{Book Review} Who God Is: Meditations on the Character of Our God

Who God Is: Meditations on the Character of Our God is written by Ben Witherington III and published by Lexham Press. It’s a small book consisting of 6 chapters and 100 pages. 

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About the Author: Ben Witherington III

Witherington is a well-known and respected New Testament scholar who has contributed much to New Testament studies. When a scholar decides to write something that is more devotional in nature, I’m always excited to check it out! 

In Who God Is, Witherington aims to explore the nature and character of God by focusing on the nouns that describe Him (instead of the typical approach of focusing on the adjectives that describe Him).

Witherington focuses on God as:

1. Love
2. Light
3. Life
4. Spirit
5. One/Unique

Layout and Content

I really like the format and design of this book. First of all, it’s a nice “little” book. The dust jacket has a simple design that looks very nice. The last page of each chapter and the page prior to a new chapter likewise has a neat design that includes some excellent quotes or Bible verses. 

As far as the content, I appreciate Witherington’s layout for each chapter. He begins by providing biblical content about each noun (the bulk of the chapter), followed by a “Reflection” section that is more application-oriented and devotional in nature. Finally, the chapter concludes with study questions. 

Overall, I enjoyed and appreciated Witherington’s work. There were quite a few places where I was in disagreement with him theologically, and in other places I was left wondering why he went in the direction that he did.

In his chapter on Love, I was excited when he began to show how an implication of God’s love is the topic of election and predestination. I was quickly reminded, however, that Witherington is a staunch Arminian who lives by this motto: In order for love to be love, it must be freely received and freely forgiven. The quick conclusion, then, becomes that sinners must freely choose to love God without His regenerating work prior to that (i.e. faith comes before regeneration). This affects how one understands election, and Witherington’s conclusion is that God only elects those whom He foreknows will respond in faith. This is how Witherington understands and teaches on God’s love. Now to be honest, I completely disagree with Witherington’s teaching on the topic of election, and I think that it actually detracts from the glory of God’s love. Therefore, I was not a big fan of this chapter. There were a few other places in the book that I disagreed with biblically/theologically, but it didn’t detract too much from the good parts of the book. 

I found another weakness of the book in its lack of devotional tone. As one meditates on the character of God, it should most certainly stir up the mind and affections to love and worship Him even more! Perhaps this is due to my spending much time in the writings of the Reformers, Puritans, and Dutch Reformed and being spoiled by their incredible practical-theological (i.e. experiential) approach to God’s Word and theology. (Read Thomas Chalmer’s work on the attributes of God and you will notice the difference that I’m highlighting.) Perhaps this book wasn’t intended to be devotional in nature, but since these are “meditations on the character of our God,” it should naturally lead to a stirring of the affections! Nonetheless, the book is extremely well-written, articulate, and will surely be received well by many in the church. 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Lexham Press for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.