Attributes and character of God

From Conservapedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Rembrandt, Ascension.

The attributes of God are things that describe who He is. Similar to the way one might describe a close friend to another individual, so too do these attributes describe God's character and nature. Attributes of God include but are not limited to wisdom, infinitude, sovereignty, holiness, the Trinity, omniscience, faithfulness, love, omnipotence, self-existence, self-sufficiency, justice, immutability, mercy, eternal, goodness, graciousness, and omnipresence. These attributes all work in complete and perfect harmony with one another.

God exercises eternal and righteous judgment of the wicked in hell, because of an inherent problem in the human heart, namely Sin. According to the Bible, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary and then resurrection, is God's merciful and gracious response to the problem of the human heart.

God is Triune

See also: Trinity and God the Father and God the Son and Holy Spirit

The Godhead
center}}}
God the Father
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit

Although the Bible does not use the term, it is clear that God is a triune God, or three in one. These are sometimes referred to as God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit.

The first hint of the Trinity is in Genesis 1:26 which relates God saying, "Let us make man in our image", indicating that God is a plurality.

The three persons of God are treated as equivalents in these words of Jesus shortly after His resurrection:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19 (NIV)

Jesus is God

The first verse of the Gospel of John, in which Jesus is referred to as the "Word", makes clear that Jesus is synonymous with God:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 (NIV)

This verse not only says that "the Word" (Jesus) is synonymous with God, but also says that the Word was "in the beginning", which means that He existed before all else existed, something that is only true of God.

This is reinforced two verses later, in which Jesus is described as the creator. Genesis refers to God as being the Creator.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:3 (NIV)

The Holy Spirit is God

In the following passage, the Holy Spirit is referred to as God:

Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God." Acts 5:3-4 (NIV)

God is omniscient

For a more detailed treatment, see omniscience.

God knows everything:

This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 1_John 3:19-20 (NIV)

Because God is outside of time, He can see and knows the past and the future as well as the present.

See also

External links

Retrieved from "https://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Attributes_and_character_of_God&oldid=2140760"