Attributes of God – The Meaning
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important
thing about us.” So says A.W. Tozer in his classic book on the
attributes of God, The Knowledge of the Holy. Why would he make
such an extreme pronouncement? Tozer goes on to say, “Man’s spiritual
history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been
greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshipper
entertains high or low thoughts of God.”
In our hearts we know the above is true. It is not enough to follow
“god.” That word has come to mean so many different things today that it
actually means very little. If we just make up our own minds concerning
what He is like, then we are just creating an idol in our heads.
Attributes of God – The Basis
Jesus came to reveal the God of the Bible. And God has revealed Himself
in His book. Any deviation from that insight from Him is a made-up god.
Tozer in Knowledge of the Holy finds 18 characteristics of God in the Bible. They are repeated here, although not in the same order. Tozer’s definitions, when used, will appear in quotes.
The Bible says to praise God for who He is, especially in prayer. Much
of Psalms is a good example of this. Most people concentrate their
praise in just a few areas, such as God’s love, and then spend the rest
of their prayers asking Him for things. (So that you can remember all of
the attributes of God they are presented in the order of this acronym:
WISH TO FLOSS JIM EGGO.)
Attributes of God – The Characteristics
Wisdom:
“Wisdom is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve these ends
by the most perfect means.” In other words, God makes no mistakes. He
is the Father who truly knows best, as Paul explains in Romans 11:33:
“Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible
it is for us to understand His decisions and His ways!”
Infinitude:
God knows no boundaries. He is without measure. This attribute by
definition impacts all of the others. Since God is infinite, everything
else about Him must also be infinite.
Sovereignty:
This is “the attribute by which He rules His entire creation.” It is
the application of His other attributes of being all-knowing and
all-powerful. It makes Him absolutely free to do what He knows to be
best. God is in control of everything that happens. Man still has a free
will, and is responsible for his choices in life.
Holiness:
This is the attribute that sets God apart from all created beings. It
refers to His majesty and His perfect moral purity. There is absolutely
no sin or evil thought in God at all. His holiness is the definition of
that which is pure and righteous in all the universe. Wherever God has
appeared, such as to Moses at the burning bush, that place becomes holy
just for God having been there.
Trinity:
Though the actual word is not used in the Bible, the truth of God
revealing Himself in three persons is included. The Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit are all called God, given worship as God, exist eternally,
and are involved in doing things only God could do. Although, God
reveals Himself in three persons, God is One and cannot be divided. All
are involved completely whenever One of the Three is active.
Omniscience:
“God possesses perfect knowledge and therefore has no need to learn.
God has never learned and cannot learn.” Omniscience means all-knowing.
God knows everything, and His knowledge is infinite. It is impossible to
hide anything from God.
Faithfulness:
Everything that God has promised will come to pass. His faithfulness
guarantees this fact. He does not lie. What He has said in the Bible
about Himself is true. Jesus even said that He is the Truth. This is
extremely important for the followers of Jesus because it is on His
faithfulness that our hope of eternal life rests. He will honor His
promise that our sins will be forgiven and that we will live forever with Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment