What Are the Attributes of God?

A Series on the Attributes of God

This morning, we’re going to be starting a new sermon series that will run through the remainder of the summer. And we’ll be giving our attention to better understanding who God has revealed himself to be. We’ll be exploring a number of basic characteristics, or attributes of God. And to do this, each week we’ll be anchoring ourselves in a text of Scripture, and unpacking what it says – how it describes God to us. And specifically, the attributes of God we’ll be looking at together will be those listed in the fourth question and answer of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which we read together earlier in the service.

I recognize, though, that the idea of a sermon series about knowing God may sound overly simplistic – almost like we’re going back to the ABCs of Christianity. I think we can sometimes have a tendency to think – I already know about God. I have all that figured out. I’m ready to move on to things that are more advanced.

But whenever that attitude rises up in our hearts, it’s because our view of God is off course. There’s a deficiency in how we’re thinking of him. Because nothing is greater, nothing is more profound, nothing is more advanced, than contemplating the nature of God. Learning about the LORD isn’t just a stepping stone to something else. But to draw ever-nearer to God is our great goal. The highest and happiest prospect of our existence is that we would know our Maker – that we would be intimately familiar with him and all of his excellencies. It should be evident, this is the greatest thing – the most necessary thing. In fact, we won’t be able to rightly live our lives without a right knowledge of God.

And so as we work through this series – of course, we want to have our minds engaged. Knowing God will require us to think and to learn and to remember who God is. And yet beyond this, the knowledge of God must reach our hearts. God must be personally received and believed in and loved. A real part of the Christian life is that we would experience the conviction and comfort that comes from knowing Him. If our eyes are really open to who the God of the Bible is, it will transform our passions, our principles, and our priorities. And knowing God will necessarily deepen our piety, our pleasure, and our peace.

And so I’m looking forward to working through this sermon series together. And my hope is that you’ll walk away with a renewed appreciation for God, and a greater excitement to reflect regularly on his character during your daily Bible reading and prayer times.

If you have a Bible nearby, please turn with me to Psalm 102. Psalm 102. And for our text this morning, I’ll be reading verses 25 through 27. But before I read from our text, please pray with me:

[Pray and Read Text]

Knowing God and His Attributes

Now If I told you that I went to the store yesterday, and I bought some oil, you might assume that you know what I mean by that. You might think that there’s a shared understanding of what this oil is that I bought. And yet in reality, we may be thinking about very different things!

Because there are various kinds of oil you can buy from the store. You can get penetrating oil, like WD-40. You can find peppermint essential oil. You can find cooking oils – like soybean or olive oil. People can buy baby oil to hydrate their skin. And, then, of course – there are a hundred different types of motor oil. You can buy conventional or synthetic or a blend. And then there are different grades, like 5W-30 or 20W-50. All this to say – if I tell you I bought oil, you very little idea what I actually purchased!

And the reason I bring this up, is because we can easily run into the same issue when people say that they believe in God. We might assume that we’re talking about the same thing. But if you press deeper, and you ask who is your god? What is your god like? – you’ll get a variety of answers. If you’re encountering Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, New Age pagans, Native American religions – they all have different ideas of who God is. Other people have rejected religious systems to invent their own concept of God. And then there are others who have developed their perspective by picking and choosing some Bible verses they like about God, and then discarding the rest. When people talk about god, we can’t assume we’re talking about the same thing.

And this is why, over the course of Church history, Christians have understood that it’s very important to articulate what we mean when we’re talking about God. There’s been a serious concern to listen to God’s own description of himself, from the Holy Scriptures, and to declare in plain language the things that are true about God, in distinction from those things that are false. We see this reflected as far back as the ancient creeds of the Church – like the Nicene Creed. And describing God’s attributes has continued to be a concern of the church through the Protestant Reformation, and up to the present day.

Yet if you ever take time to look back on how Protestant theologians have written about the nature of God, you’ll find that they sometimes use slightly different categories to explain his attributes. Some theologians, like William Ames, have differentiated between the attributes of his essence versus his efficient attributes. In other words, there are some attributes strictly related to how God is, and other attributes that are more related to how God works. But other theologians, like Francis Turretin, have used two different categories. They’ve explained that God has incommunicable attributes, meaning that these qualities aren’t communicated or shared with other things. This would include things like his eternality and omnipotence (his almighty power). And then his other attributes have been described as communicable attributes. These are things that we can somewhat share in common with God – things like mercy and justice.

But whatever categories you use, careful Christian thinkers usually end up grouping the same types of attributes together. And this is pretty clearly reflected in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, as it answers the question, “What is God?” If you look in your bulletin again, you’ll see that there’s first a grouping of three attributes – that God is infinite, eternal, and unchanging. These attributes are unique to God, and they describe how He is. And then there’s a grouping of seven attributes that we somewhat express along with God – the attributes of his being, his wisdom, his power, his holiness, his justice, his goodness, and his truth. And these are the divine attributes we’ll end up unpacking from Scripture during this sermon series. This morning we’ll consider the first group of three, together. But then for the next several weeks, we’ll continue through the second group, with seven attributes. And we’ll look at them one by one.

But let me just point out – these attributes of God aren’t in competition with one another. God isn’t made up of parts, and one part is his goodness, and another part is his power, and another part is his wisdom. He’s not made up of parts like this that are sometimes conflicting with each other. But he is one God, and his attributes are perfectly united, such that all his mercy, is a powerful goodness, and all his power, is a wise power, and all of his wisdom is a good and gracious wisdom. You see, God’s attributes are joined together perfectly. So we shouldn’t imagine that these attributes are things that God is constantly bouncing between. But he is all of them, at the same time, to the utmost degree. And so with all that in the way of an extended introduction, let’s consider God’s attributes more specifically.

I’ll have three main points as I work through our text. They probably won’t surprise you: Point 1 – God is infinite. Point 2, God is eternal. And then point 3, God is unchanging.

God Is Infinite

So let’s look again at Psalm 102 together.

As we read this Psalm, God doesn’t tell us who he worked through to give us this part of Scripture. We don’t know who the human author is. But there are hints here that tell us when it was written. If you know the Biblical history of Israel, you may remember that the city of Jerusalem, on Mount Zion – it was ruled by King David and his descendants for hundreds of years. But the Jews turned from God to embrace various forms of evil. And after sending messengers and warnings, God finally raised up the foreign army of Babylon to come and destroy the capital city as an act of his judgment.

And this Psalm seems to have been written shortly after that time. Much of the text has a sorrowful tone. We see evidence that Zion is in need of God’s pity, back in verse 13. And verse 14 suggests that all that’s left of the city is stones and dust. And so there’s evidence here – this Psalm was likely written in light of the most catastrophic event that the nation had ever faced. They had been so confident in the kingly line, so confident in their city walls, so confident in their religious rituals and their temple. But just like that, it crumbled. It was gone. All they had left were stones and dust.

But that’s not where Psalm 102 leaves us. Because as we get to the end – as we get to the verses of our text – the tone has changed. Our attention is no longer directed to the shattered dreams of the broken earthly city. But instead, we’re told to look up. And we’re urged to set out hope on the unrivaled greatness of God.

And the first point we see about God in our text is that he’s infinite. Look at verse 25. The writer of the Psalm is speaking to God, and he declares, “Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.”

Certainly, one of the main things this verse does, is it identifies God as the Creator of the universe. But along with that, this verse also indicates that God is infinite – he is not finite, with limitations to his fullness. And we see this because God, the Creator, is held up in contrast to things he’s made.

Keep in mind, for people at this time – they didn’t have maps of the world, or globes sitting on the shelf at home. The earth below and the heavens above were just massive beyond their knowledge. And so among all the observable things in the universe, if you wanted to identify two things that were big beyond comprehension, what would you point to? Well, you’d think about the earth and the heavens.

And yet in verse 25, it’s recognized that even the land, and the sea, and the sky – the things that seem most expansive and vast – even these things have limits. And yet, God isn’t like this. He’s not imprisoned within the borders of the universe. But verse 25 tells us about a God who’s independent of the earth and the heavens. He’s outside the dimensions of his Creation. And so his greatness actually extends beyond all the other, most massive things that we know about.

And this is really saying something – because the heavens above – the span of outer space, do you know how huge it is? Astronomers today – they’ve estimated that if you wanted to cross from one side of the universe to another – you would need to travel at the speed of light – not just for 8 minutes – that would just get you to the Sun. But you would need to travel for 93 billion years. It’s enormous. And yet the God who formed the heavens is even higher – he’s limitless.

It’s crazy to think about. That being said, I suspect that when we talk about God being infinite, we often just think about it in terms of him being really big, in a way that’s impossible to understand. And so it maybe leaves us with the sense that God being infinite – it’s cool to think about, but it’s not really practical. But affirming the infinite nature of God is more practical than you think. Let me point five reasons why.

Reason number one, it makes a clear distinction between God, on the one hand, and everything else – all the things he’s created, on the other hand. Keep in mind, God’s infiniteness isn’t just an isolated characteristic of God. But it applies to all his other attributes. He’s infinite in his being, his wisdom, his power and holiness, and so on. It’s not as though God ever runs low on these things, such that he needs to run off the grocery store to stock up on more. But God is the infinite source from which all these things originate.

And so what this means is that even though we may resemble God in things like mercy and knowledge, our mercy is categorically different from his mercy. His knowledge is at a totally different altitude from our knowledge. Whatever good attributes we have, we have them because we’ve been supplied with them. But God has the fullness of every perfection in himself. And so God is different from everything else in the created universe – not just with respect to size or bigness, but also in the immensity and depth of his virtue and vibrancy.

And so this explains why we, as Christians, have no business trying to make paintings or statues of God. Because no matter what we would make or draw, we’d never be able to point at it, and say, “Behold, your God.” Because he’s infinite, above every created thing.

And this also explains why it’s so wrong for us to venerate or worship anything else aside from God. Because of our Triune God’s distinct greatness, our religious devotion should be expressed to no one else. As Bible-believing Christians, we do not offer any religious devotion to angels, or to Mary, or to St Peter or the Pope – because they are finite creatures. And the infinite God alone is the one who deserves such things from us. So this distinction is the first reason why embracing God’s infiniteness matters.

But here’s reason number 2: Because it turns us from the sin of pride. The infinite greatness of God exposes how tiny and trivial our highest achievements are. A glow stick has nothing to boast about compared to the light of the noonday sun. You won’t find a pebble bragging when it’s beholding the lofty peaks of Mt Everest. The infinitude of God declares that you and I are not on his level. And it forces us to see that it’s both wrong and wicked to pretend like we are.

Let’s consider reason number three, now. The infiniteness of God is also important for our comfort – for the comfort of those who trust him. At some point, you’ll almost definitely face evils and sorrows in this world that are far bigger than you. You may tempted to despair, because your sinful past is so dark, and the feelings of guilt you have are so crushing. You might be tempted to lose hope because of your confusion, because of your doubt, because of your anxieties. And all these evils you’re experiencing may extend far beyond your ability to cure or cope with. But don’t forget, the evils you face are limited. But you have a God in heaven who isn’t. He repels the darkness of our greatest fears and enemies with the infinite glory of his light. By virtue of Jesus’s death on the cross for our sins, God forgives everyone who believes with an infinite forgiveness. When he holds us in his hand, he provides invincible security. And he comforts us from his endless supply of peace – the peace that passes understanding. When we go to God to find relief from our wickedness and our worries – having an infinite God means that we can have confidence, he will have the solution. We can be assured – he is the infinite One who can set things right.

And now reason number four, why this attribute is important: God’s infiniteness also motivates Christian contentment. If you have a small view of God, you’ll constantly be looking for other things in life to supply you with happiness, abundance, and stability. But those things will constantly disappoint you. Because any pleasure or security you get from those things will be limited. It’ll eventually come to an end. But when we feast on the reality of God’s infinite glory and grace, it’s a meal that will never leave us empty. Even if – in worldly terms we’re left with nothing, like the Jews who lost their homes and belongings in the destruction of Jerusalem – if we have God, we have constant abundance. As Psalm 16:11 says, in the Lord’s presence, “there is fullness of joy.” And that’s because in God himself, there’s an infinite fullness of perfection. So when we know God, and receive from his Spirit and his promises, this is how Christians can rest with contentment. We rest in his fullness.

But here’s reason number five, for why it’s important to remember God’s infiniteness. And that’s because it’s important for instilling us with a worship-oriented worldview. The infiniteness of God should produce amazement and delight in us – a love for him that far exceeds the love we have for anything else. It should be clear to us that he’s higher and more wonderful than money, popularity, entertainment – he’s greater than CEOs and athletes, kings and philosophers. Remember, the entirety of the heavens and the earth are like clay in his hands. Even the archangels and spiritual beings in God’s throne room cover their eyes because the magnitude of his glory is more than they can handle. When we’re confronted with the infinity of God, there can only be one right response. It only makes sense that we’d fall on our faces, and say, “Who is like this God?” How can I know him? How can I belong to him? How can I live for him?

Given who God is, we can’t just treat him like one of our hobbies. We can’t just treat him like a friend. We can’t even just treat him like an earthly boss or father. But as the infinite fountain of all good, God is worthy of infinite respect from us. He deserves to be honored with all that we have, and more. There’s a special, lifelong devotion we owe to him, because He’s God. And so the last reason why the infiniteness of God is practical is because it helps us to grasp something of how we should honor and obey him.

God Is Eternal

But if you look back at our text, there’s a second attribute of God mentioned here. We also see that God is eternal. This is my second main point. And we see this in a couple different parts of our text. First, verse 25 gives us an idea of God’s timeless existence – how it goes back endlessly into the past. And this is, again, because the Psalmist says, “Of old, you laid the foundations of the earth.” Before the earth was established, before the clock of time first started ticking, God had already existed – not just outside of space as we know it, but also outside of time. Time isn’t something that’s greater than God – he’s not stuck inside time, like we are. But in some mysterious way, God is outside of time. He has always existed. He has always been who he is. We see that suggested in verse 25.

But in verse 27, we also see a declaration that God’s eternality will continue on indefinitely, into the future. Because verse 27 says, “But you are the same, and your years have no end.” And so again, the Bible confirms that God isn’t affected by time. He doesn’t grow old. He doesn’t age and get bald spots or saggy skin. And he doesn’t have any sort of end date or end of life that’s creeping up on him. Instead, we’re told his years have no end. And as time goes on, from our reference, God is untouched. The various aspects of his character – they simply continue, on and on, forever.

Because, remember, the eternalness of God – it isn’t just a quality of God that operates all on its own. But it describes all God’s other attributes, too. For as long as God continues, which is forever, he will continually be a God of eternal being, and of endless wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. And none of these things will ever end – because God will never cease to be who he is.

I want to make sure you remember – when Psalm 102 was written, the Jews were grieving. They were grieving because their houses had been burned. Their great city had been torn down. The royal family had been scattered or killed. And almost all the good things they used to know were gone. Just gone. And as God gives these words for his people to read, and to sing, and to reflect on – he reminds them – there’s still something you have that hasn’t been put to an end. God tells them, you still have me.

And even though all the other things can be torn down and wrecked and lost, this isn’t the case with God. No matter how much the unbelieving world rages – no matter how much the devil schemes and deceives – God will not lose a hairsbreadth of ground. He won’t lose his composure. His wisdom and work will not be unraveled. But God and the workings of his perfections will not end.

Now, I recognize, the last couple of weeks have maybe been harder than usual for many of us. There have been car accidents, family members on their death bed, sickness, tiredness, depression. Maybe you’ve been reminded recently – life is short. The cars I have, the health I have, the things that seem so stable right now – in the blink of an eye, they might be gone. But even if that happens – even if the earth gives way, and the mountains are moved into the depths of the sea, as Christians, we do not need to fear. Our hope isn’t gone. Because the God who is our refuge and strength – he’s an eternal God. And his mercies never come to an end.

In fact, because God is eternal – we can really bank on the sureness of his promises. When you and I make promises, there’s always something of a question mark next to them. Because it’s not guaranteed that my heart is still going to be beating 30 seconds from now. Death might prevent me from doing what I said I would do. But that isn’t true for the Lord. We have an everlasting God, who’s watching over his promises. None of them will expire. He won’t come up short on any of the precious encouragements he gives us in the Bible. But even though we may need to wait – and even though the waiting might seem long, God lives forever to fulfill his Word.

God Is Unchanging

But you’ll see that this text also draws our attention to the third of these attributes of God – that God is unchanging. And this is my third and final point. God is unchanging, in all of his excellencies – in all of his attributes.

In our text, the writer of the Psalm is considering the solidness of the earth, and the seeming consistency of the heavens. And yet in verse 26, he acknowledges, “They will perish, but you will remain; they will wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away. [Verse 27] but you [You, Lord], are the same, and your years have no end.”

When I was kid, I wasn’t aware how much things changed in the world. I think I took for granted that the people and things around me – they had been there a long time, and they would just keep on being there. But I see clearly now – that’s not how the world works. There used to be a grocery store in one of the little 200-person towns near to where I grew up. They had a deli where you could get freshly sliced meat and cheese, and they sold it at a good price. But it’s been closed now for almost 15 years. The high school I went to has been renovated and reconfigured. The vast majority of teachers are now different from the time I was a student. And a number of large trees in my parents’ yard, that I imagined would be there my whole life – they’re gone now. Kids, if you live long enough, you’re going to see things change. Some of the changes you might like. But there will be other events that happen – you would give anything, if you could just go back to the way things were – if you could just keep things the same. Dealing with change can be one of the hardest things to do. But, you see, it happens all the time. And my grandma had a little saying – she would comment, “There’s nothing more constant than change.”

But actually, that comment isn’t true. Because there is One who is more constant than change. There is a God in heaven, who will never stop being who He is. We don’t have to wonder if his moral standards will change. We don’t have to wonder if the Bible will stop giving us an accurate picture of who God is. And for those of us who are Christians, when we’re faced with job loss, or car crashes, or other tragedies – we don’t need to fear that God’s love toward us has somehow changed.

But God will never become anything less than the perfect deity that he is. The foundation stone of God’s divine rightness and integrity will never be moved. Kings may rise and fall. Cities and governments will be made into stones and dust. But we have the gift of knowing God’s attributes – we know him as the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. We have the privilege of hearing the promise of Malachi 3:6: “I the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” From the first page of the Old Testament to the close of the Scriptures – we’re told about the unwavering greatness of a God who’s infinite, eternal, and unchanging.

So as God reveals his attributes – as he reveals who He is, in the Scriptures – these are realities about God we can and must insist on.  Whatever alternative ideas and imaginings we might have, those need to go away. Our lesser loves must be left behind. And our idols must be abandoned. Because all fullness and sureness and rightness is found in no one else. The attributes of God are perfect. Let’s pray:

Fellowship Reformed Church is a Bible-believing Church in Mt Pleasant, MI.