A Godly Character | Part 2: Additional Characteristics of God

Like most children, we want to be like our Heavenly Father—to emulate His character. This may appear difficult, but thankfully, we have a head start in this! Because God created us in His image… 

But what does that image look like? What traits are found in God? And how do we begin walking in His ways?

Join us as we continue to examine some of our God’s amazing characteristics and learn how we can grow to be like Him…

Created in God’s Image

As we discovered in “A Godly Character | Part 1,” we have a God who is loving, generous, merciful, gracious, strong, and just… but these are just a few of the wonderful characteristics that make up our great God! 

In this part, we will explore a few more of the many amazing aspects of our God’s character and how we are created in God’s image… and are therefore meant to emulate His character…

5 Characteristics of God

• He is UNDERSTANDING
  • “How great is our God! There’s absolutely nothing his power cannot accomplish, and he has infinite understanding of everything.”—Psalm 147:5 (TPT)
  • “The Lord laid the earth’s foundations with wisdom’s blueprints. By his living-understanding all the universe came into being.”—Proverbs 3:19 (TPT)
  • “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”—Isaiah 40:28 (NIV)
  • “who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.”—Psalm 136:5 (NIV)
  • “Wisdom is a gift from a generous God, and every word he speaks is full of revelation and becomes a fountain of understanding within you.”—Proverbs 2:6 (TPT)
  • “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.”—Job 12:13 (NIV)
  • “He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, and stretched out the heaven by His understanding.”—Jeremiah 51:15 (NKJV)
• He is PATIENT
  • “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”—2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
  • “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’”—Exodus 34:6-7 (NIV)
  • “So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.”—Joel 2:13 (NKJV)
  • “Lord, you’re so kind and tenderhearted and so patient with people who fail you! Your love is like a flooding river overflowing its banks with kindness.”—Psalm 103:8 (TPT)

• He is COMPASSIONATE
  • “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.”—Psalm 145:8 (NIV)
  • “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.”—James 5:11 (NKJV)
  • “The wicked need to abandon their ways, and sinful ones need to banish every evil thought. Let them return to Yahweh, and they will experience his compassionate mercy. Yes, let them return to God, for he will lavish forgiveness upon them.”—Isaiah 55:7 (TPT)
  • “But instead be kind and affectionate toward one another. Has God graciously forgiven you? Then graciously forgive one another in the depths of Christ’s love.”—Ephesians 4:32 (TPT)
• He is HOLY
  • “For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”—Leviticus 11:45 (NKJV)
  • “Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.”—Psalm 99:5 (NIV)
  • “And say, ‘Save us, O God of our salvation; gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles, to give thanks to Your holy name, to triumph in Your praise.’”—1 Chronicles 16:35 (NKJV)
  • “No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.”—1 Samuel 2:2 (NKJV)
  • “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.’”—Isaiah 48:17 (NKJV)
• He is ETERNAL
  • “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’”—Revelation 1:8 (NIV)
  • “The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’”—Revelation 4:8 (NKJV)
  • “And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: ‘We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned.’”—Revelation 11:16-17 (NKJV)
  • “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you, saying, ‘Destroy them!’”—Deuteronomy 33:27 (NIV)

God is all of these beautiful qualities and more… yet He chose to craft us in His image. 

He knew about mankind’s every mistake to come, yet He still created us! He crafted us to speak like Him. To walk in His eternal truth and find everlasting life!

Choosing a Godly Character

In God, we find the pattern on which our creation was laid. In Him, we discover who we are meant to be…

We are meant to be…

• LOVING
• GENEROUS
• MERCIFUL
• GRACIOUS
• STRONG
• JUST
• UNDERSTANDING
• PATIENT
• COMPASSIONATE
• HOLY
• WALKING IN GOD’S ETERNAL LIFE

Each of these is found in God’s character and confirmed by His Word, and that is why we are meant to walk in them. Why they are part of a Godly character… 

Though there is so much more to God than this, even in exploring these few aspects, we see what an amazing God we have! We find that we were created by an extraordinary God to become His children…

God is so loving, so amazing… and walking in His image, even if not perfectly, is a beautiful gift. 

When we decide to take those steps to walk in His image. To alter our habits and patterns to conform to His character… we have a proud Abba—a proud Father. For it is not the skill with which we do these things that touches His heart; it is our desire. Our effort. Our choice. Our determination.

Each of us can become more like our God…

Each of us has that capacity because none of us is alone in our journey. God is ready to help us every step of the way.

All we have to do is the little thing, the decision, and first steps of walking after Him. He does the big thing. Giving us His strong arm to lean on. His wisdom to guide us. His unending love and patience. His hope…

Everything that we need we can find in Him. In His Word. In relationship with Him. 

So let us lean into God! Let us choose to become more like Him. Let us continually grow deeper in our relationship and understanding of our AMAZING Creator… our Great God and Father!

“Be imitators of God in everything you do, for then you will represent your Father as his beloved sons and daughters. And continue to walk surrendered to the extravagant love of Christ, for he surrendered his life as a sacrifice for us. His great love for us was pleasing to God, like an aroma of adoration—a sweet healing fragrance.”

—Ephesians 5:1-2 (TPT)