Basic question: what are the attributes of God? Well, they’re character traits. Yes, that’s “all”. EXCEPT, His attributes are so much more than what we would think of as character traits. His attributes ARE WHO GOD IS.

Typically, the attributes of God are divided into two, communicable and incommunicable. Communicable means that it can be “communicated to”: these are attributes that are given to us as people made in His image. And incommunicable are the attributes only attributed to God and God alone. (Jen Wilkin’s book “In His Image” are about the communicable attributes, and “None Like Him” are about the incommunicable ones)

One of the incommunicable attributes I hope to cover in a later blog post is His Simplicity. (maybe even the one to follow). But for now, I think it’s a good place to start when considering what to think of the attributes of God. To call God “simple” is to say that God is not made up of parts. He is not made up as if His goodness is one part and his wisdom in another (etc) that we could somehow add up.

GOD: everything that is in God IS GOD.

Think on that! Let it percolate in your brain and tell me if you can truly grasp it.

Further, there aren’t actually attributes , as in plural, but rather we need to think of God’s simple, undivided essence. Every attribute we can think of (and we don’t know all of them by far!) is identical with who God is. One is not more superior than the others. One doesn’t actually come first. Although, what is amazing is seeing how each attribute often cannot exist without the others. It could be argued that all the divine attributes depend on the one truth that God is His attributes – or His attributes are Him.

Now, for the sake of these blog posts when referring to attributes, I will continue to refer to them as “attributes” even while discussing them individually. I recall a sermon Pastor Randall Visscher had on the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. A common misunderstanding is that all the fruit listed – are the “fruits – plural” of the Spirit. But it’s actually as it is written in Galatians 5: 22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” It’s singular – fruit. One fruit that we as Christians are to cultivate in our lives. We don’t have the prerogative to choose one to work on and not another. Similarly, but in much greater ways, God’s attributes are one with Him in essence.

Another good place to start when thinking of God’s attributes is that God is a Perfect Being. It seems like a very oversimplified statement. Of course He’s perfect we say!

Augustine, in one of his prayers called God “perfection of both beauty and strength” in referring to the many attributes He was praising God for in his prayer. Later, another church father, Anselm, asked the question: “Is God the most perfect being?”. He concluded that “God is something than which nothing greater can be thought”.

No wonder they were called church fathers. Why did he conclude that? Because there is an unbreakable chain from God’s perfection to the rest of His attributes. And all the attributes “sing in harmony”. (None Greater, Matthew Barrett, pg 7).

Both Augustine and Anselm approached the t0pic of who God is by starting with seeing God as One who is not like us AT ALL. They began with God and worked down to humanity. The incommunicable attributes attempt to show us the ways in how God is “other”. that He is fundamentally different from His creatures. Those attributes should cause us to stop in humility, and meditate on just who this awesome God is. And that He has chosen to reveal Himself to us! Like, wow!!

The communicable attributes teach us that God has created us to reflect Him. And what does God do? He imprints many of His own characteristics on us – created beings. We SHARE in His attributes. Not all of course, and the incommunicable ones are NEVER ones we should strive for or want – simply because we are not God.

It should also be noted that God used words to reveal Himself. He revealed Himself from Genesis to Revelation in increasing measure so that we would gaze upon Him in awe of the very fact that we actually have this gift to know Him! God’s attributes definitely help give us a solid foundation for understanding who He is, and who we are in relation to Him. John Calvin writes “Our wisdom…consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” (Institutes of Christian Religion, Book 1, Chapter 1, page 4),

From the essay written by Richard Lints called “The Attributes of God” (Gospel Coalition )we see that throughout Scripture the most widely seen descriptions of God focus on His glory, His holiness, his lordship, and His love. These attributes aren’t primarily to show us how we are different from God, rather those 4 descriptive words are seen as God acting in and through redemptive history. We see them emphasized time and again whenever our God shows Himself in intense and powerful ways! And we learn more about His “hidden” attributes by knowing those. Much later when I blog on the communicable attributes, we’ll see how those are reflected in us. For now, see these definitions:

God’s glory is His manifestation of Himself as God! (Moses’ life, Ezekiel’s vision in chapter 1: 26-28)

Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.  I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.  Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

God’s holiness is absolute purity and perfection. Or “perfectly perfect”. The word holy is the only one ever repeated in succession: holy, holy, holy! as seen in Isaiah 6: 1-4

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.  Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.  And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

The lordship of God is His authority and sovereignty over all. (1 Timothy 6: 14-16).  I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.“

God’s love is in ALL His characteristics. His love runs through all that God is and does.

To close, here is a list of incommunicable attributes I hope to discuss in later posts:

Simplicity

Aseity and Eternality (Infiniteness)

Incomprehensibility.

Immutability

Immpassability

Immanence and Transcendence

His omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience and omnisapience.