The Attributes of God

(Based solely on the King James Bible and Pauline right division)

To know God rightly, one must let the Scriptures define His character. The attributes of God are not abstract qualities from philosophy, but revealed descriptions of His person in the pages of the King James Bible. These attributes show who He is in His essence, His holiness, His power, His righteousness, His love, and His eternal purpose. Understanding these attributes is vital for right division, for we must know that the God who revealed Himself to Israel in prophecy is the same God who revealed the mystery to Paul, yet working in different ways according to His dispensational purpose.

1. God is Eternal

Before all things existed, God was. Psalm 90 verse 2 declares, “From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” He has no beginning and no end. Time is His creation. He inhabits eternity, yet He works within time for the redemption of mankind. Paul reminds us in 1 Timothy 1 verse 17, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever.” God’s eternality assures us that His purpose in Christ was planned before the world began and will stand forever.

2. God is Holy

Holiness means absolute separation from sin and complete moral perfection. Isaiah heard the seraphims cry, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts.” God’s holiness defines every other attribute. It demands justice, truth, and purity. Paul writes that God’s law is holy and just and good, showing that His moral standard never changes. In the dispensation of grace, that holiness is imputed to the believer through Christ. “That we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5 verse 21).

3. God is True and Faithful

God cannot lie. His word is absolute. Titus 1 verse 2 says, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” He is faithful to perform what He has spoken. Israel’s unfaithfulness never cancelled His promises to them, and His faithfulness now secures the believer’s salvation in the Body of Christ. “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2 verse 13). Every promise of God in Christ is yea and amen.

4. God is All-Powerful (Omnipotent)

God spoke the universe into existence by His word. “He spake, and it was done” (Psalm 33 verse 9). No power in heaven or earth can oppose His purpose. His strength sustains all things. Paul declares in Ephesians 3 verse 20 that He “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” God’s omnipotence is not only creative but redemptive, demonstrated most clearly in the resurrection of Christ from the dead. That same power now works in every believer who is in Christ Jesus.

5. God is All-Knowing (Omniscient)

God’s knowledge is perfect. He knows all things actual and possible. “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15 verse 18). He sees the end from the beginning. Nothing surprises Him. His wisdom orders creation and redemption according to His eternal counsel. The mystery revealed to Paul was part of that hidden wisdom ordained before the world unto our glory. Though man’s understanding is limited, the believer can trust that every detail of God’s plan is known and sure.

6. God is Present Everywhere (Omnipresent)

God fills heaven and earth. “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” (Psalm 139 verse 7). He is never absent from His creation. Yet His presence is now manifested spiritually in the Body of Christ. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, God lives in every believer. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1 verse 27). The same God who dwelt in Israel’s temple now dwells within the hearts of His people by grace.

7. God is Righteous and Just

God always does right. His judgments are perfect. “The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works” (Psalm 145 verse 17). His justice demands that sin be punished, but His grace provided a substitute. The cross of Christ satisfied both His justice and His mercy. Paul explains in Romans 3 verse 26 that God is “just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” At Calvary, righteousness and peace met together.

8. God is Love

Love is not merely one of God’s attributes; it is His nature. “God is love” (1 John 4 verse 8. His love is not based on human merit but flows from His own goodness. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5 verse 8. In the dispensation of grace, His love is demonstrated through the gospel of Christ, not through material blessing or signs. The believer’s life now operates by that same principle: “Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us” (Ephesians 5 verse 2).

9. God is Merciful and Gracious

Mercy withholds what justice demands, and grace gives what we do not deserve. David said, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” Paul magnifies this truth when he writes, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5 verse 20). Every member of the Body of Christ stands as a testimony of the exceeding riches of His grace and kindness in Christ Jesus. God’s mercy and grace define His present operation in this dispensation.

10. God is Immutable (Unchanging)

God does not change in His nature or purpose. “For I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3 verse 6). Though His dispensations change, His character remains constant. What He promised, He will perform. His holiness, love, and truth are as firm now as when He spoke the worlds into being. His unchanging nature gives assurance that the believer’s salvation is secure and that His revealed mystery will be fulfilled exactly as written.

11. God is Wise

The wisdom of God is displayed in His plan of redemption and in the revelation of the mystery. Paul exclaims, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Romans 11 verse 33). The mystery shows that God’s wisdom confounded the principalities and powers by reconciling Jew and Gentile into one Body through the cross. His wisdom is not man’s wisdom but the hidden wisdom ordained before the world unto our glory.

12. God is Sovereign

Sovereignty means that God reigns supreme and that nothing can overthrow His purpose. “The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all” (Psalm 103 verse 19). He works all things after the counsel of His own will (Ephesians 1 verse 11). Even when man rebels, God’s plan moves forward. His sovereignty guarantees that the dispensation of grace will end exactly as He purposed, with the Body of Christ caught up to meet the Lord in glory and His promises to Israel resumed in their time.

Conclusion

The attributes of God reveal a Being who is eternal, holy, faithful, powerful, wise, loving, merciful, and unchanging. These qualities work together in perfect harmony and find their fullest expression in the Lord Jesus Christ. To know God is to know Him through Christ according to the revelation given to Paul. The more we study His Word rightly divided, the more these attributes become the anchor of our faith and the measure of our hope. The God who cannot lie, who cannot fail, and who has revealed His mystery through Paul, is the same God who now dwells in every believer by His Spirit and will glorify Himself through His Body forever.