Attributes of God

I.                Attributes

a. Characteristics of God that belong to Him

b.                        It is a term describing the characteristics, properties, perfections, and excellences of God’s diving being

c. We cannot define or measure God by these

d.                        We search out what the Bible states concerning God (Job 11:7)

II.            Natural Attributes

a. He Is Alive

                                                           i.      The meaning of the life of God is that God has life in and of Himself (John 5:26; Exo. 3:12 compare with John 8:58)

                                                       ii.      We mean His activity of thought, feeling, and will

                                                    iii.      The life o f God is necessary for creation

                                                    iv.      God is the first cause, Himself uncaused

                                                       v.      God alone knows how He exists, why He has always existed, and why He will exist forever

                                                    vi.      It is the total inward movement of His being which enables Him to form wise, holy, and loving purposes and to execute the (Josh. 3:10; Acts 14:15; 17:24-28; 2 Chron. 16:9; Ps. 94:9-10; 115:3; Isa. 41:4; Matt. 16:16; 1 Thes. 1:9; 1 Tim 6:15 & 16; Heb. 7:16; Rev. 1:8; 11:11)

                                                vii.      This attribute contrasts Him to all of the idols man has made

1.He is alive and we will one day have to stand before Him (Jer. 10:10-16 compared Hab. 2:18-20; Ps. 115:3-9)

b.                        God is Spirit

                                                           i.      God is invisible, incorporeal (without a body or material nature), without material substance, without a body as we know of it, without physical parts or passions, and therefore free from all temporal limitations

                                                       ii.      He is not apprehended by the senses of the body, but by the Spirit quickened and illumined by the Holy Ghost (John 4:24; Luke 24:39).

                                                    iii.      As a spirit, He is not confined to one place (Acts 7:48; 17:25).

                                                    iv.      He must be worshiped in Spirit and not in a place, form, or any other sensual limitation (John 4:21) and in truth as distinguished from false concepts (Lu. 24:39; Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:17).

                                                       v.      Graven images are expressing forbidden (Deut. 4:15-20 & 23; Isa. 40:25; Ex. 20:4; Lev. 26:1)

                                                    vi.      There are 2 things wrong with images

1.Images dishonor God by obscuring His glory

a. No one has seen God and therefore no one can accurately picture Him

b.                        Images conceal most, if not all, of the truth about the personal nature and character of the Being whom they represent (Isa. 40:18)

2.Images mislead men by giving false ideas about Him

c. God is a Person

                                                           i.      This is not to be confused with God having a physical body

                                                       ii.      3 elements that compose a person are intellect, sensibility (emotion), and volition (will).

1.It includes self-consciousness and self-determination

                                                    iii.      God is self-conscious (Ex. 3:13 & 14; Isa. 45:5; 1 Cor. 2:1)

                                                    iv.      God has self-determination (Job 23:13; Rom. 9:11; Eph. 1:1; Heb. 6:17)

                                                       v.      God has intellect (Ps. 139:1-6; 147:5; Acts 15:18; Pro. 15:3; Heb. 4:13; Gen. 18:19)

                                                    vi.      God has sensibility (emotions) (Nahum 1:2; John 3:16; Gen. 6:6; 1 Kings 11:9; Ps. 33:5; 45:7; James 5:11; Ps. 103:8-14)

1.God possesses feelings because He created man for fellowship

                                                vii.      God has volition (will) (1 Thess. 4:3; 5:18; Eph. 1:11; Ps. 115:3; Isa. 46:10; Dan. 4:35)

                                             viii.      Charactistics and properties of a person are ascribed to God

1.Grief (Gen. 6:6)

2.Anger (1 Kings 11:9)

3.Jealousy (Deut. 6:15)

4.Love (Rev. 3:19)

5.Hatred (Pro. 6:16)

6.He speaks (Gen. 1:3)

7.He sees (Gen. 11:5)

8.He Hears (Ps. 94:9)

d.                        Personal pronouns are used in reference to God

                                                           i.      Thee & Thou (John 17:3)

                                                       ii.      He & Him (Ps. 116:1 & 2)

                                                    iii.      I & Me (Ex. 20:2 & 3)

                                                    iv.      God respounds to “You” (Ps. 90:1)

e.Self-Existence—I Am That I Am

f.   Self-Sufficiency—I Am Who I Am

g. Eternity of God

h.                        Immutability

i.     Omnipresence

j.    Omniscience

k. Omnipotence