Theology Proper is the branch of Christian systematic theology that focuses on God. Theology Proper seeks to help people have a biblical view of God by answer the following questions:
Who or what is God?
What are the qualities and attributes of God?
What are the works of God?
Why did God create human beings?
Does God really care about us?
How does God reveal Himself?
If someone wants to learn about God, how do they do so?
What solutions does God have for our biggest problems?
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
God is an eternal entity who is real, spiritual, and infinite in every aspect of His being, and He is not impersonal but is personal, having personality and intelligence. It is difficult to define who and what God is, because God is, by nature, completely different from what we are, and infinitely transcends our comprehension of reality. Therefore, we can only describe God by analogy and identify His attributes as He has revealed to humanity in His inspired Word the Bible. Nevertheless, the God identified in the Bible is the only supreme, eternally self-sufficient being with absolute aseity, who had no beginning nor will He cease to exist (Psalm 90:2), who is incomprehensible, transcendent, and immutable. There is no one like God nor equal to God, nor is there any greater than Him (Exodus 15:11; Psalm 113:5; Isaiah 46:5, 9). God's other attributes include holiness (Psalm 99:9), omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, logic, righteousness, justice, love, mercy, grace, and so on. All of these attributes exist and function perfectly within God; no divine attribute overrides or cancels out another. That is why God cannot be a God of perfect love without also being a God of perfect justice. God cannot be loving at the expense of His perfect justice and righteousness, so both His love and His justice must be satisfied in order for God to forgive sins. Holiness is the only attribute of God that is emphasized to the third degree (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8). This three-fold "holy" not only reflects the triune nature of God, but also places great emphasis on the perfect and absolute holiness of God. Holiness is not just one particular attribute of God, rather, holiness describes the sum of all the attributes of God's entire being. The Bible says God alone is holy (Revelation 15:4). To be "holy" literally means to be set apart, thus since God alone is holy, it means He always will be totally set apart from all of Creation as the unique and immutable God.
Almighty God has both intrinsic glory and ascribed glory, which He will not give to anyone else (Isaiah 42:8; 48:11). God has a decretive will, a preceptive will, and a permissive will that must be accepted and respected by everyone. God can do all things (Jeremiah 32:17, 27; Luke 1:37; Ephesians 3:20) -- except those things that are contrary to His nature like lie, break His law, be unfaithful, etc). and He is everywhere all the time (Psalm 139:7-12). God cannot be limited or put in a box when it comes to His being, His authority, and His abilities (Deuteronomy 32:39; Psalm 135:6; Isaiah 55:8, 9; Romans 11:33). God is the creator of all things in heaven and in earth (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 44:24; Revelation 4:11), and God created people for His glory and for the glory of His Son (Isaiah 43:7; Colossians 1:15-17). He alone is God and there is no true deity besides Him (Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 45:21, 22; 46:9; 47:8). There have never been any gods before God nor will there be any after Him (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6, 8). In Exodus 3:14, God revealed His name Yahweh to His people Israel, and it is a name derived from the four Hebrew consonants of the Tetragrammaton (יהוה = YHWH) that spell the name of God. God reveals Himself to humanity through the general revelations of the natural world (Romans 1:20) and through certain aspects of human nature (Romans 2:15; Genesis 1:26, 27; 1 John 4:20, 21). He also reveals Himself through special revelations such as the Bible, the Holy Spirit, theophanies, and supernatural signs, but God is ultimately revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ as described in the New Testament. All of God's attributes are manifested in a Trinity of three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ is the Son within the Godhead or Trinity (Isaiah 48:12-16; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 John 5:7).
Theologians divide the attributes of God into two categories. The first category includes God's incommunicable attributes, which always have been and always will be exclusive to God alone, attributes such as God's omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, aseity, eternal existence and immutability. The second category includes God's communicable attributes, also called relational attributes or moral attributes. The communicable attributes are the behavioral attributes that are found in God and shared by God with born again Christians who are conformed to the mind of Christ, attributes such as love, patience, grace, mercy, humility, holiness and an inclination to righteousness.
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD (with biblical proof texts)
This is a list of God’s divine attributes as mentioned in the Bible. The list identifies the intrinsic attributes of God, not God’s names and titles. This list is NOT intended to be exhaustive by any means.
1.) – There is only One true God, only one true deity (Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 43:10; 44:6; 46:9; John 17:3; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; 1 Timothy 2:5; James 2:19), and that God is the Creator and Owner of all things in heaven and in earth (Genesis 1:1; Revelation 4:11).
2.) – God is spirit; He is invisible, and MUST be worshiped in spirit and in truth (John 4:24; 1 Timothy 1:17) and therefore God should NEVER be worshiped through visible things such as idols or images (Exodus 20:4-6; Romans 1:20-25).
3.) – God is Eternal (Psalm 90:2; 1 Timothy 1:17)
4.) – God is Absolute Sovereign (Psalm 47:8; Psalm 103:19; Daniel 4:34, 35; Romans 13:1; Ephesians 1:11),
5.) – God is Almighty and All-powerful (Deuteronomy 32:39; Job 42:1, 2; Psalm 115:3; Psalm 135:6; Isaiah 46:9-11; Revelation 1:8; 16:7)
6.) – God is Omnipresent, sees all things (Psalm 139:7-12; Jeremiah 23:23, 24; Hebrews 4:13),
7.) – God is Omniscient, knows all things (Psalm 147:5; 1 John 3:20),
8.) – God is Immutable or Unchanging (Malachi 3:6; Psalm 102:25-27; James 1:17),
9.) – God is Incomprehensible and Transcendent (Job 37:5; Isaiah 55:8, 9; Romans 11:33).
10.) – God never tires out or grows weary (Isaiah 40:29).
11.) – God is able; nothing is impossible for Him (Luke 1:37; Ephesians 3:20; Jude 1:24).
12.) – God is faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Timothy 2:13).
13.) – God is perfectly righteous and without sin (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 92:15).
14.) – God cannot be tempted (James 1:13).
15.) – God is Holy (Psalm 99:9; Isaiah 6:3; 1 Philippians 1:16; Revelation 4:8).
16.) – God is Light and Truth (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 31:5; Psalm 104:2; 1 Timothy 6:15, 16; Titus 1:2; 1 John 1:5)
17.) – God is Justice (Psalm 9:7, 8; Psalm 89:14; Isaiah 61:8; Revelation 16:7).
18.) – God cannot be contained (1 Kings 8:27; Isaiah 66:1, 2).
19.) – God is complete and self-sufficient; He needs nothing from His creatures (Psalm 50:9-13; Act 17:25).
20.) – God owns all things, and God owes His creatures nothing (1 Chronicles 29:14; Job 41:11; Romans 11:35, 36).
21.) – God created everything out of nothing (Psalm 33:6; Psalm 148:5; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 11:3).
22.) – God created everything all by Himself, with no help from any creature (Isaiah 44:24; Job 9:8).
23.) – God is, always has been, and always will be, the only God (Isaiah 43:10).
24.) – God is the only Savior (Isaiah 43:11; Jonah 2:9; 1 Timothy 2:3, 4).
25.) – God is the ultimate source of life (Psalm 36:9; Jeremiah 17:13; Acts 17:28).
26.) – God will not give His glory to another (Isaiah 42:8; Isaiah 48:11).
27.) – God loves righteousness and hates sin (Proverbs 3:32-35; Proverbs 15:9).
28.) – There is no one like God, nor equal to God (Exodus 15:11; Psalm 113:5; Isaiah 46:5, 9).
29.) – God Almighty manifests Himself as a Trinity of three distinct Persons (or Hypostases): Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 John 5:7), and that these three Persons are exactly equal to each other in both nature and essential attributes. The Father is God (Romans 1:7; Philippians 1:2; 2 Peter 1:17), the Son (Word) is God (John 1:1; Romans 9:5; Hebrews 1:8), and the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:4). Each of these three Persons possesses the complete essence and nature of God, including eternity, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, perfect righteousness, perfect holiness, immutability, transcendence, infinity, etc. These three Persons of the Trinity (or Godhead) are distinct, yet each is Almighty God.
30.) – The God of the Bible is a God of unconditional love and goodness (Exodus 34:6, 7; Psalm 86:5; 1 John 4:8), but He is a God of wrath and righteous indignation toward those who do not repent and devote their lives to His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16, 36; Hebrews 10:26-31; 1 John 2:23-25).
THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE OF GOD
Divine providence is the means by and through which God governs all things in the universe. The doctrine of divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. This includes the universe as a whole (Psalm 103:19), the physical world (Matthew 5:45), the affairs of nations (Psalm 66:7), human birth and destiny (Galatians 1:15), human successes and failures (Luke 1:52), and the protection of His people (Psalm 4:8). This doctrine stands in direct opposition to the idea that the universe is governed by chance or fate. The purpose, or goal, of divine providence is to accomplish the will of God. To ensure that His purposes are fulfilled, God governs the affairs of men and works through the natural order of things. The laws of nature are nothing more than a depiction of God at work in the universe. The laws of nature have no inherent power, nor do they work independently. The laws of nature are the rules and principles that God set in place to govern how things work. The same goes for human choice. In a very real sense we are not free to choose or act apart from God’s will. Everything we do and everything we choose is in full accordance to God’s will—even our sinful choices (Genesis 50:20). The bottom line is that God controls our choices and actions (Genesis 45:5; Deuteronomy 8:18; Proverbs 21:1), yet He does so in such a way that does not violate our responsibility as free moral agents, nor does it negate the reality of our choice.
The doctrine of divine providence can be succinctly summarized this way: “God in eternity past, in the counsel of His own will, ordained everything that will happen; yet in no sense is God the author of sin; nor is human responsibility removed.” God is totally unlimited in knowledge and power; His counsel will stand regardless of the choices and actions of angels or human beings (Psalm 33:10, 11; Proverbs 19:21; Isaiah 46:9-11). The primary means by which God accomplishes His will is through secondary causes, such as the laws of nature (2 Samuel 21:1), the angelic or demonic realm (1 Kings 22:19-23), and the choices or actions of human beings (2 Samuel 17:14; Jeremiah 22:25). In other words, God works indirectly through these secondary causes to accomplish His will. God also sometimes works directly to accomplish His will. These works are what we would call miracles; that is, supernatural events as opposed to natural events. A miracle is God’s circumventing, for a short period of time, the natural order of things to accomplish His will and purpose. Examples of miracles include the parting of the Red Sea in behalf of the Israelites (Exodus 14:21-23), the Holy Spirit's conceiving Christ in the virgin Mary (Luke 1:31-35), Jesus' healing sick people (Matthew 4:23, 24), Jesus' walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33), and the salvation of the believer from sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:50-55; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:4, 5).
LEARNING ABOUT GOD AND GETTING TO KNOW GOD
If anyone desires to learn about God, they must read the Bible, which contains virtually all the information God revealed about Himself to humanity. The power of the Holy Spirit is another way God reveals Himself, and no one can understand the deepest truths in the Bible without the Holy Spirit opening their understanding (1 Corinthians 2:14; John 16:13). As a person reads the Bible and take its words seriously, they will discover the vast difference between finite, sinful humanity and the infinite, holy God. They will come to the realization that God hates sin and disorder, and He will not tolerate such things in His presence without exacting punishment or correction (Proverbs 3:32-35; Proverbs 15:9; Romans 2:5-11; Ephesians 5:3-6). Although God hates sin, He has no pleasure in the suffering and death of sinners; instead, He desires that everyone repent and trust in Him with love, humility and godly fear (Ezekiel 18:32; 33:11; 2 Peter 3:9). As a solution to the sin problem, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, as Savior into the world to atone for humanity's sins on the Cross (John 3:16; Romans 5:6-8; 6:23; 1 John 4:9, 10). All who believe on Jesus Christ will be saved, sanctified and glorified so that they may shine forth God's image perfectly and live a life that glorifies Him. Having a correct and biblical view of God is absolutely essential because an incorrect view of God leads to an incorrect view of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the nature humanity, salvation and other theological issues. If a person's view of God is wrong, then they will be wrong on all other Bible subjects. Heretical views about God include atheism, agnosticism, pantheism, panentheism, naturalism, arianism, modalism, tritheism, polytheism, and henotheism.
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