Jehovah has been belittled in the minds of many by a traditional misconception of his personality that has been handed down to us from the Dark Ages, in which he was depicted as an old man with a beard. The Bible does not attempt to give us a description of the bodily appearance of the great Eternal One, because our finite minds could not conceive of his glory even though it were described to us.

The Bible does, however, reveal a great deal concerning the outstanding attributes of the divine character. It tells us of his infinite wisdom, justice, love, and power. These attributes of Jehovah’s character are in perfect balance; and by their manifestation through his dealings with the human race, his glory is revealed. However, it is largely to the degree that we understand the divine plan for the human race, that we can appreciate the beauty of God’s character.

While the Bible, of course, does say that God is love, that he is just, and wise and powerful, yet it is only as we see the outworking of these glorious attributes in the Creator’s designs toward the children of men that they become truly meaningful to us. While we can, it is true, behold the power of Jehovah in the works of Creation with which we are surrounded, yet God’s plan for a resurrection of the dead, and especially his resurrection of Jesus, is a display of his power surpassing even that of his creative work.—Eph. 1:19,20

Without a knowledge of God’s plan as a whole, one might wonder why he does not use his power to put an immediate stop to human suffering, especially in view of the fact that he is reputed to be loving as well as powerful. But we must remember that God is just and wise, as well as powerful and loving. Everything he does must be fully in harmony with all these attributes of his character.—Ps. 89:14

Had God been merely loving and merciful he would not have condemned our first parents to death, although he had told them if they sinned they would die. One of the fundamentals of God’s law is that the “wages of sin is death.” (Rom. 6:23) His justice, therefore, demanded that our first parents pay the penalty of their sin. Some may argue that God’s plan to raise the dead is, in effect, a setting aside of God’s justice in demanding the death sentence for the violation of his law.

But that is where God’s wisdom and love enter into the arrangement. Had justice alone been considered, no provision would have been made to set aside that original sentence of death; but divine wisdom and love found a way whereby God could be just, yet use his power to restore the dead to life. This way is through Christ, the Redeemer. The first feature of the redemptive work of Christ is referred to in the Bible as a “ransom,” which means a corresponding price. It was divine love that made the provision of the ransom, for the Scriptures say that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”— John 3:16; Heb. 2:9

Nor does this mean that Jehovah has changed his mind concerning the “wages of sin.” Divine wisdom also plays an important role in connection with the Creator’s attitude toward his human creatures. God saw that it would be highly desirable that man obtain a thorough knowledge of sin and its dire consequences.

The manner in which evil was permitted is a further display of God’s infinite wisdom. He could have created enough human beings to fill the whole earth, and thus have the planet populated without the process of procreation. This would have meant that each one would have been individually on trial for life. In this case, if those who transgressed were to be redeemed from death, it would have required a separate Redeemer for each one of them. Hence, we can see the wisdom in the divine arrangement whereby Adam was held the responsible head of the entire human race. Thus his sin not only brought condemnation upon all, in that from the very start they were born imperfect, but it also made possible the redemption of all through the death of but one Redeemer.—Rom. 5:12,18

Meanwhile, as each generation of the human race comes upon the scene, it receives an experimental knowledge of sin and its results, and then passes away temporarily in the sleep of death, to be restored during the coming kingdom period when their present experience will be a most valuable asset to them in weighing the advantages of obedience to the divine law then in force.

By this infinitely wise arrangement every child of Adam will be given an experimental knowledge of both good and evil, and thus will be equipped to choose intelligently between the two. Those who choose the good, and accept of God’s grace through Christ, the Redeemer, will then live forever.