The Attributes of God
Trying to understand some of the attributes of God can be fascinating and frustrating at the same time. Fascinating because God's attributes give us a glimpse into who God is, and frustrating because it seems like the more we learn about an attribute of God, the further we are from fully understanding it. We will never truly know everything about the attributes of God, nor will we ever know everything about even one of the the attributes of God.
An attribute is not a characteristic that God has, rather they a part of his very nature or essence. I have characteristics such as love, kindness and friendliness. In me they are not considered attributes because at any given time I can withhold love or kindness, something that doesn't happen with an attribute. An attribute of God is a quality he possesses that is at its infinite capacity, all the time, through eternity. You can say that the only attribute I have is humanness. That is to say, everything I do, all the time is human stuff. An attribute is a thing that is part of your being. God does not have love, he is love. An attribute is the extension of the very nature of God.
An important thing to note when discussing the attributes of God is that everything God does reflects all His attributes equally. They are not divided into parts. God’s love and justice work hand in hand. When God is judging Israel, both love and justice are working at their infinite capacity. He is not the God of wrath one day and the God of grace on another day. Wrath and grace work hand in hand.
No attribute is superior over any other. Grace did not win out over His wrath on the Cross, rather the Cross satisfied His wrath. Finally, proper theology does not emphasize one attribute over another. Emphasizing God’s grace over his righteousness establishes a church of lawless pleasure seekers. Therefore, proper doctrine will consider and properly balance the attributes of God as it relates to a particular ministry.
Euthyphro's Dilemma
To better understand an attribute, lets look at the Euthyphro's Dilemma, which is used by atheists to stumble Christians who don't understand the concept of attributes. It's a bit complicated so try to follow along slowly. Here is the dilemma; Is an act right because God says it's so, or does God say it's so because it's right?
Of course we do not have to choose from those two options. There is a third option which includes a moral standard (this avoids the first premise). Yet, the standard is not independent of God, but internal (avoiding the second premise). In the third option, morality is grounded in the goodness of God. His commands are not arbitrary, rather they are part of His nature. God is a moral being and morality flows from His nature so He gets it right every time without having to reference an outside source. In general morality, is an attribute of God.
Let's discuss briefly some of the attributes of God that relate to apologetics and evangelism. God has many attributes that will not be discussed here and may not even be covered in the Bible, as God is in no way limited by the Bible He has provided to us.
Attributes of the Christian God
Articles
10 Awesome Attributes of God David Peach
The Attributes of God Blue Letter Bible
An attribute is not a characteristic that God has, rather they a part of his very nature or essence. I have characteristics such as love, kindness and friendliness. In me they are not considered attributes because at any given time I can withhold love or kindness, something that doesn't happen with an attribute. An attribute of God is a quality he possesses that is at its infinite capacity, all the time, through eternity. You can say that the only attribute I have is humanness. That is to say, everything I do, all the time is human stuff. An attribute is a thing that is part of your being. God does not have love, he is love. An attribute is the extension of the very nature of God.
An important thing to note when discussing the attributes of God is that everything God does reflects all His attributes equally. They are not divided into parts. God’s love and justice work hand in hand. When God is judging Israel, both love and justice are working at their infinite capacity. He is not the God of wrath one day and the God of grace on another day. Wrath and grace work hand in hand.
No attribute is superior over any other. Grace did not win out over His wrath on the Cross, rather the Cross satisfied His wrath. Finally, proper theology does not emphasize one attribute over another. Emphasizing God’s grace over his righteousness establishes a church of lawless pleasure seekers. Therefore, proper doctrine will consider and properly balance the attributes of God as it relates to a particular ministry.
Euthyphro's Dilemma
To better understand an attribute, lets look at the Euthyphro's Dilemma, which is used by atheists to stumble Christians who don't understand the concept of attributes. It's a bit complicated so try to follow along slowly. Here is the dilemma; Is an act right because God says it's so, or does God say it's so because it's right?
- If you choose "Right because God says so", then morality is arbitrary. That is, God could have said that rape is right and it would be right. That of course is a problem because under any circumstance rape must be wrong.
- If you choose "God says it's so because it's right" then morality is independent of God. That is to say that at some point God had to learn right from wrong because right and wrong is independent of God.
Of course we do not have to choose from those two options. There is a third option which includes a moral standard (this avoids the first premise). Yet, the standard is not independent of God, but internal (avoiding the second premise). In the third option, morality is grounded in the goodness of God. His commands are not arbitrary, rather they are part of His nature. God is a moral being and morality flows from His nature so He gets it right every time without having to reference an outside source. In general morality, is an attribute of God.
Let's discuss briefly some of the attributes of God that relate to apologetics and evangelism. God has many attributes that will not be discussed here and may not even be covered in the Bible, as God is in no way limited by the Bible He has provided to us.
Attributes of the Christian God
- God is eternal. Isaiah 57:15 He has no beginning and no end. He does not live in time and space.
- God is infinite. Jeremiah 23:24 His attributes are always working at maximum capacity, He has no limits.
- God is purposeful. Jeremiah 29:11 Everything He does has a purpose and a reason.
- God is immaterial. John 4:24 God is Spirit and is not confined to this material world.
- God is omniscient. Psalm 139, 147:5 God knows everything with no exception. God knows what was, what is, and what will be. God also knows what could have been, what could be, and what can be.
- God is a moral being. Daniel 9:14 He hates sin and loves righteousness.
- God exists necessarily. Colossians 1:17 God cannot not exist. God created and sustains everything that is. Without His existence there would be no one around to wonder about His existence.
- God is love. 1 John 4:8 He does not have love…He is love. It's His very nature.
- God is self-existent. He was not created. He does not grow, improve, evolve. He is Being; everything else has being.
- God is non-contingent. Numbers 23:19 The cosmos is contingent on a beginning or cause. God needs no food, water, love, etc.
- God is transcendent. He is outside the cause-and-effect universe.
- God is immutable. Malachi 3:6, Exodus 3:14 He does not change. God cannot become better or more complete.
- God is omnipresent. Isaiah 40:12, Psalm 139:7 He is not confined by space or time. He exists in all possible worlds at all times.
- God is Holy. Leviticus 19:2 He does not sin. He has no evil in Himself. He stands apart from all created things.
Articles
10 Awesome Attributes of God David Peach
The Attributes of God Blue Letter Bible