God Is He a Real Person?

“THERE must be a God” declared the August 14, 1981, issue of the Daily Express. The paper was reporting on the apparent conversion of two prominent scientists to a belief in God. Their newfound conviction emerged after they discovered the prodigious mathematical odds against life’s appearing spontaneously. However, what did these two new believers mean when they said “God”? Reports the Daily Express: “God they suggest, IS the universe.”

If you believe in God, what is your conception of him? Do you likewise view him as an indefinable intelligence, an abstract omnipresent force, a great “Something”? Or do you view him as a definable, intelligent Person?

Some find it hard to think of God as a Person. They may even feel that doing so reduces him to a mere humanlike being​—as in the childish image of an old man in a hooded robe and with a long white beard, sitting on a cloud. Or as Michelangelo portrayed God in his famous Sistine-chapel ceiling fresco​—a muscular, dynamic old man who floats in the air.

True, when we hear the word “person,” we may automatically think of a human. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, for example, defines “person” as “an individual human being.” But it also defines “person” as “a being characterized by conscious apprehension, rationality, and a moral sense.” Therefore, one can accurately think of God as a Person without depicting him as a human.

But some may object: ‘What difference does it make whether you view God as an abstract force or as a Person?’ Well, if God is merely a force, a “Something,” does this not mean that human life is likewise purely mechanical? Man would thus be reduced to an “it,” a cog in a big machine. But if God is an intelligent Person, would that not give life greater meaning? Indeed, it would open up the possibility of having a relationship with God​—a relationship not between two “its” but between two persons.

Obviously, a person-to-person relationship with God would be most desirable. But in the first place, how do we know whether God is a Person or not? And, if he is, how can we have such a relationship? Let us look at what the Bible has to say on this matter.

How We Can Get To Know God

SOME people believe that God is everywhere, present in the stars and planets, in the rainbow, in a bird’s wing, in a blade of grass. However, the Bible teaches that God, as a Person, has a definite location. Wise King Solomon said in a prayer to God: “You must also hear from the heavens, your established place of dwelling.” And in the Bible book of Isaiah, God himself is quoted as saying: “The heavens are my throne.”​—1 Kings 8:49; Isaiah 66:1.

Though God himself is not present in his creation, his personality traits are reflected there. Said the apostle Paul at Romans 1:20: “His invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship.” The psalmist David similarly wrote: “The heavens are declaring the glory of God; and of the work of his hands the expanse is telling. One day after another day causes speech to bubble forth, and one night after another night shows forth knowledge.”​—Psalm 19:1, 2.

Yes, look out on a starry night and contemplate for a moment the enormous wisdom and power needed to create and maintain our universe! (Compare Isaiah 40:26.) Indeed, creation is an inexhaustible source of information about God’s personality. And man can never fully perceive the enormous witness it sounds out regarding God’s qualities and attributes. The book of Job reminds us: “Look! These are the fringes of his ways, and what a whisper of a matter has been heard of him!” (Job 26:14) There is an old Swedish saying: ‘The master is greater than his works.’ Accordingly, if creation is great, God must be greater; if creation displays wisdom, God must be wiser; if creation demonstrates power, God must be even more powerful!

The Bible​—God’s Book

Creation thus yields much information about God. However, can a study of creation tell you God’s name? Will it reveal what is the purpose behind creation or why he permits wickedness? Answers to such questions require more than a study of God’s material works. Fortunately, God has seen to it that such information about him is set out in the Bible.

There God is never presented as an abstract, indefinable intellect or an omnipresent force or power. At Acts 3:19 we read about “the person of Jehovah.” When his Son, Jesus Christ, was raised from the dead, the Bible says that he entered into heaven itself to appear before “the person [literally, “face”] of God.” (Hebrews 9:24, Kingdom Interlinear) Certainly, Jesus never called God a Great Force, Infinite Intellect, or any other abstract term when he talked about him or prayed to him. On the contrary, he often called him heavenly Father, a term revealing his deep intimacy with God.​—Matthew 5:48; 6:14, 26, 32.

God is therefore not a nameless “Something” but rather a Person with a name. Says Psalm 83:18: “That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.” True, the Bible also uses titles or descriptive terms for God: “Almighty,” “King of eternity,” “savior,” “Shepherd,” “Ancient of Days,” “overseer,” “Grand Instructor,” “Grand Maker,” “Rock.” (Ruth 1:20; 1 Timothy 1:17; Isaiah 43:11; Psalm 23:1; Daniel 7:9, 13, 22; 1 Peter 2:25; Isaiah 30:20; 54:5; Deuteronomy 32:4) Such terms, however, reveal further facets of God’s personality, such as his almightiness, his loving concern for his people, and his infinite wisdom.

Because God is a Person, he also has likes and dislikes​—even feelings. The Bible tells us that he loves his people (1 Kings 10:9), rejoices in his works (Psalm 104:31), hates idolatry (Deuteronomy 16:22), and feels hurt over wickedness. (Genesis 6:6) At 1 Timothy 1:11 he is even called “the happy God.”

Knowing God Intimately

True, no human mind is roomy enough to hold the entire revelation of God’s personality. “O the depth of God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How unsearchable his judgments are and past tracing out his ways are! For ‘who has come to know Jehovah’s mind, or who has become his counselor?’” (Romans 11:33, 34) Nevertheless, for one with faith, God can be as real as any other person. The Bible tells us that “Noah walked with the true God,” as if Jehovah were by his very side. (Genesis 6:9) God was also so real to Moses that it was as if he were “seeing the One who is invisible.” (Hebrews 11:27) And of Abraham it was said that he was “Jehovah’s friend.”​—James 2:23.

Of course, God personally revealed himself to Noah, Abraham, and Moses. ‘Well, if God would reveal himself to me in such a personal way,’ some might say, ‘he would be real to me too.’ Remember, though, Noah, Abraham, and Moses did not have the Bible. They did not know about Jesus Christ nor of all the dozens of prophecies he fulfilled. As a result, all that Jesus Christ revealed about God was unknown to them. Under such circumstances, it was necessary and appropriate for God to make such direct revelations of himself.

Today, however, we have both the Bible and the perspective of centuries of fulfillment of Bible prophecies. We have the Gospel records of the life, works, and words of Jesus Christ. And says Paul: “It is in him [Christ] that all the fullness of the divine quality dwells bodily.” (Colossians 2:9) Yes, we are in a position to know God with an intimacy that was not possible in the days of the patriarchs. Does this not overwhelmingly compensate for the fact that he has not directly revealed himself to us?