Characteristics that provide a sense of some aspect of God are commonly called divine attributes. This is an imperfect term, as is inevitable in any attempt to describe God. Some have suggested that better terms might be properties or perfections, as these might result in less risk of viewing God as a divine essence combined with a selection of added properties. 1 Pt 2:9 uses the Greek word arete (ἀρετή), which means virtue, excellence, or perfection. “But you are a chosen people, A royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the arete of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” But “attribute” is the standard theological term, and this will be used hereafter with the understanding that all of the attributes of God must be understood as a unified and inseparable whole, that each attribute is the totality of God’s essence, and that a discussion of an attribute in isolation is somewhat artificial. Nevertheless, the Bible equates God with many attributes. Examples include the following:
– God is a consuming fire, a jealous God (Dt 4:24);
– God is a compassionate God (Dt 4:31);
– God is in your midst, a great and awesome God (Dt 7:21);
– God is with you wherever you go (Jo 1:9);
– God is gracious and compassionate (2 Chr 30:9);
– God is a righteous judge (Ps 7:11);
– God is holy (Ps 99:9);
– God is true (Jn 3:33);
– God is spirit (Jn 4:24);
– God is faithful (1 Cor 1:9);
– God is holy (1 Cor 3:17);
– God is light (1 Jn 1:5); and
– God is love (1 Jn 4:8, 4:16).
The attributes of God have been grouped in many different ways by many different theologians including natural versus moral, absolute versus relative, intransitive versus transitive, and immanent versus eminent. However, the most popular grouping is incommunicable and communicable, which is the approach taken here.[i] An incommunicable attribute is one that is characteristic of God but not of man. A communicable attribute is a perfect characteristic of God that is endowed by God to man in an imperfect way. The primary incommunicable attributes of God are now presented.
Aseity. Aseity refers to the self-existence of God. The existence of God is inherent in His nature and is independent of all other things. God is the uncaused cause, which is necessary to avoid infinite regress in causation. God is similarly the unmoved mover, since something must initiate activity before activity began to exist. Everything that is not God is derivative and dependent on Him. Scripturally, the aseity of God is described as follows. “The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things” (Acts 17:24-25).
The aseity of God is also evident in His name Yahweh (יְהוָֹה), which is commonly thought to mean “I am” or “I am that I am.” God is His own self-existence. The NT attributes aseity to both the Father and the Son, “For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself” (Jn 5:26).
Immutability. The immutability of God is often referred to as His unchangeableness. God is perfect and His attributes are perfect. It is not possible to change God’s perfection, and it is not possible to change God’s perfect attributes. Biblical references to the immutability of God are numerous. “For I, the LORD, do not change” (Mal 3:6). “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (Jas 1:17). “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever” (Heb 13:8).
The immutability of God often seems at odds with much of the Bible, where God is shown to act in response to earthly conditions. God repents, changes his plans, becomes angry, sets aside his anger, and shows himself to be friend or foe depending on the attitude of his creatures. Consider Jer 26:13, “Now then, reform your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will relent of the disaster which He has pronounced against you.” It appears that the intentions of God can change based on the actions of man. This is commonly explained as God being a God of action, with action being possible without change. It is also commonly explained that this type of situation is indicative of man’s relationship to God changing rather than God changing.
The immutability of God also relates to the free will of mankind. Reformed theologians believe that God determines everything that happens, and therefore God’s knowledge is unchanging. Arminians insist that people have freewill, but that God has perfect foreknowledge of all free choices and therefore God’s knowledge is similarly unchanging. The open theism position is that God knows everything that is possible to know but does not have perfect knowledge of mankind’s future free choices. This means that God’s knowledge is increasing over time, which both Reformed and Arminian theologians would argue violates the immutability attribute.
No doubt many readers at this point are wondering whether the Reformed, Arminian, or open perspective is to be preferred. Each has valid points, and each has implications that go beyond the immutability of God. At this point, it suffices to say that humans understand change in the context of space and time. As God exists outside of space and time, our understanding of change with respect to God is necessarily limited.
Infinite. To say that God is infinite is to say that He has no constraints or limits. However, humans are finite, and the finite cannot fully comprehend the infinite and therefore cannot fully comprehend the infinite nature of God. This said, God is typically said to be infinite in terms of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence.
Omniscience means that God knows everything. At a minimum, this means that God knows everything that has ever happened and everything that is currently happening. “God is greater than our heart, and He knows all things” (1 Jn 3:20). As discussed above, there is disagreement with regards to God’s knowledge of the future, especially with regards to freely made choices. The Reformed position is that God determines everything, including our choices, and therefore has perfect knowledge of the future. The Arminian position is that moral responsibility requires the ability to make true free choices, but God has perfect foreknowledge of these choices and therefore has perfect knowledge of the future. The open theism position is that true free choice is not possible in either the Reformed or Arminian framework. Therefore, according to open theism, God has all possible knowledge but not perfect knowledge of future free choices as this knowledge is not possible.
Omnipotence simply means that God is all powerful. This attribute is clearly presented in Scripture. “[W]ith God all things are possible” (Mt 19:26) “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Lk 1:37). But God cannot do anything that is contrary to His nature, such as acting out of evil intent. God also cannot make logical contradictions happen, such as making a triangle with interior angles that do not sum to two right angles. And God cannot create absurdities, such as making an object too heavy for Him to move. But these limits do not prevent the power of God from making anything happen in the universe that He desires, including all of the miracle accounts in the Bible. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived” (Rom 1:20).
God’s omnipresence means that He is everywhere at all times. “‘Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?’ declares the LORD” (Jer 23:24). This does not mean that part of God is in one place and another part of God is in another place. Rather, it is most helpful to think of the entirety of God being at all places at all times. Aspects of God’s omnipresence remain a mystery as the Holy Spirit resides in believers but not in unbelievers, Jesus has a physical body that was limited to being at a single place, and Jesus now has an ascended body that is presumably similar in this aspect. But God’s omnipresence ensures that He has first-hand knowledge of everything that is happening at all times and in all places.
Unity of God. The unity of God refers to God consisting of a single essence that is not reducible to component parts. God is not a composite of Father and Son and Holy Spirit and incommunicable attributes and communicable attributes. All of these things are simply human ways to understand God’s single nature. Any change, addition, or subtraction to God is impossible since God is perfect as He is. Because God is unity and not a composite of parts, this attribute is sometimes referred to as “simplicity.”
[i] The major exception is the Reformed theologian Charles Hodge, who categorizes attributes based on the Westminster Catechism. In Vol. 1 of his Systematic Theology, Hodge summarizes the Westminster Catechism as follows: “God is a self-existent and necessary Being; and it is affirmed of Him, (1) That He is a Spirit. (2) That as such He is in-finite, eternal, and immutable. (3) that He is infinite, eternal, and immutable in his being; in all that belongs to his intelligence, namely in his knowledge and wisdom; and in all that belongs to his will, namely, his power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” Hodge then groups divine attributes according to these three topics and associated sub-topics.
Leave a Reply