***Click the photo above to watch the recording of Sunday.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
How does the concept of one God in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) challenge or enrich your understanding of God’s nature?
How do the roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in creation reflect their roles in redemption? What does this tell us about God’s unified purpose?
How can God be both transcendent (beyond comprehension) and immanent (close to us)? How does this dual nature affect the way we relate to Him?
What is the significance of distinguishing between God's communicable and incommunicable attributes? Which of these attributes resonate most with you and why?
If God is deserving of love, fear, trust, obedience, and praise, how should that influence our daily lives and decisions? What are practical ways to live in response to His nature?
SERMON MANUSCRIPT:
I feel about as qualified to teach about God as an ant would be qualified to teach a seminar on human anatomy. If you want to talk about God, you will never be short of a conversation. When miles upon miles of the ocean remain unexplored, how can we adequately describe the One who hedges the ocean waters? When galaxies upon galaxies have been left unexplored, how can we adequately describe the one who stretches the heavens with his fingers?
Last week, we unpacked a theology of the Bible. In doing so, we learned that the Bible is breathed out by God; it’s God’s word, his special revelation. In it, we learn a lot about God and his plan of redemption. However, one interesting thing about the Bible is that it doesn’t seek to convince us of God’s existence; it assumes God’s existence. It begins not with the words, “This is how we know there is a God,” but with the words, “In the beginning God created…” So, today, we will strive to learn what God teaches us about himself through his word.
ONE AND ONLY GOD
The first thing I want us to see, above all else, is that God is one. There are not many gods to choose from; there is one God, the true God. God is monotheistic. There are not multiple Gods; there is one God. The Bible teaches us that there are not many gods to choose from. There is one God, the true God.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God says, “I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God besides me (Is. 45:5)…Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me (Is. 46:9).”
ONE GOD, THREE PERSONS
Now, with that being said, the Bible teaches that the singular and only God of the universe is triune. The trinity is the belief that there is one God who exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In Genesis 1:26, we see God say, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God, he created him; male and female, he created them.” So, where verse 27 highlights his oneness, verse 26 highlights God's plurality. In one verse, it says, “our,” in the next, it says, “he.”
Now, disclaimer: when we say that God exists in three persons, we are not saying a human with a physical body. The Bible says that God is Spirit. So, in this case, persons are defined not by bodies but by subjects with a will, mind, and intellect. In other words, a person is someone who can say “I,” “You,” and “Him.”
In John 14:15-17, for example, Jesus says, “[15] If you love me, you will keep my commandments. [16] And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, [17] even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
In these two verses, we see three persons referred to here. Person number one would be the one speaking, Jesus. Jesus, the one talking, will ask the Father something— “I will ask the Father…” Person number two would be the Father, the one Jesus is addressing in his asking— “And I will ask the Father, and he (the Father) will give you another Helper.” Person number three would be the Holy Spirit, the one the Father will send to reside within his people’s hearts. So, when we gaze at the Bible, we see the complex reality of one God who eternally exists in three persons.
Going back to Genesis 1, you will notice that God the Father is the one who spoke the universe into being (Gen. 1). God the Son is the one who carried out these creative decrees (Jn. 1:3, Col. 1:16; Ps. 33:6,9; 1 Cor. 8:6; Heb. 1:2). God the Holy Spirit was the one moving and hovering over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2), sustaining and manifesting God’s immediate presence in His creation. And now we’re seeing that same thing being played out in redemption. The Father was the one who planned redemption and sent His Son into the world (Jn. 3:16, Gal. 4:4, Eph. 1:9-10). In submission to the Father’s will, Jesus obeyed the Father and accomplished redemption for us, and the Holy Spirit is the one who is bringing to completion the work that was planned by the Father and begun by the Son. So, although they are separate, distinct persons, they are working together as one to accomplish the will of God. There is one God who eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
ATTRIBUTES
Theologians divide God’s attributes into two camps: communicable and incommunicable attributes. Communicable attributes are those that humans can also possess (love, mercy, goodness, etc.); Incommunicable attributes are qualities that only God can possess (omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, etc.). Think of communicable attributes as God’s moral qualities, things that we, in being made in the image of God, can reflect. Incommunicable attributes, however, cannot be translated to any other being, attributes mutually exclusive to Him.
***Now, before we unpack this list, I want to give a disclaimer that you will likely encounter a different list of attributes depending on the theologian you read. But, despite the various titles, you will find the same themes pulsing through each list.
INCOMMUNICABLE ATTRIBUTES
Let’s first look at a few of the incommunicable attributes of God.
Transcendent. He transcends all of his creation, unlike anything we will ever experience. He stands outside of our ability to truly comprehend. He is other and outside of human comprehension.
We just saw this in the triune nature of God, didn’t we? Intellectually, we see that one God exists in three persons. But our minds cannot fully grasp and understand how that works.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” — Isaiah 55:8-9
God is transcendent. But in theological circles, God’s transcendence is often discussed alongside his immanence. His “far-ness” is often discussed alongside his “closeness.” The transcendent God is also imminent. He is far above, separate from us (transcendent) but also close (imminent). He is active throughout the creation he deeply cares about. The unknowable, imperceivable, ungraspable God has revealed himself to his creation so we can perceive, know, and grasp who he is.
Omniscience. He is all-knowing. He doesn’t lack any bit of information. He sees what we cannot see and knows what we cannot know. He knows all the details about science, matter, and history. And he knows everything about you. There is no crevice of your heart or fiber of your being that God is unaware of. The parts of our being that we are unwilling to go, God has gone. No one knows you better than God. In the words of David in Psalm 139, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.”
Omnipresence. He is all-present. There is nowhere God is not. In the words of David, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there, your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” There’s no way to escape the presence of God. You can go to the highest point in heaven or the lowest point in Sheol, and God will be there. You can go into the depths of the sea, and God will be there holding your hand, leading you.
Omnipotent. He is all-powerful. There is nothing He cannot do. He doesn’t faint or grow weary because all things are possible with him. He can still the storms and part the sea. He can tell the rain to fall, and he can tell the rain to stop. He can heal the blind and resurrect the dead. The God who hung the stars and moon also knitted you together in your mother's womb. There is nothing outside of the scope of possibility regarding the omnipotent God of the universe.
Asiety. He is self-sufficient and able to meet every need he might possess. John 5:26 says, “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” In Psalm 50, God says, “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the most high.” God doesn’t need his creation— he has life in himself. There is nothing that we can offer Him that he needs.
Eternality. He has always existed and always will exist. He has no beginning, and he will have no end. He will reign “forever and ever (Ex. 15:18).” We saw this in Psalm 90:2: "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Similarly, Isaiah describes God as “the everlasting God (Is. 40:28),” as does John in Revelation 1:8: “[He is] the alpha and the omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come (Rev. 1:8).”
Immutability. He cannot change. He says, himself, “For I the LORD do not change (Mal. 3:6).” The grass may wither, and the flower may fall. But the word of God will stand forever (Is. 40:8). Jesus is the same “yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8).” As James puts it, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
Perfection. God is without flaw and without sin. He cannot sin. He is light, and in him is no darkness (1 Jn. 1:5). Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he." His ways are perfect (2 Sam. 22:31), his will is perfect (Rom. 12:2), and his law is perfect (Ps. 19:7). As Matthew 5:48 says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”
Sovereignty. He is the boss. He is the one who exercises authority over all of his creation. He is never panicked, nor is he hurried and rushed. He is the grand composer of the Symphony of Creation. He does all that he pleases. Where the heart of man plans his way, the LORD establishes his steps.
We often struggle with this attribute, but it’s a good one that we must embrace. If God were loving but not sovereign, his love would not be as precious to us. If God were wise but not sovereign, he would be unable to execute his wisdom. If God were good but not sovereign, he would be unable to act on his goodness.
Unity. His attributes work in harmony. He doesn’t set aside one attribute to pick up another. His being includes all his attributes at all times.
COMMUNICABLE ATTRIBUTES
Spirit. He is invisible. Jesus, in John 4:24, says, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Colossians 1:15-16 describes Jesus as the image of the invisible God. God is spirit, meaning he is non-physical, eternal, and invisible. This should shape how we relate to him spiritually through faith and truth.
Love. 1 John 4:8,16 says explicitly, “Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love… So, we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” His steadfast love never ceases. It’s infinite. And it’s displayed in and through the sending of his Son to willingly and selflessly lay his life down on the cross. As Ian Murray puts it, “The cross of Calvary was the pulpit of God’s love for his people.”
Now, if God’s love is directly tied to his identity, then it is eternal. It has no beginning. If his love is eternal and rooted in who he is, then his love for us isn’t rooted in our performance for him. Therefore, it is undeserved and uninfluenced by anything we can do. It’s firmly rooted in the finished work of the cross.
Holiness. More than any other attribute, God is defined by being holy in the Bible. Holiness is a term of otherness. It means to be set apart and distinct. Isaiah 6:3, angels are declaring him as, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Likewise, Revelation 4:8 says, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD God almighty, who was and is and is to come!” So, as one commentator puts it, “God isn’t simply quantitatively bigger than us; he is qualitatively other than us.” He’s completely other than us. No one who beholds God’s holiness ever yawns at it. Who is like the LORD, majestic in holiness?
Righteous. Righteousness is the attribute of doing that which is right. It’s the act of distributing perfect moral character. If God is righteous, he is the final standard of what is right, and he will always act in accordance with what is right! Psalm 11:7 says, “For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.”
Just. He is a God of justice (Is. 30:18). All of God’s ways are just (Deut. 32:4). Justice is the idea of God treating all people fairly in both blessings and curses. He judges everyone with equity (Ps. 9:7-8). He shows no favoritism. He will defend the oppressed, taking up the fatherless's cause and pleading the widow's case (Is. 1:17).
Now, some theologians seek to say that God is wrath. But I don’t think that is true. God is not wrath. In the words of Jeremy Treat in his article on the Gospel Coalition, “His wrath is the rightful expression of his holy love in the face of sin and evil.”
Goodness. God is the final standard of all good, and all he is and does is worthy of approval. Psalm 100:5 says, "For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."
Jealousy. We often use the word “jealousy” to describe this deep feeling of want within us. But, more specifically, it is the act of resentfully wanting something that does not rightfully belong to us, which is sinful. It’s looking at something someone else has and wanting and resenting that person because of it. But that’s not true of God. God is jealous, but his jealousy is not rooted in lack or want. God is not jealous because someone or something possesses something that he wants or needs. God feels the emotion of jealousy when someone gives to another something that rightfully belongs to him. He is jealous for his own honor and glory because it rightfully belongs to him. So, when God’s people begin to bow down and worship and serve idols instead of him, he becomes jealous. Worship belongs solely to God and God alone. Therefore, when you take worship (which rightfully belongs to God) and give it to someone or something else, God is provoked to jealousy. God does not jealously want something that doesn’t belong to him. He is yearning for that which rightfully belongs to himself.
Peace. Peace is a state of harmony and tranquility. God is separate from all confusion and disorder. He is a God of peace (Rom. 15:33, 1 Thess. 5:23), the Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6). He is a God who came to bring peace to his people through the death of his Son. Our covenant with him is a “covenant of peace (Ez. 37:26).”
Mercy and grace. God is good to those in misery and distress, and he is good to those who deserve punishment. He is compassionate and merciful (Ex. 24:6, Deut. 4:31). His compassion and mercy never fails (Lam. 3:22-23). He does not stay angry forever but delights in showing mercy (Mic. 7:18).
Truthfulness. Similar to the immutability and perfect nature of God, we see that God cannot lie. What he says he will do, he will do. Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him (Prov. 30:5).
Wisdom/knowledge. Wisdom and power are God’s. God always chooses the best goals and the best means to those goals. His will is perfect. All the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Jesus (Col. 2:3). His understanding no one can fathom (Is. 40:28), yet God graciously gives wisdom to all who ask him in faith (Js. 1:5).
SO WHAT?
Why does this matter? If this is true about God, he deserves our love, fear, trust, obedience, and praise. God is deserving. He is worthy of praise. It’s making his name great that ought to rule our hearts and lives.