THE
NATURE AND ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
T.P.
Simmons
We
are ready now to find out from the Scriptures the mode of God's being.
Two
expressions will suffice to indicate the nature of God.
1.
GOD IS A SPIRIT.
We
have these exact words from the mouth of Jesus in John 4:24. This statement
means that God is purely, wholly, and only a spirit. A spirit may inhabit a
body, but a pure spirit does not have or regularly inhabit a body; for Jesus
said again after His resurrection: "A spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see
me have" (Luke 24:39). Consequently, man is never spoken of as being a spirit
while he inhabits the body. He is said to possess a spirit,
but, when his composite nature is described, he is said to be a "living soul"
(Gen. 2:7; 1 Cor. 15:45) rather than a spirit.
We
also know that God is a pure spirit, not possessing or inhabiting a body,
because of His invisibility (Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:17; Heb.
11:27) and because of His omnipresence.
This
brings us to consider those passages of Scripture that ascribe to God such
bodily parts as eyes and ears, and hands and feet. In view of what has been said
already, it is plain that these passages are to be taken in a figurative and
symbolic sense. Such representations are known theologically as
anthropomorphisms.
Robert
Young, author of "Analytical Concordance to the Bible," says: "Human feelings,
actions, and parts are ascribed to God, not that they are really in Him, but
because such effects proceed from Him as are like those that flow from such
things in men."
On
the other hand, there are other passages that are explained by A. H. Strong as
follows: "When God is spoken of as appearing to the patriarchs and walking with
them, the passages are to be explained as referring to God's temporary
manifestations of Himself in human form-manifestations which prefigured the
final tabernacling of the Son of God in human flesh" (Systematic Theology, p.
120).
The
personality of God is involved in His spirituality, and hence is not treated as
a separate characteristic.
By
the statement that God is one, we mean to affirm His unity in the full sense of
that term. We mean that there is but one God, and we also mean that His essence
is homogeneous, undivided, and indivisible.
That
there is but one God is taught by Deut. 6:4; Isa. 44:6; John 17:3; 1 Cor. 8:4; 1
Tim. 1:17. And it is irrational, moreover, to assume the existence of a
plurality of gods, when one will explain all the facts. Also the passages which
represent God as infinite and perfect (cf. Psa. 145:3; Job 11:7-9; Matt. 5:48)
are indirect proofs of His unity; for infinity and absolute perfection are
possible to only one. Two such beings could not exist for
each would limit the other.
That
the essence of God is homogeneous, undivided, and indivisible is a necessary
inference from the fact that He is a pure spirit. All that we know about spirit
compels us to believe its essence to be simple and uncompounded.
J.
P. Boyce gives the following three reasons for affirming the unity of God in the
sense that we are now discussing it:
"1.
Because composition (or a putting together) involves
possibility of separation. But this would involve destructibility, and
changeableness, each of which is inconsistent with absolute perfection and
necessary existence.
"2.
Composition involves a time of separate existence of the parts compounded." And
this would necessitate a time when the parts existed
separately, and, therefore, a time when God did not exist, or, "when He existed
imperfectly, having not yet received to his essential nature the additions
subsequently made; all of which is inconsistent with absolute perfection and
necessary existence.
"3.
If the parts have been compounded, it has been done by some
force from without, or has been a growth in His nature." And both of these ideas
are "inconsistent with absolute perfection and necessary existence."
However
the unity of God does not preclude His trinity, and His trinity is in no way
inconsistent with His unity. The trinity, as we shall see
more clearly later, consists of three eternal distinctions in the same being and
in the same pure essence, which distinctions are presented to us under the
figure of persons.
II.
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
"The
term 'attribute,'" says J. M. Pendleton, "in its application to persons or
things, means something belonging to persons or things. The attributes of a
thing are so essential to it that without them it could not be what it is; and
that is equally true of the attributes of a person. If a man were divested of
the attributes belonging to him, he would cease to be a man, for these
attributes are inherent in that which constitutes him a human
being. If we transfer these ideas to God, we shall find that His attributes
belong inalienably to Him, and, therefore, what He is He must ever be. His
attributes are His perfections, inseparable from His nature and constituting His
character" (Christian Doctrines, p. 42).
J.
P. Boyce says: "The attributes of God are those peculiarities
which mark or define the mode of His existence, or which constitute His
character. They are not separate or separable from His essence or nature, and
yet are not that essence, but simply have ground or cause of their existence in
it, and are at the same time the peculiarities which constitute the mode and
character of His being" (Abstract of Systematic Theology, p. 65).
"The
attributes of God," as defined by A@ H. Strong, "are those distinguishing
characteristics of the divine nature which are inseparable from the idea of God
and which constitute the basis and ground for His various manifestations to His
creatures. We call them attributes, because we are compelled to attribute them
to God as fundamental qualities or powers of His being, in order to give rational account of certain constant facts in God's
self-revelations" (Systematic Theology, p. 115).
It
is common to divide the attributes of God into two classes. This aids both
memory and understanding. To these divisions various pairs of names have been
given, such as communicable and incommunicable; immanent and
transient; positive and negative; natural and moral; absolute and relative. The
two latter classifications have been adopted for these studies.
1.
ABSOLUTE ATTRIBUTES.
The
absolute attributes of God are those that have respect to His being independent
of His relationship to anything else.
(1)
Self-existence.
God's
being is underived. His is a self-caused existence. His existence is independent
of everything else. The self-existence of God is implied in the name "Jehovah,"
which means "the existing one," and also in the expression "I am that I am" (Ex.
3:14), which signifies that it is God's nature to be.
The
eternity of God, which falls in the second class of attributes, also implies His
self-existence. If God has existed forever, then His existence is a necessary,
underived, self-caused existence. Self-existence is a mystery that is
incomprehensible to man; yet a denial of it would involve us in a greater
mystery. If there is not in the universe some self-existent person or thing,
then the present order of things came into existence out of
nothing without cause or Creator. They could not have been the product of mere
energy, for energy is the property either of matter or of life. And since
science has proved that matter is not eternal, we are left to assume an eternal,
and therefore, a self-existent person as an explanation of the present order of
things.
(2)
Immutability.
Note
the following statements:
"By
immutability we define God as unchangeable in His nature and
purposes" (E. Y. Mullins, The Christian Religion in its Doctrinal Expression,
pp. 223, 224).
"By
the immutability of God is meant that He is incapable of change, either in
duration of life, or in nature, character, will, or happiness. In none of these,
nor in any other respect, is there any possibility of change" (J. P. Boyce, Abstract of Systematic Theology p. 73).
Immutability
is implied in infinity and perfection. Any change, either for the better or for
the worse, implies either prior or subsequent imperfection and finiteness.
The
principal passages teaching the general immutability of God
are: Psa. 102:27; Mal. 3:6; Jas. 1:17.
The
following passages teach specifically the immutability of God's will: Num.
23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29; Job 23:18; Psa. 33:11; Prov. 19:21; Isa. 46:10; Heb.
6:17.
The
foregoing passages give us positive and absolute declarations. All passages that
represent God as repenting, such as Gen. 6:6,7; Ex. 32:14; 1 Sam. 15:11; Psa.
106:45; Amos 7:3; Jonah 8:10; and those that seem in any way to imply or suggest
any change in the purposes of God, must be explained in the light of them. These
latter passages contain anthropomorphisms.
Commenting
on Ex. 32:14, A. W. Pink says: "These words do not mean that God changed His
mind or altered His purpose, for He is 'without variableness or shadow of
turning' (Jas. 1:17). There never has been and never will be the smallest
occasion for the Almighty to effect the slightest deviation from His eternal
purpose, for everything was foreknown to Him from the beginning, and all His
counsels were ordained by infinite wisdom. When the
Scripture speaks of God's repenting, it employs a figure of speech, in which the
Most High condescends to speak in our language. What is intended by the above
expression is that Jehovah answered the prayer of a typical mediator."
And
in regard to such passages, J. P. Boyce says: "It may be
stated that these are merely anthropopathic expressions, intended simply to
impress upon men His great anger at sin, and His warm approbation of the
repentance of those who had sinned against Him. The change of conduct, in men,
not in God, had changed the relation between them and God. Sin had made them
liable to His just displeasure. Repentance had brought them within the
possibilities of His mercy. Had He not treated them
differently, then there would have been a change in Him. His very
unchangeableness makes it necessary that He shall treat differently those who
are innocent and those who are guilty, those who harden themselves against Him
and those who turn toward Him for mercy, with repentant hearts" (Abstract of
Systematic Theology, p. 76).
We
must in like manner understand all allusions which seem to indicate a succession
of emotions in God. All emotions in God exist alongside each other at the same
moment, and have done so from all eternity. He has been always pleased with
righteousness and displeased with sin. And He has from all eternity known of all
righteousness and sin. Sin exposes man to God's displeasure. Righteous subjects him to God's pleasure. Passing from God's displeasure to His
pleasure is brought about by a change in man and not in God. The sun melts wax.
But if the wax could be changed to clay, the sun would harden it. Would that
represent any change whatsoever in the sun?
Prayer
does not change God. It changes us and the things and
circumstances with which we have to do; but it does not change God. We shall
never have the right attitude toward God so long as we think of prayer as a
means of getting God to do things that He did not intend to do. So far from
prayer changing the will of God, we must pray according to His will if we expect
to get an answer. John tells us: "This is the confidence that we have in him,
that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth
us" (1 John 5:14). It is the Holy Spirit that causes us to pray (Rom. 8:15; Gal.
4:6), and it is to the Holy Spirit that we should look for leadership in the
things we pray for (Rom. 8:26). Prayer, then, is the work of God in our hearts
getting us ready for the most profitable use and grateful enjoyment of His
blessings. It is His own key, with which He unlocks the flood-gates of the river
of His blessings. In God's wise counsels before the foundation of the earth He ordained prayer as one of the means for the
accomplishment of His will. Prayer no more changes God than the faith of the
repentant sinner changes God. Both are simply means in the working out of God's
eternal and immutable purpose.
The
holiness of God is His perfect moral and spiritual excellence. God is perfectly
pure, sinless, and righteous in Himself. Holiness is the ground of all other
moral attributes in God. The holiness of God was typified by the immaculate
dress of the High Priest when he entered the Holy of Holies.
R.
A. Torrey says: "The entire Mosiac system of washings; divisions of the
tabernacle; divisions of the people into ordinary Israelites, Levites, Priests,
and High Priests, who were permitted different degrees of approach to God, under
strictly defined conditions; the insisting upon sacrifices as a necessary medium of approach to God; God's directions to Moses in
Ex. 3:5, to Joshua in Josh. 5:15, the punishment of Uzziah in 2 Chron. 26:16-21,
the strict orders to Israel in regard to approaching Sinai when Moses was
talking with God- these were intended to teach, emphasize, and burn into the
minds and hearts of the Israelites the fundamental truth that God is holy,
unapproachably holy. The truth that God is holy is the fundamental truth of the
Bible, of the Old Testament and the New Testament, of the
Jewish religion and the Christian religion" (What The Bible Teaches, p. 37).
The
following passages of Scripture are the principal ones that declare the holiness
of God: Josh. 24:19; Psa. 22:3; 99:9; Isa. 5:16; 6:3; John 17:11; 1 Pet.
1:15,16.
The
holiness of God causes Him to abhor sin, and, therefore, gives rise to His
justice, which we shall consider under relative attributes.
2.
RELATIVE ATTRIBUTES.
The
relative attributes of God are those that are seen because of God's connection
with time and creation.
(1)
This means that God had no beginning and that He can have no end. It also means
that He is in no way limited or conditioned by time. A. H.
Strong says: "God is not in time. It is more correct to say that time is in God.
Although there is logical succession in God's thoughts, there is no
chronological succession" (Systematic Theology, p.
130).
God
sees events as taking place in time, but from all eternity those events have
been the same to Him as after they have taken place.
Eternity has been described as follows: "Eternity is not, as men believe, before
and after us, an endless line. No, 'tis a circle, infinitely great--all the
circumference with creation thronged; God at the center dwells, beholding all.
And as we move in this eternal round, the finite portion which alone we see,
behind us is the past; what lies before we call the future. But to Him who
dwells far at the center, equally remote from every point of the circumference,
both are alike, the future and the past" (Murphy, Scientific
Basis, p. 90).
(2)
Omnipresence.
By
the omnipresence of God is meant that God is present at the
same moment throughout His creation.
The
omnipresence of God is beautifully and strikingly declared in Psa. 139:7-10 and
in Jer. 23:23,24.
Those
passages that speak of God as being present in special places are to be
understood as referring to God's special and transcending manifestations. Thus
He is spoken of as dwelling in Heaven, because it is there that He makes the
greatest manifestation of His presence.
From
all eternity God has possessed all knowledge and wisdom. John declares that God
"knoweth all things" (1 John 3:20).
God's omniscience may be argued from His infinity. Everywhere in the Bible He is
pictured as an infinite being. Thus His knowledge must he infinite. Omniscience
may also be argued from immutability. If God changes not, as
the Scripture declares, then He must have possessed all knowledge from the
beginning; for otherwise He would be learning all the while, and that would of
itself constitute a change in Him and would necessarily lead to even more
manifest changes.
Moreover,
the necessity of omniscience on the part of God may be seen
from Eph. 1:11, which says that God "worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will." Only an omniscient being could work all things after the counsel of
his own will.
It
will be seen from the foregoing discussion that God's omniscience includes
perfect foreknowledge. From eternity God has known all
things that have come to pass and all things that shall yet come to pass.
Moreover He foreknew from eternity all things that would have come to pass if He
had not prevented them. He has ever known exactly what things would have come to
pass if His immutable purpose had been different from what it is at any point.
The
basis of God's foreknowledge of all things that come to pass
is His own purpose. God could not have known that a thing would come to pass
unless it had been certain to come to pass. God's eternal, immutable purpose is
the only scriptural basis for the certainty of future events.
As
to the manner in which God knows all things, perhaps we
cannot do better than to take a brief quotation from J. J. Rousseau, as found in
a "A Savoyard Vicar" (Harvard Classics, Vol. 34, p. 267): "God is intelligent;
but in what manner? Man is intelligent by the act of reasoning, but the supreme
intelligence lies under no necessity to reason. He requires neither premise nor
consequences; nor even the simple form of a proposition. His knowledge is purely
intuitive. He beholds equally what is and what will be. All
truths are to Him as one idea, as all places are but one point, and all times
one moment."
(4)
Omnipotence.
God
possesses all power. In Gen. 17:1 God declares: "I am God
Almighty." The title "Almighty" is applied to Him over and over in the
Scripture. This title signifies that He possesses all might or power. Again we
read in Matt. 19:26: "With God all things are possible." Many other passages
declare God's omnipotence.
The
omnipotence of God does not mean, of course, that He can do
things that are logically absurd or things that are against His will. He cannot
lie, because the holiness of His character prevents Him from willing to lie. And
He cannot create a rock larger than He can lift; nor both an irresistible power
and an immovable object; nor can He draw a line between two points shorter than
a straight one; nor put two mountains adjacent to one another without creating a
valley between them. He cannot do any of these things
because they are not objects of power. They are self-contradictory and logically
absurd. They would violate the laws that God has ordained, and thus cause God to
cross Himself.
(5)
Veracity.
By
the veracity of God is meant His truthfulness and faithfulness in His revelation
to and dealings with His creatures in general and His redeemed people in
particular.
Some
of the passages setting forth the veracity of God are: John 9:33; Rom. 1:25;
3:4; 1 Cor. 1:9; 2 Cor. 1:20; 1 Thess. 5:24; Titus 1:2; Heb.
6:18; 1 Pet. 4:19.
(6)
Love.
Love
is used in different senses in the Bible when attributed to God in His dealings
with His creatures. Sometimes it refers to mere goodness in
bestowing natural benefits upon all men (Psa. 145:9; Matt. 18:33; Luke 6:35;
Matt. 5:44,45). God's redeeming love, on the other hand, is sovereign,
discriminating, and particular. He says: "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have a
hated" (Rom. 9:13). And of God it is emphatically declared: "Thou hatest all
workers of iniquity" (Psa. 5:5).
(7)
Justice.
The
justice of God is taught in Gen. 18:25; Deut. 32:4; Psa. 7:9-12; 18:24; Rom.
2:6.
It
was the justice of God that made it necessary for Christ to
die in order that men might be saved. The justice of God makes it impossible for
God to let sin go unpunished. The death of Christ made it possible for Him to be
just and yet the justifier of believing sinners. (Rom. 3:26).
In
the sacrifice of Jesus the Scripture was fulfilled which
says: "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed
each other (Psa. 85:10).
The
salvation of believers is an act of grace toward them; yet it is an act of
justice to Jesus Christ who died in the stead of all who will ever believe.