Glossary of God’s Attributes
Aseity (or Self-existent): God has always existed and did not originate from or have any creator. He is not limited by anything external to Himself. He is the limit of everything else so that nothing can transcend Him.
Comfort (or Compassion): God knows and understands everything that hurts us and is desiring and able to heal, soothe, console, and support us in that pain.
Eternal: God has always existed and always will. He is outside of time and exists simultaneously in all of time.
Faithful: God will never leave us nor forsake us. He is consistent in that He is always true to His character and will always be true to His promises.
Forgiving: Because Jesus Christ became our sin and paid its full penalty and then rose from the dead God is able to completely and forever remove the condemnation, guilt, and certificate of death associated with that sin from any person.
Freedom: God is completely independent of everything else.
Good: God is kind and benevolent. Everything that He does emanates from a loving heart.
Gracious: God gives us numerous blessings beyond measure not because we deserve it but because He is kind and loving.
Holy: God is completely without sin and has a deep hatred for sin.
Immanent: God is actively near to and interacts with all of His creation.
Immutable: God does not change in regard to His nature or His purpose.
Incomprehensible: Though we can know many things about God, we can never fully understand Him. There are aspects of His being and ways that are completely beyond our comprehension.
Infinite: God has no boundaries within time and space. He cannot be contained. All of God’s attributes are also without boundary. Therefore, His love, mercy, grace, etc. are without limit.
Jealous: God does not want us to substitute anything for Himself.
Just: All sin carries with it a penalty that God must enforce. His mercy may postpone that penalty or eliminate its earthly consequences and His forgiveness may completely remove that penalty from an individual by transferring it to Jesus Christ’s payment for sin, but ultimately all sin must be paid for.
Love: God desires to give a full abundance of blessings to each and every person. It is both a heart-felt desire and an action. It is sacrificial and constant.
Merciful: God withholds justice and negative consequences from those who deserve them. He overflows with compassion towards those who are needy and afflicted.
Omniperfection: God is completely without any flaw or imperfection. In every way He is as perfect as is possible.
Omnipotence: God is all-powerful. He can accomplish anything. Nothing is beyond His ability.
Omnipresence: All of God is simultaneously and personally everywhere at all times.
Omniscience: God knows everything. Since He exists simultaneously in all of time He knows everything in what we would call the past, present, and future. He knows the actual, the possible, and the impossible.
Patient: God suffers long with those who are sinful and rebellious.
Personal: God is a thinking, feeling being. He is alive and animate.
Righteous: God always does what is right and good.
Seeking: God reaches out to people so that we can know Him.
Self-sufficient: God is sufficient and complete within Himself. He does not need anyone or anything else.
Sovereign: God is the king over everything. He is control of all things although that does not mean that He necessarily causes all things. Nothing occurs that He does not at least allow.
Transcendent: God is separate from His creation. He is in everything and holds all things together but He and His creation are not the same.
Truth: God cannot lie. He never contradicts Himself.
Unique: There is only one God who is infinitely greater than all else.
Unity: All of God is consistent within Himself and He is indivisible.
Wisdom: God always knows the best means and best ends to every situation. He never makes mistakes.
Wrathful: God is offended by our sin and our idolatry and will not allow it to pass without judgment. This is tempered by His mercy, patience, and grace.
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