God Is…

Some of God’s attributes also say a lot about His character, so here are 5 major attributes that speak volumes about God.

God is Holy

The only attribute of God that is mentioned three times in Scripture is that God is holy. Isaiah the Prophet wrote that he saw seraphim over the Lord’s throne, “Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:2-3)! God is not just holy, but He is holy, holy, holy to infinity. That is the greatest emphasis you can use in the Hebrew language. Isaiah was undone over this vision of the Holy God he saw, thinking he was a dead man. He wrote, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5)! Even though Isaiah was one of the holiest of men in ancient Israel, he still knew, compared to God, that the best that he could do were just filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6), but we are called to be holy. Naturally this doesn’t mean we’ll be sinless and live in perfection. That’s not possible this side of the veil, but the Apostle Peter admonishes us that just “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). Of course, our holiness before God comes only through Christ as it is imputed on our behalf (2 Cor 5:21), and not of ourselves (Eph 2:8-9).

God is Love

People say the love God, and that’s fine, but it must be understood that God made the first move (John 6:44). Scripture teaches that “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19), and not the other way around. It was not we who made the first move, but God who “so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (1 John 3:16-17). Christ made a way for us over 2,000 years ago, so those who are loved by God also love those who are loved by God, but “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8). Micah the Prophet describes the love of God very well, writing, “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (7:18-19). Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13), and Jesus did just that, testifying, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

God is Good

When a man came up to Jesus and ask Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life” (Mark 10:17c), the young man had it all wrong. In the first place, you can’t do anything to save yourself. God is even the One Who grants us the ability to repent (Acts 5:31, 11:18, 16:14; 1 Tim 2:24-26), but we know for certain that our works won’t help us (Eph 2:8-9), but Jesus told the young man something very interesting. He asked him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). Wait! Isn’t Jesus God? Isn’t Jesus good!? Yes, but the young man apparently didn’t know that he was talking to the Lord because he called Jesus teacher. The point is, God is good…and He alone is always good. He is a “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land” (Psalm 68:5-6).

God is Unchangeable

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8). Aren’t you glad God is not like us and changes His mind about people? What if God withdrew His offer of salvation or changed His mind and decided not to save us because of something we did? Thankfully, God does not change. Malachi the Prophet wrote, “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed” (Micah 3:6). God never has a bad day and then takes it out on others like we sometimes do. God is the same today and He will be the same forever. The psalmist declares that even His Word is forever, writing, “Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens” (Psalm 119:89). His Word is as eternal as He is, since we know that “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8)

God is Glorified

If we read enough Scripture, we start to see that God desires to be glorified, and we can glorify Him too in our lives. For example, if we abstain from sexual immorality, we can glorify God in our bodies by remaining faithful (1 Cor 6:18; 1 Thess 4:3). The psalmist wrote, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness” (Psalm 115:1), so it is to you, “O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all” (1 Chron 19:11). Jesus revealed the glory of God, being God Himself. The Apostle John was an eyewitness of His glory; not only on the Mount of Transfiguration, but seeing in person how “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Conclusion

God has many attributes. Maybe you can share some with us in the comments section, but these attributes also reflect His character. God is holy; God is love; God is good; God is unchangeable; and God has great glory. God is also a saving God, and He desires that you be saved, and today is the best of days for you to trust in Christ (2 Cor 6:2), because the way life is, tomorrow might not even come.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is an ordained elder of the Brethren Church and a Pastor and Prison Minister in the State of Kansas, but also a writer at Christian Quotes and What Christians Want to Know which address questions about the Bible. He also plants ministries like nursing home ministries, Outreach for the poor, and other evangelistic activities, and check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.