I list the attributes of God below. To learn about God and consistently defend his word, it must root us in our understanding of God’s characteristics. These immutable qualities also guide our sense of his word. The first link below will open a tab to Bible Gateway where you can look up Scripture references.
• Self-existent. He is the uncaused First Cause who created the universe (John 1:3). The uncreated creator existed before the big bang, the necessary being contingent on all other things. Here we find the Kalam cosmological argument is relevant: (1) Whatever had a beginning had a cause. (2) The universe had a beginning. (3) Therefore, the universe had a cause.
• Eternal. Outside of spacetime, external to the physical universe. He has always existed and is beyond time altogether (1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16). The Lord has given us our eschatological and teleological destiny in Scripture.
• Love. He is the very personification of love (1 John 4:8). God does not cause evil; evil results from not facing the Lord and following his instructions for our lives.
• Omnipresent. Everywhere-present. His whole being is in every place (Psalm 139:7- 8). Not to be mistaken for pantheism, where God is the universe, but God is present throughout his creation. In Jeremiah 23:23-24, God affirms, “‘Am I a God at hand,’ declares the Lord, ‘and not a God far away?… Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord.”
• Omniscient. All-knowing. He knows all things, both actual and possible (Matthew 11:21-23); past, present, and future (Isaiah 41:22; 46:10; Hebrews 4:13). God is spirit and transcendent (John 4:24).
• All-powerful. He is almighty (Revelation 19:6). No one can reverse Him (Isaiah 43:13) or thwart Him (Isaiah 14:27). God knows the outcome because it is his will. No plans of men or angels can change God’s will. As Jeremiah 32:17 says, “Ah, Lord God! It is you who has made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”
• Sovereign. He rules the universe, controls all things, and is Lord over all (Psalm 50:1; 66:7; Isaiah 40:15,17). God did not merely create the universe and retire. God is active in the ongoing processes of the world and controls all. We are assured in Psalm 93:1 that “the Lord reigns.” Job wisely affirmed to God, “I know you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). God asserts, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose” (Isaiah 46:10). God assures us, “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand” (Isaiah 14:24). God is said to be “the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15).
• Unchanging. His being, nature, and attributes are always the same (Malachi 3:6). God was the same a thousand years ago and a thousand years from now. We can rely on the constancy of his reign. Our times are in God’s hands (Psalm 31:15), so we should “trust in him at all times” (Psalm 62:8). All the attributes of God are unchanging.
• Holy. He is separate from all evil and pure in every way (Exodus 15:11). Agents or persons cause corruption by not repenting. By facing away from Jesus, we are sinful and create our fate. God condemns no person, and they doom their souls by their decisions. “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord Almighty” (Revelation 4:8). • Just. He carries out His righteous standards justly and with equity (Romans 3:26). God does not treat His children as their sins deserve because Jesus suffered the full punishment for our sins. Since God is, He will never punish His people for the sin that Jesus atoned for on the cross.
See also: Revelation Literature Types
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