Part 12, 2026, The Year of Our Lord’s Character
God’s Way Bible Study
Part 12, 2026 The Year of Our Lord’s Character
April 14, 2026
The Character of God
Psalm 19:1-3
The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
[2] Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
[3] There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
Some passages of scripture celebrate the power of God. Some celebrate the glory of God, while others, the wisdom of God. None of those passages do not tell the full story. Scripture must be used to explain scripture. Taken in isolation, any verse of scriptures can lead to a wrong image of God.
Many of us have our favorite scriptures, passages and verses that speak to us in very powerful, yet personal ways. If we ask everyone to say their favorite right now, there is no doubt we will hear different verses.
Some of those verses were given by the Holy Spirit to serve as an anchor for certain seasons, and assignments in our lives. That is all well and good, but we must not build a theology on those favorite scriptures to the neglect of the others.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for instruction in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
All scripture-not just our favorites, but every part of it-is given by God. We need it all if we are to become complete and thoroughly equipped for the very assignment our favorite scriptures call us to fulfill.
God is seen through His power but His true nature is known by His character.
Power is neutral, neither good nor bad. The same with money. Money takes on the character of the one who owns it and power reflects the character of the one wielding it.
The works of God reveal His power but we cannot truly know Him apart from His character. The nature of God is revealed through His character-traits, His temperament, His attributes, His persona, all of which point to His essence.
When Jesus told Philip that anyone who has seen Him has seen the Father, He did not mean it in a physical form.
God wants us to be partakers of His Divine Nature.
2 Peter 1:3-5 NKJV Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, [3] as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, [4] by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
There is a danger of becoming fascinated with God’s power and wisdom to the neglect of His character.
Luciferian Error: The Pursuit of God’s Power without His character
That was Lucifer’s error. Many Christians over the course of history have fallen into that error. Many today are still falling into the same error. Lucifer was impressed with God’s glory, power and position that he tried to become like God in those ways alone. He did not care enough about God’s character. He was power hungry. He was in a hurry. He envied God and wanted all that God had but did not care about God’s character.
The character of God moderates His use of His great power. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The only One who is incorruptible is the One whose Name is Love. It is the very nature of love to look out for the interests of others, and not of itself. love, joy, peace, holiness, gentle We don't know God if we don’t know His character.
Seeking God’s blessings, power, authority, without His character is luciferian.
To be godly is to be like God in character
Amos 3:3 NKJV Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are. Those who walk with God become like God.
Walking with God denotes agreement with God. It means we see things from His viewpoint, we call things good that He calls good, we share in His values. This is what it means to be godly.
Matthew 16:23 NKJV But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
Leviticus 19:1-2 ESV And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [2] "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.
Too many of God's children are not walking with God. They think they are but they are not. If you are trying to get God to agree with you, your point of view, your desires and wishes, instead of humbly saying, “Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done,” you are not walking with God. What you are attempting to achieve is for God to walk with you.
Your character is your values on display.
You don’t have to tell me what your values are. I can see them by observing your character. Please note that character and behavior are not always the same. Character drives behavior, and for the most part, behavior is consistent with character. However, observation of behavior is like taking a few snapshots of a person’s actions. It is misleading to judge a person’s character based on those few samples, because from time to time, everybody acts out of character. A godly man like David can occasionally do some horrendous deeds, and the devil can be found doing some spectacularly good deeds for a moment.
Practice Makes Perfect.
We generally become better at what we practice consistently. It cuts both ways. If you practice godliness, you get better at it with time. If a Spirit-filled child of God, makes a practice of bad behavior, he will also perfect bad behavior, regardless of how much he prays, quotes the scriptures, speaks in tongues, etc.
Whatever you yield to, you become enslaved to.
Romans 6:16 NLT Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.
You perfect what you practice.
2 Corinthians 7:1 NKJV Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Romans 6:13 NKJV And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
The year of Great Grace is also a year of Great Testing.
You will be tested sorely this year. Great offence is your opportunity to grow into godliness. Offence will reveal to you the condition of your heart. What you are offended by, how often you are offended and how you respond to the offence will help you diagnose the condition of your heart.
You have studied the Word. You have prayed. You have fasted. So you think you are doing well. But not so fast. You have not yet been tested. You will be tested. Often.
Satan left Jesus for an opportune time.
A Failed Test is Not A Failed Life
James 3:2 ESV For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
In the process of perfecting holiness, we often face failure. If you fail a test, don’t give in to discouragement. Your failure may come as a shock to you, but it is never a surprise to God.
1 Corinthians 10:12 NKJV Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
Galatians 6:3-4 NKJV For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. [4] But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
Romans 12:3 NKJV For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Romans 12:3 NLT Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
We often have an opinion of ourselves that is over-inflated. Failure is merely a necessary corrective.
Like a housing bubble when homes are priced artificially high, a correction often brings a lot of pain.
Your failure is the diagnosis of a condition that has been hiding from you. We don’t like to receive a diagnosis from a doctor. This is especially true when we don't feel any symptoms yet.
Your failure reveals the truth about where you are in your walk towards Christian maturity.
When you fail, take the diagnosis to the Holy Spirit, and let Him be your comforter.
Take your diagnosis to the Specialist Physician Jesus and let Him work on you and make you whole.
God’s children reflect on Him. Always.
Daniel, Shadrach Meshach and Abednego, all reflected on God, by their character, not by power, wealth, or position.
Daniel 3:28-30 ESV Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. [29] Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way." [30] Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Daniel 6:25-28 ESV Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: "Peace be multiplied to you. [26] I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. [27] He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions." [28] So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Let us endeavor to bring God greater glory and honor by reflecting His character rather than by displaying the vain things that the world shows as proof of success.
