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Chapter 3 – A Divine Attribute: Something True About God
· Attribute – something that is true of God. We look to His attributes
as answers to the questions, “What is God like?” or “What kind of God
is He?” or “How may we expect Him to act toward us?”
as answers to the questions, “What is God like?” or “What kind of God
is He?” or “How may we expect Him to act toward us?”
· These questions and pursuit of the answers are pleasing to God. Throughout the Bible, we are instructed to seek the Lord. Desiring to know what God is like is part of what it means to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
· God has provided answers, not all the answers, but enough to satisfy our intellect and captivate our hearts.
o Revealed in nature < the Scriptures < in the person of His Son
o Though the revelation is there, the answers by no means lie on the surface. However brightly the light may shine, it can only be seen by those who are spiritually prepared to receive it.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8
· Attribute ≠ trait, characteristic, quality, words that are proper when we describe created beings.
o We must break the habit of thinking of the Creator as we think of His creatures.
o A person’s character is the sum of the traits that compose it. These traits vary from person to person and from time to time. They come and go, burn low, or glow with intensity throughout our lives.
o With God, He is made of none, neither created nor begotten. He exists in Himself. His being He owes no one. His substance is indivisible. He has no parts, but is single in His unitary being.
o An attribute is how God is. It is what He is. It is what God reveals, by His spirit, to His creatures.
o Love, for example, is not something God has which may grow or diminish or cease to be. His love is the way He is, and when He loves, He is simply being Himself. That is why John writes, “God is love.” And so it is with all the other attributes.
· How does knowing the attributes of God help us practically?
o Immutability of God – God never changes, constant > a world that changes (often for the worse)
o Divine Omniscience – God knows all things > things don’t make sense, confusion
o Wisdom of God – God is supremely wise > human wisdom and understanding is lacking
o God’s Omnipotence – God’s sovereignty > natural calamity, illness, death, big bully
o God’s Omnipresence – everywhere, yet separate = He is near yet transcendent > loneliness and fear
o The Justice of God – All things will be accounted for, no good will be left unrewarded, no evil deed will be left unpunished. > unrighteous and wicked treatment of the innocent
o The Mercy of God – renews us and gives us new life when we sin.
· How does knowing the attributes of God ultimately bring glory to God?
o By delighting in and being captivated by the attributes of God, and not just intellectually recognizing them, we are compelled to worship the One who is, and thus He receives the glory.
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