People, one important truth I want us to understand is how the Bible ties together. It is not merely a collection of sixty-six books but one complete story that proclaims a consistent message.[1] Through this message, we will build on four principal threads of truth as expressed in the following questions.

Thread #1: Who is God? 
Thread #2: Who is man? 
Thread #3: How can I know God? 
Thread #4: How can I walk with God? 

To this point, we have spent time in the first part of Genesis, chapters 1-11. Given these chapters, let’s pause today to lay the foundation for the first thread, “Who is God?” To help us begin answering this, remember that theologian A. W. Tozer said, “What comes to your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.”[2] In this first section of Genesis, as God introduces himself, I think his intention is clear—this is what I want you to know about me! 

WHO IS GOD?

I want us to see, from the very first pages of Scripture, that God presents himself in five ways: Yahweh Elohim, the Pursuer, the Sovereign Judge, the great Communicator, and the Redeemer. Let’s look more closely at each of these.   

Yahweh Elohim
We have seen that God is the Creator who spoke the world into existence. He said, “‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Gen. 1:3). Then God created man and stooped down to breathe into Adam the breath of life, and “man became a living creature” (Gen. 2:7). When God describes his creative power, he calls himself Elohim. When God breathes life into man, he calls himself the LORD God, in Hebrew Yahweh Elohim. Elohim describes God’s power, while Yahweh explains his personal relationship with his creation. 

What comes to mind when you think of God? I hope the first thing that comes to mind is the name Yahweh Elohim—the all-powerful and intimately personal God. That’s how God initially introduces himself. 

The Pursuer 
In his famous poem, The Hound of Heaven, Francis Thompson likened God to a persistent hound relentlessly pursuing us even as we try to run from him.[3] Consider what we have learned so far about God’s tireless pursuit. God looked for Adam and Eve after they hid from him following their disobedience (Gen. 3:9). God had a personal conversation with Cain, questioning his intentions and warning him that sin was crouching at his door (Gen. 4:6-7). God handpicked Noah to build an ark and proclaim the coming judgment (Gen. 6:9-13; 2 Pet. 2:5). At the Tower of Babel, God said, “Let us go down and there confuse their language” (Gen. 11:7). The story of God is the story of his relentless pursuit.

Is God, the pursuer, making himself known to you today? Maybe, like Adam and Eve, you are trying to hide because of sin. Or, like Cain, you know that sin is crouching at your door and you are about to give in. Perhaps, like Noah, God is calling you to a special mission. In every scenario, let’s state the obvious: it is impossible to run from God. Wherever you go, he is already there (Ps. 139:5-12). 

The Sovereign Judge
The flood teaches us that God is sovereign over all things. He judges wickedness in his own way and in his own timing. He is the “Judge of all the earth” (Gen. 18:25). We will see God’s judgment on sin throughout his story, culminating with Jesus on the cross.  

The Great Communicator
How are we to understand God, the eternal One who spoke the world into existence? How can humans, with our finite minds, know the One who created us? The answer is simple: we can’t. Yet the indescribable God humbly describes himself in human terms.[4] When God saw the wickedness on earth in Noah’s day, he “regretted that he had made man . . . and it grieved him to his heart” (Gen. 6:6). God is immutable; he doesn’t change. But to help us connect with him, he speaks our language. This is driven by his love. 

When we study God’s story, we must exercise careful discernment. We must not allow the human terms God uses as descriptors for himself to diminish the truth of his indescribable glory and majesty or to limit his power and sovereignty. When Martin Luther confronted Erasmus for his low view of God, Luther told the Christian humanist, “You think too humanly of God.”[5] 

Yahweh Elohim is not the “big guy in the sky” or the “man upstairs.” God speaks in human terms so we can understand, not so we will “think too humanly” of him. 

The Redeemer
The promise of humanity’s redemption was given in Genesis 3:15, when God promised to send One who would crush Satan’s head. Tomorrow, in Genesis 12, we will see the story of redemption begin to unfold. 

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Reflection: Consider the names for God we discussed today. In what areas of your life are you trying to hide from him, and how will you respond to his pursuit? 

Talking to God: Thank God for his persistent pursuit of you. 

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SAVE THE DATE: Bible Immersion trip to Israel: November 4-14, 2026.

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