The Attributes of God

Romans 1:20 · Psalm 19:1The God Who Reveals Himself

We could never find out God by our own searching, but He has chosen to make Himself known. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork” (Psalm 19:1). Creation shows His eternal power and that He is God (Romans 1:20). Scripture tells us His name, His works and His ways. And in the fullness of time God sent His Son, who is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). Everything we learn about God’s attributes comes from what He has revealed.

Exodus 3:14 · John 4:24I AM THAT I AM

When Moses asked God His name at the burning bush, God answered, “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14). God simply is. He was not made, He depends on nothing, and nothing gives Him life; He gives life to everything else, “seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). He is the one true God: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4), eternally Father, Son and Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19). And “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24), not limited by a body.

Psalm 90:2 · Malachi 3:6Eternal and Unchanging

God has no beginning and no end. “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God” (Psalm 90:2). Because He is eternal and already perfect, He never needs to grow, improve or change. “For I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). His character, His purposes and His promises stay the same in every generation, and “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).

Psalm 139 · Jeremiah 23:24Everywhere Present and All-Knowing

There is no place where God is not. David asked, “Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?” (Psalm 139:7), and God asks, “Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:24). God also knows everything: past, present and future, every thought and every word before it is spoken. “Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5). Nothing is hidden from Him, and nothing ever takes Him by surprise.

Jeremiah 32:17 · Daniel 4:35All-Powerful and Sovereign

God can do all that He wills. Jeremiah prayed, “Ah Lord GOD! behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee” (Jeremiah 32:17), and the angel told Mary, “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). God also rules over all things. Even the proud king Nebuchadnezzar learned that “He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand” (Daniel 4:35).

Isaiah 6:1–5 · Revelation 4:8Holy, Holy, Holy

Holiness means that God is set apart, high above all His creation and perfectly pure, without the smallest stain of sin. Isaiah saw the Lord on His throne and heard the seraphims cry, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3). Isaiah could only answer, “Woe is me! for I am undone.” In heaven the cry goes on day and night: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come” (Revelation 4:8). Every other attribute of God is a holy attribute.

Deuteronomy 32:4 · Romans 1:18Righteous and Just

Because God is holy, He always does what is right. “A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He” (Deuteronomy 32:4). Abraham asked, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). God’s justice means that sin must be judged. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Romans 1:18). His anger is not a bad temper but the settled opposition of a holy God to evil, and “The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked” (Nahum 1:3).

1 John 4:8–10 · Ephesians 2:4–8Love, Mercy and Grace

“God is love” (1 John 4:8). His love is not earned; it flows from who He is. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). God is merciful, holding back the judgment we deserve, and gracious, giving the salvation we do not deserve. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us” made us alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:4–5), “For by grace are ye saved through faith” (2:8). At the cross God’s justice and love meet, “that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).

Lamentations 3:22–23 · John 1:14Faithful and True, Seen in Christ

God always keeps His word. “God is not a man, that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19). Even in the ruins of Jerusalem, Jeremiah could say, “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23). Above all, God has shown us who He is in Jesus Christ. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,” “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). “For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).