As judgment is Gods justice confronting moral inequity, so mercy is the goodness of God confronting human suffering and guilt. False All world religions really worship the same god, just in different ways. He will never allow anyone to stand in His presence apart from Christ (Habakkuk 1:13). 3:5; Lev. His holiness, righteousness, goodness, love, mercy, grace, and faithfulness. . Paul refers to God as the one who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will (Ephesians 1:11). 16:7; 1 Chr. Omnipresence of God "Omni" means all and when combined with presence means he is all present or present everywhere at once. Fuller divided the attributes of God into two categories: natural and moral. For example: God made us to reflect his glory. He knows our works and deeds (Psalms 33:13-15). 86:8; 1 Kgs. His presence is always with us. Do I not fill heaven and earth? Only one God (Deut. It is because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever that neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, not even powers, height, depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. He is infinitely, unchangeably, unfailingly merciful forgiving, lovingly kind toward us. . 4:5-6; 1 Tim. Scriptures narrative frequently describe Gods wrath, especially when Gods people sin against him. Everything weve done in secret He is aware of. He would rather speak of moral and non-moral attributes. Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. 96:4-5; 1 Cor. When He plans something, it will come to be. These three characteristics of Gods nature are often mentioned together, especially in the Old Testament. But jealousy can be a positive thing, too. 4:7; Jer. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from HarperCollins Christian Publishing (501 Nelson Place, Nashville, TN 37214 USA) providing information about products and services of HCCP and its affiliates. God is able and powerful to do anything he wills without any effort on his part. Every wrathful judgment in the history of the world has been a holy act of preservation. God Is Self-Sufficient - He Has No Needs "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. When Moses asked God, "Who shall I tell Pharaoh has sent me?" When Paul speaks of the fact that God comforts us in affliction, he calls God the Father of mercies and God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3). The former belong to the essence of God as considered in itself, while the latter belong to the divine essence considered in relation to His creation. Compiled & Edited by BST & Crosswalk Staff. That is certainly appropriate, as Scripture often describes the glory of God in terms of a light that shines brighter than anything that we experience on earth.. The quality of knowing everything is called omniscience, and because God knows everything, he is said to be omniscient (that is, all-knowing). The Lord our God is holy! exclaims the psalmist (Psalm 99:9). The root of this name means "self-existing," one who never came into being, and one who always will be. Our ability to exercise will and make choices is one of the most significant marks of God-likeness in our existence. A. W. Pink writes this about Gods faithfulness: God is true. What a mighty God we serve! Nothing in creation can hinder him from carrying out his will. Whether they loosely believe in a concept like the As Dr. Wayne Grudem explains it, systematic theology is any study that answers the question, What does the whole Bible teach us today? about any given topic.This highly organized, topica What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? . . So it shouldnt be surprising that God intensely hates sin. Hes called the Holy One of Israel (Psalm 71:22, 78:41, 89:18; Isaiah 1:4, 5:19, 24). Yes, there are some things God cannot do. When God called his people out of Egypt and brought them to himself and commanded them to obey his voice, then he said, You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:46). . The impossibility of man to save himself (Matthew 19:26). This ought to bring deep comfort to Christians who struggle with loneliness and deep sorrow. Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord Almighty Revelation 4:8, The word holy means sacred, set apart, revered, or devine. No one canrestrain His hand Or say to Him, What have You done (Daniel 4:35)? Mirroring God's non-moral likeness means that we use our intellect and reason to think and that we can be creative with the materials God has created; it also includes the fact that we are immortal and will live spiritually even after our physical death. 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. The glory of God is of course, inseparable from his other attributes, so God is eternally, infinitely, unchangingly glorious. 10:31). 12:6), WRATHFUL: Gods moral perfection requires Him to show displeasure against anything which seeks to act contrary to its moral purpose, to judge that which rebels against His authority as Creator and Lord (Psa. 8:28), HOLY: God is morally transcendent, utterly separated from all evil, and perfectly pure (Ex. Lets assume that all men are guilty of sin in the sight of God. The four non moral attributes that we underlines were His omnipresence His omniscience His omnipotence His immutability These are the core attributes 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. The most common way to classify Gods attributes divides them into incommunicable attributes (traits that God doesnt share or communicate to others) and communicable attributes (traits that God shares or communicates with us). Weve complied a list of 15 of Gods attributes; some are what theologians call incommunicable (qualities possessed by God alone) and others are communicable (qualities that both God and we possess, though only he possesses them perfectly). Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor (Romans 9:16-18 and Romans 9:21)? Omnipotent means to have unlimited power (omni = all; potent = powerful). While we must say that God has made all creation so that each part of it reflects something of his own character, we must also affirm that to picture God as existing or being like anything else in creation is misleading and dishonors who he is. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. This is what results in our sanctification and our glorification of God, that we might live for him and enjoy him for all eternity. Scripture frequently indicates Gods will as the final or most ultimate reason for everything that happens. OMNIPOTENT: God is perfect in that He can do all things consistent with the perfection of His being. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth (Revelation 19:6). 43:10; 44:6, 8; 45:5-7, 21-22; Zech. 40:18, 25; 44:7; 56:5, 9; Jer. Implied by doctrines of self-existence, transcendence, omnipresence, and creation. 43:10), Separate from the world (Isa. Moral attributes are the most glorious of his divine perfections. Surely he recognizes deceivers; and when he sees evil, does he not take note? Job 11:7-11. 2:5; James 2:19), All other gods are only so-called, (1 Cor. In many ways, God is nothing like us. No one ever yet really trusted Him in vain. Instructor: ETERNAL: God is perfect in that He transcends all time and temporal limitations, and is thus infinite with respect to time. 8:6, 15:2728). 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. We can be wise, but we can never be as wise as God. Whatever he thinks, whatever he wants, he is capable of doing. Goodness of God means In goodness of God he is absolutely perfect. Thats why He cant lie, tolerate sin, or save impenitent sinners. John MacArthur, Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. And any very short period of time (such as one day) seems to God to last forever. So what about passages where God appears to change his mind? Spurgeon writes that, It is undeserved mercy, as indeed all true mercy must be, for deserved mercy is only a misnomer for justice. 1:11), God cannot lie, be tempted, deny Himself, etc. Gods whole being includes all of his attributes: he is entirely loving, entirely merciful, entirely just, and so forth. Tozer answers this by reminding us that we find the answer through the Christian doctrine of justification and redemption. He exists on a plane wholly distinguishable from the one readily available to the five senses.. His Word of Promise is sure. If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. (communicable). 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.. Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. Bible Study26 January 2020Notes:http://lasttrumpet.co.za/biblestudynotes/The_Attributes_of_God_Part2_20200126.pdf God approves and determines every action necessary for the existence and activity of himself and all creation. Nobody gets injustice - R. C. Sproul, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy." 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. The fact that God has revealed knowledge of Himself should not be neglected ( Hebrews 4:1 ). 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. That the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 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