02.01 - The Essence of God: Nature and Characteristics
I. The Essence of God To speak of the essence of God is to speak about who God really is. By essence we mean "being". The word essence is derived from the Latin verb "to be" and is in turn a translation of the Greek word ousia, which also means "being". More than having being or existence, God is being. He makes this clear to all when He proclaims His name Jehovah (or Jahweh) to Moses and explains its meaning:(1)
Then God said to Moses, "I shall be who I am. This is what you will tell the sons of Israel: ’I am sent me to you.’" And God also said to Moses, "Thus you will say to the sons of Israel: ’the Lord [the "is"], the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob sent me to you.’ This is My Name forever, and this is how you are to think about me for all generations."
Exodus 3:14-15. The being or essence of God is intrinsically sublime and resplendent. This inherent brilliance is often referred to in scripture as light and glory. Light emphasizes the splendor of who He is as unapproachable and immaculate (James 1:17; cf. Daniel 2:22):
[God] who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen, nor can see.
1 Timothy 6:16 a God is light, and in Him there is no darkness.
Glory emphasizes the splendor of who He is shining visibly forth to mankind (Exodus 33:18-23; 1 Kings 8:11; Luke 2:9; Acts 7:55; Romans 3:23; 2 Peter 1:17; Revelation 21:23), most prominently displayed through the glorious revelation of His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:30; John 1:14):
God, from antiquity having communicated to our fathers in the prophets at many times and in many ways, has in these last days communicated to us in a Son, [the One] whom He has appointed heir of all things, [the One] through whom He created the universe. He is the shining forth of [the Father’s] glory, the precise image of His essence, the One who sustains the universe by His mighty Word . . .
Hebrews 1:1-3 a As described in His Word, the Bible, His being is best considered in terms of His nature (i. e. the composition of His essence) and His character (i. e. the traits of His essence). God is infinite in nature and perfect in character.(2)