I was very blessed an excited to be invited as a guest teacher by Rev. Jon Nessle on his “Tune-in-Tuesday” teaching series this week, where we did a double-header with both teachings centered aspects on The Attributes of God. I’m so thankful & blessed to be working with Jon Nessle on various projects one of which is a forthcoming co-authored book on the “Attributes of God.” This series of weekly teachings by Jon Nessle is a great launching pad into this subject, starting in Colossians tonight with the Attributes of God in Christ, How can we ever get to know and relate to our Heavenly Father, the Infinite and Almighty Creator? This post consists of the teaching notes for my presentation tonight.
Attributes of God in Christ
Jon opens and transitions to [Col. 2]. The Greek word for God’s Attributes in the Bible θειοτης, theiotēs, from the root θεος, theos, God. The -της suffix denotes the Divine “qualities” of God. In the Lexicons, it is defined as “divinity, characteristic or property of God,[1] “divine nature,” [2] “the nature or state of being of God … what God is like.” [3] This word is found in both Col. 1& 2. In the opening and salutation of Col. 1:3;
Col. 1:3 “We give thanks to God [theos] and the Father [pater] of our Lord [kurios] Jesus Christ, praying always for you.
Strong’s Concordance provides a short definition of “Theos” as God-the Supreme divinity, but it is also used figuratively in reference to human magistrates, similar to Elohim in Hebrew.1 It is the supreme divinity referenced in the openings of these Church Epistle’s by Peter & Paul. However, some occurrences of “theos” in these verses appear with the article [the God], and some without. Here is a detailed explanation from Spiros Zodhiates, of how the inclusion or omission of the article effects the usage of “theos” in the context;
“Theos; without the article; does not indicate God as He appeared in His various theophanies, as to Moses; when He spoke to Him face to face, [Ex. 33:11], but God in His eternity, infinity, totality, and in His essential essence as Spirit. The Creator being larger than any of His Creations, cannot possibly be seen in His totality, [I Tim. 6:16].”2 “dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.” [Jn. 1:18]
Many times “Theos” occurs with the definite article, [ho] but it may not be so rendered in the text because in English we never refer to God as “the God,” except when He is defined as belonging to someone specifically; such as “the God of Abraham.”3 [from notes on “theos” (#2316) in the “Lexical Aids to the NT,” in The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible. ppg. 1696-1697], Spiros Zodhiates.
Thus, in the cases above where “Theos” appears with the definite article; [the God], it designates that He [the God of our Lord Jesus Christ] belongs to Jesus, in the sense that Jesus worshipped Him as his personal God and Father, even as Abraham did. To be clear, this puts the relationship between Jesus and God the Father, on the same level as the relationship between Abraham and God. We find this usage with the article also in the openings in [Eph. 1:3, 17, I Pet. 1:3].
Secondly, when “theos” appears without the article, emphasizing “God in His Eternity, Infinity, Totality, and in His essential essence as Spirit, the Creator being larger than any of His Creations, cannot possibly be seen in His totality.” As a result, we are left with the case where God can never entirely be observed, or comprehended in the senses realm, in His essential essence as Spirit, because nothing in the Created world, observed by the human senses can ever contain the completeness of the Infinite and Almighty God [II Kgs 8:27, #2. Omnipresent].
We see “Theos” used in the opening verses above without the article in [II Cor. 1:3, Col. 1:3, Rev. 1:6]. This provides a foundational point upon which the following study is based, the fundamental dichotomy between the completeness of all The Creator’s Attributes vs. the works of His hands-His Creation. We will find this dichotomy restated below; that nothing within finite Creation can fully observe, contain or equal the Almighty, & Infinite Creator, [see chart; #1, #2, #5, #6, #8, #15, #17].
Just as we see in the Epistles of Paul and Peter, and the relation between Abraham and God, so we find also in the Gospel of John with Jesus.
John 20:17b.“Jesus said unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father [Pater], and your Father [Pater], and to my God [theos] and your God [theos]. [II Cor. 1:2-3]
Here Jesus in his resurrected body, was still in the process of fulfilling “every jot and tittle of the OT Law as the first-fruits from the dead [Rom. 6:9, I Cor. 15:20-23, Rev. 1:5], so as the first person ever raised to heaven, conquering death, Jesus had not yet presented himself to the Father in the Heavenly Temple. Thus, when Jesus addressed Mary Magdalene, he put his relationship with “my Father [Pater], and your Father [Pater], and to my God [theos] and your God [theos],” on the identical level as Mary’s relationship with God the Father. Could Jesus make it any plainer?? God is the God of Jesus just like God is the God of all humanity, even as was the case with “the God of Abraham.” [article included]
Generally since man’s knowledge of God is limited and obscure, so in many cases it will help us to gain our bearings at the outset to consider; What God is Not, so that we can take a firm hold on Who and What He IS. It provides a better grasp to understand Him as the Originator and Creator by knowing first, that He Himself has No Origin and is Self-existent. We can also grasp His title as the God of Truth with the knowledge written by the Apostle Paul, in [Tit. 1:2] that “God cannot Lie.” By removing the negative it helps to define and set boundaries for the positive!
In certain cases when a subject like the Almighty is hard to frame, stating the stark negative sharpens our focus. As we consider our human efforts like buzz lightyear to probe “infinity and beyond” even as this is a practical impossibility, it helps to have a starting point that is more familiar to us, as seen in Prov. 9:10 below, the reverent Awe of God is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge, and God’s Word is the only reliable source of this kind of knowledge!
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
As the verse tell us; those who follow His precepts with respect will have a “good understanding and knowledge of the Holy.” Abiding by the principles of true Biblical research will also keep us out of the pitfalls of magnifying any of God’s Attributes to the exclusion, or at the expense of another. God’s Names are magnified in unity with All of His Attributes, and implementing one does not limit, diminish or destroy any of His other traits in any way. We must believe God’s witness of Himself in the Bible first and foremost, and never allow God’s Biblical Resume’ to be disparaged as a result of man’s theology or traditional/orthodox doctrines. We have to interpret things within their original linguistic and historical context, and we must adopt a Semitic world view as we allow God’s Word to speak for itself. We must allow God’s witness of and for Himself, to stand on its own Scriptural merits. This will help us to better understand How God is “infinitely diversified,” because the magnitude of His spectrum of Godly Attributes individually and collectively- exhibit His Almighty Nature. Each of His Attributes sets a defined spectrum of His Kaleidescopic Glory, and Loving Power.
God has endowed His Son with as many attributes of deity as possible, without losing His Own unique identity, as The One and Only Eternal, Almighty God. Logically, even one point of dissimilarity between the Almighty and Jesus, disproves an equal identity between the Father and His Son. Since Jesus is lacking in certain attributes of God that make the Father unique, this shows that The Creator and Jesus although similar, in their shared points of deity, are not identical, as we find in Col. 1 & 2. agreeing with the Hebrew word “image,” [Gen. 1:26 H6754-Tselem] that the image is not an exact copy of God. This concept has been mapped in the chart of the Attributes of God in Christ, which is based on [Col. 1:19, 2:9-10]
Col. 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him [Christ] should all fullness dwell. See also [Eph. 1:22-23, 3:19]
Col. 2:9-10
“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and we are complete in him, which is the Head of all principality and power,”
“fullness”-[pleroma] meaning “an allotment, or what something is filled with.” In Christ dwells everything that God could put into a human body without losing His own identity. Sheer logic tells us there can only be ONE Infinite and Eternal Head-God, [Isa. 45:5, 6,18, 21, Mal. 2:10, I Cor. 8:4-6 (#1, 15)]! An Attribute that makes the Almighty unique is that He is infinite-lacking nothing. If He lacks anything, He is not the Almighty Creator!13 The included Chart shows, that Christ shares certain aspects of the Divine Nature with God, but NOT all of them. Thus, Christ Jesus falls short of the Infinite Almighty Creator-God, [#6] while sharing some aspects of deity with the Almighty. This magnifies multiple Scriptural problems linked to Trinitarian dogma, which seemingly reproduce in the immediate context of Col.2:9-10.
“of the3588 Godhead”2320=theotes, [only usage]. This is a noun that indicates the singular qualities making God; GOD. All these qualities do not exist in Christ.14 [I Cor. 15:27-28], God Almighty has delegated power to Christ because the Father is greater than the Son, [Jn. 14:28, I Cor. 11:3, Eph. 1:17-23, 3:16-19].
“bodily”-[somatikos] A basic aspect of Trinitarian dogma is that Jesus is the God-man, or God in the flesh, and [Col. 2:9] is a key verse to back up this idea, due to the linkage of this word “bodily.” According to Strong’s Concordance, somatikos deals with “the corporeal, connected with the human body, or any physical form as opposed to the soul.”15 Thus in English, we have words like “Somatology”-the scientific study of organic bodies, or a branch of Anthropology concerned with the character and physical nature of man.16 I also recall from my school days the various “soma-types known as;” endomorph, ectomorph and mesomorph, as categories of human body types. The Trinity puts Christ in a special, indeed singular category of body type, called “God in the flesh.” If the Trinitarian version of [Col. 2:9] is true, and their literal handling of “somatikos” here is consistent, then other Scriptures where “somatikos“ occurs, linked with the idea of God Almighty assuming a physical form, should be handled in the same way. In Luke 3:21-22 we find such a case, where Jesus was baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist, and “Heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily [G4985-somatikos] shape, like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased.”
According to the Trinity theory, the “Holy Spirit is the 3rd person of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” Thus Luke 3:22 records God as the Holy Spirit taking the bodily [somatikos] form or shape like a Dove. The logical question becomes; if Jesus is the Almighty God taking a physical form [somatikos] as “God the Son,” in the flesh, then the 3rd person of the Trinity–God the Holy Spirit taking the physical form [somatikos] of a Dove, must also be God in the flesh!! This verse alone violates [Deut. 4:15-18, Rom. 1:23] in 2 ways, not to mention they no more have a Trinity, but the Trinity Triangle has been converted to a Quadrangle, and again they have put God in an ill-fitting “box.” Thus, not only does 3=1, but also 4=1, because their “God equation” has been raised to the 4th power! This illustrates what Jesus said in John 4;
John 4:22-24
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Do we all desire to worship the One True God? I’m sure many God-seekers share a heartfelt desire to worship the Heavenly Father, but without a standard for truth, they will find their path much more difficult and more laden with pit-falls than if they sought God according to His Word. God not only reveals Who He IS, but How He wants to be worshipped in Scripture. As Jesus said in v.22 “Ye worship ye know not what…” Israel got to the place where they thought they were worshiping the true God, but really didn’t know Who or What they were worshiping. This called for the ministry of John the Baptist to breach the legalism that encrusted the Scribes and Pharisees of that day, to prepare the way for the deliverance of Lord Jesus Christ.
There can be a world of uncertainty between the desire to worship God, and actually doing it in a way that pleases Him. If this were not the case, then God would not need to seek after such to worship Him, Right? Mankind’s quest to worship and honor God involves important keys that must be adhered to for success. First, we must have knowledge of the true God to be able to worship Him according to His Will, not ours. Second, we need access to the true spirit from the true God to worship Him “in spirit and in truth.” This embodies the difference between man’s religion and tradition, vs. true godliness. God’s Word provides the answers to these needs, and the better our grasp of God’s Attributes, the farther along the path to know Who we are worshiping, we will be. As we attain the authentic worship of God in the spirit of truth, then we can with confidence count ourselves as children that God lovingly seeks after, to guard, protect and keep, forever. In this quest;
We are greatly indebted to A.W. Tozer for his unique insights regarding the Attributes of God, on which he has written extensively. Some questions he has posed here are a needed and tremendous aid as we consider God’s Attributes in practical application, helping to guide us on our way to understand the Heavenly Father in our personal relationships with Him, via Jesus Christ. A.W. Tozer’s framing of God’s Attributes from one view, depicts the inter-relationship between God’s panoply of traits and characteristics, as few others have considered. Weighing certain questions that Tozer asks, can enrich our grasp of the Infinitude of God’s Attributes, so that the fullness of our loving fellowship with Him is manifest in all its riches in Christ.
For instance, the Bible teaches that God is Love, yet some interpret this to essentially deny that He is Just. Others misunderstand the Sovereignty of God so that it disparages or takes away from His Goodness and Love. Others stress the Biblical Attribute of God’s Goodness to contradict His Holiness, or they portray His truth as nullified by His Compassion. Any perceived contradiction within the unity of God’s Divine Attributes would point out an imperfection, and since God is Perfect, this is not possible. Thus these examples always indicate man’s theology introducing errors in understanding God’s Nature and the perfect compatibility of God’s Attributes in Scripture.
As we consider some apparent contradictions in our discourse of God’s Attributes individually, it will deepen our understanding of Who God IS. Perhaps even more helpful will be our consideration of the unity and interaction of God’s Attributes and how they support each other. Thus God’s Attributes explain each other as proven facets of His Glory and Majesty. As finite and mortal men, our minds tend to separate and categorize the boundless aspects of the Almighty, providing us footholds to grasp the Infinitude of His absolute completeness in the perfection of His Godhead. In order to prevent the limits of our human perspective from putting the Almighty God in ill-fitting boxes of human design, we must hold to the views of Scripture, where God has revealed His true Nature and has spoken about Himself more completely & accurately than in any literature revealed to humanity.
A.W. Tozer goes on to say:
”In studying any of God’s Attributes, the essential unity of all His Godly traits readily becomes apparent. We find, for example, that if God is self-existent He must be also self-sufficient; and if He has power He, being Infinite, has all power, and with knowledge, His infinitude assures us that He has all knowledge. Similarly, His immutability inherently presupposes His faithfulness. Since He changes not, it follows that He could not be unfaithful, since that would require Him to change.”
This brings us to our first example of an Attribute of God as FIRST CAUSE
By self-existence, we refer to that unique Attribute of God by which He has existed Eternally and will always exist so. Unlike all other aspects that relate to our existence, God does not owe His being to any other thing. I owe my existence to my mother and father, and my ancestors. My computer owes its existence to IBM before they sold the laptop division to the Chinese. And our Earth owes its existence to God, Who through whatever means and processes He saw fit, created the world. All events have Causes. All creatures have been created, Except for the singular Creator-God. God is the Uncaused Cause and the Uncreated Creator, unlike Jesus who himself was created. God did not depend upon anything outside Himself for His existence, nor is He ever dependent in any case, on anyone or anything external to His own Nature.
God upholds the Truth of His Word with His Omnipotent Power. God’s strength of Will to keep His Word {Netsach} [1 Sam. 15:29, Num. 23:19], is seen in that; What God says He always does!! God the self-existent Creator is the Source of all true power, and since a Source must be at least equal to anything that emanates from it, God of necessity must be at least equal to all the power there is, which is another way to say again that He is Omnipotent. This Attribute of God as the First Cause provides an example of how these Superlative Attributes of God support and relate to each other, since we see how other Godly Superlative Traits like the Creator Who is Omnipotent, Eternal and Self-existent, are all self-contained.
God has delegated power to His creatures, but being self-sufficient, He cannot relinquish anything of His perfections and being all powerful, He has never surrendered one iota of His power. He gives with more generosity than any other, but He does not give away. Since He is the Ultimate Source, All that He gives remains His own and returns to Him again. Thus, His Word never returns to Him Void… and as we serve Him faithfully, He reveals our godly purposes to us in this life.
Ephesians 1:1 Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God…
Ephesians 1:11 — In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the Counsel of His will, as revealed in His Word.
John 6:40 “the will of Him that sent me…” Jesus
1 Timothy 1:17 New International Version (NIV)
17 Now to the King Eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Almighty God has No Equal! Nothing in temporal Creation could ever equal the Infinite and Eternal Creator. (Rom. 1:19-23, Isa. 57:15). How can man ever comprehend God inhabiting Eternity Omni-presently? This is why God will take Eternity to reveal Himself to us, because He is SO HUGE and multi-dimensional! (Ps. 145:17, Ps. 18:1-33).
John 17:3 New International Version (NIV)
3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
This verse tells us it is available for us to know the only true God as we saw in John 4:24, and His Son Jesus Christ who God Sent.
The Infinitude of God is also portrayed figuratively as seen in Genesis 1.
Gen. 1:26a
Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
This is an example of the “majestic plural,” as Queen Victoria of England said; “We” are not pleased/amused! [4] When the majesty of one’s position speaks for a clan, group, or nation, this figure is applied. This use of the plural is found in E.W. Bullinger’s definitive work on the subject; Figures of Speech used in the Bible, under “Heterosis,” defined as: an “exchange of one voice, mood, tense, person, number, degree, or gender, for another. It includes the exchange of one form of the verb for another (ie. Intransitive for transitive).” In this case the singular is exchanged for the plural, to draw attention or emphasize the power or authority of One. [See the name of God “El”]. The Orthodox Christian view that Genesis 1:26 reflects God speaking in multiple persons is anachronistic, acultural and # (not the way a Semitic Hebrew would speak) in the least. No Hebrew believer would have thought in this way back when it was first written. [Jon Nessle]
This Trinitarian view of “plurality” contradicts the truth of God as the Almighty Sovereign, Who is over all the idols, humanity, and Creation, Whose ultimate Glory cannot be shared on an equal basis, because it would make more than One, All powerful, All knowing, Everywhere present Creator, whose throne can only singularly be fully occupied by Elohim-Jehovah. The [Shema] truth of One God is also contradicted because, to have more than only One, All-encompassing Creator becomes not only redundant but impossible.
If our position that the Trinitarian view of the plurality of God is contrary to the truth of God’s Word as we are proposing, then what is the Scriptural truth on the plurality of God? Here the Majestic plural applies to the majesty of God’s ultimate position in Power and Glory, as seen in how the plurality of all His multiple Attributes describe the many-faceted strengths of His Sovereign Nature. This is witnessed in what we find with the combined “strengths” of the Names and Attributes of God, which are each so powerful in the singular, that they must be stated in the plural to get the full and true magnitude and impact of the excellence of God’s magnanimous power. Elohim is the majestic plural. When speaking of Almighty God the associated verbs are singular. When speaking of pagan gods the verbs are plural. When theologians depart from the Biblical usage of these figures of speech, or attempt to literalize these figures in support of their theology it is offensive to God, and contrary to the truth of Scripture.
This view accounts for our position supporting the most proper and best fitting view of this “plurality” as the “plurality of fullness or majesty” regarding the Attributes of God, first because it is impossible for Him to share His Superlative Attributes with any other being due to their excellence and magnanimous scope and power, since no other created being could contain them. Is there another entity in God’s Creation that is capable of inhabiting eternity? (Ps. 145:17, Ps. 18:1-33). The answer is an unequivocal and resounding NO!!
So now we are more prepared to embark on our quest to ascend the summit of our understanding of the One True God, by means of what He has revealed to us about Himself. But in this process we will also learn more about ourselves, for one of God’s traits is that He is a Father. He has fathered us by creating His spirit within us, so we can worship Him in spirit and truth. We will also seek out some traits our Heavenly Father has passed unto us, and how to best apply them in our practical Christian daily walk, and fellowship in Christ!
”The things of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God.” Only the Infinite can know the infinite. Forever God stands apart outside and above the temporal world, in unapproachable light.
Within Absolute Divinity are Attributes of God whereof we know nothing. Either they have not been revealed to us, or can have no meaning for us, just as the attributes of Mercy & Grace can have no personal meaning for the angels. These holy beings may know of these Attributes in God but are unable to apply them personally since they have not sinned and have no need to call on God’s Mercy and Grace. So, it is very likely that there are other aspects of God’s Infinitude which He has not yet revealed to us; His ransomed and born again children. [Deut. 29:29] The secret facets of God’s Nature may relate not only to Himself, but also the concealed glories which He will reveal to His Church in everlasting boundless future ages. How great comfort it is to rest in the Everlasting Arms of our Heavenly Father, as we turn from the limitations of our weak and frail flesh, to our limitless Eternal and Almighty Heavenly Father.
Infinity can be used of no created thing, and of no one but the Creator-God. Infinitude can belong to but One. There can be no second. This is Absolute Infinity, which transcends a mathematical/temporal infinity [Phi/Pi, Fibonacci/Lucas number series], whose concepts are confined to the temporal, physical world as in an endless physical count. The kingdoms of biological life with their inherent principle of growth life are built on the endless mathematics of the algorithmic spiral as seen not only in the spiral shell of the Nautilus, but all throughout nature and the human body, Even as an endless mathematical number falls short of Absolute Infinity without temporal bounds, it still provides an important aid to our mind to begin to conceive of an Absolute Infinity.
[Matt. 2:1, Phil. 2:7-8, Hos. 11:9, Num. 23:19]
By virtue of His Superlative Attributes, God is God Almighty. The immutability of God appears in its most perfect beauty when viewed against the mutability of men. In God no change is possible; in men change is inherent. Neither is man fixed nor his temporal world, but he and it are in constant flux. God’s unchanging truths and nature thus become our anchor in this chaotic life. He is outside and above all temporal matters, yet those who are in Christ will share with Him the unfathomable riches of an Eternity with Him. We will now look at some of God’s Superlative “Omni” Attributes starting with God as Eternal.
God is Eternal
El Olam; without beginning or end. [Gen. 21:33] Shows where Abraham called on The Everlasting God, in Beersheba.
Elohim/Olam; Creator dwelling in perpetuity [Isa. 40:28] The Everlasting God and Creator is the originator of all. He is the Only One that Created every-thing, without prior existence, thus He is the Original Source of All. Elohim Qedem; Creator dwelling in Eternity
[Deut. 33:27]
27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. 8 Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew. 29 Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! And thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.
Isaiah 57:15 declares that God is “the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity,” that is: God is everywhere-present throughout all eternity, simultaneously! He inhabits it!
Romans 1:25 Says men worship the creation more than the Creator thus turning the truth of God into a lie, because the man Christ Jesus [1 Tim. 2:5] is part of Creation and in Trinitarian dogma, the God-man is worshipped as Almighty God. The Trinity violates even the laws of physics because it is impossible for something to be both finite [human] and infinite God at the same time, and in the same relationship. This illustrates also that Trinity dogma is man-made because it is defeated by human logic and Science. [God is Light]
Similar to the phrase, “God is love,” “God is light” also is a Biblical metaphor. But because it is stated this way, “God IS light” also is a transcendent trait. The category of light spoken of here is not that which exclusively consists of photons, as we will see below in the depth of the multiple categories of the light of God the Father of Lights.
John 1:4-9
Js. 1:17 Father of Lights
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
The Father of all lights—includes the light of the natural world, the sun, the moon, and stars, shining in the heavens; the light of spiritual wisdom and God’s Love; the light of His Law; the light of prophecy, shining in a dark place; the light of the gospel shining throughout the world; the light of apostles, confessors, martyrs, pastors, and prophets, preaching the gospel to all nations; the light of the Holy Ghost shining in our hearts; the light of the Lord Jesus Christ-the light of the World, New Jerusalem the heavenly city; God is the Father of them all. With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.— The Sun orbited by the earth in its revolutions produces the changes of the seasons, with a constant variety on the earth in its varied climates. In this respect God is not indeed like the Sun. With Him there is no variableness, not even the appearance of turning. He is always the same, at all seasons of the year, and in all ages; there is no change in His character, His mode of being, His purposes and plans. The cycles of the Sun, Moon and Stars, literally “parallaxes,” or variety of phases of heavenly bodies and eclipses one of another by shadows of the temporal world projected through space, are set against the immutability of God. Science, James seems to say, deals with the mutability of phenomena. Faith, and therefore Wisdom, rest on the immutability of God.
In Genesis 1:3 God said let there be light and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good, and God Divided the light from the darkness. This division of spiritual light from darkness is not the same as the division of day from night in the physical heavens, [Gen. 1:14-17]. The light of verses 3-4 was Spiritual light from the Creator-God that enlightened His Creation in the earth before the Sun, Moon and Stars were created in verses 14-17, thus the division between light and darkness was in the Spiritual realm not the physical, resulting from Lucifer’s revolt. As God’s Spirit was manifest in the world [Isa. 11:1-2, I Cor. 12:7-11] so the light of God in its various forms became discernible in the senses realm. The unshielded Spiritual form of Light is the pure laser light of the Creator which no man can see and live, while the physical form of light created with the Sun, Moon an Stars, is discernible in the visible light spectrum and evident to our senses. It is important to understand that physical light includes the entire Spectrum of electromagnetic light, of which visible light registered by the five human senses, is only a small sliver.
This spectrum of electro-magnetic light contains numerous wave-lengths which register to our 5 senses only when aided by human technology, ie; gamma rays, UV rays, X-rays, etc. This provides an insightful analogy of the “God-man” dogma, which can be likened to the visible portion of the light spectrum where God was manifest in His attributes in Jesus Christ. The Creator as Light [Js. 1:17] can be analogized to the entire spectrum of electro-magnetic light because the Spirit of God is manifested as the Light of God in the created world. This light of God manifested to our 5 senses in Creation, was visible in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, yet the entire spectrum of God’s Spiritual Light, was not and never can be manifested on the level of the 5 human senses.
This is why no man has ever seen God [Jn. 1:18] in His raw form of Light because unlike the diffuse visible light that our 5 senses can behold, the purity of God’s unshielded light, like a laser, would fry us! Trinitarians assume that Jesus is the complete, same and identical manifestation of God’s Light, but none of us could ever withstand this, so Jesus came to us as the fullness of God that can be witnessed on the level of human senses, to humanity. We can see this in the Chart of “Attributes of God.” To say Jesus is the “God-man” as the Trinity holds, is like saying the proposed spectrum of all 60 octaves of electro-magnetic light, are visible to our 5 senses! It simply is not the case, because it’s contrary to the Laws of Physics, nor at any time in the past or present has this been the case!
As previously stated, The Creator being beyond the scope of any of His Creations, cannot possibly be seen in His totality, [I Tim. 6:16].” Thus, we are left with the truth that God can never entirely be observed, or comprehended in the senses realm, in His Spiritual essence, because nothing in the Created world, observed by 5 human senses can ever contain the completeness of the Infinite, Eternal and Almighty God, [II Kgs. 8:27].
Omnipresent
Elohim
God is immanent in His creation, that there is no place in heaven, earth or hell where men may hide from His presence. Scriptures teach that God is at once far off and near, and that in Him men move and live and have their being. But what is equally convincing is that God’s Word shows us how God’s Omnipresence supports and unifies with other Attributes in His divine character. The Scriptures teach that God is Infinite. This means that His Being knows no limits. Thus there can be no limit to His Omnipresence. In His infinitude He surrounds the finite creation and contains it. There is no destination you can vacation at that is beyond Him, or that escapes Him.
Acts 17:27-28 — He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being.
Haggai 2:5 — “According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!”
Jeremiah 23:23-24 — “Am I a God near at hand?” says the LORD, “And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?” says the LORD; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the LORD.
1 Chronicles 16:34 – “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His Love endures forever.”
Psalm 33:11 – “The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.”
Job 11:7-9 — Can you search out deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than heaven – What can you do? Deeper than Sheol – What can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.
1 Kings 8:27 — “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You.”
Isa. 57:15
Ezekiel 48:35
Psalm 139:7-10
Jesus was not Omnipresent Heb. 2:14-18
14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Omniscient
God perfectly knows Himself and, Being the Source and Author of all things, it follows that He knows all that can be known. And this He knows instantly and with a fullness of perfection that includes every possible item of knowledge concerning everything that exists or could have existed anywhere in the universe at any time in the past, present or that may exist in the centuries or ages yet unborn.
Psalm 147:5 — [God’s] understanding is infinite.
- Ezekiel 11:5— Then the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said to me, “Speak! ‘Thus says the Lord: “Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind”‘.”
- Acts 15:18— “Known to God from all eternity are all His works.”
Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising and art acquainted with all my ways. I can inform Thee of nothing and it is vain to try to hide anything from Thee. In the light of Thy perfect knowledge
1 Chronicles 28:9 – “…for the Lord searches every heart, and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, we will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.”
Rom. 11:33-34”Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counselor hath taught Him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and showed to Him the way of understanding?” ”For who hath known the Mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counselor?”
These rhetorical questions put by the Prophet and the Apostle Paul declare that God has never learned or changed.
Isa. 42:9, Rom. 16:27, Jude 25
Psalm 139:11, 12 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. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would out-number the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you.
Jesus was not Omniscient [Lk. 2:52, Matt. 13:32, Acts 1:7, Rom. 16:25-26]
Omnipotent
God’s power to do all He desires is the fuel for the engine of His Sovereignty that accomplishes His Providence.
El Shaddai
Sovereignty and Omnipotence must go together. One cannot exist without the other. To reign, God must have power, and to reign Sovereignly, He must have all power the definition of Omnipotence. This word occurs fifty-six times in our English Bible and is never used of anyone but God. He alone is Almighty. Omnipotence is not a name given to the sum of all power, but an attribute of a personal God Christians believe to be the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and of all who believe on Him to life eternal. The worshipping man finds this knowledge a source of wonderful strength for his inner life. His faith rises to take the great leap upward in the fellowship of Him Who will do Whatever He needs to do, or be Whoever He needs to be, to reach us.
Gen. 17:1, 28:3, 35:11, 43:14
Genesis-48:3, 49:24-25
Ex.6:3
Num. 24:4,16
Rev.1:8
Jer.32:17
Ezek.10:5
Genesis 17:1 – “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty’...”
Matthew 19:26 – “Jesus looked at them and said. ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”
Jeremiah 32:17 – “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”
Jesus was not Omnipotent [Jn. 5:19, Matt. 20:23, John 14:28]
What a singularly Awesome God and Loving Heavenly Father we are privileged serve! What better Father, Who is above all that we could ask or think, thru all and in us all, could we have? We are truly blessed beyond all words and thought, so let us joyfully walk and stand in the Strength of His mighty arm and stretched out Hand, to do all that we have been called and chosen to do, carrying forward His boundless healing and loving light to all we encounter… God Bless
Attributes of God in Christ and the Church
| Attributes of God | Bible verses | “in” Christ Jesus [II Cor. 5:19] |
Man [Col. 1:27] |
Angels & evil Spirits | |||||
| 1. | Eternal- El Olam w/o beginning or end |
Deut. 33:27 Rom. 1:20 Deut. 33:27 Isa. 40:28 Isa. 46:10 |
No not co-equal or co-eternal |
Matt. 2:1 Phil. 2:7-8 Hos. 11:9 Num. 23:19 Heb. 1:2 |
Eternal life I Jn. 2:25 5:11,13, 18-20 |
Heb. 2:16 yes |
Rev. 20:10 no |
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| 2. | Omnipresent Elohim |
I Kings 8:27 Isa. 57:15 Ezek. 48:35 |
no | Heb. 2:16-18, | No | No [Heb.2:16] | |||
| 3. | Invisible Theos Aoratos |
Deut. 4:15-25 Jn. 1:18, I Tim.1:17, 6:16 Ex. 33:20 |
no | Rom. 1:23-25 I Jn. 4:12 Jn. 5:37-39 I Tim. 6:16 |
no | Yes | |||
| 4. | Spirit Ruach |
Jn. 4:24 Eph. 4:4-6 |
Yes, but not till his baptism | Lk. 24:39 Lk. 3:21,22 Lk. 23:46 |
Phil. 2:2 Eph. 4:3, 1:13-14 |
Yes -Heb. 2:16 | |||
| 5. | Omniscient Monos Sophos Theos |
Isa. 42:9 Rom. 16:27 I Tim. 1:17 Jude 25 |
no | Lk. 2:52 Mk. 13:32 Rom. 16:25-26, Acts 1:7 Heb. 5:8 |
No I Cor. 2:10 Rom. 16:25 -26 |
No I Cor. 2:7-8 I Pet. 1:9-12 |
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| 6. | Omnipotent El Shaddai |
Gen. 17:1, 48:3, 49:24-25 Rev. 1:8 |
no | Jn. 5:19,30 Mtt. 20:23 Jn. 14:28 |
No I Cor. 2:10 Rom. 8:27 |
No Dan. 10:11-13 |
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| 7. | Life-Giver Ruach, Zao Pater |
Jn. 5:26, 17:3 Matt. 1:18-20 Acts 17:25 |
yes | Jn. 17:2, Jn. 14:28 | II Cor. 5:17 Heb. 9:14-16 |
No-II Cor. 5:17 | |||
| 8. | Father AB/Abba Pater |
Eph. 4:6, Isa. 45:10 Jn. 17:11 Gal. 4:6 |
no | Matt. 20:23-28 Jn. 10:29 |
no | No Isa. 45:9-10 Lk. 4:41 Mk. 5:7 |
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| 9. | God of Truth Alethinos Theos | Jn.17:3,8,14, 17, Heb. 7:1 |
yes | Jn. 17:3 | Jn. 17:8 | Angel yes |
devil no |
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| 10. | Most High Elyon, Hupsistos |
Gen. 14:18-20 Ps. 57:2,78:35 |
no | I Cor. 15:28 John 14:28 |
No | No | |||
| 11. | Glorious Alethinos Theos |
Jn. 17:1,5,22 Jn. 12:28 Isa. 42:8 |
yes | Jn. 12:28, 17:22 Phil. 2:10-11 Mtt. 2:14, 20 |
Jn. 17:10, 22 | yes | no | ||
| 12. | Perfect Jehovah |
Deut. 32:4 II Sam. 22:31 James 1:17 |
yes | Eph. 3:14 | II Cor. 5:17 II Sam. 22:33 Job 1:1,8 |
Yes | no | ||
| 13. | God of Love Jehovah Elohim |
Deut.7:6-9 Jn. 17:23 I Jn. 4:7-12 |
yes | Jn. 17:23 | Jn. 17:23 Phil. 2:2 I Jn. 4:7-12 |
Angel yes |
devil no |
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| 14. | God’s Will Netsach |
Eph. 1:11 Jn. 6:40 |
yes | Jn. 6:38-40, Jn. 8:28-29 Matt. 26:39 | Rom. 12:2, 10:9-10 | yes | no | ||
| 15. | Unity/1 God Jehovah Elohim |
Deut. 6:4, Isa. 45:5-6 Eph. 4:6 |
yes | Jn. 17:11 I Cor. 8:4-6 Jn. 10:30 |
Eph. 4:3-6 Jn. 7:11,23 |
yes | Lk. 4:41 Mk. 5:7 Js. 2:19 |
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| 16. | Honor | Jn. 5:23, Ps. 145:5 |
Yes | I Jn. 5:23 John 8:54 |
Isa. 45:4 | yes | no | ||
| 17. | Creator Elohim |
Gen. 1:1-3 Isa.40:28,43:15, 45:9,11-12, 18 Isa. 46:9-19 |
no | Rom. 1:23-25 Mal. 2:10 Jn. 20:17 Eph. 1:3 |
no | no | no | ||
| 18. | Answers Prayer Elohim |
Gen. 20:17 Heb. 6:13-18 Num. 23:19 no |
yes | Matt. 17:21, Matt. 21:22, Matt. 26:39 Lk. 6:12, 22:41-46 Jn. 12:27-30 |
Yes Mtt.21:22 I Cor. 7:5 |
No | |||
| 19. | Holy Qadosh, Hagios |
Isa. 40:25, 45:11, Isa. 43:3, 57:15 Job 6:10 |
yes | Yes Mk. 1:24 Jn. 17:11 |
Yes Jn. 17:11 |
yes | No Mk. 1:24 |
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| 20. | Authority Theos Pantkrator |
Isa. 57:15 Rev. 4:8 |
No not co-equal/ co-eternal | I Cor. 15: 27-28, 11:3 Jn. 14:28 |
yes | no | no | ||
| 21. | “I AM” Hayah |
Ex. 3:12-16 | No | Matt. 14:27 Mk. 13:6, Mk. 14:62 Jn. 10:36, Jn. 18:4-9 |
no | No | |||
| 22. | Plurality Elohim |
Gen. 1:26-27 | no | Gen. 29:21-27 Ps. 90:10 |
no | no | Yes idols |
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| 23. | Worship Eloah |
Jn. 4:24 Ex. 20:2-3 II Chron. 32:15 |
no | Proskuneo Jn. 4:23-24 |
no | No Rev. 19:10 |
Yes idols |
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| 24. | Foreknowledge Theos |
Eph. 1:4, 11 I Pet. 1:19-21 |
no | I Pet.1:19- 21, Matt.2:1 | No Eph. 1:4 I Pet. 1:1-2 |
no
|
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| 25. | Salvation Jah, Yasha |
Ps. 106:21 Isa. 43:3,11, Isa. 45:15,21 I Tim. 1:1 |
yes | Mk. 2:5-12 Lk. 2:11 Acts 5:31 I Jn. 4:14 |
Yes Rom. 10:9-10 |
No II Cor. 5:18-20 |
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Selected Footnotes
[1] Ibid, p#.
[2] Thayer, Joseph, # p. 285.
[3] Louw, Nida # p. 140.
[4] This famous phrase is attributed to Queen Victoria having been overheard in several incidents. The use of “the royal we’” by a sovereign to mean “I” is said to go back to King Richard I, who, in 1190 in a Latin text, the Charter to Winchester, used nos, “we”, rather than me, “I”. It became a way for the sovereign to indicate that they were more than just a common person and communicated the idea that the will of the monarch was the will of all the people.
