What we will cover is not a complete list of God’s attributes, but the ones that are most important for us to know.

► What attributes of God can you list?

God is Personal

This means that he is a real, living person with intellect, feelings, and will.[1] He is not the sum of the laws of nature or an impersonal force like electricity or gravity. He creates, acts, knows, wills, plans, and speaks.

► What difference would it make to us if God were not personal?

The fact that he is personal makes it possible for us to have a relationship with him. If he were not personal, we could not pray to him. If he were not personal it would not be possible for him to be pleased or displeased.

God is a Spirit

“God is Spirit; and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

The fact that he is spirit provides the basis for our spiritual communion with him and our worship of him. Prayer and worship do not depend on material objects, specific physical positions, a scheduled program, or a building. Those things may help us focus our attention in worship, but worship does not depend on them.

The fact that God is spirit is one reason that he forbade us making any physical image of him. (Read Exodus 20:4-6.) As spirit, God is invisible to us (1 Timothy 1:17) except when he chooses to take a visible form. (Read Genesis 18:1; Isaiah 6:1.) Because our perception of God is limited, even when he appears in a visible form, it is true to say that nobody has fully seen God (Exodus 33:20; John 1:18; John 6:46).

God is Eternal

There was never a time when God did not exist, and there will never be a time when he will not exist; God has no beginning and no end. God revealed himself by the name, I AM WHO I AM (Exodus 3:14). He is described by John as the one who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1:8). From everlasting to everlasting, he is God (Psalm 90:2). Some religions have myths about when their gods were born, but the true God is eternal.

God is a Trinity

The Bible says there is one God yet refers to three distinct persons as God. There is only one God, but in his nature there are three persons. Though we cannot fully understand the Trinity, it is not illogical, for we are not saying that there are both three and one of the same thing. There is one God, existing as three persons. Because the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit possess together all the attributes of deity, each of them may properly be called God and be worshipped as God. (More will be said about the Trinity in the next lesson.)

God is All-Powerful

He is able to do whatever he wishes. “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3). He has no limits except that he never acts contrary to his holy nature and always carries out what he has promised to do. Nothing is difficult or challenging for God. “The Lord our God the Almighty reigns” (Revelation 19:6).

► What difference does it make to us to know that God is all-powerful?

This is encouraging, for we know that in the midst of our struggles, he is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). Even if things seem out of control, we know that God’s great plan will be fulfilled. We can pray in confidence that God is able to intervene in any situation.

God is Present Everywhere

[2]There is no place where he is not, and nothing happens that he does not see. “Thus says the Lord, heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). He is the God of the universe, and his power is not limited to any region. “Can a man hide himself in secret places, so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth?” (Jeremiah 23:24). This assures us that God knows our situations and our problems. It also tells us that no one can ever hide from God, or sin where he cannot see. All things are naked and exposed to his eyes. (Read Hebrews 4:13.)

God is Unchanging

There was never a time when he became God, and he will never cease to be God. (Read James 1:17.) There are religions that believe that God is in a process of development, but the Bible tells us that in his being and nature, and in his attributes and purposes, God never changes. (Read Malachi 3:6.) He always loves what is right, and he always hates what is wrong. The Eternal God who revealed himself as the I AM to Moses is the I AM of today. He is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. He is always the same, and his years will have no end (Psalm 102:27).

God is All-Knowing

“His understanding is beyond measure” (Psalm 147:5). There is no process of learning for God, for he knows everything. God has never learned anything from anyone, and there is nobody that can advise him. (Read Isaiah 40:13-14.) God knows the future and therefore is never surprised or unprepared for anything that happens (Psalm 139:4).

► What difference does it make to us to know that God is all-knowing?

Related to the knowledge of God is the wisdom of God, shown in creation and especially in the plan of salvation. (Read Psalm 104:24; Romans 11:33.) Because He knows and understands everything, He always knows the right thing to do. The will of God is always best for us because God understands every situation completely and knows what the results of every action will be.

God is Holy

God has described himself primarily as holy. The prophet Isaiah repeatedly referred to God as “The Holy One of Israel.” The angels cry “Holy, Holy, Holy” before him continually (Revelation 4:8, Isaiah 6:3). The holiness of God was the theme of worship: “Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he!” (Psalm 99:3). He is the absolute standard of all moral perfection. His actions are marked by the presence of all goodness and by the absence of all evil and can never be otherwise. God’s holiness shows that man is not fit to serve and worship without first being transformed by grace. (Read Isaiah 6:5.) God desires that we be holy like himself. “But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16).

God is Righteous

God’s actions are always right. His actions flow from his holy nature. (Read Deuteronomy 32:4.) His own nature is the standard of what is right. He always keeps his word and never tells a lie (Numbers 23:19; 2 Samuel 7:28).

► Why does it matter to us that God is righteous?

His righteousness is the basis of his law, which is the perfect standard of our duties to him and to others. He administers his law justly, rewarding those who obey it and punishing those who break it. This comforts those who are suffering and oppressed, but it also warns us that no one will ever get away with doing wrong. “The rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether” (Psalm 19:9). He will repay each person according to his deeds (Romans 2:6). “We will all stand before the judgment seat of God” (Romans 14:10).

God is Love

This attribute is absolutely important. Imagine what a fearsome thing it would be for God to be all-powerful and all-knowing if he did not love us! What would it be like if he were holy and righteous, but did not love us? Along with his absolute power and holiness, God loves us. (Read Romans 5:8.) God blesses his creation in general (Genesis 1:22, 28). He especially blesses humanity with the good things of life, and he designed the world as a place where people can live in joy.[3] For those who love and serve him, he turns every detail of life into a blessing (Romans 8:28). His grace, mercy, patience, and peace bless us because of his love. (Read Exodus 34:6; Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 2:4-5.)

[4]“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). In spite of our sin and rebellion, he reaches out to us in mercy, inviting us to come to him through Jesus, whom he has provided as the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 2:2). At the cross God shows us his heart, which overflows with love and pity for us. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). God loves all people, without being influenced by their ethnicity, natural abilities, or earthly status, and offers forgiveness to all. (Read Romans 2:11; James 2:1-5.) Therefore, God wants us to love all people and be willing to forgive any who do us wrong. Love and forgiveness are marks of the children of God. (Read Matthew 5:43-45.)

[5]God made us in his image. Though we are finite and he is infinite, we are more like him than anything else in his creation. He designed us so that we can know him, worship him, and love him. He has made us for himself, and as Augustine reminds us, we shall never be at rest until we find our rest in him. In contrast to God, everything earthly is unimportant, and only he is worthy of our complete devotion. It is impossible to find lasting satisfaction anywhere but in God. By his grace we can be redeemed and made able to worship him above all things, trust in him as our Heavenly Father, and do his will in every area of our lives.

[1]Genesis 6:6, Isaiah 42:21, Isaiah 46:10-11, Nahum 1:2, Zephaniah 3:17, James 5:11, 1 Peter 5:7

[2]

“We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts.”
― A.W. Tozer

[3]Psalm 8:4-6; Psalm 23; Psalm 36:5-10; Psalm 103

[4]

“There is tremendous relief in knowing His love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his determination to bless me.”
― J.I. Packer, Knowing God

[5]

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”

- Augustine of Hippo