It was 1974, and I was finishing my seminary education. I was ready to graduate and didn’t particularly like the philosophy of religion class that I was required to take. I have forgotten the name of the professor, but I remember to this day a profound lesson.
“God,” he said, “is not an impersonal force. He is a personal Being.”
I should have known that fact of God’s existence, because I had a relationship with Him that was very personal. Until that day, however, I had never heard it put like that. Over and over, the Bible describes God’s personal nature. Isaiah encouraged the Israelites with these words:
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are mine. (Isaiah 43:1)
Only someone who has personhood can be a redeemer. Our personal God declared, “I have redeemed you.”
In the Bible, a redeemer is someone who pays a price to secure the freedom or deliverance of another. Jesus is the ultimate redeemer, who experienced the cross and resurrection to release us from slavery to sin and death.
The fact that God knows our name is another magnificent aspect of His character. I frequently tell people that God knows their name, hopes, dreams, difficulties, and much more.
Not only does God know us, He claims us as His own.
For 35 years, Dan Meers was the mascot for the Kansas City Chiefs. He spoke to the children of Maywood Baptist Church’s Vacation Bible School one summer.
Meers asked the kids, “How many of you know the name Michael Jordan?” Every hand was raised, because that was Jordan’s most notable era of basketball fame.
Then, Meers asked, “How many of you are a personal friend with Michael Jordan?” Not a single hand was raised.
Here is the good news: Michael Jordan, Travis Kelce, and Patrick Mahomes may not have the capacity to be friends with a multitude of people, but God is unlimited in His ability to know and love.
God is not an impassive and impersonal redeemer. He is able to make us feel like we are the most important person in the world to Him. Our Redeemer knows everything about us and calls us His own.
God Is for You
Possibly one of the greatest understatements in the Bible was penned by the Apostle Paul: If God is for us, who is against us? (Romans 8:31).
Paul wasn’t the first to declare God’s abundant provision and protection for His followers. Here’s what God said through Isaiah.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you. (Isaiah 43:2)
The Hebrew people could look at their history and see how no enemy could stand before the God they served. The waters of the Red Sea parted to allow them to escape the Egyptian army during the Exodus.
When the time came to enter the Promised Land, God parted the waters of the Jordan at flood stage, allowing them to cross on dry land.
Time after time, Paul experienced God’s protection and provision. He was intimately connected to a personal God and followed the statement about God’s overarching care with a promise:
He who did not withhold his own Son but gave him up for all of us, how will he not with him also give us everything else? (Romans 8:32)
Let’s add this statement to what we have seen about God’s personal nature so far.
- Jesus is our Redeemer, who has set us free from bondage to sin and self.
- God knows our name. God is intimately acquainted with all of our hopes, dreams, disappointments, struggles, and more.
- God says this about everyone who has placed their faith in Him: “You are mine.”
- If God is on our side, no one can effectively be against us.
- Since God gave up His son for all of us, we can confidently come to God in prayer and ask for what is needed for His glory and our good.
With all of this in mind, our response of faith and obedience is the best choice we can make.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 