TOPIC: THE NATURE AND ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

MEMORY VERSE:“And The LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6-7).

TEXT: Romans 1:18-32; 1Timothy 1:17; 6:15-16; Isaiah 40:28-31; John 4:24

INTRODUCTION

Proper understanding of God’s attributes and integrating His nature into our lifestyle as His children is of uttermost importance if we must run our Christian race to a joyful end.

It has often been said that every human being has a “God shaped vacuum” inside him – everyone has a God-consciousness, although apparently suppress it, have their heart sealed with hot iron (Romans 1:20-21; 1Timothy 4:1-2) and consequently received commensurate damnation to their souls (Romans 1:24-32).

Yet even Christians, who do acknowledge the reality of God, often hold a great variety of ideas about what He is like. In fact, many of these ideas conflict with each other and also with what the Bible actually teaches. If we claim to know God and love Him, then it stands to reason that our understanding of God should match what He has revealed about Himself both generally in the natural world and specifically in the scriptures.

The purpose of this study is therefore to present a concise, but coherent description of who God is and what He is like – His nature and His attributes so that we (being delivered from every error and false doctrine) may align with Him and serve Him in truth and in spirit in this very last days. Do you know whom the Almighty God?

  1. GOD’S ATTRIBUTES

John 4:24; Hebrews 1:12; Malachi 3:6; Psalm 147:5; Job 37:16;

An attribute is an inherent characteristic of a person or being. While we cannot describe God in a comprehensive way, we can learn about Him by examining His attributes as revealed in the Bible. The following are some essential attributes that are peculiar to Him alone and does not share with anyone, not even Angels:

  1. Immutable: God does not and cannot change (Psalm 102:26-28; Heb. 13:8). He is the same yesterday, today and shall continue to remain the same forever. What He says He will do, that exactly will He do; He has promised His faithful children blessing, protection and heaven and will not change His word.God will not renege on his promises to accommodate careless, compromising, disobedient and unrepentant sinners and backsliders (Romans 3:3-4; Rev. 22:8).
  1. Omniscient: He is All-Knowing and All-Seeing God (Gen. 6:5; 17:1; Romans 11:33-36). He knows and sees every thoughts, imaginations and motives of our hearts (good or evil). He knows when we arewalking perfect before Him and when we are not. God possesses all knowledge and knows everything simultaneously. Nothing is hidden before Him.
  1. Omnipotent:He is the Almighty, All-Powerful, Unstoppable God (Gen. 18:14; Isaiah 40:28-31; Matt. 19:26; Jer. 32:17). God possesses all powers. His power is unlimited in regard to both its extent and its magnitude. He can do all things and nothing is too hard for Him. He blesses, protects and preserves those that trust in Him and reserved punishment, anguish and hell for the disobedience.
  1. Omnipresent: Ever–Present God (Psalm 139:7-12; Proverbs 15:3; Jer. 23:23-24). Our God is everywhere at the same time. He’s the only one with this attribute, no one else. He’s close to everything, next to everyone. He is unlimited with respect to space. He does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with His whole being, acting differently in different places. His eyes are always upon the righteous and angry with the wicked (1Peter 3:12). We should therefore be mindful of His presence with us at all time and keep His commandments.
  1. Eternal:He is Eternal, Everlasting God (John 1:1-5; Rev. 1:8; Colossians 1:16-17). He has no beginning and no end. God exists forever. He has always existed in the same way: fully and completely as God (Rev. 4:8). He has made and programmed man with the capacity to equally live eternally or forever in His creation.Man has the option of spending eternity with God in heaven if we do well. On the contrarywill remain confined in hell with Satan and the falling angels. The choice is ours today.
  1. THE NATURE OF GOD

Isaiah 6:1-3; Eph. 4:24; Leviticus 19:2; John 3:16; Psalm 145:8-9; Gal. 5:22-23; Exodus 34: 6-7.

God’s nature is His moral attributes and character. These are His attributes made available for His creatures – Man to imbibe and follow. It is the aspect of His attributes that when rightly apply by all and sundry, will make the entire world to be at peace. However, the world is at war today because man has rejected and neglected the true nature of God; but as many that will allow and permit His nature to dwell richly in them, will have individual peace with God and with man in this present evil world.

The following are some of God’s numerous natures:

  1. Holiness: 1Peter 1:16. Holiness refers to God’s moral excellence. Being holy, God demands holiness in His own children; and what He demands, He supplies. Holiness is God’s gift that we receive by faith through His Son, Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:24), without it, no one will see God (Hebrews 12:14)
  1. Righteousness: God is righteous. Righteousness as applied to God refers to His affirmation of what is right as opposed to what is wrong. The righteousness of God refers to His moral laws laid down to guide the conduct of humankind, as in the Ten Commandments. It also refers to God’s administration of justice. He brings punishment upon the disobedient (Gen 18:25; Deut. 32:4; Romans 2:6-16). God’s righteousness is redemptive(Romans 1:16-17 and 3:24-26). The righteousness of God refers to God declaring the believer to be in a state of righteousness as though he had never been unrighteous. This has been made possible through the sacrificial death of Jesus on our behalf.
  1. Love: Love is the essential, self-giving nature of God. God’s love for man seeks to awaken a responsive love of man to God. Divine love runs like a golden tread through the entire Bible. Only in the Bible, however, do we discover God giving Himself and all He possesses to His creatures, in order to win their response and to possess them for Himself. God loved and gave; He loved and sought – just as a shepherd seeks his sheep. God loved and suffered, providing His love by giving His all on the cross for the redemption of humanity (John 3:16).
  1. Truth: Truth is another God’s vital nature. It is this part of His nature that sets us free(John 8:32; 14:6). All truth, whether natural, physical or religious, is grounded in God. Truth is magnified in an absolute way through God’s revelation.

God is the only wise God, holy, righteous, loving, truthful, kind and merciful. He expects those that call on His name to possess and to freely partake in His divine nature(2Peter 1:3-4), showing kindness, mercy and loving one another, serving God in truth and in the Spirit, waiting patiently for the coming of the great Shepherd, our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ.

  1. BENEFITS OF UNDERSTANDING GOD’S ATTRIBUTES AND NATURE

Matthew 28:18; Isaiah 32: 17-18; 54:14-17; Proverbs 18:10; Eph. 4:13-14, 17-24.

Believer’s understanding of God continues to increase throughout his earthly pilgrimage. It will finally be complete in eternity when he stands in the presence of God.

Our God is truly an awesome God. He can never be fully understood, and He is certainly not limited to our understanding of Him. He is good, holy, righteous, loving, merciful, faithful and true, giving, Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent, eternal and unchanging.

The essential nature and character of God and its associated benefits is summarised succinctly by God Himself in our memory verse Exodus 34:6-7:

  • Sinners and backsliders receive mercy and forgiveness today if they confess and forsake their evil ways
  • With the Omnipotent, All-Powerful nature of God, believer is well protected and preserved from every whims and wiles of the devil; he is free to propagate the Gospel and carry out his legitimate business without fear of man and Satan (Romans 8:31).
  • With the knowledge of Ever Present God, there is victory, peace, healing and abundant provision for God’s people (Deut. 33: 26-29).

In conclusion, our God is All-Knowing and Ever-Present God; He possesses the ability to know the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts, our actions and inaction in life and the motive for every action taken. This calls for sober reflection and daily self-examination to be sure we harbour no impure thought or evil imagination in our heart – only people with clean hands and pure heart will inherit the kingdom of God (Psalm 24:3-5).

Moreover, our adversary, the devil continues to roam about, seeking people to devour; he has commissioned hosts of false prophets and teachers, deceiving multitudes; our daily relationship and walking with the true God preserve and keep us from falling into their errors (Hebrews 13:9; Eph. 4:13-14).

Reference: Alphabetical Attributes & Titles

Anchor ~ God holds us securely. Hebrews 6:19.

Burden-bearer ~ God places our burdens upon Himself. Psalm 55:22.

Counsellor~ God is willing to listen to our problems and guide us. Psalm 32:8;

Door ~The only way to heaven is through Christ, the Door. John 14:6;

Eternal ~ Without beginning or ending. Deuteronomy 33:27;

Faithful ~ He always keeps His word. Psalm 90:2

Good ~ He takes care of me. Psalm 34:8

Holy ~ God is sinless and pure. Psalm 99:9

Intercessor ~ The Holy Spirit prays for us. Romans 8:26

Just ~ God punishes sin. Exodus 34:7

King of kings ~ God is the King above all kings. Psalm 10:16

Love ~ God loves us with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3

Merciful ~ God holds back punishment even though we deserve it. Psalm 86:15

Never fails ~ God can always be counted on. Lamentations 3:22-23

Omniscient ~ God is all knowing. Psalm 147:5

Peace-giver ~ God gives us lasting peace even in our problems. John 14:27

Quickens us ~ God makes us alive in Christ by forgiving our sins. Ephesians 2:1

Rock ~ God is our sure foundation on which we stand. Psalm 18:2

Sovereign ~ God controls everything. 1 Chronicles 29:11

Truth ~ What God says will happen. He cannot lie. John 17:17

Understanding ~ God cares about everything in our life. Proverbs 3:5-6

Victorious ~ God is the conqueror of death. Isaiah 25:8

Water ~ Jesus is the living water that gives eternal life. John 4:14

Xample ~ God is our example to live our life by. 1 Peter 2:21

Yoke ~ God keeps our lives in balance at all times. Matthew 11:29-30

Zealous ~ God is desirous for you to know His Son as your Saviour. 2 Peter 3:9

1ECF Bible Study-November@2013