Day 8

God Is Personal

from the reading plan


Exodus 34:29-35, 2 Corinthians 3:7-18, John 14:15-21, Hebrews 1:1-4


God is a triune personal being who enters into a covenant relationship with His people, both individually and corporately.

Our finite, human minds will never truly understand the vastness of God’s glory, nor the fullness of His character. When we consider His infinite greatness, it can be difficult to remember that while He is incomprehensibly grand, He is also personal and relational. He is Immanuel, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

We see this in Exodus 34, when God met with Moses on Mount Sinai. Moses came down from the mountain and found he had to conceal his face with a veil in order to speak with the Israelites. He “did not realize that the skin of his face shone” (v.29) after talking with God—that it was reflecting the radiance of God’s glory and frightening his fellow Israelites. And so, whenever Moses met with God, he would remove the veil, but then put it back on when speaking with God’s people.

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul writes that the sacrifice of Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit have changed the nature of our relationship with God. We can now gaze upon the glory of God with unveiled faces, just as if we were staring into a mirror (v.18). While Moses was the mediator between God and His people, we now have Christ, the “radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3) as our Mediator. Because of Christ, we can enter into relationship with God both corporately as His Church and as individuals. Even more, we have received a Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to remain with us at all times.

Our relationship with God is rooted in His glory and expressed in His immanence. God is present with us, deeply invested and active in each of our lives. He is a personal God. He relates to us, loves us, and cherishes us. Rather than being distant, inaccessible and detached, He has drawn near to us so that we might draw near to Him. By grace, He dwells among us, and by that same grace, He invites us into His presence.

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