The Attributes of God

The Bible does not try to prove that God exists. Rather, it assumes His existence and describes numerous attributes and character traits that He possesses. Many of these are unique to Him as God - no other being has these traits - while other traits we see in human beings as a result of their being created in God's image.

Unique Attributes of God:

God is omnipresent. He is present everywhere at the same time. No matter where we go, God is there (Psalm 139:7-12; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Acts 17:27-28). This means that God sees and is aware of everything we do.

God is omniscient - that means He knows everything; He possesses complete and perfect knowledge of all things. He knows not only our actions but also our thoughts. When the Bible speaks of God's foreknowledge, it means that He knows all possibilities in any situation - what could have happened and what will happen. God is aware of everything that has taken place in the past and everything that will happen in the future. All the things God has destined and prophesied have either been fulfilled or will yet be fulfilled with absolute certainty. God has given us a free will to make our own decisions, which means that people are still responsible for their choices and the results of those choices. The fact that God knows everything does not mean that He is limited by His own foreknowledge. He remains free to alter His purposes in time and history, depending on what He wants to accomplish and what He knows is best.

God is omnipotent - that means He is all-powerful and has the highest authority over all things and all creatures. God has the ability to do anything - nothing is impossible for God.

God is transcendent - that means He is different and independent from His creation. The essence and nature of His being and existence are greater and higher than anything and everything He has created. He himself is uncreated and exists apart from creation. Transcendence does not mean that God is incapable of living among His people and interacting with them on a personal level.

God is unchangeable - there is never any change in God's attributes, in His perfection or in His purpose for humankind. This does not mean, however, that God never alters His temporary purposes in response to people's actions. He lets us make choices and then works His perfect plans through and around those choices. He may, for example, change His plan of judgment on people who have defied Him if those people truly repent. Also, He is free to respond to people's needs and prayers in a way and time He chooses. The Bible often speaks of God changing His mind or redirecting His plans as a result of godly, continued prayers. At other times, God desires to do certain things at one point but waits for faithful people to pray and make themselves available before He takes His desired course of action.

God is perfect and holy. He is pure and complete in character, totally without sin and absolutely right in everything He thinks and does. It also means that He is separated from all evil. God cannot sin.

God is triune. He is one God, a single being, who has revealed Himself in three distinct but interrelated and completely unified persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each person is fully divine and equal with the other two; yet they are not three Gods, but One. Another way this concept of God has been described is "three in Person, One in essence." The correct teaching is that all three persons of the Godhead exist uniquely at the same time.

Moral Attributes of God:

God is good. All that God originally created was good because it was an extension of His own nature.

God is love. His love is completely selfless that embraces the entire world.
God is merciful and gracious. Grace is God giving us the benefits of salvation that we do not deserve. The definition of mercy is expressed as God saving us from the punishment our sins deserve.

God is compassionate. Compassion means to feel sorrow for someone else's suffering, with a desire and effort to help. True compassion requires action. God provides His Son - His "good news" to a sinful humanity.

God is patient and slow to anger. God first demonstrated this trait in the Garden of Eden, and then again in Noah's time. God is still patient because He is now holding back His judgment on the world in order to give everyone time to repent.

God is truth. His Word, the Bible, is also described as "truth". God does not tolerate lies, dishonesty or deception of any kind. There is no other truth outside of God.

God is faithful. We can trust God completely. He will never fail His people or the nature of His character.

Finally, God is "just". God keeps in balance the moral order of the universe and is totally right in the way He treats and deals with humankind. But in the end, God will also show His wrath at sin because of His love for righteousness. God's justice does not contradict His love. His acts of justice and love, working together, provided the only way to restore us to a right relationship with Him.

If we want to fully understand the personality, character and nature of God, we must look at what the Word of God reveals about Jesus because "in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives" (Col. 2:9).