Session 7

God is GOOD AND PERFECT

From The Gospel: Five Words You Need to Know

READ:            
• Genesis 1:31
 • 1 John 1:5
• Psalm 116:5
                    
“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”    —Genesis 1:31        
“This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.” —1 John 1:5                
“How kind the Lord is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours!” —Psalm 116:5         
“He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.”—Psalm 33:5
                    
When we say that God is “good”, we don’t mean in the sense of a “good” meal or a “good” movie. That is an opinion. What is good to you may not be good to someone else. So when you read in scripture that God is “good,” think about it this way: There is such an absolute, pure perfection in God and His nature that nothing is comparable to it, there is nothing defective in it, nor can anything be added to it to make it better.        
                    
God doesn’t just do good things, He is the only true good thing we will ever know. Let’s review what we talked about yesterday. The first representation of His perfect goodness is in all that He created. It all indicates the goodness of its maker (Gen. 1:31). Everything about the structure of our bodies points to God’s goodness (Psalm 139). Scripture also points out the goodness of God toward all creatures (Psalm 33:5; Psalm 145:16). God’s goodness is also defined by the lack of any evil in Him. 1 John 1:5 shows us that He is not, nor can He ever be, evil or do wrong. God is light— meaning God is good. No darkness, no evil, no wrong can be found in Him.
                    
But, the true goodness and perfection of God's best illustrated in the appearance and gifting
of Jesus Christ (Galatians 4:4–5). God is so good and so rich in all good things (like grace, mercy, kindness) that He saw us in need of a Savior and gave us His only son to do that job. Romans 2:4 tells us that it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. This means, in His perfection, He desired to perfect all things, including you and me. What a good Father! So many times we miss out on the goodness of God because we let it get lost in the everyday. Rejoice in the goodness of the Lord! Be thankful for it. This goodness endures forever.
                    
RESPOND:
• Read Psalm 107:8.            
• When is the last time you simply thanked God for being good to you? What specific “good” things has He given you?            
• Take a minute and write down all the things you see as “good” about Jesus.