STUDIES//THE ESSENTIAL ATTRIBUTES OF GOD


The Essential Attributes Of God
Attributes are simply distinctive features, qualities or characteristics of a person. The attributes of God are the characteristics or qualities that make God who and what He is. Essential attributes or qualities which belong to God, apart from any relationship to His creatures. They are characteristics of God which make God who He is. These essential attributes can never become attributes of man, because man would then become God. These attributes are also spoken of as being the non-moral or incommunicable attributes of God. 1. God is eternal a. He has neither beginning nor end. b. Ps 90:2 Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. c. John 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." d. Ex 3:14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." e. Gen 1:1 In the beginning God f. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. g. Isa 44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God. h. Isa 57:15 the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity i. Deut 33:27 The eternal God is your refuge, j. Rom 1:20 His eternal power and Godhead k. Rev 1:8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." i. Time present, time past, time future l. 1 Tim 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 2. God is self-existent a. God exists in and from Himself. He does not owe His existence to any other. He is the source of all life and His life is inexhaustible. Because of this quality of God’s being, He is absolutely independent of all outside Himself. b. “I AM that I AM” (Ex 3:14; John 8:58) c. I am Jehovah. That is My Name. (Is 42:8) i. The name “Jehovah, in Hebrew is literally, “self-subsisting” ii. It can also be translated as He will be; the Eternal who always is, the Eternal One. Come from a Hebrew root meaning “to be; to breathe” d. Ps 36:9 For with You is the fountain of life; e. John 1:4 In Him was life, f. John 5:26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, g. See also 1 Tim 1:17; John 5:11-13; Josh 3:10; Ps 84:2; 1 Thess 1:9) 3. God is sovereign a. Sovereign – above or superior to all others; chief; greatest; supreme in power, rank or authority; independent of, and unlimited by, any other; b. As the only uncreated Being, God is perfect in all Hs ways and absolute in authority. c. Arthur Pink says it like this: “Being infinitely elevated above the highest creature, He is the Most High, Lord of heaven and earth. Subject to none, influenced by none, absolutely independent; God does as He pleases, only as He pleases always as He pleases. None can thwart Him, none can hinder Him” d. Charles Spurgeon says it like this: “There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God’s Sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that Sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that Sovereignty overrules them, and that Sovereignty will sanctify them all.” e. Isa 46:10 My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure f. Dan 4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, "What have You done?" g. Eph 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will h. Ps 135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deep places. i. Ps 115:3 But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. j. Isa 45:9 "Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' k. Eccl 3:14 I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. l. Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. m. Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose 4. God is immutable a. Immutable – never changing or varying; unchangeable; stable, perpetual, constant b. Arthur Pink: God is perpetually the same: subject to no change in His being, attributes, or determinations. Therefore God is compared to a rock, which remains immovable, when the entire ocean surrounding it is continually in a fluctuating state; even so, though all creatures are subject to change, God is immutable. i. Scriptures referring to God as a “rock:” Deut 32:4, 18, 30-31; 1 Sam 2:2; 2 Sam 22:2-3, 32, 47; 23:3; Psalm 18:2, 31, 46, 61:2-4, 92:15; Is 26:4, 28:16, 32:2; Matt 16:16-18; 1 Cor 10:4; 1 Pet 2:6 c. James 1:17 the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. d. Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I do not change; e. Ps 119:89 Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. f. Num 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. i. When we read in Gen 6:6 that “it repented the LORD that he had made man,” it seems that the Bible contradicts itself; but in reality we must understand that at times, when speaking of Himself, God uses language that we are able to understand in our limited mental faculties. Once again, quoting Arthur Pink, “He describes Himself as clothed with bodily members, as eyes, ears, hands, etc. He speaks of Himself as "waking" (Ps. 78:65), as ‘rising early’ (Jer. 7:13); yet He neither slumbers nor sleeps. When He institutes a change in His dealings with men, He describes His course of conduct as ‘repenting.’” g. Rom 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. h. Ps 33:11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. i. Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. j. Heb 6:18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, i. 2 immutable things: 1. God 2. His Word 5. God is omnipotent a. Omnipotent – having unlimited power or authority; all-powerful b. Nothing is impossible with God! c. We need not think that God is in some wrestling match against Satan that He can barely win. d. Ps 62:11 God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God. i. God has spoken once! – that is the authority that His voice carries e. Ps 18:13-15 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. 14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. 15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. f. Mark 14:62 And Jesus said, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power i. Here was see the very name of God as “Power!” g. Read Job 26:5-14 “But the thunder of His power who can understand?” h. Hab 3:4 His brightness was like the light; He had rays flashing from His hand, and there His power was hidden. i. Ps 33:9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. j. Gen 1:6-7 God said, "Let there be . . . “ and it was so. k. Ps 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. l. Heb 1:2-3 His Son . . . upholding all things by the word of His power, m. Rev 19:6 the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! n. Gen 17:1 I am Almighty God; o. Jer 32:27 "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? p. Job 42:2 "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. q. Matt 19:26 With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. r. Gen 18:14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? s. Dan 4:35 No one can restrain His hand 6. God is omniscient a. Omniscient – having infinite knowledge; knowing all things b. This includes past, present and future. There is nothing that He does not know and has not known from eternity. c. Prov 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. d. Ps 139:1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. i. He knows our thoughts e. Ps 94:11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man, f. Ps 147:5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. g. 1 John 3:20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. h. Heb 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. i. Jer 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations. j. Rom 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son k. God knows beforehand all that men will do. i. 2 Tim 2:19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," l. God also knows the histories and destinies of all nations and individuals i. Matt 10:29-30 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ii. Matt 6:8 For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. iii. Isa 46:9-10 I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, iv. Isa 65:24 It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. 7. God is omnipresent a. Omnipresent – present in all places at the same time b. Ps 139:7-10 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. c. Isa 6:3 The whole earth is full of His glory! d. Isa 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. e. 2 Chron 6:18 But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! f. God is omnipresent, but there is also a closer “manifest” presence as seen in these verses: i. Ps 22:3 But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. ii. Matt 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. iii. John 14:23 If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

Attributes are simply distinctive features, qualities or characteristics of a person. The attributes of God are the characteristics or qualities that make God who and what He is.

Essential attributes or qualities which belong to God, apart from any relationship to His creatures. They are characteristics of God which make God who He is. These essential attributes can never become attributes of man, because man would then become God. These attributes are also spoken of as being the non-moral or incommunicable attributes of God.

1. God is eternal
a. He has neither beginning nor end.
b. Ps 90:2 Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
c. John 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."
d. Ex 3:14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM."
e. Gen 1:1 In the beginning God
f. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
g. Isa 44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God.
h. Isa 57:15 the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity
i. Deut 33:27 The eternal God is your refuge,
j. Rom 1:20 His eternal power and Godhead
k. Rev 1:8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
i. Time present, time past, time future
l. 1 Tim 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

2. God is self-existent
a. God exists in and from Himself. He does not owe His existence to any other. He is the source of all life and His life is inexhaustible. Because of this quality of God’s being, He is absolutely independent of all outside Himself.
b. “I AM that I AM” (Ex 3:14; John 8:58)
c. I am Jehovah. That is My Name. (Is 42:8)
i. The name “Jehovah, in Hebrew is literally, “self-subsisting”
ii. It can also be translated as He will be; the Eternal who always is, the Eternal One. Come from a Hebrew root meaning “to be; to breathe”
d. Ps 36:9 For with You is the fountain of life;
e. John 1:4 In Him was life,
f. John 5:26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,
g. See also 1 Tim 1:17; John 5:11-13; Josh 3:10; Ps 84:2; 1 Thess 1:9)

3. God is sovereign
a. Sovereign – above or superior to all others; chief; greatest; supreme in power, rank or authority; independent of, and unlimited by, any other;
b. As the only uncreated Being, God is perfect in all Hs ways and absolute in authority.
c. Arthur Pink says it like this: “Being infinitely elevated above the highest creature, He is the Most High, Lord of heaven and earth. Subject to none, influenced by none, absolutely independent; God does as He pleases, only as He pleases always as He pleases. None can thwart Him, none can hinder Him”
d. Charles Spurgeon says it like this: “There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God’s Sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that Sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that Sovereignty overrules them, and that Sovereignty will sanctify them all.”
e. Isa 46:10 My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure
f. Dan 4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, "What have You done?"
g. Eph 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will
h. Ps 135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deep places.
i. Ps 115:3 But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.
j. Isa 45:9 "Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?'
k. Eccl 3:14 I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it.
l. Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
m. Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose

4. God is immutable
a. Immutable – never changing or varying; unchangeable; stable, perpetual, constant
b. Arthur Pink: God is perpetually the same: subject to no change in His being, attributes, or determinations. Therefore God is compared to a rock, which remains immovable, when the entire ocean surrounding it is continually in a fluctuating state; even so, though all creatures are subject to change, God is immutable.
i. Scriptures referring to God as a “rock:” Deut 32:4, 18, 30-31; 1 Sam 2:2; 2 Sam 22:2-3, 32, 47; 23:3; Psalm 18:2, 31, 46, 61:2-4, 92:15; Is 26:4, 28:16, 32:2; Matt 16:16-18; 1 Cor 10:4; 1 Pet 2:6
c. James 1:17 the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
d. Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I do not change;
e. Ps 119:89 Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.
f. Num 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent.
i. When we read in Gen 6:6 that “it repented the LORD that he had made man,” it seems that the Bible contradicts itself; but in reality we must understand that at times, when speaking of Himself, God uses language that we are able to understand in our limited mental faculties. Once again, quoting Arthur Pink, “He describes Himself as clothed with bodily members, as eyes, ears, hands, etc. He speaks of Himself as "waking" (Ps. 78:65), as ‘rising early’ (Jer. 7:13); yet He neither slumbers nor sleeps. When He institutes a change in His dealings with men, He describes His course of conduct as ‘repenting.’”
g. Rom 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
h. Ps 33:11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.
i. Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
j. Heb 6:18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie,
i. 2 immutable things:
1. God
2. His Word

5. God is omnipotent
a. Omnipotent – having unlimited power or authority; all-powerful
b. Nothing is impossible with God!
c. We need not think that God is in some wrestling match against Satan that He can barely win.
d. Ps 62:11 God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God.
i. God has spoken once! – that is the authority that His voice carries
e. Ps 18:13-15 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. 14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. 15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
f. Mark 14:62 And Jesus said, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power
i. Here was see the very name of God as “Power!”
g. Read Job 26:5-14 “But the thunder of His power who can understand?”
h. Hab 3:4 His brightness was like the light; He had rays flashing from His hand, and there His power was hidden.
i. Ps 33:9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.
j. Gen 1:6-7 God said, "Let there be . . . “ and it was so.
k. Ps 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
l. Heb 1:2-3 His Son . . . upholding all things by the word of His power,
m. Rev 19:6 the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!
n. Gen 17:1 I am Almighty God;
o. Jer 32:27 "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?
p. Job 42:2 "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
q. Matt 19:26 With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
r. Gen 18:14 Is anything too hard for the LORD?
s. Dan 4:35 No one can restrain His hand

6. God is omniscient
a. Omniscient – having infinite knowledge; knowing all things
b. This includes past, present and future. There is nothing that He does not know and has not known from eternity.
c. Prov 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
d. Ps 139:1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.
i. He knows our thoughts
e. Ps 94:11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man,
f. Ps 147:5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.
g. 1 John 3:20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
h. Heb 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
i. Jer 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.
j. Rom 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son
k. God knows beforehand all that men will do.
i. 2 Tim 2:19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His,"
l. God also knows the histories and destinies of all nations and individuals
i. Matt 10:29-30 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
ii. Matt 6:8 For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
iii. Isa 46:9-10 I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done,
iv. Isa 65:24 It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

7. God is omnipresent
a. Omnipresent – present in all places at the same time
b. Ps 139:7-10 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.
c. Isa 6:3 The whole earth is full of His glory!
d. Isa 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.
e. 2 Chron 6:18 But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!
f. God is omnipresent, but there is also a closer “manifest” presence as seen in these verses:
i. Ps 22:3 But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.
ii. Matt 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.
iii. John 14:23 If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.