BASIC CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY- By Ed Strickland

Part 4: Attributes of God which He shares with Us

Last time in our series on the essentials of Christianity, we surveyed some of the attributes of God. We saw some of the ways that God is not like us, his Self-Existence, Eternality, Omnipresence and Immutability. This time we look at other characteristics, God’s communicable attributes. These are qualities of God that he possesses perfectly and infinitely, but also shares in a lesser degree with his creatures. These include: knowledge, wisdom, power (sovereignty), holiness, love, will, etc. We can’t cover all these, but I will select a few and make some observations and clarifications. Let’s look at God’s knowledge (omniscience), power (omnipotence, sovereignty), love, and holiness.

Knowledge (Omniscience). Wayne Grudem defines this attribute as follows: God fully knows himself and all things actual and possible in one simple and eternal act. Scriptures that teach this include: Psalm 147:5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. (NIV) Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. See also Job 34:21 Psalm 139:2. God knows all things, past, present and future. Some today are questioning the Lord’s total knowledge of the future. Yet the Bible is clear, through its accurate prophecies and its plain statements that God knows the future in every detail. Isa. 45:10 says of God: “Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’.

Power (Omnipotence, Sovereignty). Grudem says: God's omnipotence means that God is able to do all his holy will. Passages include: Revelation 11:17 saying: "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. (NIV), Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (NIV),Revelation 19:6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.” In saying God is “all-powerful” we must qualify this. God cannot 1) do that which is against his nature (sin, the Bible says God cannot lie), or 2) that which is logically impossible, (like making a square circle or a married bachelor).

Love. God's love means that God eternally gives of himself to others. 1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (NIV) See also 1 John 4:16. God’s love is eternal. He loved even before creation because of his Triune nature. The three persons in the Godhead have always loved each other. God’s love is also the basis for his mercy and grace that makes our salvation possible. Of course, love must not be used to cancel out God’s justice and wrath against sin. All of God’s attributes go together and one should not be praised or valued to the exclusion of the others.

Holiness. God's holiness means that he is separated from sin and devoted to seeking his own honor.

Leviticus 11:45 I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. (NIV), Isaiah 5:16 But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness. , Isaiah 6:3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." (NIV). “Holy”” means separated. There are two ways God is separate or holy. There is 1) “cosmic holiness” which is the distinction between God and creation, and, 2) ethical holiness which is separation from sin.

Growing in our knowledge of God is important in our Christian life. The more we know about God, the more we can know him accurately, and thus, the more we grow to love Him for who he really is. We have not even scratched the surface in these articles. It is my hope that this brief survey will lead you to a deeper study of God’s attributes and to know and love Him more. Next time we will discuss the Trinity.

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part7] [Part8]