Sabbath School Week

Read for This Week’s Study

Gen. 3:1–5, Lev. 20:26, 1 Sam. 2:2, 1 John 4:7–19, Gen. 1:1, Gen. 2:7, Matt. 1:23, Matt. 28:20.

Memory Text:

“ ‘And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent’ ” (John 17:3, NKJV).

Having a clear understanding of God’s character is foundational to having a strong relationship with Him. That is why, this week, we will look carefully at what the Bible says about the character of God, keeping in mind that it “is the darkness of misapprehension of God that is enshrouding the world. Men are losing their knowledge of His character. It has been misunderstood and misinterpreted. At this time a message from God is to be proclaimed, a message illuminating in its influence and saving in its power. His character is to be made known. Into the darkness of the world is to be shed the light of His glory, the light of His goodness, mercy, and truth. . . . The last message of mercy to be given to the world, is a revelation of His character of love.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 415.

It seems impossible to describe God adequately, and so the most we can do is point to what the Bible says about Him. Although we will never know, especially now, everything there is to know about God’s wonderful character, let’s pray that as we learn more about Him, our understanding of and love for Him will deepen, so that, ultimately, we will want to grow closer to Him in order to reflect His love and character to others.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 11.

Supplemental EGW Notes

The law of God, from its very nature, is unchangeable. It is a revelation of the will and the character of its Author. God is love, and His law is love. Its two great principles are love to God and love to man. “Love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:10. The character of God is righteousness and truth; such is the nature of His law. Says the psalmist: “Thy law is the truth:” “all Thy commandments are righteousness.” Psalm 119:142, 172. And the apostle Paul declares: “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Romans 7:12. Such a law, being an expression of the mind and will of God, must be as enduring as its Author.—The Great Controversy, p. 467.

In the beginning, man was created in the image of God. He was in perfect harmony with the nature and the law of God; the principles of righteousness were written upon his heart. But sin alienated him from his Maker. He no longer reflected the divine image. His heart was at war with the principles of God’s law. . . . But “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son,” that man might be reconciled to God. Through the merits of Christ he can be restored to harmony with his Maker. His heart must be renewed by divine grace; he must have a new life from above. This change is the new birth. . . .
The first step in reconciliation to God is the conviction of sin. . . . “By the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). In order to see his guilt, the sinner must test his character by God’s great standard of righteousness. It is a mirror which shows the perfection of a righteous character and enables him to discern the defects of his own. The law reveals to man his sin. . . . It declares that death is the portion of the transgressor. The gospel of Christ alone can free him from the condemnation or the defilement of sin. He must exercise repentance toward God, whose law has been transgressed; and faith in Christ, his atoning sacrifice. . . .
In the new birth the heart is brought into harmony with God, as it is brought into accord with His law. When this mighty change has taken place in the sinner, he has passed from death unto life, from sin unto holiness, from transgression and rebellion to obedience and loyalty. . . .
The followers of Christ are to become like Him—by the grace of God to form characters in harmony with the principles of His holy law. This is Bible sanctification.—God’s Amazing Grace, p. 20.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

The Bible gives the truest, clearest, and most consistent picture of God. The entire Bible seeks to peel back the unseen veil between our visible world and the invisible; to show us where we’ve come from and where we’re going; and, ultimately, to show us who is in control and what God is like.

From Genesis to Revelation, we read about the one true God, who makes Himself known to us through the Bible and through Jesus Christ, God incarnate. We can read about God’s omnipotence (Job 1:12), His omniscience, His all-knowing nature (Isa. 46:9, 10), His justice (Isa. 30:18), His mercy (Deut. 7:9), His loving-kindness and patience with us (Rom. 2:4), His wisdom (1 Cor. 2:7), His grace (2 Cor. 12:9), His forgiveness (Matt. 6:14), His will for our lives (Jer. 29:11), His power to defeat death (John 11:25), His kingship (Ps. 47:8), His eternal nature (Deut. 33:27), and many other characteristics that give us abundant reasons to love and have an abiding relationship with Him. The more we know about God and what He is like, the more we will love Him and desire a close and abiding relationship with Him.

It was Lucifer who first doubted God’s character. His doubts about who God is ultimately led to the greatest battle in the history of our universe. Ever since that time, “it is Satan’s constant study to keep the minds of men occupied with those things which will prevent them from obtaining the knowledge of God.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 740. Satan doesn’t care what kind of picture of God we have (pantheism, polytheism, deism, etc.), as long as it’s not an accurate one.

Read Genesis 3:1–5. What was Satan’s goal in his conversation with Eve? What lies did he tell Eve about God’s character?

Ultimately, Satan’s message to Eve was this: God is keeping secrets from you. God does not want what is best for you. You can’t trust Him. Ellen White expands on this when she says, “From the opening of the great controversy it has been Satan’s purpose to misrepresent God’s character and to excite rebellion against His law.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 338.

How is God’s character misrepresented in our world? More important, how might you, at times, have misrepresented His character to others? If you have, what can you do to change with the Holy Spirit’s help? How can you show God’s love to the people around you?

Supplemental EGW Notes

All the light of the past, all the light which shines in the present and reaches forth into the future, as revealed in the Word of God, is for every soul who will receive it. The glory of this light, which is the very glory of the character of Christ, is to be manifested in the individual Christian, in the family, in the church, in the ministry of the Word, and in every institution established by God’s people. All these the Lord designs shall be symbols of what can be done for the world. They are to be types of the saving power of the truths of the gospel. . . .
By beholding the goodness, the mercy, the justice, and the love of God revealed in the church, the world is to have a representation of His character. . . .
In order to manifest the character of God . . . we must become personally acquainted with God. If we have fellowship with God, we are His ministers, though we may never preach to a congregation. We are workers together with God in presenting the perfection of His character in humanity.
God has enjoined the duty upon His human agents to communicate the character of God, testifying to His grace, His wisdom, and His benevolence, by manifesting His refined, tender, merciful love. . . .
Our work is to restore the moral image of God in man through the abundant grace given us of God by Jesus Christ. . . . Oh, how much we need to know Jesus and our heavenly Father that we may represent Him in character!
The soul that is transformed by the grace of Christ will admire His divine character. . . . The less we see to esteem in ourselves, the more we shall see to esteem in the infinite purity and loveliness of our Saviour. A view of our sinfulness drives us to Him who can pardon; and when the soul, realizing its helplessness, reaches out after Christ, He will reveal Himself in power. The more our sense of need drives us to Him and to the Word of God, the more exalted views we shall have of His character, and the more fully we shall reflect His image.—God’s Amazing Grace, p. 229.

But the plan of redemption had a yet broader and deeper purpose than the salvation of humanity. It was not for this alone that Christ came to the earth; it was not merely that the inhabitants of this little world might regard the law of God as it should be regarded; but it was to vindicate the character of God before the universe. To this result of His great sacrifice—its influence upon the intelligences of other worlds, as well as upon man—the Saviour looked forward when just before His crucifixion He said: “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto Me.” (John 12:31, 32.) The act of Christ in dying for the salvation of mankind would not only make heaven accessible to men and women, but before all the universe it would justify God and His Son in their dealing with the rebellion of Satan. It would establish the perpetuity of the law of God and would reveal the nature and the results of sin.—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 68.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

Holiness is not a word that most people use very often in their everyday language, perhaps because there are so few holy things around us and about us. The Sabbath is a holy day in time, and God is, of course, holy. Apart from God, our everyday lives lack holiness.

If you do a study into the attributes most often associated with God’s character, you’ll discover that holiness is at the center of who God is. But what does that mean?

How do the following verses describe God: Leviticus 20:26, 1 Samuel 2:2, Isaiah 57:15, and Ezekiel 38:23?

When the Bible describes God as the epitome of holiness, it means that He is completely void of and completely separated from evil and sin. God is 100 percent good from beginning to end. In this sense, God’s holiness is central to all His other attributes.

For example, God’s love is a pure, holy love—a love that is completely free from all selfishness and egotistic motives. His omniscience (all-knowing) is holy omniscience, meaning it is free from evil intentions. Would we trust an omniscient God if He weren’t holy? Of course not! We would be afraid of Him, and rightly so.

God’s omnipotence (being all-powerful) is holy omnipotence. Imagine a God who is omnipotent but not holy. He could be a powerful, evil tyrant. Only God’s holiness allows and enables us to really love Him, because He is good from beginning to end. This is why holiness is perhaps the most important characteristic to understand about God’s character. Yet, perhaps, it is one of the most misunderstood, as well.

Think about Bible characters such as Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and John who came into God’s presence. What was their first response? They removed their shoes, hid their faces, or fell down as though dead. As human beings, we are sinful and so unholy that we can’t bear to stand in God’s presence. Any human who looks at God’s face will not live. Similarly, when Ellen G. White went into vision, she often cried “Glory . . . glory . . . glory” because it was the one word that seemed to most capture what she saw. And, of course, the four living creatures do not rest day or night without saying, “ ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’ ” (Rev. 4:8, NKJV).

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?

Supplemental EGW Notes

As God is holy in His sphere, so fallen man, through faith in Christ, is to be holy in his sphere. . . .
The sanctification of the church is God’s object in all His dealings with His people. He has chosen them from eternity, that they might be holy. He gave His Son to die for them, that they might be sanctified through obedience to the truth, divested of all the littleness of self. From them He requires a personal work, a personal surrender. God can be honored by those who profess to believe in Him, only as they are conformed to His image and controlled by His Spirit. Then, as witnesses for the Saviour, they may make known what divine grace has done for them.
True sanctification comes through the working out of the principle of love. “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:16. The life of him in whose heart Christ abides, will reveal practical godliness. The character will be purified, elevated, ennobled, and glorified. Pure doctrine will blend with works of righteousness; heavenly precepts will mingle with holy practices.
Those who would gain the blessing of sanctification must first learn the meaning of self-sacrifice. . . . It is the fragrance of our love for our fellow men that reveals our love for God. It is patience in service that brings rest to the soul. It is through humble, diligent, faithful toil that the welfare of Israel is promoted. God upholds and strengthens the one who is willing to follow in Christ’s way.
Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, a day, but of a lifetime. It is not gained by a happy flight of feeling, but is the result of constantly dying to sin, and constantly living for Christ. Wrongs cannot be righted nor reformations wrought in the character by feeble, intermittent efforts. It is only by long, persevering effort, sore discipline, and stern conflict, that we shall overcome. We know not one day how strong will be our conflict the next. So long as Satan reigns, we shall have self to subdue, besetting sins to overcome; so long as life shall last, there will be no stopping place, no point which we can reach and say, I have fully attained. Sanctification is the result of lifelong obedience.—The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 559, 560.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

Love is perhaps the most common word used by Christians to describe God’s character. This could be because of the identity statement about God in 1 John 4:8, which says, “God is love.” John doesn’t say, “God is loving,” but rather, “God is love.” Love is His character, the very essence of who He is.

For many people, their picture of God emerges from their human definition of love, which is always distorted and imperfect. Instead, our very definition of love should be shaped by who God is and what He reveals about Himself in His inspired Word.

What does 1 John 4:7–19 explain to us about love?

God’s love is perfect, free, and deeply relational, as revealed in the repeated invitation to “abide” in Him in 1 John, because “we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16, NKJV). God is love, and He created us in His image (Gen. 1:27) to love and to desire love. In Hebrew, one major word for love is ḥesed. This describes God’s covenant love for humanity, which encompasses traits of loyalty, protectiveness, steadfastness, and tenderness.

The ancient languages of Hebrew and Greek use many different names to refer to God, names whose meanings capture and shed light on different aspects of God’s beautiful character. Here are just two examples:

• Adonai: The Lord of all, who reigns forever, in reference to the covenant (Gen. 15:2, Judg. 6:15, Mal. 1:6, Ps. 97:5).
• Yahweh-Yireh: The-Lord-Will-Provide (Gen. 22:13, 14, NKJV).

Ultimately, the greatest expression of God’s love is revealed through the gift of His Son to this earth (John 3:16) who died for sinners (Rom. 5:8). God could have withheld this from humanity, yet because of His magnanimous, radical, supremely altruistic love, God sent Jesus to earth so that we might freely choose to respond to His love, revealed in His substitutionary death on our behalf. Not only did Jesus bridge the separation that sin has brought between us and God (Isa. 59:1, 2), He lived to show us God’s perfect character of love (John 14:9, Heb. 1:3) and to draw all people to Himself (John 12:32).

Many of God’s names capture His holiness and love at their core. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 (NKJV), and in every case, replace the word “love” with “God.” How does this expand your understanding of God’s character? If you were to place your name where it says “love,” how well would that fit you?

Supplemental EGW Notes

“God is love.” 1 John 4:16. His nature, His law, is love. It ever has been; it ever will be. “The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,” whose “ways are everlasting,” changeth not. With Him “is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” Isaiah 57:15; Habakkuk 3:6; James 1:17.
Every manifestation of creative power is an expression of infinite love. The sovereignty of God involves fullness of blessing to all created beings. The psalmist says:
“Strong is Thy hand, and high is Thy right hand.
Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of Thy throne:
Mercy and truth go before Thy face.
Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound:
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance.
In Thy name do they rejoice all the day:
And in Thy righteousness are they exalted.
For Thou art the glory of their strength: . . .
For our shield belongeth unto Jehovah,
And our king to the Holy One.” Psalm 89:13-18, R.V. . . .
The history of the great conflict between good and evil, from the time it first began in heaven to the final overthrow of rebellion and the total eradication of sin, is also a demonstration of God’s unchanging love.—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 33.

And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His character. As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise.
“And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” Revelation 5:13.
The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.—The Great Controversy, p. 678.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.