Chapter 3 | What is God Like? The Attributes of God

Key Verse: For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. Romans 1:20

For Further Study:* 

Books:

The Attributes of God, by A.W. Pink

Knowing God, by J.I. Packer, 

None Like Him, by Jen Wilkin

Podcast: 

“What Is God Like? with Jen Wilkin,” Journeywomen interview 

Videos: 

“Character of God Word Studies,” Bible Project 

Course:

“The Attributes of God,” The Gospel Coalition

Infographic:

“The Attributes of God,” by Tim Challies, Visual Theology

Kids’ Content:

Our Great God (Attributes Song)

Summary:

Brief Definition: God is knowable. His nature and character are revealed to us through the Bible. We understand His character traits as both incommunicable (His alone) and communicable (able to become ours).

The doctrine of God is the study of His character traits/attributes. God’s attributes describe who He is, and they imply how He acts.

The Christian God is knowable, and He makes Himself known. 

Incommunicable Attributes: Only true of God; they set Him apart from creation. God is infinite, incomprehensible, self-existent, self-sufficient, eternal, immutable, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, sovereign, and transcendent.

Communicable Attributes: True of God, but they can also become true of us. God is (and we can be) holy, loving, just, good, merciful, gracious, long-suffering, wise, jealous (for His glory), wrathful, faithful, righteous, and truthful.

The two lists above do not exhaust the attributes disclosed in the Bible. But they make a good start and can help with Bible reading in an age that tells us the Bible is primarily a tool for self-discovery. By acquainting ourselves with the categories and definitions of God’s attributes, we become better at reading the Bible to see, first, what it says about God and, second, what it says about (or to) us. 

The gift we receive as those with a knowable God: We can discern the truth from a fake. The Bible gives us the knowledge of God, but it does this not just so we can know Him. It does this so we can worship Him as He deserves. 

When we devote ourselves to the knowledge of God disclosed to us in His Word, we learn to recognize Him rightly and to offer Him right worship. We also learn how to adore Him rightly. We can love and value God accurately because we know Him, and our knowledge shapes our affection. 

The more we grow in our knowledge of God, the more we grow in our love for Him. We perceive with ever-increasing depth His value and worth as an object of our adoration. We become less and less capable of being fooled by or satisfied with a substitute. We also become less and less prone to creating a substitute, whittling God into our own image by choosing only some of His attributes to celebrate and ignoring or downplaying others. 

The more we learn of Him the more we love Him. The more we learn of Him, the more we love ourselves and our neighbors as we ought. And the more we want to proclaim to everyone we meet: “I know Him!!!”

Discussion/Reflection Questions:

1. Which of God’s attributes are you most familiar with? Which are less familiar to you? Why?

2. Which of God’s attributes make you feel uncomfortable? Which feel most relatable or understandable? Why?

3. Choose an incommunicable attribute and discuss how it increases your understanding of your own limits. How does it increase your love for God? How does it enliven you to worship?

4. Choose one communicable attribute and discuss how it increases your understanding of your own limits. How does it increase your love for God? How does it enliven you to worship?

*Disclaimer: Our ultimate authority and resource will always be the Bible, and any other resource should be used as a supplement. While we believe the authors represented here have done excellent work to provide insight and clarity in these topics, we may not endorse every statement or position they hold (past, present, future).