Attributes of God
Encyclopedia
The Attributes of God in Christian theology
are those characteristics of God
revealed in the Bible
.
theologians distinguish between the communicable attributes (those that human beings can also have) and the incommunicable attributes (those that belong to God alone). Donald Macleod, however, argues that "All the suggested classifications are artificial and misleading, not least that which has been most favoured by Reformed theologians - the division into communicable and incommunicable attributes."
Many of these attributes only say what God is not - for example, saying he is immutable is saying that he does not change. The attributes of God may be classified under two main categories:
's definition of God is merely an enumeration of his attributes: "God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth." The Westminster Larger Catechism
adds certain attributes to this description, such as "all-sufficient," "incomprehensible," "every where present" and "knowing all things". This answer has been criticised, however, as having "nothing specifically Christian about it."
of God means "God is so independent that he does not need us." It is based on , where it says that God "is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything" (NIV). This is often related to God's self-existence and his self-sufficiency.
of God is that he is separate from sin and incorruptible. Noting the refrain of "Holy, holy, holy
" in and , R. C. Sproul
points out that "only once in sacred Scripture is an attribute of God elevated to the third degree... The Bible never says that God is love, love, love."
of God refers to him being in the world. It is thus contrasted with his transcendence.
means God cannot change. refers to the "Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (NIV).
of God is a controversial one. It refers to the inability of God to suffer.
of God is closely related to his holiness. It means that he cannot sin.
' statement in , "God is spirit." Robert Reymond suggests that it is the fact of his spiritual essence that underlies the second commandment
, which prohibits every attempt to fashion an image
of him."
states that "the consensus of opinion" through most of church history has been that God is the "Incomprehensible One". Berkhof, however, argues that "in so far as God reveals Himself in His attributes, we also have some knowledge of His Divine Being, though even so our knowledge is subject to human limitations."
and his immensity. says that "Yahweh
is the everlasting God," while Solomon
acknowledges in that "the heaven
s, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you".
Infinity permeates all other attributes of God: His love is infinite, his powers are infinite...
." D. A. Carson speaks of the "difficult doctrine of the love of God
," since "when informed Christians talk about the love of God they mean something very different from what is meant in the surrounding culture." Carson distinguishes between the love the Father
has for the Son
, God's general love for his creation, God's "salvific stance towards his fallen world," his "particular, effectual, selecting love toward his elect
," and love that is conditioned on obedience.
is not traditionally included in this list, David Bosch
has argued that "mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God."
of God refers to him being "all good". God's goodness encompasses his grace, love, mercy and patience.
of God refers to him being "all powerful". C. S. Lewis
clarifies this concept: "His Omnipotence means power to do all that is intrinsically possible, not to do the intrinsically impossible. You may attribute miracles to him, but not nonsense. This is no limit to his power."
of God refers to him being present everywhere. Berkhof
distinguishes between God's immensity and his omnipresence, saying that the former "points to the fact that God transcends all space and is not subject to its limitations," emphasising his transcendence, while the latter denotes that God "fills every part of space with His entire Being," emphasising his immanence. In Psalm 139
, David
says, "If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths
, you are there" .
of God refers to him being "all knowing". Berkhof regards the wisdom of God as a "particular aspect of his knowledge." Romans
16:27 speaks about the "only wise God".
and also Trinity
.
usually refers to his activity in the world, it also implies his care for the universe, and is thus an attribute. A distinction is usually made between "general providence," which refers to God's continuous upholding the existence and natural order of the universe, and "special providence," which refers to God's extraordinary intervention in the life of people.
of God may refer to his holiness, to his justice, or to his saving activity.
means he is not partly this and partly that, but that whatever he is, he is so entirely. It is thus related to the unity of God.
is that God is outside space and time, and therefore eternal and unable to be changed by forces within the universe. It is thus closely related to God's immutability, and is contrasted with his immanence.
of God refers to him being three in one. God is understood to be a unity of Father
, Son
, and the Holy Spirit
.
praises the wrath of God
in Exodus 15:7. Later in Deuteronomy
9, after the incident of The Golden Calf, Moses describes how: 'I feared the furious anger of the LORD, which turned him against you, would drive him to destroy you. But again he listened to me.' (9:19)
In Psalm 69:24, the psalmist begs God to: 'consume' his enemies 'with your burning anger'.
In the New Testament
, Jesus
says in John
3:36, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."
Christian theology
- Divisions of Christian theology :There are many methods of categorizing different approaches to Christian theology. For a historical analysis, see the main article on the History of Christian theology.- Sub-disciplines :...
are those characteristics of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
revealed in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
.
Classification
Many ReformedCalvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
theologians distinguish between the communicable attributes (those that human beings can also have) and the incommunicable attributes (those that belong to God alone). Donald Macleod, however, argues that "All the suggested classifications are artificial and misleading, not least that which has been most favoured by Reformed theologians - the division into communicable and incommunicable attributes."
Many of these attributes only say what God is not - for example, saying he is immutable is saying that he does not change. The attributes of God may be classified under two main categories:
- His infinite powers.
- His personality attributes, like holiness and love.
Enumeration
The Westminster Shorter CatechismWestminster Shorter Catechism
The Westminster Shorter Catechism was written in the 1640s by English and Scottish divines. The assembly also produced the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Larger Catechism...
's definition of God is merely an enumeration of his attributes: "God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth." The Westminster Larger Catechism
Westminster Larger Catechism
The Westminster Larger Catechism, along with the Westminster Shorter Catechism, is a central catechism of Calvinists in the English tradition throughout the world.- History :...
adds certain attributes to this description, such as "all-sufficient," "incomprehensible," "every where present" and "knowing all things". This answer has been criticised, however, as having "nothing specifically Christian about it."
Aseity
The aseityAseity
Aseity refers to the property by which a being exists in and of itself, from itself, or exists as so-and-such of and from itself...
of God means "God is so independent that he does not need us." It is based on , where it says that God "is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything" (NIV). This is often related to God's self-existence and his self-sufficiency.
Holiness
The holinessSacred
Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...
of God is that he is separate from sin and incorruptible. Noting the refrain of "Holy, holy, holy
Sanctus
The Sanctus is a hymn from Christian liturgy, forming part of the Order of Mass. In Western Christianity, the Sanctus is sung as the final words of the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer, the prayer of consecration of the bread and wine...
" in and , R. C. Sproul
R. C. Sproul
Robert Charles Sproul, is a prominent American Calvinist theologian, author, and pastor of the Reformed tradition...
points out that "only once in sacred Scripture is an attribute of God elevated to the third degree... The Bible never says that God is love, love, love."
Immanence
The immanenceImmanence
Immanence refers to philosophical and metaphysical theories of divine presence, in which the divine is seen to be manifested in or encompassing of the material world. It is often contrasted with theories of transcendence, in which the divine is seen to be outside the material world...
of God refers to him being in the world. It is thus contrasted with his transcendence.
Immutability
ImmutabilityImmutability (theology)
Immutability is the doctrine of classical Christian theism that God cannot change; this has been variously interpreted to mean either that God's nature cannot change but that God can, or that God himself cannot change at all...
means God cannot change. refers to the "Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (NIV).
Impassibility
The doctrine of the impassibilityImpassibility
Impassibility describes the theological doctrine that God does not experience pain or pleasure from the actions of another being. It has often been seen as a consequence of divine aseity, the idea that God is absolutely independent of any other being, i.e., in no way causally dependent...
of God is a controversial one. It refers to the inability of God to suffer.
Impeccability
The impeccabilityImpeccability
Impeccability is the absence of sin. Christianity believes this to be an attribute of God the Father and therefore also an attribute of Christ....
of God is closely related to his holiness. It means that he cannot sin.
Incorporeality
The incorporeality or spirituality of God refers to him being a spirit. This is derived from JesusJesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
' statement in , "God is spirit." Robert Reymond suggests that it is the fact of his spiritual essence that underlies the second commandment
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
, which prohibits every attempt to fashion an image
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
of him."
Incomprehensibility
The incomprehensibility of God means that he is not able to be fully known. Louis BerkhofLouis Berkhof
Louis Berkhof was a Reformed systematic theologian whose written works have been influential in seminaries and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada and with individual Christians in general throughout the 20th century.-Personal life:...
states that "the consensus of opinion" through most of church history has been that God is the "Incomprehensible One". Berkhof, however, argues that "in so far as God reveals Himself in His attributes, we also have some knowledge of His Divine Being, though even so our knowledge is subject to human limitations."
Infinity
The infinity of God includes both his eternityEternity
While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existence for a limitless amount of time, many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside time. By contrast, infinite temporal existence is then called sempiternity. Something eternal exists outside time; by contrast,...
and his immensity. says that "Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
is the everlasting God," while Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
acknowledges in that "the heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
s, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you".
Infinity permeates all other attributes of God: His love is infinite, his powers are infinite...
Jealousy
(Ethical Decalogue) contains the statement "You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."Love
says "God is LoveDeus Caritas Est
Deus Caritas Est is a 2006 encyclical—the first written by Pope Benedict XVI, in large part derived from writings by his late predecessor, Pope John Paul II. Its subject is love, as seen through a Christian perspective, and God's place within all love...
." D. A. Carson speaks of the "difficult doctrine of the love of God
Love of God
Love of God are central notions in monotheistic and polytheistic religions, and are important in one's personal relationship with God and one's conception of God ....
," since "when informed Christians talk about the love of God they mean something very different from what is meant in the surrounding culture." Carson distinguishes between the love the Father
God the Father
God the Father is a gendered title given to God in many monotheistic religions, particularly patriarchal, Abrahamic ones. In Judaism, God is called Father because he is the creator, life-giver, law-giver, and protector...
has for the Son
God the Son
God the Son is the second person of the Trinity in Christian theology. The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus of Nazareth as God the Son, united in essence but distinct in person with regard to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit...
, God's general love for his creation, God's "salvific stance towards his fallen world," his "particular, effectual, selecting love toward his elect
Predestination
Predestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others...
," and love that is conditioned on obedience.
Mission
While the mission of GodMissio dei
Missio Dei is a Latin Christian theological term that can be translated as the "mission of God," or the "sending of God." Mission is understood as being derived from the very nature of God...
is not traditionally included in this list, David Bosch
David Bosch
David Jacobus Bosch was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church, married to Anne-Marie and author of Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission — a major work on post-colonial Christian mission.-Early life:Bosch was born in Kuruman, Cape Province, South Africa, and died in a...
has argued that "mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God."
Omnibenevolence
The omnibenevolenceOmnibenevolence
Omnibenevolence is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "unlimited or infinite benevolence". It is often held to be impossible, or at least improbable, for a deity to exhibit such property along side omniscience and omnipotence as a result of the problem of evil...
of God refers to him being "all good". God's goodness encompasses his grace, love, mercy and patience.
Omnipotence
The omnipotenceOmnipotence
Omnipotence is unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence to only the deity of whichever faith is being addressed...
of God refers to him being "all powerful". C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
clarifies this concept: "His Omnipotence means power to do all that is intrinsically possible, not to do the intrinsically impossible. You may attribute miracles to him, but not nonsense. This is no limit to his power."
Omnipresence
The omnipresenceOmnipresence
Omnipresence or ubiquity is the property of being present everywhere. According to eastern theism, God is present everywhere. Divine omnipresence is thus one of the divine attributes, although in western theism it has attracted less philosophical attention than such attributes as omnipotence,...
of God refers to him being present everywhere. Berkhof
Louis Berkhof
Louis Berkhof was a Reformed systematic theologian whose written works have been influential in seminaries and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada and with individual Christians in general throughout the 20th century.-Personal life:...
distinguishes between God's immensity and his omnipresence, saying that the former "points to the fact that God transcends all space and is not subject to its limitations," emphasising his transcendence, while the latter denotes that God "fills every part of space with His entire Being," emphasising his immanence. In Psalm 139
Psalm 139
Psalm 139 is the 139th psalm from the Book of Psalms. It is ascribed to David. It is known for its affirmation of God's omnipresence:New American bible version:O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:...
, David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
says, "If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths
Sheol
Sheol |Hebrew]] Šʾôl) is the "grave", "pit", or "abyss" in Hebrew. She'ol is the earliest conception of the afterlife in the Jewish scriptures. It is a place of darkness to which all dead go, regardless of the moral choices made in life, and where they are "removed from the light of God"...
, you are there" .
Omniscience
The omniscienceOmniscience
Omniscience omniscient point-of-view in writing) is the capacity to know everything infinitely, or at least everything that can be known about a character including thoughts, feelings, life and the universe, etc. In Latin, omnis means "all" and sciens means "knowing"...
of God refers to him being "all knowing". Berkhof regards the wisdom of God as a "particular aspect of his knowledge." Romans
Epistle to the Romans
The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
16:27 speaks about the "only wise God".
Oneness
The oneness of God refers to his being one and only. See MonotheismMonotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
and also Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
.
Providence
While the providence of GodDivine providence
In Christian theology, divine providence, or simply providence, is God's activity in the world. " Providence" is also used as a title of God exercising His providence, and then the word are usually capitalized...
usually refers to his activity in the world, it also implies his care for the universe, and is thus an attribute. A distinction is usually made between "general providence," which refers to God's continuous upholding the existence and natural order of the universe, and "special providence," which refers to God's extraordinary intervention in the life of people.
Righteousness
The righteousnessRighteousness
Righteousness is an important theological concept in Zoroastrianism, Hinduism , Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
of God may refer to his holiness, to his justice, or to his saving activity.
Simplicity
The simplicity of GodDivine simplicity
In theology, the doctrine of divine simplicity says that God is without parts. The general idea of divine simplicity can be stated in this way: the being of God is identical to the "attributes" of God. In other words, such characteristics as omnipresence, goodness, truth, eternity, etc...
means he is not partly this and partly that, but that whatever he is, he is so entirely. It is thus related to the unity of God.
Sovereignty
The sovereignty of God is similar to his omnipotence and providence, yet it also encompasses his freedom.Transcendence
TranscendenceTranscendence (religion)
In religion transcendence refers to the aspect of God's nature which is wholly independent of the physical universe. This is contrasted with immanence where God is fully present in the physical world and thus accessible to creatures in various ways...
is that God is outside space and time, and therefore eternal and unable to be changed by forces within the universe. It is thus closely related to God's immutability, and is contrasted with his immanence.
Trinity
The TrinityTrinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
of God refers to him being three in one. God is understood to be a unity of Father
God the Father
God the Father is a gendered title given to God in many monotheistic religions, particularly patriarchal, Abrahamic ones. In Judaism, God is called Father because he is the creator, life-giver, law-giver, and protector...
, Son
God the Son
God the Son is the second person of the Trinity in Christian theology. The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus of Nazareth as God the Son, united in essence but distinct in person with regard to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit...
, and the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
.
Veracity
The veracity of God means his truth-telling. refers to "God, who does not lie."Wrath
MosesMoses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
praises the wrath of God
Divine retribution
Divine retribution is supernatural punishment of a person, a group of people, or all humanity by a deity in response to some human action.Many cultures have a story about how a deity exacted punishment on previous inhabitants of their land, causing their doom.An example of divine retribution is the...
in Exodus 15:7. Later in Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
9, after the incident of The Golden Calf, Moses describes how: 'I feared the furious anger of the LORD, which turned him against you, would drive him to destroy you. But again he listened to me.' (9:19)
In Psalm 69:24, the psalmist begs God to: 'consume' his enemies 'with your burning anger'.
In the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
says in John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
3:36, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."
See also
- Cataphatic theologyCataphatic theologyCataphatic theology is the expressing of God or the divine through positive terminology. This is in contrast to defining God or the divine in what God is not, which is referred to as negative or apophatic theology.-Terminology:...
- Catholic Concept of the DivineCatholic Concept of the DivineCatholic Concept of the Divine is the Catholic Church definition of divine, as published in The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. II. This content is in the public domain....
- God in ChristianityGod in ChristianityIn Christianity, God is the eternal being that created and preserves the universe. God is believed by most Christians to be immanent , while others believe the plan of redemption show he will be immanent later...
- Open theismOpen theismOpen theism is a recent theological movement that has developed within evangelical and post-evangelical Protestant Christianity as a response to certain ideas that are related to the synthesis of Greek philosophy and Christian theology...
- TheodicyTheodicyTheodicy is a theological and philosophical study which attempts to prove God's intrinsic or foundational nature of omnibenevolence , omniscience , and omnipotence . Theodicy is usually concerned with the God of the Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, due to the relevant...
External links
- http://philosophersanswer.com/index.php?option=com_googlesearch&n=30&Itemid=4&domains=philosophersanswer.com&q=god+aquinas&sa=Search&sitesearch=philosophersanswer.com&client=pub-3824745031597636&forid=1&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&cof=GALT%3A008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3A000000%3BLBGC%3A336699%3BALC%3Affff00%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3AFFFFFF%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BFORID%3A11&hl=enAttributes of God According to Thomas Aquinas at PhilosophersAnswer.com]
- http://philosophersanswer.com/index.php?option=com_googlesearch&n=30&Itemid=4&domains=philosophersanswer.com&q=god&sitesearch=philosophersanswer.com&sa=Search&client=pub-3824745031597636&forid=1&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&cof=GALT%3A008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3A000000%3BLBGC%3A336699%3BALC%3Affff00%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3AFFFFFF%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BFORID%3A11&hl=enArticles on God at PhilosophersAnswer.Com]
- Attributes of God, Enjoying God Ministries