To: Those seeking to understand who God is and how His attributes complement each other.

Goal: Correct common misunderstandings of how the world thinks of God, and how God's attributes are unique and individual but form a complete wholeness that cannot be separated into parts.

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A Diamond

You know a beautiful diamond when you see it. It sparkles in the sun and refracts a multitude of colors. But what makes the diamond like that? Sure, the shape, the size, the clarity...but why really makes it so beautiful? What gives it the incredible sparkle and shine? The facets! The incredible sparkling beauty of a diamond comes from its multitude of facets. But all facets must be precisely cut and work together. Remove a single facet and what is left? An imperfection, a gap, a hole which ruins the entire diamond. The value is gone, the beauty is gone. It could not be used for its intended purpose. No one would want a diamond like that.

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I want you to think of God's attributes: as the epitome of perfection and goodness whose beauty and Godhood is composed of infinite facets (attributes), all of which complement each other. God's facets (attributes) that are so connected and consistent with each other that removing even a single facet is not possible. His infinite facets are tightly connected together, edge-to-edge, in an unbreakable consistent whole. Remove even one attribute is not possible - that would change who God is. And God does not change.

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A Common Misconception of God

Now, most people have an image in their mind of what or who God is. Usually that image contains only a few facets. A common image is that "God is love". Or "God is good". Or "God is forgiving". All of which are true. But limiting God to only your selected favorite attributes is not a proper understanding of God. He is so much more than love, goodness, or perfect. You misunderstand God when you don't think of Him in His completeness. That misunderstanding wields tremendous power over your perception of right and wrong, and over your ability to have a relationship with God.

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God is all His attributes working together

You must accept ALL of God's attributes to understand Him. You must relate to God on His terms based on who He is. You must understand God in His entirely through what He has revealed to us - through how He describes Himself to us in His Word (the Bible). For example, you can't relate to a judge in court if you don't fully understand his purpose and powers. The judge sets the rules of the courtroom. He sets the proper way to address him and approach the bench. He sets the proper way to make requests and plead your case. He has the power to both convict you and set you free. If you don't understand the judge, you can't relate to him! You won't understand why things happen in court. You will miss the point of the court itself...to seek truth and properly render justice. Seek to understand God in His entirety.

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This article will explore many of His facets (certainly not all!) and explain why one facet cannot be separated from another. It will explain how all God's facets complement each other without contradiction, and how seemingly incompatible facets actually reinforce each other.

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God's Attributes:

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Holy

This is God's chief attribute. He is holy. Perfect in all His ways. The essence of sinless perfection. No flaw. Nothing unclean. All other facets of God flow from His holiness. You must accept that God is holy above all else, and every other attribute of God is consistent with this one. Nothing can contend against His holiness.

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"No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God." (1 Sam 2:2)

 

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory! (Isaiah 6:3)

 

"For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." (Isaiah 57:15)

 

"Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" (Exodus 15:11)

 

And this one, where demons said (think about that), "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!" (Mark 1:24)

 

Love

Ah yes, "God is love". That line so many people hang their hats on. They turn "God is love" into an idol! Many think God is only love and use this to excuse their sin. We go about our lives saying, "Oh, it's just a white lie", or "I never hurt anyone" (really??), or "I am forgiving" (sure sure), "it's only sex", and on and on. 

That is ridiculous! Stop it! Get over yourself. You are intentionally sinning and expect God's love to cover you. You are mocking God. You are abusing His love. You are taking it for granted. God does not forgive sin based love alone. He forgives sin based on you accepting Jesus Christ. Period.

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"​​Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." (Galatians 6:7)

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Yes, God is love, but He is HOLY. Remember what I said earlier - all attributes work together and are consistent with each other. God's holiness requires that the sinner must die. But God's great love for us drove Him to send His Son (Jesus) to die for YOU, as your replacement, your sacrifice, your substitute for your sin. You must choose to trust in Jesus Christ. In God's love He offers you a free gift: Jesus. But you must reach out and take it.

 

Think of it this way: God is multifaceted, but so are you. Maybe you claim to be a good person. But I'm sure you would add other attributes to describe yourself as whole person. Maybe you're strong, you provide for your kids, you hate crime, you love your pets, you never hurt anyone (yeah right, yes you have) and so on. You are all those things. They all combine to form a complete person. If you are many things, how much more is God?

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Here is "God is love" in its full context:

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son [Jesus Christ] into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:7-11)

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A Trinity

This is key to understand. God is 3 in 1. The Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit - all equal and complete in each other. The Trinity is also known as the Godhead. Each Person of the Trinity has specific things He does. The New Testament has much to say about God being the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Believing this Trinity is real is key to your faith. It is impossible to fully understand the Trinity in our current state. But our inability to fully understand it does not diminish its reality. You don't have to fully understand something to believe it. There are plenty of natural examples of this. You do it all the time. For example, many believe the Big Bang started everything and nothing existed before it. No one can prove it, but they accept it as truth. You drive over a bridge without understanding how it holds itself up - you simply trust that it was built properly. That is faith - trust that something is what it claims to be. Well, believe God is a Trinity because the Bible reveals Him as such. 

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"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)

 

"I and My Father are one." (John 10:30)

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"And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:16-17)

 

"According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you." (1 Peter 1:2)

 

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." (John 14:26)

 

Infinite

I love this one: God is infinite. God exists outside of time, he is omniscient and omnipresent. He is self-existent. He knows everything that can be known. Amazing!

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I'll try to explain infinity from a human perspective. We know infinity means never ending, right? Well, we also know infinity cannot be divided into pieces. Our own human math proves this! If you "take away" a piece of infinity, the rest is still infinite - you didn't take anything away! You cannot subtract anything from infinity. It is impossible. This means there cannot be more than one God - multiple gods cannot exist because infinite power cannot be split up. Now, you might argue, "Well, what about the Trinity? You said that 3 in 1! Isn't that dividing infinity?" No! Jesus answered this question Himself: 

"I and My Father are one.” (John 10:30)

 

"For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:19)

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"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me." (John 17:20-23)

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God is a Trinity where all 3 persons are 1 - equally part of God. God is all three. He is not divided. He is infinite.

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Good

God is incredibly good. So good that it would shock you if you could fully grasp it. This might be hard to believe, but it is critical you understand this: God is the reason you feel any goodness, any happiness, any joy at all. Even if you don't acknowledge Him! All goodness on Earth comes from Him. His is the root and source of goodness. And understand this: no evil comes from God. Evil comes from the sin of Satan and from the sin of mankind! Evil comes from disobedience to God, from unbelief, from putting yourself above God. Heaven is the presence of all goodness. Hell is the absolute absence of any goodness (among other horrible things) because God is the creator and sustainer of all goodness.

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"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! (Psalm 34:8)

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[God speaking to Moses] "Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”" (Exodus 33:19)

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"For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations." (Psalm 100:5)

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Perfect

God is perfect in all He does. It is impossible for Him to be less than perfect. In Him is no imperfection or flaw, no shortcoming or gap. He is the highest and most glorious of all. As with holiness, perfection is His essence. And God wants us to be perfect as well! How? In Jesus Christ! The whole point of Jesus' death and resurrection, dying for YOUR sins, was to make YOU perfect. Not perfect in the sight of other people. Perfect in God's sight by cleansing you of sin through the blood of Jesus. But YOU must accept Him as your Savior for His salvation to be granted to you. You must continue in that faith. You must repent from your sin. You must be forgiving. You must be holy. 

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"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)

"As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him." (Psalm 18:30)

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." (James 1:17)

 

Merciful

Oh, God is so merciful! God sees our sin, the sin of the whole world, yet in His love he allows us to continue to live. Why? His great love and mercy. To give you more time! Most people see the world as corrupt or as other people as corrupt, but do you see yourself as corrupt? You should. We all need God's mercy! God sees all the cruel, horrible things man does (things Satan and man does, not God), yet He is moved by love to let us continue to live and give us time to repent and seek Jesus Christ. You would be shocked to know how many times Jesus helped you, healed you, or prevented you from dying. God is incredibly longsuffering and patient with you. That is His mercy!

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"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

"Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23)

"The Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.” (2 Chronicles 30:9)

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Benevolent (Gift giving)

Do you love to receive gifts? Well, God gives us so many! So many and so frequently that we don't even realize it. This goes hand-in-hand with God's goodness mentioned above. How can a good God NOT give gifts to us. It is His pleasure to give good things to you. Oh, you don't think God has given you any gifts? Well, He did! Your not believing it doesn't negate it. In other words, YOU not believing something doesn't mean it isn't true. Truth is truth.

 

God is a gift giver! And His greatest gift? Jesus Christ! Believe it. 

 

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11)

 

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10)

 

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

 

"Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Luke 12:32)

Light
This attribute is amazing. There is something very special about light. Yes, I know light comes from the stars, fire, manmade devices, etc. But light itself came from God. God invented physical light because God is light. God caused physical light to exist because it is part of His nature. You only see light because He made it. And there is no darkness in God. Zero. Look into what the Bible says that darkness is. Really do a deep dive. The Bible uses "darkness" to represent the opposite or absence of God's love and light. Seek the light, the true light. 

 

"This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)

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"Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

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"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)

Great and Awesome

God is great, powerful, and awesome in His glory. No power is withheld from Him. He is the root and source of greatness and glory. His wisdom and knowledge are unsearchable to us. Yet, so many don't see this. So many do not appreciate it! We look up into the night sky and see the stars and planets but fail to see God in it. We see child conceived and born, but fail to see His hand in it. We have been brainwashed into thinking this are all just "natural" things. Well, they are natural, but who made nature? Who created the heavens and the earth? Why are natural things not miraculous and glorious? If God exists, then ALL creation is a miracle. Even the most mundane things have their origin in God. Be very careful my friend not to miss this. It is right in front of you. 

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"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable." (Psalm 145:3)

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"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable." (Isaiah 40:28)

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"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)

A Jealous God, A Consuming Fire

This one confuses many people, even Christians. Yes, God is jealous. But don't think of it like human jealousy, where we are jealous of someone else's car, someone else's wife, someone else's money, etc. God is jealous FOR YOU. God demands that we do not worship anything else because He is the only God. It's simply logical! Because He is the only God, He is jealous FOR YOU because worshiping other gods (or no god) hurts you. He is jealous for you because false worship separates you from Him. He doesn't want that!

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And "God is a consuming fire" means that God will literally burn away everything that is not holy, everything that is evil, everything not of God. Like intense heat refines gold, removing the impurities, God's fire purifies all things. That includes anyone who does not truly worship Him from the heart. You must have a RELATIONSHIP with Him - a loving relationship where you worship Him in spirit and in truth. HE IS GOD - and there is no other. He demands obedience because it is the only way. He tells us this for our protection and salvation!

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"For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." (Deuteronomy 4:24)

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"Therefore understand today that the Lord your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire." (Deuteronomy 9:3)

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"Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" [ANSWER] "He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, And shuts his eyes from seeing evil" (Isaiah 33:14-15)

A Just Judge
Would you recognize a just judge? Is it someone who always takes your side? No! A just judge is one who always judges impartially, fairly, and correctly. God is that kind of judge. He is impartial and favors no person over another. We are all judged on an equal basis. God's judgement is consistent with "God is love". How? A just judge always judges fairly! If sin is evil, then through God's love He must judge it as evil. God deals in truth, not wishful thinking. Yes, God is merciful, but He is a just judge and hands out the verdict correctly. God's love moved Him to send Jesus Christ to suffer and die as your substitute! But to avoid God's judgement, you must repent of sin and accept what Jesus Christ did as the penalty (the judgement) for YOUR sin. How can God do anything else in His love? 

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"Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things." (Romans 2:1-2)

 

"For there is no partiality with God." (Romans 2:11)

 

"God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready. He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts." (Psalm 7:11-13)

A Refuge
What is a refuge? It is a place of protection. God is a refuge because we can run to Him for protection and salvation from the penalty of sin. Jesus Christ is the ultimate refuge for us: He took our punishment so that, through our faith in Him, we can be forgiven of our sins. You can run to Jesus for forgiveness of your sin.

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. (Proverbs 18:10)

 

"In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." (Psalm 62:7-8)

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A Warning

After accepting Jesus Christ, you must stay faithful to God, continually forgive others (even if they don't ask!), and refrain from intentionally sinning. Doing all this means you really get it and really understand God's heart. Yes, you will continue to sin unintentionally and without knowing it. But intentional sin is different. Many Christians cling to "once saved, always saved", but I think this is a dangerous doctrine. The Bible doesn't specifically say that. If you TRULY understand how great the gift of salvation is, you will WANT to always forgive others and WANT to not intentionally sin. You must understand how black your sin was! God is forgiving all of that. You should be even more forgiving to others! Think of it this way: salvation is God's forgiveness of a lifetime of sin! It is tremendous! It is unpayable! So after receiving this great forgiveness, how can deny forgiveness to anyone? Nothing anyone can do to you is greater (or even close) to what you did to God. And how can you keep willfully sinning? That shows a lack of love towards God and spitting on the gift He gave you. Take this seriously. Stay contrite and humble. Do it in love.

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"For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:26-31)