Summary: God has hidden himself so that you will see and come to love the person that he is and not all of his power and wealth.

Why Has God Hidden Himself?

Acts 17:24-28

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. "For in him we live and move and have our being.' (NIV)

Look for the God of Love

If you read through the entire Bible you will see that God only reveals himself to those who have put their faith in him. God reveals himself only to those who seek him. Don't be confused and think that I said that he reveals himself to those who seek god. For there are many spiritual personalities, but only one God of Love.

God the Father is loving, kind, gentle, quiet, patient, willing to help, compassionate, and he is just, righteous, and holy. He will only reveal himself to those who seek him. Please consider what I am saying and don't be fooled.

God has Hidden Himself Because He is Awesome

God has hidden himself because he is awesome. The relationship he desires with you is a relationship of mutual love. He wants you to seek him and love him, because he is good. You must want what is right and honorable and holy-seek with all your heart those things and they will be given you in the person of Jesus Christ.

God Is Who He Is

What I am telling you in this paper is a great truth. Understanding the Bible in this way will open it up to you. It is a great key that opens understanding concerning the Beatitudes. You will not find God unless you seek him, and he is who he is and not what you think he is.

The Right Path

What I am saying is this; if I obey his word and resist my old way of life and seek to imitate the God of love and kindness, that is, I stop seeking to please myself, but rather, humble myself and seek to please my Lord and Savior, then he will reveal himself to me.

If God were to reveal himself in his awesome glory who would not come? All would fall on their faces, trembling in terror. Do you think that God wants a personal relationship with people who came to him because they were afraid of him? What God wants from you is your love. If you love him you will do as he asks, to please him.

Know God; So You Can Love Him

So how do I come to love someone I don't know? Well, the first step in any relationship is to desire a relationship and to seek to know the other person. How can I come to know God? By spending time with him. How does one spend time with God? By reading his Word and living in obedience to his teachings.

Jesus Christ is the physical incarnation of God in human form. He is as much of God as can fit in a human body. God is not flesh and blood, but spirit, See John 4:24 God laid aside all his glory and splendor and robed himself in human form.

Philippians 2:5-7

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (NIV)

And also concerning Jesus:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:15 (NIV) And: For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,... Colossians 2:9 (NIV)

Jesus is the "Plain Jane" God

What we see in Jesus is the 'plain jane' God--no frills--empty of all his glory and splendor. What we see in Jesus is the real God-clearly, without distracting accompaniments.

If we want to know what kind of 'person' God is, we need only look to Jesus. I don't know what kind of image you have in your mind of God, but if it doesn't include gentleness, joyfulness, peacefulness, patience and love, then it is not accurate. When we look at Jesus we see a man who was quick to serve-to help-to encourage-a gentle and quiet man, grounded in peace.

Worldly Heroes Are Not Like Jesus

Now the god of this world, See 2 Corinthians 4:4), is not at all like Jesus. He is proud, boastful, arrogant, self-seeking, and dominating. Open your eyes and look out into the world and see that these are the qualities of the heroic figures of today. Look at the movies and tell me that the cinematic images of our role models aren't proud. How many protagonists empty themselves and live to serve the needs of others? How many are like Jesus?

Only A Few Truly Know God

No my brothers and sisters, the truth is not well known. What God is really like is known by only a few.

Now I ask you to consider this; as I have shown in some of my other papers, a relationship with God is most accurately represented as a marriage. This being so, what kind of husband do you want? Do you want an all powerful husband whose desire is to please you, or one who is self-seeking? Do you want one who will love you or one who will beat you? Open your eyes and see past the smoke and consider my words.

Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (NIV)

This is God's proposal to you. He is gentle and kind, he is good and loving; what do you really want?

God has revealed himself in this way, so that only those people who love him will respond. Only those people who are attracted to what is honest and loving will respond. The arrogant and self-seeking will scoff and perceive him as weakness. Their own folly will destroy them for in seeking only to please themselves they reject the Lord of Glory.

Matthew 16:24-28

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. (NIV)

God's plan is perfect. Those who want goodness will find it. Those who seek peace will be given it. Those who seek God, will find him. Praise God

John 4:24
God is spirit, and his worshipers must
worship in spirit and in truth. (NIV)
2 Corinthians 4:4
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so
that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
who is the image of God. (NIV) The Afterlife Man is a spirit being first
and a physical being second. The spirit
exists forever; the flesh is only temporary.
Man was created to be united to
God in a bond of faith, and to live in
in heaven forever.
The Bride of Christ A look at exactly what the
Bride of Christ is. Who is the
Bride of Christ? The institution of
human marriage is a perfect picture of
man's union with God through our
'husband' Jesus Christ. Both are a
relationship (union) of faith.
The Christian Walk What is required of a Christian after
he or she enters into a relationship with God?
The Christian Walk II The is the second of my articles on the
Christian walk. I have learned more
over the years and I felt that it would
be a good idea if I wrote a bit more
on the subject. Do You Love God? A relationship with God is a relationship
of love. God desires a love relationship
with you. Are you willing? Love Eternal A look at the love that is God.
Love is forever. God's love sustains
reality. Evolution Vs. Creationism
and the Atomic Bomb Does the Bible really disagree with the
idea of an old earth? Does the Bible
really say that man's body was created
new six thousand years ago? This article
looks at what the Bible does say about this. Faith What is faith? Is it really the 'believing'
in something that is unbelievable? The Genealogy of Jesus Christ The genealogical record of Jesus Christ
found in the Gospels of Matthew and
Luke contains some very interesting,
but hidden information. Holiness Are we required to be holy? Is holiness
important? What does the Bible say?
This article talks about what the Bible
says about holiness. Biblical Hope There are three things that are eternal;
love, faith and hope. This paper takes
a look at what biblical hope is. Is Jesus The God? Who exactly is Jesus Christ? He is
God in human form. Jesus Christ
and Jehovah are one and the same.
God emptied himself of all of his
glory so that we could see, and
fall in love with, the real him. A Look at Job What really was going on with Job
in the Bible? Does God really cause
trouble to come our way just because
he can? This paper takes a look at
what was going on with Job and
why it happened to him. The Modern Church Is what calls itself the 'church'
really the church? One Spirit With God Did you know that a marriage is
a picture of our union with God?
Do you know what physical act
consummates a marriage? Do
you know what spiritual act
consummates our union with God?
Why is Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, called the Bridegroom?
Why are we called the Bride
of Christ? Is our union with God
a union of fear or a union of love?
Our union with God is a spiritual
union and not a physical union.
This paper examines exactly how
a spirit union is created and
maintained. Predestination Are we predestined to live the
life we live? What does the Bible
say about our predetermined
destiny? This paper looks at
what is and what is not predestined. The Reason Why Why are women treated differently
than men in the Bible? Why does
she take her new identity from him?
Is God really a male? The reason
why things are depicted the way
they are in the Bible is talked about
in this paper. Revelation Knowledge What is revealed knowledge? Does
God reveal knowledge to just anyone?
This paper takes a look at what
revelation knowledge is and how
one might gain it. Sin Safety Belt This paper looks at what the Bible
says about Once Saved Always Saved,
OSAS. Many people teach that
once a person comes to Jesus Christ
for salvation then they need never worry
of losing that salvation. Is this true?
This paper looks at this topic. The Son, Moon & Stars This paper looks at the symbolic meaning
of some of the Bible's images. The Sun,
Moon, and Stars are literal in the Bible,
but they are also frequently symbolic of
the size and relationship of spiritual being. The True Worshippers of God What does it mean to worship God? Who
are the true worshippers of God? What is
worship? This paper looks at worship
and how it relates to God and man. What is the Bible? The Bible is a physical manifestation of
God Almighty. To fellowship with the
Bible is to fellowship with God. The
Bible is mostly the same as Jesus
Christ in the flesh. What is Sin? This article examines exactly what sin is.
Sin is definitely our enemy and someone
once said that we should know our enemy. Why Has God Hidden Himself? God has hidden himself so that you will
see and come to love the person that he
is and not all of his power and wealth. The Words of Christ Jesus' words are not to be ignored or
taken lightly. Jesus came from heaven
to the earth to tell us the truth about life
and death. Our very existence depends
upon our hearing his words and our
obeying them.