Discover God's Anatomy

Whitney Hopler

God is a Spirit, but He has made us in His image, and in the Bible He often uses the imagery of the human body to describe His actions. His eyes see, His mouth speaks, and His hands reach out to us.

Here are some ways you can get to know God better by learning more about His anatomy:

• Know that God wants you to get close to Him. Even though He is infinite, He uses the human body to help us visualize and better understand various aspects of His nature because He wants us to be able to relate to Him.
• Decide to actively pursue God. Confess any sins that are blocking your intimacy with Him, then make Him the top priority in your life.
• Whenever God reveals a part of Himself to you, make sure you respond to Him. He won't reveal more until you act on the revelation He has already given you. Remember that God chooses to reveal Himself to us according to our desire to see Him, our ability to see Him, and our need to see Him. Understand that God is constantly assessing your life to determine how He will interact with you.
• Seek God's face by seriously studying the details of His nature. Don't pursue a shallow relationship with God out of mere curiosity. Be willing to look at his face by seeking a deep relationship in which He expresses Himself intimately to you. Pursue an audience with God.
• Strive to get God to smile on you by living your life in ways that please Him.
• Realize that God is omniscient because His eyes see all things. Trust in this all-knowing God to guide your life.
• Take comfort in the fact that God is always available to listen to you. His ears hear all your prayers, and He is full of compassion.
• Know that God's nose delights in the fragrance of your worship. If you make bad decisions, He isn't above blowing His nose at you by allowing you to experience the consequences to help you learn to grow. He breathed life into you, and it's God's breath that sustains your life today.
• Take God's words seriously. Remember that when He speaks with His mouth, things happen. He created everything in the universe by speaking it into being. Understand that God's mouth reveals His intentions and priorities.
• Be assured that God has the whole world in His hands, just as a well-known song says. He is in control of every situation, and is the ultimate authority in the universe. His power is unsurpassed.
• Let God's hands guide your life. His love and wisdom guarantee that His hands will lead you in the right direction. His masterful hands will shape you into all He wants you to be.
• Gratefully accept the gifts God gives you out of His hands. Then give to others, letting His compassion flow through you into their lives.
  

Adapted from The Anatomy of God: Knowing God for Who He Really Is, copyright 2001 by Kenneth C. Ulmer. Published by Whitaker House, New Kensington, Pa., www.whitakerhouse.com.

Bishop Kenneth Ulmer pastors Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood, Ca. Since his arrival at the church about 19 years ago, the congregation has grown from 350 to more than 10,000. Dr. Ulmer also serves as the presiding bishop over the Macedonia International Bible Fellowship. He and his wife Togetta have three children and live in Los Angeles.

How have you experienced God in a tangible way lately? Have you sensed His eyes looking at you, heard His mouth speak or felt His hands reach out to you? Have you offered the fragrance of your worship for Him to smell with His nose? Have you prayed prayers that He listened to with His ears? How does it help you to think of God in terms you can easily relate to? Visit Crosswalk's forums to discuss this topic by clicking on the link below.