Category: Attributes Of God

The Attributes of the Holy Spirit: Part 3 - Holiness and Love

4/14/2021

TBC Glassboro Sermons and More · The Attributes Of The Holy Spirit: Part 3 - Holiness And Love

Holiness defines someone or something as set apart or separate. That God is holy means that He is has no peer and is set apart from all others.

Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? - Exodus 15:11
There is no one holy like the Lord, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God. - 1 Samuel 2:2

As well, holiness implies absolute moral purity. Hence, God is free from sin.

Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You cannot look on wickedness with favor. - Habakkuk 1:13a

The most common designation for the third Person of the Triunity is Holy Spirit.

Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. - Matthew 12:32

He is also known as the Spirit of Holiness.

who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, - Romans 1:4

That the Spirit is holy implies that like the Father and the Son, He has no peer and is without sin.

The attribute by which the infinite God is moved to communicate with finite humanity is love. 1 John 4:8 declares that “God is love.” Hence, because the Holy Spirit is coequal with God, He is love. God’s love is not an emotional feeling or response but rather a reasoned-out love. It is sacrificial, springing from a deliberate voluntary choice regardless of what it is given in return. The attribute of love is grounded in the Spirit’s holiness. Because the Holy Spirit is love, He produces love in believers.

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The Attributes of the Holy Spirit: Part 2 - Omnipotence and Omnipresence

4/14/2021

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TBC Glassboro Sermons and More · The Attributes Of The Holy Spirit: Part 2 - Omnipotence And 0mnipresence

Omnipotence means that God is all powerful and can do whatever He wills so long as it conforms to His perfect nature. As the third Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is omnipotent.

The Spirit (rûaḥ) of God has made me, And the breath (rûaḥ) of the Almighty gives me life. - Job 33:4

In Job 33:4, the Hebrew term for Spirit and breath are the same — rûaḥ. The term itself refers to something immaterial and when applied to humanity, depicts the consciousness of man. That God is a spirit or rûaḥ means that He is immaterial, that is He lacks flesh and bone. Nonetheless, He is very much real and alive. As well, the Spirit is omnipotent or all-powerful and He created humanity and gave life to humanity. Because the Holy Spirit is omnipotent, He is known as the Spirit of Strength.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. - Isaiah 11:2

That the Holy Spirit is God means that He possesses omnipresence. Omnipresence means that God is all-present or present everywhere at once. Because the Spirit is eternal, He is not bound by time. Because He is the Creator, the Spirit is not by bound space. Therefore, He can be present to the entirety of creation and its various parts. Because the Holy Spirit is omnipresent, there is nowhere that one can go to escape His presence.

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. - Psalm 139:7-10

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The Attributes of the Holy Spirit: Part 1 - Eternal and Omniscient

4/10/2021

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TBC Glassboro Sermons and More · The Attributes of the Holy Spirit: Part 1 - Eternal and Omniscient

Because the Holy Spirit is a member of the Godhead, He shares the same attributes as the other members. A. H. Strong states that God’s attributes 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.” (1)

The Holy Spirit is Eternal (Hebrews 9:14).

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? - Hebrews 9:14

Eternality means that the Holy Spirit is not beholden to temporal limitation. Charles Hodge stated, “With Him there is no distinction between the present, past, and future; but all things are equally and always present to Him.” (2) Everything created exists within time. Whatever exists within time changes. Since the Holy Spirit is not limited by time, He cannot change — He remains the same eternally.

The Holy Spirit has omniscience (1 Corinthians 2:10-11).

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. - 1 Corinthians 2:10-11

Omniscience refers to His ability to know all things actual, possible, past, present, and future in one moment. The Holy Spirit knows all things possible, including every variable. Thus, He is referred to as the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding and the Spirit of Counsel and the Spirit of Knowledge (Isaiah 11:2).

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. - Isaiah 11:2

ENDNOTES:

Augustus Hopkins Strong, Systematic Theology (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1907), 244.
Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1989), 193.

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The Divine Attributes of Christ: Part 3 - Immutability

11/14/2020

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TBC Glassboro Sermons and More · The Divine Attributes Of Christ: Part 3 - Immutability

The next attributes that Christ shares with God is immutability. Immutability, according to Louis Berkof, “is that perfection of God by which He is devoid of all change, not only in His Being, but also in His perfections, and in His purposes and promises…”(1) Thus, immutability means that God does not change.

For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. - Malachi 3:6
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. - James 1:17

God’s immutability also guarantees that what God says, He will do.

God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? - Numbers 23:19
In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. - Hebrews 6:17-18

As God, Christ does not change.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. - Hebrews 13:8

However, immutability is not immobility. Consider the incarnation of Christ. At a moment in time, the second person of the Godhead took on human flesh and nature. However, nothing changed in regard to His deity. He remained one hundred percent God, while becoming one hundred percent human.

ENDNOTES:

Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1941), 58.

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The Divine Attributes of Christ: Part 2 - Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omnipotence

11/11/2020

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TBC Glassboro Sermons and More · New The Divine Attrributtes Of Christ: Part 2 - Omnipresence, Omniscience, And Omnipotence

The next attributes that Christ shares with God is omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. Omnipresence means that God is all-present or present everywhere at once. Because God is eternal (not bound by time), self-sufficient (not bound by limitation), and Creator (not bound by space), He can be present to the entirety of creation and its various parts. However, when Christ took on flesh, He limited His humanity to the time, space, and matter, but His deity remains omnipresent. Hence, Christ could promise the disciples that He would be with them always.

teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. - Matthew 28:20

Omniscience means that God knows all things actual, possible, past, present, and future in one moment before they occur. As God, Jesus knew what was in the heart of man.

and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man. - John 2:25

Though having never met, Jesus knew the Samaritan woman’s past.

for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly. - John 4:18

The disciples recognized Christ’s omniscience.

Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God. - John 16:30

Omnipotence means that God is all-powerful and can to do whatever He wills so long as it conforms to His perfect nature. Jesus, as God, had all authority or power.

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. - Matthew 28:18

His authority included the power to forgive sin.

And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven. […] Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone? - Mark 2:5, 7

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The Divine Attributes of Christ: Part 1 - Eternality

11/11/2020

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TBC Glassboro Sermons and More · The Divine Attributes Of Christ: Part 1 - Eternality

Christ is not simply God-like, He is undiminished God, absolutely equal with the Father.

who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, - Philippians 2:6

Being equal with God, He shares all the attributes of God.

The first attribute which Christ shares with God is eternality. Micah 5:2 prophecies that while Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, He existed throughout eternity. That Christ is eternal means that He is not beholden to temporal limitation. In other words, something that it eternal has no beginning or end. Only God possesses eternality.

Indeed, I lift up My hand to heaven, And say, as I live forever, - Deuteronomy 32:40
But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end. - Psalm 102:27

The Apostle John stated that in the beginning… [Christ] was with God (John 1:1). In the beginning refers to the beginning of the time, space, and matter. The verb was (eimí) is in the imperfect tense, which communicates continual existence in the past. The verse could be rendered that Christ (i.e., the Word) was continually existing with God in the beginning.

Christ, Himself, stated, “before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58). This statement is a declaration of existence before Abraham. Again, note the use of the verb was (eimí). The verb was is in the imperfect tense indicating continual existence. Thus before Abraham was born, Christ was continually existing. As well, note the Christ statement of existence — I am. This is a reference to Exodus 3:14 when God declared to Moses, “I am Who I am.”

Christ is before all things (Colossians 1:17). The verb is (eimí) in the present tense means to exist. The term before (pró) is a temporal preposition meaning at an earlier time. It conveys the sense that Christ existed at an earlier time than all things. All things, including time, space, and matter, were created during the six days of creation. That Christ existed before time, in particular, indicates that He is without temporal limitation ergo eternal.

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The Attributes of God: Part 16 - Veracity

9/19/2020

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TBC Glassboro Sermons and More · The Attributes Of God: Part 16 - Veracity

The fifth of God’s Relative Attributes is veracity. Veracity means that God does not lie.

in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, - Titus 1:2

If God is a liar, He cannot be God. God’s very nature is holiness. Holiness means that God is the standard of absolute purity. If God were to lie, then He would not be absolute purity. Instead, He would be Satan. However, God is unchanging.

For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. - Malachi 3:6

Since He is unchanging, God has not lied nor can He ever lie. It is impossible for God to lie.

it is impossible for God to lie - Hebrews 6:18

As well, not only does veracity mean that God cannot lie, it means that He is Truth.

Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. - John 14:6

Louis Berkhof states that truth is “that perfection of His being by virtue of which He fully answers to the idea of the Godhead, is perfectly reliable in His revelation, and sees things as they really are.”(1) That God is Truth means that He speaks the truth and does what He promises to do.

God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? - Numbers 23:19

ENDNOTES:

Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1941), 69.

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The Attributes of God: Part 15 - Righteousness

9/19/2020

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TBC Glassboro Sermons and More · The Attributes Of God: Part 15 - Righteousness

The fourth of God’s relational attributes is righteousness. God’s righteousness communicates that He is fair and impartial in all His dealings. God is perfectly righteous in the treatment of His creatures.

Opening his mouth, Peter said: I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, - Acts 10:34

God communicates His righteousness as justice through His Law. Thus, God’s Law is the standard of what is fair and impartial. As well, God is completely just to judge someone when they violate God’s Law. God’s justice is twofold — rectoral and distributive. Rectoral justice identifies God as the source of morality, who in turn imposes His morality (i.e., Law) on the world.

The strength of the King loves justice; You have established equity; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. - Psalm 99:4

Distributive justice is God’s execution of His Law in terms of rewards and judgment.

Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions. Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, For what he deserves will be done to him. - Isaiah 3:10-11

The reward aspect of distributive justice is known as remunerative justice. It is a reflection of God’s love.

Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; - Deuteronomy 7:9

The judgment aspect of distributive justice is known as retributive justice. It is a reflection of God’s wrath.

Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them. And all the people shall say, Amen. - Deuteronomy 27:26

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The Attributes of God: Part 14 - Mercy

9/16/2020

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TBC Glassboro Sermons and More · The Attributes Of God: Part 14 - Mercy

The third of God’s Relative Attributes is mercy. God’s mercy or goodness is the demonstration of His kindness to those in distress irrespective of whether or not they deserve it.

For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. - Romans 9:15, 18

It is God’s mercy which cancels the debt of sin through the sacrifice of His Son.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, - Ephesians 2:4-6

Grace gives individuals blessing they do not deserve, but mercy withholds the punishment they do deserve. God doles out His mercy according to His sovereign choice. God demonstrates His mercy, as well as grace, by meeting both temporal needs and spiritual needs.

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. - Hebrews 4:16

Obtaining God’s forgiveness and favor in times of need means that God gives help at the precise moment it is needed. When temptation comes, God provides His mercy and grace to find an escape from the temptation.

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. - 1 Corinthians 10:13

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The Attributes of God: Part 13 - Love

9/16/2020

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TBC Glassboro Sermons and More · The Attributes Of God: Part 13 - Love

The second of God’s relational attributes is love. God is love and demonstrated that love by sending His Son as the atonement for sin.

The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. […] In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. - 1 John 4:8, 10

His love is not an emotional feeling or response but rather a reasoned-out love. According to Henry Thiessen, God’s love is “that perfection of the divine nature by which God is eternally moved to communicate himself. It is not a mere emotional impulse, but a rational and voluntary affection, having its ground in truth and holiness and its exercise in free choice.” (1)

God’s love is sacrificial, springing from a deliberate choice regardless of what it is given in return. The choice is rational and voluntary. Because God's love is bound by His holiness and perfection it is discriminatory. It is not equally disseminated to all. God loved Jacob and hated Esau. The term hate (miseo), as used in this context, means to love less.

Just as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. - Romans 9:13

As well, in His love, God allows those He loves to suffer pain, tragedy, and loss. Again, because His love is bound by holiness, His holiness demands that God judges sin. That judgment results in pain, tragedy, and loss.

ENDNOTES:

Henry C. Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), 86.

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The Attributes of the Holy Spirit: Part 3 - Holiness and Love

The Attributes of the Holy Spirit: Part 2 - Omnipotence and Omnipresence

The Attributes of the Holy Spirit: Part 1 - Eternal and Omniscient

The Divine Attributes of Christ: Part 3 - Immutability

The Divine Attributes of Christ: Part 2 - Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omnipotence

The Divine Attributes of Christ: Part 1 - Eternality

The Attributes of God: Part 16 - Veracity

The Attributes of God: Part 15 - Righteousness

The Attributes of God: Part 14 - Mercy

The Attributes of God: Part 13 - Love

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