11 Attributes of God

One way we can know God, which includes the Father, Son, & the Holy Spirit, is to understand His attributes. God has an infinite number of attributes, most of which we will never know or be able to understand on this side of eternity. But we would do well if we just understood these eleven attributes.

God is Holy and Sinless

God's holiness means that He is absolutely pure and perfect (Exodus 15:11 NASB). One way to think about this is that God’s holiness is the opposite of sin.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)

There's no one like our God and unlike every human ever born, only our God has lived a sinless life. He deserves to be worshiped with reverence and love for everything He's done for us.

God is Righteous and Just

Righteousness and Justice are derived from the same root word which means to be right or just. Righteousness designates the perfect agreement between God’s nature and how He acts. Justice is the way God legislates His righteousness.

Righteous are You, O Lord,
And upright are Your judgments.
Psalm 119:137 (NASB)

God's righteousness and justice sets the standard for how we should aspire to live our lives.

God is Sovereign

God is above all. There's no one higher or greater than God (Isaiah 46:9-10 NKJV).

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth".
Matthew 28:18 (NASB)

I have nothing to fear from this world because I'm God's child and He's in control of all things. I can call on Him in times of distress and need and He will hear me.

God is Eternal

Not only will God live forever but because He's eternal, it means that He existed before the beginning. In other words, if you could go back in time an infinite number of years, God would be there because He has always existed (1 John 1:1-3 NKJV).

If you needed guidance, you'd want to find someone with more experience, knowledge, and wisdom than yourself, right? Who do you know who has more experience, knowledge, and wisdom than our eternal God?  He knows better than anyone which path I should take through life. Because of this, I put my trust in Him.

God is Immutable

God's immutability means He doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6 NKJV). He's the same today as He was yesterday and He'll still be the same tomorrow and forever (Hebrews 13:8 NKJV). Because God doesn't change, I can have confidence in Him.

God is Omniscient

God is all-knowing. Because He knows everything, no one can teach Him anything. You aren't ever going to give Him any information that He doesn't already know (Colossians 2:2-3 NIV).

Here’s a thought to ponder: What would you do if you knew God would never find out? Would it change the way you live? I certainly hope not because He knows everything you do.

For His eyes are upon the ways of a man,
And He sees all his steps.
Job 34:21 (NASB)

God is Omnipresent

God is always everywhere at once and He sees everything.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
Watching the evil and the good.
Proverbs 15:3 (NASB)

There's nowhere you can go that God isn't already there watching over you (Psalm 139:7-12 NASB). This might be discomforting to someone who's living in sin but to the righteous person, it's comforting to know that God is always with them. It definitely comforts me to know that God, my protector, is always with me.

God is Omnipotent

God's omnipotence means that He's all-powerful. He can do anything just as easily as He can do anything else. Nothing is too difficult for Him.

Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.  Jeremiah 32:17 (NKJV)

Aren't you glad that God has the power to control all things and that He uses his power and authority to care for our needs?

God is Love

If you don’t have love, you don’t know God because God is love. He loved us even while we were still sinners.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 (NASB)

As Christians, we need to demonstrate the same kind of love towards others that God has shown us. In fact, our love towards others is a key indication that God abides in us.

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
1 John 4:16 (NASB)

We also need to love God. Not in a superficial way but with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30 NASB). Now that's true love!

God is Truth

God never lies. Everything He says is the truth because He is the truth (Hebrews 6:17-18 NIV). During His earthly ministry, Jesus claimed to be the truth.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me".
John 14:6 (NASB)

The Holy Spirit also called the Spirit of Truth, guides believers into all truth (John 16:13 NASB).

Every word in the holy bible is inspired by God. If we want to know the truth and be disciples of Christ, then we need to read God's book, and not only read it but do what it says.

God is Merciful

God's mercy demonstrates His compassion towards us even when we oppose His will.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)

If it were not for God's great mercy towards us, no one would be saved. But thanks be to God that He has compassion towards sinners and has provided a way that we can be saved.

As disciples of Christ, we're to be humble, gentle, and patient and show mercy towards others (Ephesians 4:2 NIV). Even when they don't deserve it.

Friends, I hope you’ll take some time to meditate on these eleven attributes of God. As you do, I think you'll be encouraged and comforted that we have such an amazing God who loves us and cares for us.

May God bless you richly,
Daniel