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Attributes of God

Discussion in 'Baptist Theology & Bible Study' started by quantumfaith, Dec 28, 2010.

  1. quantumfaith

    quantumfaith Active Member

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    I would like to request anyone so inclined to list out attributes of God just for my own edification and any one else as well. Not interested in "theological" discourse, simply what are the attributes and where do you find those attributes in scripture.

    Here is a primer just to get the wheels turning:

    Holy
    Righteous
    Sovereign
    Just
    Merciful


    etc. Thanks for any contributions.
     
  2. Amy.G

    Amy.G New Member

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    Patient.

    Just after reading all the arguments going on today on the bb, if I were God, I would have zapped us all by now.
     
  3. quantumfaith

    quantumfaith Active Member

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    Thanks so much, appreciate you and your calming sense of humor.
     
  4. Old Union Brother

    Old Union Brother New Member

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    (Psa 47:7) For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
     
  5. Benjamin

    Benjamin Well-Known Member
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    He is the place of Strength/His Nature is stable

    His work is without blemish/always and forever perfect

    His mode of action is through judgment

    He is a God of Absolute Truth in all these matters

    He is without (moral) evil/zip, none, nothing evil comes from Him

    He is Just and Righteous in His administrations

    Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
     
  6. BobinKy

    BobinKy New Member

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  7. Jarthur001

    Jarthur001 Active Member

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    This may seem rather strange to those who of never heard this said before, but I do not place "holiness" and "sovereignty" on this list. :)
     
  8. stilllearning

    stilllearning Active Member

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    God is Holy and He is Sovereign;
    But He is also....Omniscient(knows absolutely everything),Omnipresent(is always everywhere) and Omnipotent(most powerful).
     
  9. BobinKy

    BobinKy New Member

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    Thoughts about the attributes of God from Thomas C. Oden, a theologian I am currently reading.

    Sequence (order) of the Attributes of God.

    a. Primary attributes that belong to God's essence apart form God's creative work,

    b. Relational attributes of God with the created order,

    c. Interpersonal attributes of God with human beings,

    d. Moral attributes of God with personal beings capable of moral activity (Oden, 1987, p. 50).​

    Attributes of God in a single sentence, expressed with non-theological terms.

    "God is the source and end of all things, that than which nothing greater can be conceived; uncreated, sufficient, necessary being; infinite, unmeasurable, eternal One, Father, Son, and Spirit; all-present, all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-empowering creator, redeemer, and consummator of all things; immanent without ceasing to be transcendent, Holy One present in our midst; whose way of personal being is incomparable free, self-determining, spiritual, responsive, and self-congruent; whose activity is incomparably good, holy, righteous, just, benevolent, loving, gracious, merciful, forbearing, kind; hence eternally blessed, eternally rejoicing, whose holiness is incomparable in beauty" (Oden, 1987, p. 130).​

    REFERENCE
    Oden, T. C. (1987). Systematic Theology: Volume One -- The Living God. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.
     
    #9 BobinKy, Dec 29, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 29, 2010
  10. Jarthur001

    Jarthur001 Active Member

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    I have never read Oden, but he makes the point I was trying to make before. He called it.. Primary attributes.


    I simply call this the essence of God. This stands above Gods attributes.

    Attributes that make God, God (essence)
    Knowledge of God, Foreknowledge of God, The Sovereignty of God, The Immutability of God, The Holiness of God, The Power of God

    Divine Attributes in our God
    Faithfulness, Goodness , Grace, Mercy, Love, Wrath
    In other words, Does God have to be loving? I say no.

    Now, we all agree that God is, because the Bible says so, and we know from how he has worked in our life. But God does not have to be loving. Love is part of the grace of God.


    How about sovereignty?

    To be God, he must be sovereign. If he was not sovereign, His love would not be known.
     
  11. glfredrick

    glfredrick New Member

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    I think that love is one of the primary attributes of God, as is relationship. He was in loving relationship in the Trinity eternally, and from those attributes became Creator to share His glory with the created order, including humankind.
     
  12. BobinKy

    BobinKy New Member

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    Jarthur001...

    After describing the Sequence of Attributes, Oden goes on to illustrate the four levels (orders) as follows.

    THE DIVINE SUFFICIENCY--Primary and Essential Attributes Inapplicable to Creatures and Not Communicable to Creatures

    The Uncreated One (Aseity, Independence, Necessity)
    The Unity of God (Oneness and Simplicity)
    The Infinity of God (in relation to space, Immensity; in relation to time, Eternality)
    The Living God (Incomparable Aliveness, "I Am-ness")


    THE DIVINE MAJESTY--Relational Attributes Displaying God's Way of Being Present, Knowing and Influencing the World

    God's Way of Being Present (Omnipresence)
    God's Way of Knowing (Omniscience, Prescience, Foreknowledge, Wisdom)
    God's Way of Influencing (Almighty Omnipotence, All-Powerful and All-Empowering)


    THE DIVINE THOU--Active and Interpersonal Attributes Belonging to the Divine-Human Relationship and Analogous to Personal Experience

    God as Incomparable Personal (the Divine Selfhood; Personal Agency; All-Experiencing One; Congruent in Feeling, Sensibility, Emotivity, Affection)
    The Spiritual Nature of God (Spirituality, Invisibility)
    The Freedom of God (Radically Free, Choosing, Electing Will; Interpersonally Interactive, All-Encountering One)


    THE DIVINE GOODNESS--Moral Qualities Intrinsic to the Divine Character

    The Holiness of God (Moral Purity; Holiness, Righteousness, Justice)
    The Goodness of God (Benevolence and Integrity: Congruence, Veracity, Faithfulness, Persistence)
    The Compassion of God (Love: Grace, Mercy, Forebearance)
    (Oden, 1987, p. 51-52).

    Next, Oden devotes Chapters Two and Three (77 pages) to further describing the attributes of God with references to Scripture. He also compares and contrasts these descriptions of the attributes of God to those descriptions found in the writings of other theologians, from early Christian times down to the modern period (Oden, 1987, p. 53-130).

    . . .

    I feel I must give a little history about the theologian Thomas C. Oden, so no one will think (to use the vibrant language of Luke2427) that I am "pulling any punches"; as I was accused of doing in another thread: My Questions As I Study Reformed Theology.

    Oden is not a Baptist or reformed theologian, but Methodist. He has traveled the path from liberal modern theologian (in his early days) to evangelical theologian (in his later days). One of his motifs is to illustrate his theological writings with references to Scripture. Another motif is to draw upon the published theologians from the early years of Christianity (1st to 5th century A.D.). And yet another motif is to include the perspectives of four main Christian traditions: Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, and charismatic. Therefore, some who may want to restrict their theology study to a single perspective and point in time, such as reformed theology, may not appreciate Oden's broader survey.

    REFERENCE
    Oden, T. C. (1987). Systematic Theology: Volume One -- The Living God. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.

    ...Bob
     
    #12 BobinKy, Dec 29, 2010
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  13. Martin Marprelate

    Martin Marprelate Well-Known Member
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    Theologians tend to divide the attributes of God into two main groups:
    Communicable- That is, those attributes that humans can attain to in some way, however imperfectly, and
    Incommunicable- Those attributes which are unique to God.

    Incommunicable attributes include:-
    Independence. Psalm 33:11; 115:3.
    Self-existence. Isaiah 40:18ff; Acts 17:24-5.
    Infinity. Hab 1:12; Psalm 90:2; Rev 1:8 etc.
    Immutability 1Sam 15:29; Mal 3:6; Heb 6:17.
    Simplicity. In other words, God and His attributes are one. 1John 1:5; 4:8.

    Communicable attributes include:-
    Knowledge. Psalm 137:1-16; Heb 4:13; John 21:17b.
    Wisdom. Rom 11:33; Psalm 104:24.
    Goodness. Psalm 86:5; Matt 5:45. :godisgood:
    Holiness. Exod 15:11; Isaiah 6:3; 1Peter 1:15-16.
    Righeousness. Psalm 89:14; 1Peter 1:17.
    Veracity. Num 23:19; 2Tim 2:13.
    Love, grace, mercy, longsuffering. Neh 9:17b; Titus 2:11; 3:4-5 etc., etc.
    Sovereignty. Job 42:2; Eph 1:11; Rev 4:11 (cf. Deut 29:29).

    I hope that's what you're looking for. :thumbs:

    Steve
    www.marprelate.wordpress.com
     
    #13 Martin Marprelate, Dec 29, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 29, 2010
  14. quantumfaith

    quantumfaith Active Member

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    OK, you guys are beginning to go "seminary" on me. Allow me to "adjust" the OP. I was hoping for all the "adjectives" that the scriptural record uses to in anyway describe God and/or His nature.
     
  15. Martin Marprelate

    Martin Marprelate Well-Known Member
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    Hi Quantumfaith,
    Did you check out the Scripture references I gave you?
    If you want adjectives, just change the nouns I used. God is:-
    Independent
    Immutable
    Infinite
    Simple
    All-knowing
    Wise
    Good
    Holy
    Righteous etc.

    Steve
     
    #15 Martin Marprelate, Dec 29, 2010
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  16. BobinKy

    BobinKy New Member

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    Martin Marprelate...

    Welcome to the Baptist Board!

    I enjoyed my visit to your blog listed in your signature. Can you tell us a bit about the photo on the home page--particularly the statue?

    ...Bob
     
  17. Martin Marprelate

    Martin Marprelate Well-Known Member
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    Hello Bob,
    Thanks for your kind words. For the info you want, look here:-
    http://marprelate.wordpress.com/about/
    N.B. John Penry is generally believed to have been the author of the Marprelate tracts, though this cannot be proved.

    Steve
     
    #17 Martin Marprelate, Dec 29, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 29, 2010
  18. quantumfaith

    quantumfaith Active Member

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    :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
     
  19. quantumfaith

    quantumfaith Active Member

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    Thank you, at the moment I am simply trying to compile the list. I will.
    Blessings
     
  20. quantumfaith

    quantumfaith Active Member

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    Thank You SO Much (Dankie)
     
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