Sabbath School Lesson for April 4-10,2026
Introduction to Lesson 2, To Know God
Memory Text: ” ‘And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.’ ” John 17:3 NKJV
Some use a popular phrase to describe someone they particularly like: “To know him is to love him.” It’s important to first know a person to some degree, before claiming to love him. The things we come to know about God, through the natural world and the Bible, make it easy to love Him too.
Even more informative about God’s character is what we know about Him through the life of His Son, Jesus Christ. To know Him, as John 17:3 indicates, is to have eternal life. We long to spend eternity with our best Friend Jesus.
As our love and understanding of Christ’s death on the cross and the reality of His resurrection grows stronger in our minds, our love for our Creator strengthens and grows. This love is foundational to having a strong relationship with God. As our love for Him deepens, so will our relationship. And as a result, we will more accurately reflect His love and character to those around us, helping them to know him better as well.
This week, we will explore…
- Sunday: A Clearer Picture of God
- Monday: God Is Holy
- Tuesday: God Is Love
- Wednesday: God in Creation
- Thursday: Immanuel, God With Us
Sunday: A Clearer Picture of God
Since Satan’s determined purpose is to obscure our image of who God is, we must do all we can to learn the truth about God’s character. The Bible, written by men, but inspired by God, gives us a clear picture of Him. Through its pages we discover that God is omniscient, omnipotent, loving, patient, holy, and eternal.
There are many ways that God’s character is distorted, however, and the devil doesn’t care which one we find attractive. Many ideologies compete for our attention: pantheism (God is in everything), polytheism (there are many gods), deism (the Creator exists, but has no interest in His creation). All these in some way lead us to believe that God is distant, uncaring, and not worthy of our worship.
The Bible, however, gives us the most consistent, true information possible about God. It helps us the best with knowing where we’ve come from, where we’re going, who’s in control, and what it is to know God as a Friend.
Verses for reflection and discussion:
Genesis 3:1-5
- What lies did Satan tell Eve about God’s character?
- How would his suggestions cause her to mistrust God and finally disobey Him?
- How is God’s character still misrepresented in the world today?
- What can we do to show others what God is really like?
Monday: God Is Holy
It’s important to know that God is holy, and what holiness even means. According to the Bible, the Sabbath was created holy (Genesis 2:3) and we are to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8). And, of course, God is said to be holy many times throughout the Bible because of His moral excellence.
The reason why it’s important to recognize God’s holiness, His complete separation from evil and sin, is because there would be great fear in worshiping an all-powerful God, if He weren’t also holy. And it would be difficult to worship and trust a God who was all-knowing, if He wasn’t a pure, unselfish, holy Person.
Many people in the Bible (Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and John) recognized God’s holiness when they felt they were in His presence. It caused them to remove their shoes, hide their faces, and fall down to the ground in worship. Sinful, unholy humans cannot stand in the presence of such a holy God without risking instant death.
Only because of His holy, pure love for us can we approach Him and be saved. He longs for a close relationship that will only be possible when sin is finally eradicated from the universe.
Verses for reflection and discussion:
Leviticus 20:26, 1 Samuel 2:2, Isaiah 57:15, and Ezekiel 38:23
- How is God shown to be holy in these verses? What does it mean to be holy?
Tuesday: God Is Love
Without a doubt, God’s love is His most well-known character trait. The apostle John captured this idea by declaring in 1 John 4:8 that God IS love. The one who humbly called himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved” throughout his gospel account rather than use his own name, must have felt God’s love in a profound way.
Not surprisingly, Satan has introduced numerous kinds of “love” that are not at all associated with the unique, self-sacrificial love of God. Many are confused and even led away from God in their pursuit of carnal pleasures and happiness in worldly attractions. “Love” of money, sex, fame, and other forms of entertainment make it harder to recognize the pure, holy love of God offered to an unworthy, fallen planet.
The greatest expression of God’s love encompassed the life and death of Jesus. His earthly ministry, followed by His death on the cross, was ample evidence of the kind of love God wants us to know and understand.
Paul’s description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 helps us know about God’s love. Using Paul’s definition of love as being patient, kind, humble, and unselfish helps us reflect a holier kind of love to others, leading them to a greater understanding of God’s love.
Verses for reflection and discussion:
1 John 4:7-11
- Why does John assert that God is love?
1 John 4:12-16
- How can we actually see what God’s love is like?
1 John 4:17-19
- How is God’s love perfected in us?
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
- How does changing the word “love” with the word “God” in these verses, or even with your own name, expand our knowledge of God’s love?
- What features of God’s love would you like to strengthen in your own life, and how might you be able to do it?
Wednesday: God in Creation
The Bible begins with the story of creation, providing much insight into the God we serve. We learn in the first chapter of Genesis that He is a mighty Being, powerful enough to bring our planet into existence, including all its lifeforms, by His word alone. “Then God said…and it was so”. The Hebrew name of Elohim reflects this majestic side of His character, showing us that He is able to provide for all our needs.
The method God chose to create man, however, recorded in Genesis 2, informs us of a closer, more intimate side of God. The name Yahweh is used here to portray God as a more personal Being. The One who breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life wishes to be just as close to each of us as He was to the first pair in the Garden of Eden, who alone are said to be made “in His image”.
What a privilege it is to know that we are God’s children, made in His image, and as such, are heirs to His throne in heaven. We are given many other glimpses of our heavenly Father throughout His holy word and in our beautiful, natural world.
Verses for reflection and discussion:
Genesis 1:1-3 and 2:7
- What did you notice about the way God created this world?
- Why was Adam created in such a close, intimate way, and in God’s image?
- What does Adam’s creation tell us about God’s will for humanity?
Acts 17:27, 28
- How do these verses portray the two sides of God that are found in the creation story?
Thursday: Immanuel, God With Us
The name Immanuel was not first heard by Mary, Jesus’ earthly mother. The angel Gabriel was merely repeating what Isaiah had prophesied.” ‘Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel’ ” (Isaiah 7:14), which means “God with us”.
Jesus, did more than just reflect God–He actually WAS God in the flesh. This is why when the disciples requested that Jesus show them the Father, He replied, “He who has seen me has seen the Father’ ” (John 14:9). God truly was with His disciples, and is still with all of us through His Holy Spirit, whom Jesus called the Comforter, or Helper (John 14:16).
The gospel writers did their best to show us many aspects of God’s character and personality during the time He was with us:
- Matthew, a Jew, emphasized that He was the promised King of Israel, the Jewish Messiah. He highlighted Christ’s authority and teaching.
- Mark, the youngest gospel writer, wanted us to see Him as the suffering Servant of humanity–dwelling more on the actions of Jesus.
- Luke, a Gentile, highlighted Jesus as the Son of Man, the Savior of all humanity. He focused on Christ’s compassion for outcasts, women, and the poor.
- John, who keenly felt God’s love, portrayed the Master as the Son of God, showing His divinity by centering his account on the miracles of Jesus and His “I AM” statements.
Verses for reflection and discussion:
Matthew 1:23 and 28:20
- How do we know that Jesus is still “with us”?
- What does God being “with us” reveal about who He is?
- In what ways has God revealed Himself to you? When have you felt particularly close to Him?
Friday: Final Thoughts
We may never fully comprehend who God is during our short lifetimes here on earth. But enough is revealed to us through the Bible and the life of Christ that we can learn to trust and love Him in a way that allows us to survive the harshest trials that come our way.
God has competing attributes that call for our attention. Introduced in the first two chapters of Genesis, we see that God is both a powerful provider of all our needs, in addition to being a God who wants to come close and be intimate with the human beings He created in His image. He is our Creator, but also our Savior. He is both far beyond us in power and wisdom, but at the same time so near that we can feel Him with every breath we take.
Exodus 34:6, 7 provides a description of God that is helpful in knowing who He is. He is merciful, full of grace, patient, forgiving, pure, and honest. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul summed up God’s love with many of the same descriptors Moses used. God expects us to show these same character traits to others., as modeled by the life of Jesus.
Next Week: Pride Versus Humility
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