Attributes of God

[quantumfaith]

I would like to request anyone so inclined to list out attributes of God just for my own edification and any one else as well. Not interested in "theological" discourse, simply what are the attributes and where do you find those attributes in scripture.

Here is a primer just to get the wheels turning:

Holy
Righteous
Sovereign
Just
Merciful


etc. Thanks for any contributions.

 

[Amy.G]

Patient.

Just after reading all the arguments going on today on the bb, if I were God, I would have zapped us all by now.

 

[quantumfaith]

Patient.

Just after reading all the arguments going on today on the bb, if I were God, I would have zapped us all by now.

Thanks so much, appreciate you and your calming sense of humor.

 

[Old Union Brother]

(Psa 47:7) For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.

 

[Benjamin]

He is the place of Strength/His Nature is stable

His work is without blemish/always and forever perfect

His mode of action is through judgment

He is a God of Absolute Truth in all these matters

He is without (moral) evil/zip, none, nothing evil comes from Him

He is Just and Righteous in His administrations

Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

 

[BobinKy]

God is love (1 John 4:8-10,16,18,19; KJB).

...Bob

 

[Jarthur001]

I would like to request anyone so inclined to list out attributes of God just for my own edification and any one else as well. Not interested in "theological" discourse, simply what are the attributes and where do you find those attributes in scripture.

Here is a primer just to get the wheels turning:

Holy
Righteous
Sovereign
Just
Merciful


etc. Thanks for any contributions.

This may seem rather strange to those who of never heard this said before, but I do not place "holiness" and "sovereignty" on this list.

 

[stilllearning]

God is Holy and He is Sovereign;
But He is also....Omniscient(knows absolutely everything),Omnipresent(is always everywhere) and Omnipotent(most powerful).

 

[BobinKy]

Thoughts about the attributes of God from Thomas C. Oden, a theologian I am currently reading.

Sequence (order) of the Attributes of God.

a. Primary attributes that belong to God's essence apart form God's creative work,

b. Relational attributes of God with the created order,

c. Interpersonal attributes of God with human beings,

d. Moral attributes of God with personal beings capable of moral activity (Oden, 1987, p. 50).​

Attributes of God in a single sentence, expressed with non-theological terms.

"God is the source and end of all things, that than which nothing greater can be conceived; uncreated, sufficient, necessary being; infinite, unmeasurable, eternal One, Father, Son, and Spirit; all-present, all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-empowering creator, redeemer, and consummator of all things; immanent without ceasing to be transcendent, Holy One present in our midst; whose way of personal being is incomparable free, self-determining, spiritual, responsive, and self-congruent; whose activity is incomparably good, holy, righteous, just, benevolent, loving, gracious, merciful, forbearing, kind; hence eternally blessed, eternally rejoicing, whose holiness is incomparable in beauty" (Oden, 1987, p. 130).​

REFERENCE
Oden, T. C. (1987). Systematic Theology: Volume One -- The Living God. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.

 

[Jarthur001]

Thoughts about the attributes of God from Thomas C. Oden, a theologian I am currently reading.

Sequence (order) of the Attributes of God.

a. Primary attributes that belong to God's essence apart form God's creative work,

b. Relational attributes of God with the created order,

c. Interpersonal attributes of God with human beings,

d. Moral attributes of God with personal beings capable of moral activity (Oden, 1987, p. 50).​

Attributes of God in a single sentence, expressed with non-theological terms.

"God is the source and end of all things, that than which nothing greater can be conceived; uncreated, sufficient, necessary being; infinite, unmeasurable, eternal One, Father, Son, and Spirit; all-present, all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-empowering creator, redeemer, and consummator of all things; immanent without ceasing to be transcendent, Holy One present in our midst; whose way of personal being is incomparable free, self-determining, spiritual, responsive, and self-congruent; whose activity is incomparably good, holy, righteous, just, benevolent, loving, gracious, merciful, forbearing, kind; hence eternally blessed, eternally rejoicing, whose holiness is incomparable in beauty" (Oden, 1987, p. 130).​

REFERENCE
Oden, T. C. (1987). Systematic Theology: Volume One -- The Living God. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.

I have never read Oden, but he makes the point I was trying to make before. He called it.. Primary attributes.


I simply call this the essence of God. This stands above Gods attributes.

Attributes that make God, God (essence)
Knowledge of God, Foreknowledge of God, The Sovereignty of God, The Immutability of God, The Holiness of God, The Power of God

Divine Attributes in our God
Faithfulness, Goodness , Grace, Mercy, Love, Wrath
​

In other words, Does God have to be loving? I say no.

Now, we all agree that God is, because the Bible says so, and we know from how he has worked in our life. But God does not have to be loving. Love is part of the grace of God.


How about sovereignty?

To be God, he must be sovereign. If he was not sovereign, His love would not be known.

 

[glfredrick]

I think that love is one of the primary attributes of God, as is relationship. He was in loving relationship in the Trinity eternally, and from those attributes became Creator to share His glory with the created order, including humankind.

 

[BobinKy]

I have never read Oden, but he makes the point I was trying to make before. He called it.. Primary attributes.


I simply call this the essence of God. This stands above Gods attributes.

Attributes that make God, God (essence)
Knowledge of God, Foreknowledge of God, The Sovereignty of God, The Immutability of God, The Holiness of God, The Power of God

Divine Attributes in our God
Faithfulness, Goodness , Grace, Mercy, Love, Wrath
​

In other words, Does God have to be loving? I say no.

Now, we all agree that God is, because the Bible says so, and we know from how he has worked in our life. But God does not have to be loving. Love is part of the grace of God.


How about sovereignty?

To be God, he must be sovereign. If he was not sovereign, His love would not be known.

Jarthur001...

After describing the Sequence of Attributes, Oden goes on to illustrate the four levels (orders) as follows.

THE DIVINE SUFFICIENCY--Primary and Essential Attributes Inapplicable to Creatures and Not Communicable to Creatures

The Uncreated One (Aseity, Independence, Necessity)
The Unity of God (Oneness and Simplicity)
The Infinity of God (in relation to space, Immensity; in relation to time, Eternality)
The Living God (Incomparable Aliveness, "I Am-ness")


THE DIVINE MAJESTY--Relational Attributes Displaying God's Way of Being Present, Knowing and Influencing the World

God's Way of Being Present (Omnipresence)
God's Way of Knowing (Omniscience, Prescience, Foreknowledge, Wisdom)
God's Way of Influencing (Almighty Omnipotence, All-Powerful and All-Empowering)


THE DIVINE THOU--Active and Interpersonal Attributes Belonging to the Divine-Human Relationship and Analogous to Personal Experience

God as Incomparable Personal (the Divine Selfhood; Personal Agency; All-Experiencing One; Congruent in Feeling, Sensibility, Emotivity, Affection)
The Spiritual Nature of God (Spirituality, Invisibility)
The Freedom of God (Radically Free, Choosing, Electing Will; Interpersonally Interactive, All-Encountering One)


THE DIVINE GOODNESS--Moral Qualities Intrinsic to the Divine Character

The Holiness of God (Moral Purity; Holiness, Righteousness, Justice)
The Goodness of God (Benevolence and Integrity: Congruence, Veracity, Faithfulness, Persistence)
The Compassion of God (Love: Grace, Mercy, Forebearance)
(Oden, 1987, p. 51-52).
​

Next, Oden devotes Chapters Two and Three (77 pages) to further describing the attributes of God with references to Scripture. He also compares and contrasts these descriptions of the attributes of God to those descriptions found in the writings of other theologians, from early Christian times down to the modern period (Oden, 1987, p. 53-130).

. . .

I feel I must give a little history about the theologian Thomas C. Oden, so no one will think (to use the vibrant language of Luke2427) that I am "pulling any punches"; as I was accused of doing in another thread: My Questions As I Study Reformed Theology.

Oden is not a Baptist or reformed theologian, but Methodist. He has traveled the path from liberal modern theologian (in his early days) to evangelical theologian (in his later days). One of his motifs is to illustrate his theological writings with references to Scripture. Another motif is to draw upon the published theologians from the early years of Christianity (1st to 5th century A.D.). And yet another motif is to include the perspectives of four main Christian traditions: Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, and charismatic. Therefore, some who may want to restrict their theology study to a single perspective and point in time, such as reformed theology, may not appreciate Oden's broader survey.

REFERENCE
Oden, T. C. (1987). Systematic Theology: Volume One -- The Living God. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.

...Bob

 

[Martin Marprelate]

Theologians tend to divide the attributes of God into two main groups:
Communicable- That is, those attributes that humans can attain to in some way, however imperfectly, and
Incommunicable- Those attributes which are unique to God.

Incommunicable attributes include:-
Independence. Psalm 33:11; 115:3.
Self-existence. Isaiah 40:18ff; Acts 17:24-5.
Infinity. Hab 1:12; Psalm 90:2; Rev 1:8 etc.
Immutability 1Sam 15:29; Mal 3:6; Heb 6:17.
Simplicity. In other words, God and His attributes are one. 1John 1:5; 4:8.

Communicable attributes include:-
Knowledge. Psalm 137:1-16; Heb 4:13; John 21:17b.
Wisdom. Rom 11:33; Psalm 104:24.
Goodness. Psalm 86:5; Matt 5:45. :godisgood:
Holiness. Exod 15:11; Isaiah 6:3; 1Peter 1:15-16.
Righeousness. Psalm 89:14; 1Peter 1:17.
Veracity. Num 23:19; 2Tim 2:13.
Love, grace, mercy, longsuffering. Neh 9:17b; Titus 2:11; 3:4-5 etc., etc.
Sovereignty. Job 42:2; Eph 1:11; Rev 4:11 (cf. Deut 29:29).

I hope that's what you're looking for. :thumbs:

Steve
www.marprelate.wordpress.com

 

[quantumfaith]

I have never read Oden, but he makes the point I was trying to make before. He called it.. Primary attributes.


I simply call this the essence of God. This stands above Gods attributes.

Attributes that make God, God (essence)
Knowledge of God, Foreknowledge of God, The Sovereignty of God, The Immutability of God, The Holiness of God, The Power of God

Divine Attributes in our God
Faithfulness, Goodness , Grace, Mercy, Love, Wrath
​

In other words, Does God have to be loving? I say no.

Now, we all agree that God is, because the Bible says so, and we know from how he has worked in our life. But God does not have to be loving. Love is part of the grace of God.


How about sovereignty?

To be God, he must be sovereign. If he was not sovereign, His love would not be known.

OK, you guys are beginning to go "seminary" on me. Allow me to "adjust" the OP. I was hoping for all the "adjectives" that the scriptural record uses to in anyway describe God and/or His nature.

 

[Martin Marprelate]

OK, you guys are beginning to go "seminary" on me. Allow me to "adjust" the OP. I was hoping for all the "adjectives" that the scriptural record uses to in anyway describe God and/or His nature.

Hi Quantumfaith,
Did you check out the Scripture references I gave you?
If you want adjectives, just change the nouns I used. God is:-
Independent
Immutable
Infinite
Simple
All-knowing
Wise
Good
Holy
Righteous etc.

Steve

 

[BobinKy]

Martin Marprelate...

Welcome to the Baptist Board!

I enjoyed my visit to your blog listed in your signature. Can you tell us a bit about the photo on the home page--particularly the statue?

...Bob

 

[Martin Marprelate]

Martin Marprelate...

Welcome to the Baptist Board!

I enjoyed my visit to your blog listed in your signature. Can you tell us a bit about the photo on the home page--particularly the statue?

...Bob

Hello Bob,
Thanks for your kind words. For the info you want, look here:-
http://marprelate.wordpress.com/about/
N.B. John Penry is generally believed to have been the author of the Marprelate tracts, though this cannot be proved.

Steve

 

[quantumfaith]

I think that love is one of the primary attributes of God, as is relationship. He was in loving relationship in the Trinity eternally, and from those attributes became Creator to share His glory with the created order, including humankind.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[quantumfaith]

Hi Quantumfaith,
Did you check out the Scripture references I gave you?
If you want adjectives, just change the nouns I used. God is:-
Independent
Immutable
Infinite
Simple
All-knowing
Wise
Good
Holy
Righteous etc.

Steve

Thank you, at the moment I am simply trying to compile the list. I will.
Blessings

 

[quantumfaith]

Theologians tend to divide the attributes of God into two main groups:
Communicable- That is, those attributes that humans can attain to in some way, however imperfectly, and
Incommunicable- Those attributes which are unique to God.

Incommunicable attributes include:-
Independence. Psalm 33:11; 115:3.
Self-existence. Isaiah 40:18ff; Acts 17:24-5.
Infinity. Hab 1:12; Psalm 90:2; Rev 1:8 etc.
Immutability 1Sam 15:29; Mal 3:6; Heb 6:17.
Simplicity. In other words, God and His attributes are one. 1John 1:5; 4:8.

Communicable attributes include:-
Knowledge. Psalm 137:1-16; Heb 4:13; John 21:17b.
Wisdom. Rom 11:33; Psalm 104:24.
Goodness. Psalm 86:5; Matt 5:45. :godisgood:
Holiness. Exod 15:11; Isaiah 6:3; 1Peter 1:15-16.
Righeousness. Psalm 89:14; 1Peter 1:17.
Veracity. Num 23:19; 2Tim 2:13.
Love, grace, mercy, longsuffering. Neh 9:17b; Titus 2:11; 3:4-5 etc., etc.
Sovereignty. Job 42:2; Eph 1:11; Rev 4:11 (cf. Deut 29:29).

I hope that's what you're looking for. :thumbs:

Steve
www.marprelate.wordpress.com

Thank You SO Much (Dankie)