LESSON 2
Who Is God?
1. Why should we worship God?
The true God is the Creator of all things. He had no beginning and will never have an end. (Psalm 90:2) He is the Source of the good news found in the Bible. (1 Timothy 1:11) Since God gave us life, we should worship only him.—Read Revelation 4:11.
2. What is God like?
No human has ever seen God because he is a Spirit, which means that he is a higher form of life than the physical creatures who live on earth. (John 1:18; 4:24) Nevertheless, we can discern God’s personality from the things he has made. For instance, the variety of fruits and flowers tells us of his love and wisdom. The size of the universe tells us of his power.—Read Romans 1:20.
We can learn even more about God’s personality by reading the Bible. For example, it tells us what God likes and what he does not like, how he treats people, and how he reacts in different situations.—Read Psalm 103:7-10.
3. Does God have a name?
Jesus said: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.” (Matthew 6:9) Although God has many titles, he has only one name. In each language, it is pronounced differently. In English it is usually pronounced “Jehovah.” But some people pronounce it “Yahweh.”—Read Psalm 83:18.
God’s name has been taken out of many Bibles and replaced with the titles Lord or God. But when the Bible was written, it contained God’s name some 7,000 times. Jesus made God’s name known when he taught people about God.—Read John 17:26.
Watch the video Does God Have a Name?
4. Does Jehovah care about us?
Like this loving father, God is acting for our long-term good
Does widespread suffering mean that Jehovah is a God who does not care about us? Some people claim that he makes us suffer to test us, but this is not true.—Read James 1:13.
God has granted man the dignity of free will. Do we not appreciate our freedom to choose to serve God? (Joshua 24:15) But many choose to do bad things to others, so suffering abounds. It saddens Jehovah to see such injustice.—Read Genesis 6:5, 6.
Jehovah is a God who cares about us. He wants us to enjoy life. Soon he will eliminate suffering and those who cause it. Meanwhile, he has good reason to allow suffering for a limited time. In Lesson 8, we will learn what that reason is.—Read 2 Peter 2:9; 3:7, 13.
5. How can we draw closer to God?
Jehovah invites us to draw close to him by speaking to him in prayer. He is interested in us individually. (Psalm 65:2; 145:18) He is willing to forgive. He recognizes our efforts to please him, even if we sometimes fail. So despite our imperfection, we really can enjoy a close relationship with God.—Read Psalm 103:12-14; James 4:8.
Since Jehovah has given us life, we should love him more than we love anyone else. (Mark 12:30) As you express your love for God by learning more about him and doing as he asks, you will draw ever closer to him.—Read 1 Timothy 2:4; 1 John 5:3.
