The only way to really know what God is like and know his attributes is through the revelation of himself in the Bible, the Word of God to man. Without the authority of the Bible, any attempt to explain the attributes of god it would expose us to opinions, conjectures, and assumptions, which are often incorrect, particularly when it comes to understanding God. The attributes of God, as revealed in the Bible, are crucial to understanding the truth about God, who he is, what he does, and what he is like.
God’s attributes
As humans, we cannot understand everything about God. But does this mean that we cannot understand anything about God? Nope! In his mercy, God has chosen to tell us some things about himself and his plan. One reason God has revealed certain things to us is so we can learn to obey him. Yes, there is a lot about God that we cannot understand. But he tells us a few things about himself. We are going to learn about some of God’s attributes; Another reason why God reveals himself to us? So that we can praise him!
Here are some attributes of God.
1.- Love:
(1 John 4:16) “And we have come to know and have believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him.”
God’s love is incredible, beautiful and powerful. (Romans 5:6) “Christ, while we were still weak, in due time died for the wicked.” God reached out and loved sinners; the “impious”
However, many people believe that if they have “love” in their lives and if they feel love for God they have everything they need. Sadly, many people loves to a god they have invented. Instead of find love of God, break his commandment: You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)
We see God’s love in the Bible this way: We were sinners, but God sent his Son so that we might have life. We can see the love in the Father (1 John 3:1) “See what love the Father has given us, so that we may be called children of God; for this reason the world does not know him, because it did not know him.” The son (2 Timothy 1:13) “Hold fast the sound words that you heard from me, in the faith and love that is in Christ Jesus.” and the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5) “And hope does not disappoint us, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” His love is in his eternal plan of salvation.
The Son was a propitiation an acceptable sacrifice to God where his anger towards us was turned into forgiveness and love. God’s love is something much bigger than a feeling. It is demonstrated in his eternal plan of salvation.
I invite you to read: Obedience To God As The Principle Of The Kingdom, Brings The Greatest Reward
2.- Beauty
(Psalm 27:4) “One thing I have demanded of the Lord, this I will seek; that I may be in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to contemplate the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.”
In the Bible, God is more than just another beautiful being. He is the source of all beauty. To be with God is to be with beauty. (Psalm 96:3-6) “Recount his glory among the nations, his wonders among all peoples. For great is the Lord, and most worthy of being praised; fearsome is He above all gods. For all the gods of the Peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Glory and majesty are before him, power and beauty in his sanctuary.”
All the beauty and creativity we see around us began with the Creator. And the more we know it, the closer we get to it, the more beauty we will experience.
3.- The Beatitude
(James 1:17) “Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above, descends from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change or shadow of variation.”
What is the “blessedness” of God?
Another word for beatitude is blessing. Most people know what blessings are, good things in our lives and not bad. So, God is the source of all that is good. As Santiago says, every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above; that is, of God.
Jesus spoke of the good gifts of God the Father in (Matthew 7:11) “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?”
Also God is blessed in himself, it is part of his nature, not only in the things he gives. As creatures, we can “Bless God” by giving Him what is His. We can take joy in the fact that God is blessed and that he will never change.
4.- Kindness
(2 Chronicles 6:41) “O Jehovah God, arise now to dwell in your rest, you and the ark of your power; O Jehovah God, may your priests be clothed with salvation, and may your saints rejoice in your goodness.”
Of course God is powerful. We can see it when we look at his creation. But we have hope because our God is kind too. The above verse is a part of Solomon’s prayer when he was dedicating the temple. His speech, found in 2 Chronicles 6, describes many of God’s attributes.
Solomon knew that God was too big to live in a man-made temple (2 Chronicles 6:18). God is present everywhere! But he also knew that God had a special relationship with his people. This relationship was represented by the temple. God guides his people, answers his prayers, forgives them when they repent, and shows his love for them.
You may be interested in reading: 6 Aspects You Need To Know About The Kingdom Of Heaven.
God shows his goodness even to the wicked. You have heard that he said to himself: (Matthew 5:43-45)”You shall love your neighbor and you will hate your enemy. But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes the sun rise from him on the bad and the good, and to rain on the just and the unjust.”
5.- Jealousy.
(Exodus 34:14) “For you shall not bow down to any other god, for Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
Perhaps you ask yourself these questions: Jealous? Really? But, God cannot sin, how can he be jealous? We have to remember that God is unique, and not like the others. In fact, there is no other Creator God, King of the Universe, and Savior. as it says (Ephesians 4:6) “one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.”
In Exodus 34, God is giving instructions to his people. They are about to enter Canaan, where they worship many gods. (Exodus 34:12-14) “Beware of making an alliance with the inhabitants of the land where you will enter, so that they will not be a stumbling block in your midst. You will tear down their altars, and you will break their statues, and you will cut down their images of Asherah. Because you are not to bow down to any other god.”
The idols of other nations are not the Almighty Creator. They are inventions of man. Furthermore, God has a special relationship with his people. Do you remember what God said to the people when he gave them the Ten Commandments in (Exodus 20:2-3) “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Jehovah is the God of his people. The Lord is like the husband of his people.
(Isaiah 54:5) “For your husband is your Maker; Jehovah of hosts is his name; and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; God of all the earth will be called.” If God’s people his bride persecute false gods, God has every right to be jealous. In fact, God’s jealousy protects his people from the dangers and foolishness of idolatry.
6.- Knowledge
(Romans 11:33) “O depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!”
Our God is Creator of everything. He is not limited by time or space, for he created both. God knows everything. Sometimes we say that God is omniscient, which means the same thing. God knows even what is in our hearts. Jesus explained that God knows the heart.
How is God different from the idols of men? Well, one way is that He knows everything that is going to happen before it happens. God’s words: (Isaiah 46:9-10) “Remember the former things already past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, who declared the end from the beginning And from of old it that it has not been done. I say: ‘My purpose will be established, and whatever I want I will accomplish.’
Did you notice something? Not only God knows what is going to happen. He has a purpose in all of this. He knows why it’s going to happen. In fact, this is part of what Paul is talking about in Romans 11. The eternal purpose of God. And a part of that purpose is God’s mercy toward his people.
We can’t understand a fraction of what God knows and what his plan is but thank God a part of it is showing mercy! This is our God! He will not be surprised or unprepared.
7.- The Glory
(Revelation 21:23) “The city does not need the sun or the moon to illuminate it, for the glory of God illuminates it, and the Lamb is its light.”
The glory of God is something that is often talked about, but rarely defined. (Exodus 16:10) “The People of Israel saw him in the cloud.” (Exodus 24:17)”It was like a fire on the mountain.”
(1 Samuel 15:29)“Glory” is a name of God too.” (2 Chronicles 5:14) “The glory of God filled the temple. And the priests could not stand there to minister, because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.” Although others may have “glory,” the glory of God is something special and unique. God will not give his glory to anyone, including the idols of men.
(Isaiah 48:10-11) “For I have purified you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the crucible of affliction. For My sake, for My sake, I will, for how could My name be desecrated? My glory, therefore, I will not give to another.” God gives us an idea of what he is like through his glory. His glory is light and power.
Isaiah speaks of the coming of the Messiah. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; because the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 40:5)
The Son of God, the Messiah, who is God, has his glory. He is God’s great revelation of himself.
There were times when the glory of God was feared, such as on Mount Sinai (Deuteronomy 5:4-5). But in the end, those who are saved will rejoice in the eternal glory of God. Perhaps his glory is seen in all that he has accomplished, in time and eternity.
8.- Spirituality
(John 4:24) “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
The spirituality of God simply means that God is a spirit. That is, he does not have a body. God is not made of matter, in fact, he created matter.
Also God can appear as a man, or in another form. It could be that Jesus appeared to people in Old Testament times, before he was born as a human. This could be what happened to Jacob, when he “saw God face to face” in Genesis 32.
The creator took the form of a created being.
What is a divine attribute? | Biblical questions