What should be a believer's response to the characteristics of God?

what does the bible say?

As finite, time-bound creatures, no corollary exists in us or in this world by which we can comprehend the fullness of God’s characteristics. Job's reaction when he encountered the Lord included utter silence followed by self-abhorrence and repentance. When confronted with God's holiness, Isaiah experienced dread and comes to see his own sin and unworthiness. On Mount Sinai, God revealed many of His characteristics to Moses. Moses bowed his head to the ground and worshiped God. Seeing God’s characteristics brings us to wonder and awe at His holiness and makes us see ourselves in light of who He is. The only appropriate response to the revelation of the Lord God is to bend our knees and confess with our tongues that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9–11).

from the old testament

Some of God's characteristics are so awesome that we cannot fully comprehend them. In fact, one of God's characteristics is His incomprehensibility, meaning that we cannot fully comprehend Him (Job 15:8; Isaiah 40:13; cf. Romans 11:34).In Job, we see the characteristics of God's omnipotence, sovereignty, and righteousness. Job was an upright man who nevertheless underwent extreme suffering. When Job began to question God's justice, God revealed His sovereignty, righteousness, and power. Subsequently, Job responded with utter silence followed by self-abhorrence and repentance (Job 38:1—42:6). Seeing God for who He is strips us of any self-righteousness or pride we may have. It allows us to see ourselves rightly.In Isaiah 6:1–4, the prophet is given a vision of God's holiness. In reaction to this vision, Isaiah cries out, "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" (Isaiah 6:5). When confronted with God's holiness, Isaiah experiences dread and comes to see his own sin and unworthiness.No one compares to God (Isaiah 40:18). His characteristics set Him apart from everything and everyone else.When Moses was on Mount Sinai, "The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there...” We read that God revealed many of His characteristics to Moses, including mercy, grace, patience, love, faithfulness, justice, and wrath. How does Moses respond? Moses bows his head to the ground and worships God (Exodus 34:5–8).

from the new testament

John the Baptist declares Jesus to be the pre-existent Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world, whose sandals John did not consider himself worthy to untie (John 1:29–30).Mary, the sister of Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead, reacted by anointing Jesus' feet with an expensive ointment and wiped His feet with her hair as an act of humility and devotion (John 12:2–3).The apostle Thomas, after seeing the resurrected Jesus exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:27–28). Seeing what Jesus has done for us should bring us to exclaim the same.The characteristics of God that have been revealed to mankind in general revelation alone, such as His eternal power and divine nature, are sufficient grounds to bring us to worship Him, honor Him, and give Him thanks (Romans 1:20).Some of God's characteristics are so mind-boggling and mind-blowing that the only proper reaction is praise (Romans 11:33). For instance, God is eternal. He has no beginning and no end.God has aseity. That is, God is self-existent. He is the Uncaused Cause whose existence is necessary in order for anything to exist (Acts 17:25; Colossians 1:16–17).

implications for today

Shock and awe, fear and faith, worship and praise, adoration and delight, humility and love—these are some of the appropriate and inevitable reactions that occur when a believer in Christ contemplates the characteristics of God. Studying the doctrine of God and His characteristics may sound dull or dry to some people, but for Christians, pondering the characteristics of God is pure joy! We cannot love whom we do not know. God has revealed much more about His characteristics than general revelation alone; He has given us His Word (i.e. special revelation). By searching the Scriptures we can see more of who He is, which will prompt us to greater love for Him. We can also see how the patriarchs, prophets, disciples, and apostles responded to God's revelation of Himself. God's characteristics are revealed throughout the Old and New Testaments; we have examined just a few "highlights" of such revelations in this article. The appropriate response to God’s characteristics is to bend our knees and confess with our tongues that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9–11).