- What it Means to Say, "God is Good!"

God is Good

Over and over, the Bible tells us that God is good. Many of us often parrot the phrase, but how many of us truly know what it means when we say God is good?

For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation (Psalm 100:5, New Living Translation, 1996/2015).

Defining Goodness

What is goodness? Is goodness simply the absence of evil? If so, that seems to be a pretty low bar. By that definition, the phrase “God is good” would simply be translated as “God is not evil.” Moreover, one of the questions this rudimentary definition raises is: “Is something that is devoid of evil necessarily good?” I would say that even the answer to that question begs the initial question: What is good? Hence, we cannot define goodness as what it is not. We have to define it for what it is. So, let’s explore…

In a fallen world, it is hard for many of us to imagine what goodness looks like, much less define it. Furthermore, when we seek a definition of goodness, as it relates to God, we have to ask ourselves the question: Are we holding the Lord to our standards—to our definition of goodness? In other words, is God’s view of goodness the same as ours? As I was exploring the topic, I came across a definition that stated: Goodness is God. At first glance, it appeared to be a paradox, but upon further meditation, I realized that it was the paramount definition of goodness.

Revelation v. Definition

When trying to understand the concept of goodness, we must realize that we cannot define it. God must reveal it. The problem with trying to define goodness outside of God is that we are trying to encapsulate an omnipotent, omniscient, infinite entity within our infinitesimal mortality. However, the smaller cannot embody the greater. Our diminutive minds cannot independently formulate a definition of goodness that will completely and exhaustively describe an infinite God. Therefore, the only way to understand goodness is to lean closer to the Lord so he can give us revelation.

The Science Behind God’s Goodness

When the Bible says God is good, it is not a description; it is a definition. In science, we would say goodness is God’s genotype and not His phenotypes. Genotype is the genetic makeup of an organism. Phenotype is an organism’s physical attributes that can be observed with our eyes. In other words, the phenotype is the expression of the genotype. Consequentially, the only way to understand an organism’s genotype is to study it in depth. Understanding the genotype often gives us a greater understanding of the phenotype. The same is true about understanding goodness. God’s tangible goodness, his phenotype, is merely an expression of his “genotype” (who he is). Therefore, in order to understand goodness, we have to study God’s genotype—who he is.

Getting to Know God

So, how do we get to know God? Romans 1:20 says:

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God” (New Living Translation, 1996/2015).

In other words, God is all around us. If we seek him, we will find him. Furthermore, in Jeremiah 33:3, the Lord says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (New International Bible, 1978/2011).

Find God in His Word

Once we start seeking God through his Word, we will begin to learn his character and his ways, including his goodness. It’s possible that as we grow in our relationship with him, our definition of goodness will change. That doesn’t mean that God changed. It simply means that our understanding of who he is has evolved. Hopefully, our evolution will also refine us as we grow closer to him.

Biblical Reference

New International Bible. (2011). The NIV Bible. https://www.thenivbible.com (Original work published 1978)
New Living Translation. (2015). New Living Translation. https://www.tyndale.com/nlt/ (Original work published 1996)

What it Means to Say, “God is Good!”