What is God?

Ever ask yourself that question? Not who is God, but what is God? I mean by that that when we say "god", what are we referring to? Are we referring to a person? A title? A job? A name? In essence, what is the concept of "god"?
A couple months ago, I was sitting in my New Testament class when the issue of the nature of the Trinity came up. As is almost always the case when discussing things that are beyond our understanding, half a dozen people began to argue their particular perspective against another's. This dragged on until the girl sitting next to me, who apparently had less patience than I, raised her hand.
"This is essentially pointless," she said (although I am paraphrasing). "God is way beyond our comprehension so knowing how the Trinity works is something that we simply won't understand." So far so good, but she did not stop there.
"Trying to understand God is a waste of time because if we understood God, then he wouldn't be God."
Hold on, what? If we understood God then he would not be God? How does that makes sense? To my surprise, many people, including my professor, nodded in agreement. Some even commented on how right she was that if we understood God he would no longer be God. This is a statement that I have heard made several times and is generally agreed upon.
But before we say amen, let us think about what exactly that statement means. God's identity, his ability to be God is entirely dependent on whether or not we are capable of being able to understand him. It is the same kind of statement that God cannot exist without faith, which is equally absurd. Essentially we are saying that God's existence and substance is dependent on us. How then can this being truly be God?
This brings us back to the question of what do we mean when we say "god." In the ancient Near East, the Canaanites had a whole pantheon of gods, the most famous of which are Asherah (Astarte), Ba'al, and Molech. But there was one deity that was over and above all of them and he was simply called "El." He was the father of the gods and of people. He had no temple and there is little known about him. He simply existed above everyone else. His was a title.
In time, this word came to be a generic term for "god." in the Hebrew language. In Exodus, when God is talking to Moses, he introduces himself saying, "I am the God (Elohe, a construct of El) of your father, the Elohe of Abraham, the Elohe of Isaac, and the Elohe of Jacob." (Ex. 3:6). But this does not tell Moses who this being is, merely what this being does. He is the powerful creator and sustainer of existence. That is his title and that is his job, but not truly his identity. So later, in verse 13, Moses wants to know who this Elohe is. There are lots of Elohe, but who are you? Moses essentially asks.
This Elohe obliges and says that he is the, "I am who I am." From this comes the Hebrew name for this Elohe, Yahveh. That is his identity, that is who our God is. That is the person behind the title.
Think of it like the President of the United States. Currently, our President is Barak Obama. President is his job and his title. However, none of us, I hope, would be foolish enough to say that President is what defines the person who is Barak Obama. They are two separate things that work together. One is the person; the other is the job that person does. Yahveh is the person; God is the job that Yahveh does.
Now let us say that I got to know Barak Obama, the person, on a deep and intimate level. Say we became best friends and I could really say that I understood Barak Obama. Would then Barak Obama cease to be my President because I understood him? Of course not. Even if I understood his job as well as his person, he would still remain and be able to function as President. His ability to do so is not dependent on my lack of understanding. The reason for this is simple: who Barak Obama fundamentally is as a person is not dependent on my understanding of him. He is who he is whether I understand him or no. The same is true for the office of President. Whether I understand it or not, the nature of the office itself does not change. It has existed long before me and very likely will exist long after me as well. The same is true with Yahveh being God. Who Yahveh is no more depends on my ability to understand him than does Barak Obama. The position of God does not change with my understanding of it. The authority, power, and responsibility is the same and independent of my understanding.
If anything does change, it is my respect, which could only increase. The more I would get to know Barak Obama the person, the more respect I would have for Barak Obama the President as I see the man struggle with the awesome responsibility the office holds. The more I get to know Yahveh the person, the more respect I have for Yahveh the God. The more I see and understand that only Yahveh has the strength to be God and that there is no way that I could ever do such a task.
This in no way says that we will actually be able to truly understand Yahveh. The inability for the finite (us) to grasp the infinite (Yahveh) is another topic. Rather, the point here is this: god is a title and job, one that can only be filled by the person Yahveh. Behind the office is a person, an infinite, loving, kind, yet wise and just person who likes you and wants to get to know you. And he wants you to get to know him.