Ever Thought of God as Being Social?

​There's a lot of emphasis in our world today on being “social.”  According to howmanyarethere.net, there are over 200 social networking websites/apps.  Even the concept “to be social” is evolving.  What I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone talk about, though, is the truth that God Himself is very social. 

​Here’s some of how we know this: 

---

• He invites us to come boldly before His throne (Psalm 100:2, Heb. 4:16, Heb. 10:22).
• God the Son is preparing a place for us to be with Him forever (John 14:2-3; 1 Thess. 4:17; Rev. 21:3)
• It was God’s idea to camp with His people (Exodus 13:21-22; Exodus 40:34-36)
• God the Son became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14)
• God the Son surrounded Himself with an inner circle of three - Peter, James, and John - and Twelve disciples (the inner circle plus nine), and a following of friends 120 strong (Acts 1:15)

What do these facts about God’s social nature mean for us?  For one thing, it is good news for us that God wants us to enjoy His company and vice versa.  We will likely never understand why God loves us as much as He does, but we can still appreciate the lengths to which He has gone to be with us for eternity.  For another thing, God created us in His image.  To some degree, this reality includes our capacity for relationships.  I had the privilege of studying both Hebrew and the book of Genesis in seminary under John Sailhamer, who is now passed away.  There are excellent discussions on this in his Genesis Commentary and other writings.  The Bible explicitly states: “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18).  It is God’s will for us to be social - meaning that He wants us to “hang out” with Him, with those who will provoke us to good works, and with those who need the message we bear.  All of this stems from God Himself being social.