Sproul in his book, Gods Love. The most common way to classify God's attributes divides them into incommunicable attributes (traits that God doesn't share or "communicate" to others) and communicable attributes (traits that God shares or "communicates" with us). Our ability to exercise will and make choices is one of the most significant marks of God-likeness in our existence. Even describing him with mere words truly falls short of capturing who he is our words simply cannot to justice to describe our holy God. Through the Redemption of Jesus Christ and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, we CAN be "holy as God is Holy," and thus have an unblemished relationship with our Heavenly Father as He desires to have with us, His creation. The word staggers before its task of even describing the reality, writes R.C. 4:35, 39; Psa. Hallelujah! 3:19), Wicked judges called gods in irony, not to describe nature (Psa. Now, when God looks on us, he sees Christs perfect holiness. He doesnt have a physical body, nor is he merely energy, thought, or some other element of creation. Fuller divided the attributes of God into two categories: natural and moral. SELF-EXISTENT: God has no cause; He does not depend on anything for his continued existence. Matthew 5:45 tells us, For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.. It belongs to him alone and its the outward expression of his excellence. So it shouldnt be surprising that God intensely hates sin. (2 Tim. Wayne Grudems online systematic theology course, Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology online course, [Common Places] The Promise and Prospects of Retrieval: Recent Developments in the Divine Attributes, Eternal nature (he is infinite, but we are finite), Unchangeableness (he never changes, but we do), Omnipresence (God is everywhere at once, but we can only be in one place at a time), Love (God is love, and were capable of love), Knowledge (God has knowledge, and we can have it, too), Mercy (God is merciful, and were also capable of mercy), Justice (God is just, and were capable of justice), He created everything (Revelation 4:11, John 1:3, Romans 11:3536), Moses prayed to prevent the destruction of the people of Israel (Exodus 32:914), God added fifteen years to the life of Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:16), The people of Nineveh repented and God withheld his promised wrath (Jonah 3:4, 10). He believed the natural attributes of God were revealed both through general and special revelation. God is called the Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:18; Revelation 1:8), a Greek term (, The angel Gabriel says to Mary, With God nothing will be impossible (Luke 1:37), In Titus 1:2 he is called (literally) the unlying God or the God who never lies.. It sees the end from the beginning, so there can be no need to guess or conjecture. On the right are listed various lessons which can be learned from those attributes. For although we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind (Ephesians 2:3), we now trust in Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10). While fully comprehending who God is impossible for us as limited beings, God does make himself known in a variety of ways, and through what he reveals about himself in his Word and in his creation, we can begin to wrap our minds around our awesome Creator and God. While our will isnt absolutely free in the way Gods is, he gives us relative freedom. 43:10), Separate from the world (Isa. Thats why we need Christ. That is certainly appropriate, as Scripture often describes the glory of God in terms of a light that shines brighter than anything that we experience on earth.. Psalm 139:7-12 says, Where can I go from Your Spirit? 6:18), LOVING: Gods moral character is pure love, sacrificial giving for the true benefit of another (Deut. His purposes are unfailing, his promises unassailable. Weve all heard absurd questions from unbelievers like, If God is all powerful, can He make a circle square or a rock so large He cannot move it? C.S. We see this glory in several places in Scripture. Is It Different from the Spirit? . His righteousness and justice (Genesis 18:25, Isaiah 28:17). That is why I use the word manifold., Ligonier.org writes this about the glory of God: When we think of the glory of the Lord, the image of brilliant light often comes to our minds. So our whole existence and purpose is to glorify him, as we are created in his image and do the good work he has prepared for us to do. You may unsubscribe from these email communications at any time. And how comforting and wonderful this is for man to dwell on! John MacArthur writes this about Gods holiness: Of all the attributes of God, holiness is the one that most uniquely describes Him and in reality is a summation of all His other attributes. Since a thousand years is a figure of speech, one day lasts forever in Gods mind. Holiness, justice, love, goodness, truth, and mercy are all examples of the non-moral attributes of God. We imitate this communicable attribute of God, first by loving God in return, and second by loving others in imitation of the way God loves them. False No attribute of God is completely communicable, and no attribute of God is completely incommunicable. A truly wise person is someone who understands all the facts and makes the best decisions. Comforts Found in the Non-Moral Attributes of God. He cannot cease to exist, or cease to be God, or act in a way inconsistent with any of his attributes. Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. 5:4-6; 99:5; Isa. 23:19; 1 Sam. He loves you and me. In our limitedness, grasping the nature of our limit-less God is like holding onto water as it rages down a river. God said, "I AM THAT I AM." Here are a few examples of Gods limitless knowledge as portrayed in Scripture: Wisdom goes beyond knowledge and specifies that God always chooses the best goals and the best means to achieve those goals. Being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11). The names and titles given to God in Scripture reveal what he is like. True One can know about God by looking at the person of Christ. Only one God (Deut. Your form could not be submitted. 139:7-10; Acts 17:28; of Christ, Matt. True A person can know God better by studying the attributes ascribed to Him throughout Scripture. . (2 Samuel 24:14). Amen (Romans 16:27). If He purposes something, it will happen. 1:23; 4:10; Col. 3:11), Nothing too difficult (Gen. 18:14; Jer. Inevitably, man will try to find glory in other things, or to try and make himself an object of glory. Our confidence that the Lord will soon fulfill his purposes for our good and his glory will enable us to be patient. 1. Each attribute is simply a way of describing one aspect of Gods total character or being. Whether they loosely believe in a concept like the As Dr. Wayne Grudem explains it, systematic theology is any study that answers the question, What does the whole Bible teach us today? about any given topic.This highly organized, topica What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? Every wrathful judgment in the history of the world has been a holy act of preservation. 8:28), HOLY: God is morally transcendent, utterly separated from all evil, and perfectly pure (Ex. He desires that worship be given to himself and not to false gods. Scripture attests to Gods righteousness and justice: Paul says that when God sent Christ as a sacrifice to bear the punishment for sin, it was to show Gods righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:2526). Everything weve done in secret He is aware of. The beauty of our lives is so important to Christ that his purpose now is to sanctify the entire church that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27). The author of Hebrews says that in Gods oath and promise it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrew 6:18, Grudems translation). 1.f2.n3.j4.a5.g6.r7.b8.p9.m10.k11.c12.i13.e14.l15.d16.h17.o18.s19.q. Acknowledging these non-moral attributes of God can strengthen the faith and provide comfort for the believer in many ways. Holiness is the attribute of God that binds all the others together.. And, interestingly, as Desiring God writer Andrew Wilson notes in his article on the subject of Gods goodness, the psalmist affirms his experience of Gods goodness from a place of suffering. Yet even this is a reflection of Gods wise plan: For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. Indeed, Tozer writes this about the confusing, head-spinning attribute of Gods infinity: To admit that there is One who lies beyond us, who exists outside of all our categories, who will not be dismissed with a name, who will not appear before the bar of our reason, nor submit to our curious inquiries: this requires a great deal of humility, more than most of us possess, so we save face by thinking God down to our level, or at least down to where we can manage Him., In his article on Christianity.com, Dr. Adrian Rogers writes about the self-existence of God: The name Jehovah is used some 6,800 times in the Bible. He can be relied upon, and he will never prove unfaithful to those who trust what he has said. To think of God in terms of anything else in the created universe is to misrepresent him, to limit him, to think of him as less than he really is. He can sneeze and erase existence. Or where shall I flee from your presence? . 2. 43:10; 44:6, 8; 45:5-7, 21-22; Zech. Others distinguish between absolute and relative attributes. His presence is always with us. When the Psalmist writes O, taste and see that the Lord is good, (Psalm 34) he is inviting us not just to believe that God is good but to experience Gods goodness. As to a listing of the natural attributes, Fuller was generally open-ended. Each is Deity, yet they are distinct in personality. When possible, they use another name., I the Lord do not change. We see evidence that this attribute of God was active even before creation among the members of the Trinity. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If the situation changes, then of course Gods attitude or expression of intention will also change. In this study we will be discussing God's non-moral attributes. What does it mean for God to be infinite? 3:26), TRUE: God is perfectly truthful, and cannot lie (John 17:17; Titus 1:2; Heb. Scripture affirms Gods wisdom in several places: Christ is the wisdom of God to those who are called (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30), even though the cross is foolishness to those who reject it and think themselves to be wise in this world (1 Corinthians 1:1820). Immutability being attributed to Jesus declares his deity. He is one of a kind, unique and without comparison. MORALLY PERFECT: The following are the moral attributes of God; they are listed here together because God's moral nature is perfectly unified, with no tension between His wrath and His love, for example. The essence and substance of God is that which underlies all outward manifestation. Faithfully trusting in who God says he is a great comfort. It is human misery and sin that call forth the divine mercy., "The LORD is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness." God deserves all honor and glory from his creation, and it is right for him to seek this honor. Nothing can prevent His plan. Copyright 2020 HarperCollins Publishers. There are several different methods for categorizing Gods attributes. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things (Matthew 20:15)? 8:16; Psa. God completely possesses all excellent qualities. His mercy is also undeserved by us. Omni means all and when combined with presence means he is all present or present everywhere at once. Gods unchangeableness is also referred to as his immutability. Gods holiness provides the pattern for his people to imitate. It is an answer to a question, the reply God makes to our . Where shall I go from your Spirit? For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. This passage and others like it in the Old Testament indicate that there was a sense in which God could not be seen at all, but that there was also some outward form or manifestation of God which at least in part was able to be seen by man. God does whatever he pleases. Jesus tells us, You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48). I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. Gods mercy, patience, and grace may be seen as three separate attributes, or as specific aspects of Gods goodness. . Tozer answers this by reminding us that we find the answer through the Christian doctrine of justification and redemption. Every attribute of God that we find in Scripture is true of all of Gods being, and every attribute of God qualifies every other attribute. Paul proclaims to the men of Athens, The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything (Acts 17:2425). As with Gods other perfect attributes, Christians find it easier to affirm the goodness of God when things are going well. He holds degrees from Harvard (AB), Westminster Theological Seminary (MDiv, DD), and Cambridge (PhD). Let's begin with those attributes that are incommunicable. And David says of God, His way is perfect (Psalm 18:30). With him are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding (Job 12:13). Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine (Job 41:11). Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. His attributes are the same from before the beginning of time into eternity. Seeing that God is all powerful, is there anything He cannot do? 1:13-16), God cannot be comprehended as He really is (1 Cor. Hes called the Holy One of Israel (Psalm 71:22, 78:41, 89:18; Isaiah 1:4, 5:19, 24). For Instructors and School Administrators. That the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. Please check errors and resubmit. Or where can I flee from Your presence? In one sense, Gods glory isnt an attribute, but the superlative honor that everything in the universe should give to God (Isaiah 43:7, Romans 3:23, John 17:5). Do what is self contradictory. Proud member His promises do not change. Jonah tried it, and in his quest to run away from God he ended up running right into Him. What do the rest get? False ________ literally means "all-knowing" Omniscience A person can know God better by studying the attributes ascribed to Him throughout Scripture. John tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8). Jehovah or Yahweh is the most intensely sacred name to Jewish scribes and many will not even pronounce the name. Christianity Today writer Patrick Mabilog writes this about the difference. He can do anything according to His infinite ability, but will do only those things that are consistent with Himself. When we use our will and our freedom to make choices that are pleasing to God, we reflect his character and bring glory to him. But jealousy can be a positive thing, too. 17:20; Psa. 1:11), God cannot lie, be tempted, deny Himself, etc. How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! Romans 11:33. Jesus speaks to his Father of my glory which you have given me in your love for me before the foundation of the world (John 17:24), indicating that there was love from the Father to the Son from all eternity. 82:1, 6; John 10:34-36), Yahweh is Elohim (Gen. 2:4; Deut. We can express and experience love, but well never be infinitely loving like God. A book review of In Quest of the Historical Adam: A Biblical and Scientific Exploration by William Lane Craig (Eerdmans, 2021), Let Faith Oust Fact: A Review of The Whale, No Mindful Matter: The Explanatory Failure of Scientific Materialism, Seven or So Exhortations to College-Bound Students, Una montaa allanadaUna mirada a Brianna Wiest, A Mountain Made LowA Look at Brianna Wiest, Connect with the Christian Research Institute, a. When Scripture speaks about Gods attributes it never singles out one attribute as more important than the rest. In context, the rhetorical question, Is anything too hard for the Lord? (Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:27) implies that nothing is too hard for the Lord. Nothing is hidden from God. His grace is something we do not earn or lose (For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God Eph. In all His relations with His people God is faithful. Acknowledging these non-moral attributes of God can strengthen the faith and provide comfort for the believer in many ways. The word translated accomplishes (energe, works, works out, brings about, produces) is a present participle suggesting continual activity. Debbie McDaniel writes this about the omniscience of God, He can be everywhere, at the same time. 90:4; 2 Pet. He can blink and create a new galaxy. Before examining God's attributes as revealed in Scripture, two points are important. Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? If you had the choice, would you choose to be ruled by blind fate, chance, irrevocable natural law, short sighted and perverted self (man), or an infinite, wise, holy, powerful, all knowing God who loves us and knows whats best for us? Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand (James 5:8). 48. so that no human being might boast in the presence of God 1 Corinthians 1:21, 27, 29. All of Him is everywhere at once. Here are 15 attributes of God, what they mean and why they matter: "And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." 107:8; 118:1; Nahum 1:7; Mark 10:18; Rom. The idea of a moral deity, the guardian of the moral order, is a human rather than a cosmic conception, for divine morality is a reflex of human ethic raised to its highest imaginable power. 3:20; Eph. 31:3; John 3:16; Heb. INCOMPREHENSIBLE: God is incomprehensible, not in the sense that the concept of God is unintelligible, but in the sense that God cannot be fully and directly known by finite creatures, because of His uniqueness and His infinitude. And any very short period of time (such as one day) seems to God to last forever. 2:13; Titus 1:2; Heb. In Johns apocalyptic vision, the 24 elders proclaim, You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being (Revelation 4:11). Likewise, although this is hard for many to accept, his sentencing of evil, unrepentant sinners to hell is also right and good. It is a strange and beautiful eccentricity of the free God, Tozer writes, that He has allowed His heart to be emotionally identified with men. 103:8-9; Rom. God, being infinite, must possess attributes about which we can know. 8:23; Isa. The four non moral attributes that we underlines were His omnipresence His omniscience His omnipotence His immutability These are the core attributes of God. God is spirit (John 4:24), he has no physical form. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! Who he is never changes. 11:25-27), GOOD: God is morally excellent, and does only good (Gen. 1:31; Deut. 86:8; 1 Kgs. His holiness, righteousness, goodness, love, mercy, grace, and faithfulness. The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens (Jeremiah 10:1011). Surely he recognizes deceivers; and when he sees evil, does he not take note? Job 11:7-11. 6:4; Isa. 1:2; 11:3), Scripture everywhere assumes the personhood of God in the use of personal pronouns, in recording Him speaking and acting willfully, etc. - Deut 7:9, [I]f we are faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:13. 8:2-3), God can only be known as the Son reveals Him (John 1:18; Matt. Between the things God says and does, what other people say about him, and the life of Jesus, the Bible gives us numerous descriptions of Gods character. Do not I fill heaven and earth? Amen (1 Timothy 1:17). To preserve His creation God must destroy whatever would destroy it. Therefore you are to be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect, Jesus says in Matthew 5:48. We might not understand his ways today, but we can trust that because God is infinitely wise, he truly is working all things out in the best possible way. All rights reserved. Gods total essence, all of his spiritual being, will never be seen by us, yet God still shows himself to us through visible, created things. Wisdom sees everything in focus, each in proper relation to all, and is thus able to work toward predestined goals with flawless precision.. The Holiness of God There is a great need for a recognition of God's holiness in the church today. God is infinitely wise, consistently wise, perfectly wise. They are deeper than the depths belowwhat can you know? We can see an imitation of this attribute of God not only in peace as part of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:2223, but also in the last-mentioned element in the fruit of the Spirit, namely, self-control (Galatians 5:23). He doesnt love humanity in some vague sense, he loves humans. The Attributes of God refers to the character traits of God as they are revealed to us in the Scriptures. This ought to be a source of incredible joy for believers. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good (Proverbs 15:3). Because of our disobedient hearts, we deserve death. O taste and see that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34:8). In this study we will be discussing Gods non-moral attributes. David says in Psalm 103:8, The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.. Theology truly matters. OMNIPRESENT: God is perfect in that He transcends all space and spatial limitations, and is thus infinite with respect to space, with His whole Being filling every part of the universe and being present everywhere (not diffused through the universe, but present at each point in His fullness). Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord - Jeremiah 23:23-24, To be omnipresent is to be in all places, at all times. This . But to believe this means we dull the reality of his infinite, unchanging justice. When His hand is stretched out to do something, no one can turn it back. When we talk about the attributes of God, we are trying to answer questions like, Who is God, What is God like,and What kind of God is he? In the New Testament, Peter tells us, with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8). We will give an account of all. We know we can share in these attributes to a degree since God commands us to be holy and loving like He is ( Lev.11:44, 45 ; 1 Thess. Get updates from Zondervan Academic directly in your inbox. Often, many individuals do not ponder the attributes of God. The saved get mercy and the unsaved get justice. OMNIPOTENT: God is perfect in that He can do all things consistent with the perfection of His being. His lists of the attributes typically included . Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. The Goodness of God. No plan we could make for our lives could be better than the plan he has already crafted and is carrying out for us. 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