ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - WISE

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”
Romans 11:33

God’s wisdom is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means.  God’s Word is full of His wisdom.  He understands everything and acts with perfect wisdom in all things.  He is infinitely wise, consistently wise and perfectly wise.

All wisdom comes from God and to be wise, believers must seek Him.  A wise person understands all the facts and makes the best decision even though they can never come close to being as wise as God.  Our limited, finite wisdom doesn’t compare to the limitless, infinite wisdom of God.

                                                            Joyce

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - PROVIDER

 

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - SOVEREIGN

 “Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” I Chronicles 29:11-13

God controls all things!  What God plans, happens, even the exact time and for everything.  His plan will be accomplished.  God’s power is without limits and He has the authority to exercise that power.  There is no higher authority.  He has a plan for His people and will carry it out.

Nothing occurs without His divine permission.  When God permits negative things to happen, we can trust that He plans to use it for the good of believers and His glory.  He sovereignly directs people, circumstances and events on a course that has been charted before the beginning of time, but at the same time gives freedom to choose how we participate.

                                                            Joyce

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - OMNISCIENT

 “You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”  Psalm 139:1–6

God knows all there is to know!  He knows the past, present and future.  He knows all the variables.  He is never surprised.  Only God knows everything and His knowledge is immediate, simultaneous, actual, complete and according to reality.

When we realize this truth, we can trust Him with everything going on in our lives.  He knows all the answers and knows more about us than we will ever know about ourselves.  He understands not only what we are going through, but He knows the purpose and wants to help!

                                                            Joyce

ATTRIBUTE OF GOD - PRESERVER

 

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - OMNIPRESENT

 “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.  If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” Psalm 139:7–12

God is everywhere.  There is nowhere in the physical universe or spiritual world where God is not.  He is in and around everything and close to everyone.  He is not restricted to being in one location at a time.

Because His presence is all around, He can be trusted to lead believers in the paths He ordained for them.  In a very real way, God is always near us, every moment of every day.  There is no escaping God’s presence, so live in it each day by being in constant communication and depending on Him in every circumstance.

                                                            Joyce

ATTRIBUTE OF GOD - OMNIPOTENT

“Ah, Sovereign LORD,
you have made the heavens and the earth
by your great power and outstretched arm.
Nothing is too hard for you.”
Jeremiah 32:17

God is omnipotent with unlimited power, authority and influence.  He is able to do all He wants and intends in line with His character and in harmony with His nature and person without any effort on His part.  Nothing is too hard for Him, nothing can stop Him and nothing can prevent His plan. 

God has the power to keep His promise and that is a great comfort for believers.  He can fully forgive and deliver us from sin.  He is powerful enough to meet our needs.  Any power we have is given by God who is the source of all power.

                                                            Joyce

ATTRIBUTE OF GOD - PRESERVER

 

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - MERCIFUL

“For the LORD your God is a merciful God; 

he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, 

which he confirmed to them by oath.”  

Deuteronomy 4:31

God is merciful.  His merciful compassion is never ending.  In His mercy He does not give us what our sins deserve - He forgives and restores all who repent and turn to Him in faith.  He is the master of mercy and without it, we would have no hope.

God’s mercy seeks both the temporal need of mankind as well as eternal salvation.  His mercy and His justice are inseparable, withholding the punishment we rightfully deserve.  All humanity benefits from God’s mercy.  Our mercy towards others should reflect the mercy of God toward us.

                                                            Joyce

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - LOVE

 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." I John 4:7-8

God has always been love.  God’s love is inseparable from His other characteristics.  God’s love runs through all He is and does.  God’s love is not mere emotion, but voluntary affection grounded in truth.  It is strong, active, costly, personal and intimate.

God’s love is not based on our goodness or on feeling.  He does not fall out of love with His creation or His people.  God wants the best for us - He is unconditionally committed to our well-being.  God’s love is a steadfast, sacrificial zeal that seeks the true good.

                                                            Joyce

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - INCOMPREHENSIBLE

 

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - JUST

 “I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” Deuteronomy 32:3-4

God’s justice is perfect.  He is entirely correct and just in all His dealings with humanity and His decisions are always based on His righteous character.  God does what is right, fair and equitable and shows no favoritism.  God rightly judges heart, mind and deed.

God is both fully merciful and fully just.  His mercy doesn’t forbid His justice, nor does His justice forbid His mercy.  He has all the facts and He knows all circumstances and motives, so His decisions are always based on absolute truth.  We can trust God to always do what is right.

                                                            Joyce

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - INFINITE

  “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” 
Romans 11:33

God is!  He has no beginning or end or limits. He has always been and He will always be.  He is the only One who exists outside of the created order.

His attributes like power, knowledge, holiness, mercy and love are unlimited in their scope and expression.  He is not confined.  We cannot define Him by proportions or magnitude.  This is one of the hardest attributes of God to understand.

                                                            Joyce

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - IMPARTIAL

 

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - IMMUTABLE

 “I, the Lord, do not change.” Malachi 3:6

God does not change.  His attributes are the same from the beginning to eternity.  All He has been and is, will ever be.  He is always holy, always good, always faithful, always loving, always perfect - His plans, purposes and promises do not change.  He is consistent and reliable.  The only thing that is impossible for God is to change.

Because God never changes, believers can trust and count on Him.  We can rest assured that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.  We may be shaken by our circumstances, but God doesn’t move and will sustain us.  He is committed to our redemption, growth and eternal destiny.  God’s plan is unchangeable and believers are part of His plan!

                                                            Joyce

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - HOLY

 “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord Almighty” Revelation 4:8

God is holy.  He is set apart from His creation.  No one is like God.  The holiness of God reflects His moral purity and distance from a fallen humanity.  God’s holiness permeates all He is and does and is irrevocably linked to His eternal power and glory.  It is in reality a summation of all His other attributes.

God sets believers apart and commands us to be holy as He is holy.  It is what God intended us to be and involves daily surrender, but brings health and well-being.  Without Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, we all fall short of God’s holy standard.  When God looks at believers, he sees Christ’s perfect holiness - we reflect the beauty of His holiness.  God’s holiness demands devotion. 

                                                            Joyce

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - GUIDE

 

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - GRACIOUS

 “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” Psalm 145:8

God is gracious.  God shows grace to all people, even to people who do not love Him.  It is the reason everyone enjoys the blessings of life, provision and abundance.  Grace is a part of who God is not just an action bestowed.  He gives beyond measure from His love.  God gives us good things we did not earn.   

While humanity benefits from common grace, only believers in Christ receive saving grace that we might live for Him and enjoy Him for all eternity.  God gives unmerited and undeserved favor which is reflected in God providing salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.  In salvation, He reaches out powerfully to sinful people with grace to forgive a debt that cannot be repaid. 

                                                            Joyce

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - GOOD

 “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:8

God is good.  He is good to all people.  He is kind, caring, benevolent and full of good will toward His creation.  He offers hope, refuge and care to all who come to Him.

God promises to make all things work together for the good of believers.  God’s blessing is His goodness to believers personally.  He invites us to experience His goodness.

                                                            Joyce

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - GLORY