What are the

attributes of
God?
"What are the attributes of God?"

The Bible, God’s Word, tells us what God is like and

what He is not like. Without the authority of the
Bible, any attempt to explain God’s attributes would
be no better than an opinion, which by itself is often
incorrect, especially in understanding God (Job 42:7).
To say that it is important for us to try to understand
what God is like is a huge understatement. Failure to
do so can cause us to set up, chase after, and worship
false gods contrary to His will (Exodus 20:3-5).
Only what God has chosen to reveal of Himself can
be known. One of God's attributes or qualities is
“light,” meaning that He is self-revealing in
information of Himself (Isaiah 60:19; James 1:17).
The fact that God has revealed knowledge of
Himself should not be neglected (Hebrews 4:1).
Creation, the Bible, and the Word made flesh (Jesus
Christ) will help us to know what God is like.
Let's start by understanding that God is our Creator
and that we are a part of His creation (Genesis 1:1;
Psalm 24:1) and are created in His image. Man is
above the rest of creation and was given dominion
over it (Genesis 1:26-28). Creation is marred by the
fall but still offers a glimpse of God’s works (Genesis
3:17-18; Romans 1:19-20). By considering creation's
vastness, complexity, beauty, and order, we can
have a sense of the awesomeness of God.
Reading through some of the names of God can be helpful in our search of
what God is like. They are as follows:
Elohim - strong One, divine (Genesis 1:1) – 1 In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.
Adonai - Lord, indicating a Master-to-servant relationship (Exodus 4:10,
13) - 10 Moses said to the LORD, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never
been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your
servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” 13 But Moses said, “Pardon your
servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
El Elyon - Most High, the strongest One (Genesis 14:20) - 20 And praise be
to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then
Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
El Roi - the strong One who sees (Genesis 16:13) - 13 She gave this name to
the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said,
“I have now seen[a] the One who sees me.”
El Shaddai - Almighty God (Genesis 17:1) - 17 When Abram was ninety-
nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God
Almighty[a]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
El Olam - Everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28) - 28 Do you not know? Have you
not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of
the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one
can fathom.
Yahweh - LORD “I Am,” meaning the eternal self-existent God (Exodus
3:13, 14). - 13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say
to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me,
‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I
AM WHO I AM.[a] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent
me to you.’”
God is eternal, meaning He had no beginning and His existence
will never end. He is immortal and infinite (Deuteronomy 33:27) -
27 The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the

everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you,

saying, ‘Destroy them!’ (Psalm 90:2) - 2 Before the mountains
were born or you brought forth the whole world, from
everlasting to everlasting you are God.(1 Timothy 1:17) - 17 Now
to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor
and glory for ever and ever. Amen. . God is immutable, meaning
He is unchanging; this in turn means that God is absolutely
reliable and trustworthy (Malachi 3:6) - 6 “I the LORD do not
change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
(Numbers 23:19) - 19 God is not human, that he should lie, not a
human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak
and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Psalm
102:26, 27) - 26 They will perish, but you remain; they will all
wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them
and they will be discarded. 27 But you remain the same, and
your years will never end.. God is incomparable; there is no one
like Him in works or being. He is unequaled and perfect (2
Samuel 7:22) - 22 “How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is
no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard
with our own ears. (Psalm 86:8) - 8 Among the gods there is
none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.
(Isaiah 40:25) - 25 “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my
equal?” says the Holy One. (Matthew 5:48) - 48 Be perfect,
therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.. God is inscrutable,
unfathomable, unsearchable, and past finding out as far as
understanding Him completely (Isaiah 40:28) - 28 Do you not
know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the
Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom. (Psalm 145:3) -
3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no

one can fathom. (Romans 11:33, 34) - 33 Oh, the depth of the
riches of the wisdom and[a] knowledge of God! How unsearchable
his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!.
God is just; He is no respecter of persons in the sense of showing
favoritism (Deuteronomy 32:4) - 4 He is the Rock, his works are
perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.(Psalm 18:30). God is omnipotent; He is all-
powerful and can do anything that pleases Him, but His actions
will always be in accord with the rest of His character (Revelation
19:6) - 6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the
roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
(Jeremiah 32:17, 27) - 17 “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the
heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched
arm. Nothing is too hard for you 27 “I am the LORD, the God of all
mankind. Is anything too hard for me?.
God is omnipresent, meaning He is present everywhere, but this
does not mean that God is everything (Psalm 139:7-13) - 7 Where
can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If
I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the
depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle
on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will
hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the
darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for
darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being; you
knit me together in my mother’s womb.
(Jeremiah 23:23) - 23 “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD,
“and not a God far away?
God is omniscient, meaning He knows the past, present, and
future, including what we are thinking at any given moment.
Since He knows everything, His justice will always be
administered fairly (Psalm 139:1-5) - 1 You have searched
me, LORD, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I
rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my
going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my
ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it
completely. 5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay
your hand upon me.(Proverbs 5:21) - 21 For your ways are in
full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths..
God is one; not only is there no other, but He is alone in being
able to meet the deepest needs and longings of our hearts.
God alone is worthy of our worship and devotion
(Deuteronomy 6:4) - 4 Hear, O Israel:The LORD our God,
the LORD is one.[a]. God is righteous, meaning that God cannot
and will not pass over wrongdoing. It is because of God’s
righteousness and justice that, in order for our sins to be
forgiven, Jesus had to experience God's wrath when our sins
were placed upon Him (Exodus 9:27) - 27 Then Pharaoh
summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said
to them. “The LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in
the wrong.
(Matthew 27:45-46) - 45 From noon until three in the afternoon
darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried
out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b](Romans 3:21-26) - 21 But now apart
from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the
Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through
faith in[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe.There is no difference between Jew
and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all
are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ
Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[b] through the
shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his
righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed
beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the
present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in
Jesus..
God is sovereign, meaning He is supreme. All of His
creation put together cannot thwart His purposes
(Psalm 93:1; 95:3) - 1 The LORD reigns, he is robed in
majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with
strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and
secure. 3 For the LORD is the great God, the great
King above all gods. (Jeremiah 23:20) - 20 The anger of
the LORD will not turn back until he fully accomplishes
the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will
understand it clearly.
God is spirit, meaning He is invisible (John 1:18; 4:24) - 18 No
one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is
himself God and[a] is in closest relationship with the Father, has
made him known 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must
worship in the Spirit and in truth.”. God is a Trinity. He is three
in one, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. God
is truth, He will remain incorruptible and cannot lie (Psalm
117:2) - 2 For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of
the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD.[a] (1 Samuel 15:29) - 29 He who is the Glory of
Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human
being, that he should change his mind.”.
God is holy, separated from all moral defilement and hostile
toward it. God sees all evil and it angers Him. God is referred to as
a consuming fire (Isaiah 6:3) 3 And they were calling to one
another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is
full of his glory.”
(Habakkuk 1:13; Exodus 3:2, 4-5; Hebrews 12:29). God is gracious,
and His grace includes His goodness, kindness, mercy, and love. If
it were not for God's grace, His holiness would exclude us from His
presence. Thankfully, this is not the case, for He desires to know
each of us personally (Exodus 34:6) - 6 And he passed in front of
Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and
gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and
faithfulness,(Psalm 31:19; 1 Peter 1:3; John 3:16, 17:3).
Since God is an infinite Being, no human can fully
answer this God-sized question, but through
God’s Word, we can understand much about who
God is and what He is like. May we all
wholeheartedly continue to seek after Him
(Jeremiah 29:13) - 13 You will seek me and find me
when you seek me with all your heart..

Recommended Resource: Knowing God by J.I. Packer