The Attributes of God - Introduction, Part I

Our Little Country Church in Tennessee

I hope you will not overlook this part of my blog because knowing the Lord is a passion of mine and my prayer is that it will be for you as well. For many years I thought I knew God but I really did not know Him like I thought I did. After my friend Tracy lovingly and patiently showed me through scripture where my understanding of the great I AM was inaccurate, I went through a time of shock. How can the god I thought I knew not be the God of the Bible? What happens now? Am I even saved? How much more of my understanding of Him is false? These were some of the questions I wrestled with for months to follow. I knew I had been following the god of my imagination and the Lord was beginning to open my eyes to the truth of who He truly is. You see, we can say, "I think God is this way or that way" and we can make up our own rules of how we are to live or be saved and call them God's ways. But the truth of the matter is, if we are not handling accurately the word of truth, we can be dead wrong! So pray and search the scriptures.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe...

Ephesians 1:18-19

I would like to share a study I went through on the attributes of God. I hope you will take the time and go through it either as a reminder of who God is or with new eyes. I pray the Lord will reveal Himself to you through His Word.

Lord willing, I will post a new attribute each week.

Enjoy Him!

Introduction, Part 1

What is an attribute?

An attribute is something that is true of God, His revelation of His character, a characteristic or trait.

How can we find out what God is like?

Through Creation

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Psalm 19:1

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Romans 1:20

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Through Scripture

"I, even I, am the Lord; and there is no savior besides Me.

Isaiah 43:11

"I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King."

Isaiah 43:15

The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.

Isaiah 45:7

For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), "I am the Lord, and there is none else.

Isaiah 45:18

"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?

Jeremiah 32:27

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Through Jesus

"You search the scriptures, because you think in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me;

John 5:39

Jesus said to Him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Phillip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, 'Show us the Father'?

John 14:9

And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.

Colossians 1:15

For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:6

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Why is it important to know God's attributes?

Acquaint now yourself with Him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come to you"

Job 22:21

Thus says the Lord, "let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 9:10

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The foundation of all true knowledge of God must be a clear understanding of His attributes as revealed in scripture. An unknown god can neither be trusted, served nor worshipped. Somthing more than a theoretical knowledge of God is needed by us.

"The People that do know their God shall be strong"

Daniel 11:32

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As we read these verses, they tell us a little more about God.

1. His creation speaks of His glory, eternal power, divine nature and His self-existence.

2. The scriptures tell us that He's loving, compassionate, unchanging, holy, faithful, gracious, righteous, eternal, merciful, patient, sovereign...

3. Through Jesus we see these attributes in practice and lived out in His life.

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In Studying and discussing the attributes of God, we have to be careful not to view the inexaustible person of God as a mere list of characteristics.

When we experience a close relationship with our husbands, for example, we normally do not view their character as segmented...here is His love, over here is His patience, there is His kindness. We see our husbands as a whole, as a person, not a piece of kindness added to a bit of patience. We live in a relationship with a person, not with a list of characteristics that reflect that person. At times, however, we are asked, "What is your husband like?" then we may explain our husbands character in fragments: "He is patient, kind, calm, stable." Our husbands are so much more than lists of characteristics, yet the characteristics give clues to what they are like. Likewise, God cannot be divided into parts. God is one, complete and perfect. It is to an intimately alive and an all encompassing relationship with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords that we are called.

So our view of God is very important. If we have a shallow, man centered view of God then our faith will be shallow and man centered. But when we rightly divide the word of God we then get a true picture of who God is, which will cause us to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and the out come will be:

2 Peter 1:2

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord

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I encourage you then, my sisters in the Lord, indulge yourselves in the word of God. Make it your passion to know Him and love Him with all your heart, mind and soul.

Be steadfast in the Word!

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Besides the Bible, which is our main source of spiritual food, these sources below helped me to further my studies.

Spirit of Elijah Ministries

http://www.spiritofelijah.com/

by Norm Wakefield

Unshakable Faith - A study of Foundational Truths in God's Word

Raised Up with Christ - Seeking the Things Above

Rising to the Call

On Fire for the Gospel - Living Passionately for Christ

Anchored in Christ - The Solid Rock in the Storms of Life (book)

Equipped to Love - Building Idolatry-Free Relationships (book) Highly recommended!!!

http://www.desiringgod.org/

by John Piper

The Blazing Center - The Soul-Satisfying Supremacy of God in all Things

http://www.visionforum.com/

Theological Bootcamp I

Theological Bootcamp II