In 1 Corinthians 14:33 Paul says, God is not a God of confusion but of peace. Although peace and order have not traditionally been classified as attributes of God, Paul here indicates another quality that we could think of as a distinct attribute of God. Incommunicable attributes of God - belong to God alone Holiness Holiness is God's perfection of character and without flaw and without sin but with complete goodness, justice, mercy, love, etc. . Who he is never changes. (e.g., Gen. 1:3, 26; Heb. Tempt people to sin (James 1:13). 5. Do I not fill heaven and earth? 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? Thankfully, the Christian will never have to experience Gods holy wrath poured out. God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise . Scriptures narrative frequently describe Gods wrath, especially when Gods people sin against him. Comforts Found in the Non-Moral Attributes of God. God, being infinite, must possess attributes about which we can know. True A person can know God better by studying the attributes ascribed to Him throughout Scripture. If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him? What does it mean for God to be infinite? Isaiah 43:7 says that man was created by God for his glory. Fuller divided the attributes of God into two categories: natural and moral. The attributes of God are the inherent characteristics closely associated with or belonging to Him. The glory of God is of course, inseparable from his other attributes, so God is eternally, infinitely, unchangingly glorious. Paul tells us that even now in our Christian lives we all are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). Here the sense is earnestly protective or watchful. This is the jealousy we attribute to God. 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. God has given us some reflection of his sense of goodness, so that when we evaluate things in the way He created us to evaluate them, we approve what God approves and delight in things he delights in. 9. TRANSCENDENT: God is entirely distinct from the universe, as the carpenter is distinct from the bench; excluding pantheism (God in all) and animism (everything is a god). It continues at the present time, for we read, The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand (John 3:35). 43:10), Separate from the world (Isa. And this He knows instantly and with a fullness of perfection that includes every possible item of knowledge concerning everything that exists or could have existed anywhere in the universe at any time in the past or that may exist in the centuries or ages yet unborn.. God has both moral and non moral attributes. 42:5), God is near, so He can be known (Deut. All of our good and righteous desires, all of the desires that really ought to be in us or in any other creature, find their ultimate fulfillment in God. Do not I fill heaven and earth? If I say, Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night, even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day Darkness and light are alike to You. Jeremiah 23:24 says, Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? The love of God is eternal, sovereign, unchanging, and infinite. 1. God is spirit (John 4:24), he has no physical form. For Instructors and School Administrators. Through Christs death and resurrection, the penalty for our sins was paid and we were imputed (credited) with Christs righteousness. Immutability being attributed to Jesus declares his deity. Indeed, when we see wisdom like this, we realize just how much our limited, finite wisdom compares with the limitless, infinite wisdom of God. When His hand is stretched out to do something, no one can turn it back. His promises do not change. Acknowledging these non-moral attributes of God can strengthen the faith and provide comfort for the believer in many ways. 6:4; Isa. - Romans 9:15-16, As noted above, Gods mercy is inseparable from his justness. David says, for example, I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the Lord for his mercy is great . Seeing God is perfect, He cannot be more perfect, truthful or holy. When we meditate on this truth, especially in light of his other attributes of goodness and love, it makes it easier to trust him with all we have going on in our lives, from the very serious to the silly and mundane. It means he always does what is right and good toward all men. 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. 1:13-16), God cannot be comprehended as He really is (1 Cor. 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. 102:26-27; Isa. The saved get mercy and the unsaved get justice. It is only in this that we can hope to stand in the presence of the blindingly pure, perfect, Holy One of Israel. Jesus tells us, You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48). But Christians can take comfort in these moments by remembering these attributes of God, for when we go through hard times, we know that God is nevertheless unchangingly faithful, good, always with us and wise. Systematic Theology 1, taught by Wayne Grudem, features a strong emphasis on the scriptural basis for each doctrine; clear teaching, with technical terms kept to a minimum; and a contemporary approach. He can blink and create a new galaxy. The author of Hebrews says that in Gods oath and promise it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrew 6:18, Grudems translation). 4:4; Phil. Nothing is too hard for Him to accomplish(Genesis 18:14;Jeremiah 32:17, 27;Luke 1:37). If you are trying to hide or run from God, give up. He can sneeze and erase existence. 2:4), Moses was as God, not God or divine (Ex. 8:35-39)!, For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. John 5:26, As limited humans, we have incredible needs, which left unfulfilled, result in death. No voice would be raised to celebrate the mercy of which none felt the need. There are several different methods for categorizing Gods attributes. 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. 23:23-24; of Christ, Eph. 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. It indicates His complete and infinite perfection. Thus, God cannot lie, sin, deny himself, or be tempted with evil. 8:28), HOLY: God is morally transcendent, utterly separated from all evil, and perfectly pure (Ex. 139:1-4; Jer. And his love for us knows no beginning and no end. D.S. 15:29). Each is Deity, yet they are distinct in personality. This is an online-exclusive Viewpoint from the Christian Research Journal. His attributes are the same from before the beginning of time into eternity. Often, many individuals do not ponder the attributes of God. "The Rock! He exists on a plane wholly distinguishable from the one readily available to the five senses.. For several decades in the twentieth century, the answer seemed to be overwhelmingly: Too much! The influence of Greek philosophy upon Christian faith Get expert commentary on biblical languages, fresh explorations in theology, hand-picked book excerpts, author videos, and info on limited-time sales. God doesnt have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being. By His nature He is inclined to bestow blessedness and He takes holy pleasure in the happiness of His people.. He commands them, You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy (Leviticus 19:2). says the Lord. (Jeremiah 13:24). It sees the end from the beginning, so there can be no need to guess or conjecture. In all His relations with His people God is faithful. Jesus bares the same attributes as the Father. The fact that God can never be more wise means he is always doing the wisest thing in our lives. The impossibility of man to save himself (Matthew 19:26). . He can do anything according to His infinite ability, but will do only those things that are consistent with Himself. 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." Theology truly matters. 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. This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, volume 44, number 2 (2021). Others distinguish between absolute and relative attributes. - Colossians 1:17, Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure Psalm 147:5. 8:10; 9:14; 15:11; 2 Sam. It is an answer to a question, the reply God makes to our . 6:18), LOVING: Gods moral character is pure love, sacrificial giving for the true benefit of another (Deut. So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. When God declared his name to Moses, he proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6). Learn more in Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology online course. Self-sufficient as He is, He wants our love and will not be satisfied till He gets it. God. This means that we cannot define these moral qualities without Enhance your schools traditional and online education programs by easily integrating online courses developed from the scholars and textbooks you trust. God's Innate Non-moral Attributes. Non-moral attributes represent the characteristics of God's being that does not relate to God's moral nature. 14. John can say that God is light (1 John 1:5) and then a little later say also that God is love (1 John 4:8). It is by his grace that God imputes merit where none previously existed and declares no debt to be where one had been before.. The infinite beautyand I am focusing on the manifestation of his character and his worth and his attributes all of his perfections and greatness are beautiful as they are seen, and there are many of them. Because grace is a part of who God is and not just an action he bestows, it means we can trust that grace is eternal. Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him? Psalm 145:8, If mercy is not getting what we do deserve (damnation), grace is getting what we dont deserve (eternal life). It is because the God who promised us eternal life is immutable that we may rest assured that nothing, not trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword shall separate us from the love of Christ. Hebrews 6:18 puts it like this: God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged., In his devotional Forward, Ron Moore puts it like this: God's attribute of omnipotence means that God is able to do all that He desires to do. 18:20; 28:20), Fills all things (Jer. For example: God made us to reflect his glory. This . Many passages speak of Gods invisibility: These passages were all written after events where people saw some outward manifestation of God. Through the work of Christ in atonement, justice is not violated but satisfied when God spares a sinner. His mercy is does not forbid him to exercise his justice, nor does his justice forbid him to exercise his mercy. 40:18, 25; 44:7; 56:5, 9; Jer. False ________ literally means "all-knowing" Omniscience A person can know God better by studying the attributes ascribed to Him throughout Scripture. His holiness, righteousness, goodness, love, mercy, grace, and faithfulness. (communicable). And when those things fail to bring us satisfaction, we must decide to humble ourselves and turn our gaze back to the only one who is worthy of glory. 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. Hes called the Holy One of Israel (Psalm 71:22, 78:41, 89:18; Isaiah 1:4, 5:19, 24). And yet, since we as human beings are made in the image of God, there are echoes of his attributes in our lives that we share with him. The knowledge is comprehensive and it includes moral factor. 4:7 ). Had the rebel been doomed at once to eternal fire he would have justly merited the doom; and if delivered from wrath, sovereign love alone has found a cause, for there was none in the sinner himself. ( Psalm 71:22; Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:16 ). He is tenderhearted and of quick sympathy, and His unfailing attitude toward all moral beings is open, frank, and friendly. True A person can know God better by studying the attributes ascribed to Him throughout Scripture. Compiled & Edited by BST & Crosswalk Staff. 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. 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. He is one of a kind, unique and without comparison. Daniel brings to bear Gods sovereignty perhaps better than any other writer. His common grace is a gift to all of mankind. 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. No one ever yet really trusted Him in vain. His presence is always with us. He would rather speak of moral and non-moral attributes. 3:9), All things possible (Job 42:2; Psa. Other attributes, so I shall not see him Gods mercy is does not him! Person can know God better by studying the attributes ascribed to him in many ways Leviticus )... 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