Who is God, really? Let’s find out what the Scriptures teach.

Let’s begin.

I.. God’s Essence and Attributes

God is not a composite being, as if he had a body, soul, and spirit, but he is pure spirit. Therefore the attributes are not parts of God. But since they are identical with the divine nature, they are also equal to each other. They are unified by God. So one attribute is not better or worse or more important than the other. All God’s attributes are his essence. Without even one, he would cease to be God and become a demi-god or a pagan god.

D. God’s attributes and existence

God is eternal, so his attributes are eternal. Nothing is prior to God, and his essence and existence are inseparable, so his attributes are identical with his existence.

His attributes or perfections are not distinct from the divine essence. But they are predicated of God. His self-existence is his attribute that separates us from him.

C. Two excerpts

In this short paragraph from Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck, a property is the same thing as an attribute.

Every attribute is identical with God’s being. God is what he has. […] Whatever God is, he is completely and simultaneously. God has no properties but is merely his essence, God’s properties are really the same as his essence […]. Bavink, Doctrine, p. 121)

Another Reformed theologian, John Frame:

“Nor is he [God] made up of substance and accidents, because there are no accidents in him. Since God has no accidents, everything in him is essential to his being, in a sense, his essence.” (Systematic, p. 429)

D. Summary

Those two brief excerpts teach us that his attributes = his essence, and his essence = his attributes. They cannot be distinguished. In contrast, humans have attributes or properties or accidents that come and go, like dark hair to gray hair. God’s attributes do not change or drop out. He n ever loses them.

II. Table of Attributes

A. Commonest attributes.

These are clearly taken from Scripture. If you would like to see the verses, please click on the link embedded in each attribute. The bigger column on the right define each attribute.

Table of the Attributes of God
Doctrine of God: Essence and Attributes of God
	Attribute	Brief Definition
1	Aseity: Self-existence or independence	He is independent of his creation, self-sufficient in himself, cannot not exist, uncaused, without beginning or end and remains eternally the same for his people.
2	Immutability: Unchangeable and Consistent	He is unchanging, unchangeable, consistent, forever the same, undevelopable, without self-evolution, and constant, yet active with his creation, particularly with humankind.
3, 4	Infinite and Personal	God is limitless, for his universe does not contain him or restrain him, yet he is personal and relates to his creation, particularly humankind. (Louis Berkhoff)
5	Simplicity or One	God is a unity, undivided in parts and non-composite.
6	Eternity	God is outside created time and is everlasting, without beginning or end, without a succession of moments, one after another, and all things are eternally present before him.
7	Omnipresence: Everywhere	God is everywhere because he is Spirit and does not exist in parts, here or there, and he is not confined by the universe nor is he the universe.
8	Omnipotence	God is able to do everything out of his sovereign free will and according to his nature.
9	Omniscience	God knows everything about every thing, past, present and future, actual or possible, and nothing is unknown and hidden from him.
10	Omnisapience	God is all wise. His knowledge of everything enables him to apply it to bring about his goals.
11, 12	Sovereign and Free	God’s sovereign free will means that he exists in himself, delighting in his existence, and is the foundation of our existence.
13	Perfection	God is absolutely and totally complete and entire and whole—not broken or incomplete or deficient in his nature or being.
14	Blessed	God takes calm delight in all his being and excellencies and attributes. He blesses his creation.
15	Glory	God is radiant and awesome in splendor and light, honor and dignity, and fame and renown. He shines it on his creation and people.
16	Majesty	God’s majesty consists of unsurpassed greatness, highest eminence, unparalleled exaltation, and unmatched glory. (Norman Geisler)
17	Beauty	God’s attribute of beauty is the perfection and summation of his goodness and all desirable qualities in him, and it shines through his glory and light, producing awe and delight and inner beauty in the beholder. God’s beauty transforms everything it touches or claims, for the better. It makes a human morally good.
18	Spirit	God is spirit, unextended, unlimited by space, and nonphysical.
19	Invisibility	God is Spirit, not physical, and cannot be seen with human eyes.
20	Love	God is totally committed to his people. He deals kindly and mercifully and generously with humankind.
21	Goodness	God is morally upright, and kind and generous and bountiful with his people.
22	Graciousness	God gladly shows his unmerited goodness or love to those who have forfeited it and are by nature under a sentence of condemnation.
23	Compassion or Mercy	God takes pity on, shows love for, and is moved to help his people, when they suffer or are in trouble or need and do not deserve them.
24	Wrath	Out of his love and justice combined, God judges and punishes consistent and regular law-breaking and destructive sin. Wrath is judicial.
25	Jealousy	God is shows loving zeal and a righteous sense of urgency to protect his people and his covenant.
26	Peacefulness	God is calm, in control, and orderly, separate from all confusion and disorder. All his innumerable actions reflect his order, calm, and full control.
27	Patience	God is willing to wait for us to catch up to his moral law and show mercy and not judgment, despite our provoking him and breaking his law.
28	Holiness	God is completely distinct and separate from the ordinary and profane and common, and he reaches out to people to separate and save them from evil.
29	Righteousness or Justice	God is the ultimate standard of just and right actions, and he is the ultimate judge of unrighteousness and injustice.
30	Truthfulness or Faithfulness	God is stable, dependable, faithful, integrous, honest, accurate and completely veracious.
Table of God’s Names, Titles, and Activities
For the references to the theologians and the Scriptures, please click on the links.

III. Reflections

A. God is wholly Other

You can know him better because you can distinguish between him and you. You are filled with accidental properties—the colors of your hair, skin, and eyes; your height and girth (which changes!). You have many of his attributes, but in weak and imperfect forms or expressions.

B. He is who he is.

But God has no accidental properties in him. He is who he is. He does not change in his essence or being; you do. He is the Creator; you are the creature. You worship him; he does not worship you.

C. He shares some of his attributes.

You know God better because you need more of God to let his character grow and develop in you. One example if holiness, righteousness, and compassion. Of course he has those attributes without limits, and they are unchanging. .

D. Incarnation

We will discover later in Theology 101 that the heavenly and eternal Son of God was incarnated (made flesh). Was he God in the flesh? Yes, he was the God-man. He added a human nature to his divine nature.

Was he born with all of the attributes of the Father? If we say he was God in the flesh, then he was born with them. So, yes.

Did he exercise them when he was a child? No. Then what happened to all the divine attributes? The Father managed them. He wanted his Son to grow up fully experiencing his human nature.

Then what about all the divine attributes when he was empowered by the Spirit and was doing the work of the ministry? The Father and the Son managed them together.

One theologian offers this human illustration. Imagine a safety deposit box that can be opened only by the bank manager and the customer who owns the box, at the same time. So it was with the Father (the bank manager) and the Son (the customer). The Father and the Son cooperated to let his divine nature shine at the right time. One example: Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration.

E. Main teaching of Scripture about Jesus

But the dominant image of the four Gospels is that Jesus worked his miracles by the Spirit and his anointing, as the Anointed One. But the Father was also with him (Acts 10:38).

[…] how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. (Acts 10:38)

Please note that this verse is Trinitarian: God (the Father), the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They cooperated together for the Son to complete his earthly mission. The three persons of the Trinity were involved in the rescue plan of redemption and salvation.

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Longer post:

Sec. 3, 1 Doctrine of God: Essence and Attributes of God

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works Cited