The Attributes of God Study by Tim Haile
The Attributes of God Study by Tim Haile 1
The Attributes of God • “Attributes” Are Qualities and Characteristics That Are Inherent in Someone or in Something • The Attributes of God are the Intrinsic Qualities That Make and Identify God, as God – Some things are called “gods” (1 Cor. 8: 5), but lack the intrinsic qualities of God 2
The Attributes of God • God is Eternal and Self-Existent – Concept is Difficult for Humans to Fathom (Rom. 11: 33) – Inclined to Ask, “Where did God come from? ” – Bible Simply Opens With, “In the beginning God…” (Gen. 1: 1) – Name “Jehovah” Defines God’s Eternal Nature (Ex. 6: 3): Points Back to Exodus 3: 14: “I Am” – Substantive Verb Meaning “TO BE” 3
The Attributes of God • God is Eternal and Self-Existent – God is “From Everlasting to Everlasting” (Ps. 90: 2) – God Inhabits Eternity (Isa. 57: 15) – God’s Power and Divinity are “Eternal” (Rom. 1: 20) – Nature of Jesus Such that He Preexisted Abraham and John, Though Both Lived Before Him (Jn. 8: 58; 1: 15, 30) 4
The Attributes of God • God is All-Powerful (Omnipotent) – “And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty (El-Shaddai), but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them” (Ex. 6: 3, see Gen. 17: 1; 28: 3) – Elihu Praised God’s Power (Job 36: 5; 37: 23 – “God is mighty…Great in power…” – God Proclaimed His Own Power (Job 38 -40) (See also Job 42: 2; Mt. 19: 26) 5
The Attributes of God • God is All-Knowing (Omniscient) – “Great is our Lord, and mighty in power, His understanding is infinite” (Ps. 147: 5) – “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account” (Heb. 4: 13; Rev. 2: 23) – “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Prov. 15: 3) 6
The Attributes of God • God is All-Knowing (Omniscience and Foreknowledge) – “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else: I am God, and there is none like me, – “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My council will stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isa. 46: 10) 7
The Attributes of God • God is All-Knowing (Omniscience and Foreknowledge) – “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15: 18) – “As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”), in the presence of Him Whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Rom. 4: 17) 8
The Attributes of God • God is All-Knowing (Omniscience and Omnipresence) – Some Define “Omnipresence” as “Being in all Places at the Same Time, ” and Attribute “Omnipresence” to God as a Separate Attribute From “Omniscience” – The Concept Denies the Personhood of God, Viewing God More as a Substance, Than a Person 9
The Attributes of God • God is All-Knowing (Omniscience and Omnipresence) – “But, What About Psalm 139? ” 1. “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2. “You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. 3. “You comprehend my path and my lying down, And You are acquainted with all my ways. 10
The Attributes of God • God is All-Knowing (Omniscience and Omnipresence) – “But, What About Psalm 139? ” 4. “For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. 5. “You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. 6. “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. ” 11
The Attributes of God • God is All-Knowing (Omniscience and Omnipresence) – “But, What About Psalm 139? ” – Verses 7 -16 Describe Various Places and Conditions Where David Could Be And God Still Find Him: – Sky, Grave, Sea, Darkness, or Even The Womb – How Did God Know? – Vss. 16, 17: “Your eyes saw my substance…How precious are your thoughts to me…” OMNISCIENCE! 12
The Attributes of God • God is Infallible – Zephaniah 3: 5 – “The Lord… Does Not Fail…” (Nor LIE – Heb. 6: 18) – Isaiah 42: 4 (Christ) – “He shall not fail, nor be discouraged…” • God is Unchangeable – Malachi 3: 6 – “For I am the Lord; I change not…” – Hebrews 13: 8 – “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever” 13
The Attributes of God • God is Holy – Isaiah 57: 15 – “For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite” – 1 Peter 1: 15, 16 & Leviticus 11: 44 14
The Attributes of God • God is Love – 1 John 4: 8 – “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” – 1 John 4: 16 – “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” – Ephesians 2: 4; Rom. 5: 8 – God Loves Humans Even While They Are in Sin 15
The Attributes of God • God is Just – Romans 3: 26 – “Just” and “Justifier” – Isaiah 45: 21 – “…a just God…” – Zechariah 9: 9 – The Coming King (Jesus) Would be Just – Exodus 34: 7 – Mercy for thousands, forgiveness of iniquity, but by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers…to the third and fourth generations… 16
The Attributes of God • God is Terrible (to be Feared) – Deut. 7: 21 – “Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the Lord your God is among you a mighty God and terrible” (see also 10: 17) – God is “Terrible” Due to His Greatness, Power, Fairness (no respecter of persons – Deut. 10: 17; 1 Pet. 1: 17), Justice and Faithfulness 17
The Attributes of God • God Grieves – God Grieved Over the Behavior of Antediluvians (Gen. 6: 6) – Holy Spirit Grieved Because of the Rebellion of God’s People (Isa. 63: 10) – Also: Possible for God’s People to Grieve The Holy Spirit Today (Eph. 4: 30) – Jesus Grieved by Behavior of Jews of His Day (Mk. 3: 5) 18
The Attributes of God • God Sympathizes – Isaiah 63: 9 – “In all of their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them, and He carried them all the days of old. ” (cp. Ex. 3: 7) – People Are Moved To Serve God When They Witness His Concern For Them (Ex. 4: 31; Consider the Cross) 19
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