Omniscience [God knows all things] is also a subcategory because knowledge is based upon ones being (i.e. His incommunicable attributes belong to him alone. When we come to recognize how imminently qualified God is to sustain his creation and rule over it, we relinquish control to him. WHAT ARE THE COMMUNICABLE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD? [2] Examples of Gods patience are found in the following texts: 2 Peter 3:3-9; Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34. 395406). God is infinite and we are not. 185 ff.). Romans 8:29 "We call these God's communicable attributes, those of his traits that can become true of us, as well." "When we talk about being "conformed to the image of Christ," this is the list we are describing." pg. So, the number of attributes can surely vary. When we take up the righteousness of God, we touch upon an attribute which is the object of much contemporary discussion. What is Christian ethics and what role should it play in the life of a believer? 1:21, 2:7; I Tim. And when the Word says that God is love, it means that God is going to love us forever.[3]. [11], God is true and God is true in the revelation of Him. Share on Twitter Paul speaks of this in Romans 2:6 and 7: Who will render to every man according to his works: to them that by patience in welldoing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life. By retributive justice we mean Gods infliction of penalties upon those who disobey himthis justice is an expression of his wrath. Sin therefore is an eternal offense to Gods holiness which results in His wrath. 5:20; Jn. 28:29; cf. Let us know if corrections need to be made. Certainly, the study of the character attributes of the Triune Creator God takes us to a higher level. The true saint, when under great spiritual affections, from the fullness of his heart, is ready to be speaking much of God and his glorious perfections and worksbut hypocrites, in their high affections, talk more of the discovery, than they do of the thing discovered. If God were a liar, Nyenhuis explains, humanitys existential situation would be chaotic and desperate. But this is clearly not the God of the Scriptures. Some of you may not think that the study of theology is all that practical but think about this: what can be more practical than getting to know more about the God that saved you from hell and gave you eternal life? cannot lie, though it may seem like he could do anything. The "Communicable" Attributes of God Chapter 15: 6. God Is Infinite - He is Self-Existing, Without Origin "And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." - Colossians 1:17 "Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure" - Psalm 147:5 Thus Gods holiness means first of all that he is other than the creature, infinitely exalted above his creation. Grace, then, is nothing other than the unmerited love of God towards the human being lost in sin. Here are two biblical texts that help us better understand this attribute: TheLordpassed before him [Moses] and proclaimed,TheLord, theLord, a God merciful andgracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfastlove and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6), Therefore he hadto be made like his brothers in every respect,so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priestin the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:17). Emil Brunner, like Barth, stresses that love is the very nature of God (The Christian Doctrine of God, p. 185) and quotes with approval Luthers statement that God is an abyss of eternal love (p. 168). (Metaphysical) I Jn. The only question is what kind of theologian are you, a good one or bad one? to cover is glory. Today, Barry Cooper identifies the ways we can, and ought to, imitate God. Many of us want to be as powerful as God, but relatively few of us want to be as merciful as God, as good as God, or as truthful as God. To suggest that things may happen which are not under the ultimate direction of Gods will is to detract from his sovereignty and thereby from his majesty. Otherwise, youre not truly worshipping the God of the Bible but a figment of your imagination or an idol. 73-74; Erickson, pp. Therefore, this is by no means an exhaustive list of God's attributes, but it . The love of God is very prominent in Scripture, especially in the New Testament. It is an answer to a question, the reply God makes to our . Yet, God did not endow humans with all of His attributes, hence why man stands at a lower rank than even the angels ( Hebrews 2:7 ). Here is the outline he To this attribute we give the name of Gods omniscience. This also entails the absolute superiority and omnipotence of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ, however, clearly taught that there is a wrath of God which is to be revealed against those who reject God and refuse to believe in his Son. God's communicable attributes are those attributes that we have to possess and manifest. Some of God's incommunicable attributes include his: Eternal nature (he is infinite, but we are finite) Unchangeableness (he never changes, but we do) Omnipresence (God is everywhere at once, but we can only be in one place at a time) Some of God's communicable attributes include his: Love (God is love, and we're capable of love) 99:3; Hab. will. We can and should imitate God's communicable attributes. Book: Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, 148 Lectures on Systematic Theology at Scottsdale Bible Church. God's Providence Chapter 18: 9. Since this is a matter of crucial importance, let us see what contemporary neo-orthodox theologians teach about the righteousness of God. in bold. The following is a list of such attributes, with a short description: # Spirituality God is spirit and therefore He has no physical form or material to speak of (invisible). WISDOM: "magnificent in wisdom" (Isa. Tragically, that desire to be like God proved to be Adam and Eves undoing. This post is part of a 50+ post series from the classic work by Wayne Grudem (PhD, Cambridge), Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. God, for example, is infinite and immutable in love, in justice, in wisdom. What do we mean by Gods sovereign power, also called his omnipotence? 192-93). "Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.". All knowledge of him that is necessary for life and godliness can be found there, and is worth laboring to understand. 55:9-10; Deut. Lastly, when viewing the many faceted attributes of God, it is important that we not exalt one attribute over another; when that is done it presents a caricature of God. Nyenhuis also highlights Gods remunerative justice. The three persons of the Trinity exist in an eternal fellowship of love (John 3:35; 17:24), but in and through Christ, God reveals his love to man. Attributes Describing Gods Being1. What are some others? God delights fully in himself and in all that reflects his character. Paul Communicable & Incommunicable Attributes of God, truthstory.org/blog/evolution-a-fairy-tale/, truthstory.org/blog/community-involvement-god-cares-do-i/, truthstory.org/blog/labor-created-to-create/, truthstory.org/blog/the-american-experiment-stepping-stones/, Four Spiritual Dangers In Eastern Meditation, Reincarnation in the Bible: Past Lives & Scripture, Five Objections to Presuppositional Apologetics Crushed, Is anything too hard for the Lord? (Genesis 18:14a), Who is this King of glory? [2] Gerald Nyenhuis and Dr. R.C. work in election (in this passage) and also in all things according to his They are, however, able to be understood sufficiently through the Bible. And thats because God has what theologians call communicable attributes but also incommunicable attributes. 1. First of all, when discussing the attributes of God, we need to be careful that we distinguish His attributes from His works. Timothy 1:11). Many verses extol the glories of God including. [9] Gerald Nyenhuis and Dr. R.C. revelation of himself. Although glory can imply honor or excellent And as great and magnificent as the universe looks, how much more will the Maker of it be! words, God is happy and is happy in his own creation including his people. And when this gift, the gift of the forgiveness of sins, is received by the sinner; there is absolutely nothing to boast about. Required fields are marked *. 19:26; John 10:17-18; Rom. These things show us how to reflect who God is as Christ did. Sproul, El Dios que adoramos (Miami, FL: Logoi, Inc., 1990), 94. Or do we have here a repetition of the liberal subordination of the wrath of God to his love? In this connection it is particularly the faithfulness of God which is to be stressed: he keeps his promises, and is ever faithful to his covenant people (see 2 Tim. It will make us proud and conceited. 380 ff.). He knows the whole of human history past, present and future simultaneously [all is a present now] and though He exists outside of time can interject Himself in time and space. 1:8, 21:6; Prov. Share by Email, Community Involvement: God Cares, Do I? Scriptures, Gods power is affirmed among his other attributes. When we try to be like God in those ways, it never ends well. Inconceivable in human parameters, but a profound spiritual truth! The following division of the communicable attributes has been adapted from Berkhof's Systematic Theology: 1. intellectual attributes: knowledge and wisdom; 2. moral attributes: goodness,. [17] Gerald Nyenhuis and Dr. R.C. Immanence and Transcendence are two contrasting attributes, yet they are able to co-exist in God side by side. God knows everything: Job 37:16, 1 John 3:20 Only God fully knows God: 1 Cor. Furthermore it means that God is the only true God and that every other god is false (Berkhoff, pp. The following is a list of communicable attributes: # Holiness The basic meaning of the word is "set apart," and so Scripture emphasizes that God is infinitely distinct from and above any of His creation. There is nothing in the universe that is outside of the knowledge of God. Sproul, El Dios que adoramos (Miami, FL: Logoi, Inc., 1990), 138. As a spiritual Being, God's existence does not depend on his having a physical body. It should also be noted that the incommunicable attributes qualify the communicable ones; so that these in essence are different in God and different in the human being. This post is part of a series about The Truth Project, an in-depth Christian Worldview experience led by Del Tackett and Focus on the Family. At But there are other aspects of Gods will. God is happy. This refers to the fact that God rewards and rewards according to the conditions and promises that He Himself has established. Infinitely extraordinary, infinitely perfect! Sproul, El Dios que adoramos (Miami, FL: Logoi, Inc., 1990), 114. So, those are the communicable attributes of God: those ways we can be, and ought to be, like God. The following division of the communicable attributes has been adapted from Berkhofs Systematic Theology: 1. intellectual attributes: knowledge and wisdom; 2. moral attributes: goodness, love, grace, mercy, longsuffering, veracity (including faithfulness), holiness, righteousness; 3. volitional attributes: the sovereign will of God and the sovereign power of God. Ps. God's love, says Nyenhuis, is the most central attribute of God. View our current career opportunities. 278-281). In fact, other scholars classify faithfulness itself as an attribute, lets see what Erickson says about it: If Gods genuineness is a matter of His being true and veracity is His telling of the truth, then His faithfulness means that He proves trueGods faithfulness is demonstrated repeatedly throughout the pages of the Scripture. Jonathan Edwards also spoke to this issue more than 200 years ago when he made this comment about one who truly desires to know God rather than just know about God: bq. . Volitional Attributes. While appreciating the profound insights offered here, we look in vain for any suggestion that Gods retributive righteousness is also to be expressed at the the last day in the punishment of the lost. peace under their control. 11:2. This post is part 11 of a 12 part series about The Truth Project, an in-depth Christian Worldview experience led, New Post: The American Experiment: Stepping Stones. They are listed as follow: The communicable and incommunicable attributes; the immanent or intransitive and the eminent or transitive qualities; the relative and absolute attributes; and the natural and moral attributes. the glory of the Lord we are being transformed into the same image from one we too receive a measure of glory as we walk with him. 9. 40:18-26; Matt. Incommunicable attributes are qualities with no human comparison, such as God being all-powerful and every- where. The Creator is infinitely perfect! Crossway is a not-for-profit Christian ministry that exists solely for In addition, Gods will is sometimes secret and sometimes revealed. Introduction to the Attributes of God downloadBy Gary Takahashi. that Paul suggests we will receive the more we mature in Christ. Learn more or donate today at. What does this passage say about how Jesus uniquely reveals God to us?