The "I's" of God

by Hallie Gipson

I – a simple letter and yet a profound word as well! It’s a letter we use when talking about ourselves, e.g. “I went to the grocery”, “I don’t feel well today”, “I am hurting emotionally” . . . Those are all uses of the word that tell others something specifically about us. And when we use the word “I”, there is no doubt that we are referring to ourselves, which some of us (myself included) tend to do all too often!

But what about the “I’s” of God? When I think about the “I’s” of God, it’s almost impossible to think about myself – my “I”.

So for the next few minutes – as long as it takes to read this article – let’s turn our thoughts to a few of God’s attributes as defined by the letter “I”.

Immanuel – Messiah

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”  Isaiah 7:14

Immortal – not capable of dying; living forever

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever. Amen.”  1 Timothy 1:17

“ . . . He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of Kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”  1 Timothy 6:15-16

Invisible – incapable by nature of being seen

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”  Romans 1:20

“He (Jesus Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”  Colossians 1:15

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever. Amen.”  1 Timothy 1:17

Immutable – unable to be changed

“Also the Glory of Israel (God) will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”  Isaiah 15:29

“The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind.”  Psalm 110:4

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”  James 1:17

Incorruptible – incapable of corruption; not subject to decay or dissolution; incapable of being bribed or morally corrupt

“Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”  Romans 1:22-23

Intercessor – one who prays, petitions, or entreats in favor of another

“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”  Romans 8:26-27

“Therefore He (Jesus Christ) is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”  Hebrews 7:25

When we think about the “I’s” of God, we can’t help but think about all that God has done on behalf of our personal “I”. For me, Titus 3:4-7 sums it up!

“But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

All we can add to these verses, Father, is “Amen and Amen”!!