Attributes of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

The Father, Son, & Holy Spirit are One being (God) with different states. An analogy of describing God’s being would be water. Water is H2O. However, the H2O can exist in 3 states; solid (ice), liquid (water) & gas (water vapor). When thinking about the Lord’s attributes it is good to remember that the words are describing who He is. For example, we should not have an idea of what love is then say God should be that way. People may have an idea of what love might be and apply it to the Lord which is not true. Rather He is the definition of love. All of His attributes are not contradictory, His hate towards wickedness will not nullify His love. Keeping this in mind, the following is a list of His attributes:

  • Self-Existence:  He has no origin, “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14, John 5:26). 

  • Self-Sufficiency: He has no need from anyone or anything, rather everything else has dependency on Him (Acts 17:25, Romans 11:34-36).

  • Eternal: He will always exist (Psalm 102:12, 2 Peter 3:8).

  • Infinitude: He is limitless (Psalm 147:5, John 3:34).

  • Immutability: He is unchanging (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8).

  • All knowing: He has information about everyone and everything (Hebrews 4:13, 1 John 3:20).

  • Wisdom: He understands and has good judgement about everything (Job 12:13, Jeremiah 10:12).

  • All powerful: He has the ability to do anything (except sin) (Genesis 17:1, Revelation 1:8). 

  • Transcendence: He is beyond time, space and everything else (2 Chronicles 2:6, Isaiah 55:8-9).

  • All present: He is everywhere (Proverbs 15:3, Psalm 139:7-10).

  • Faithfulness: He does what He says (Numbers 23:19, 2 Timothy 2:13). 

  • Goodness: He is gentle, considerate and friendly (John 15:15, Acts 10:38).

  • Justice: His actions and ways are righteous (Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 9:7-8). 

  • Grace (undeserved favour): He shows us favour even when He could not (Psalm 145:9, Luke 6:36). 

  • Mercy: He does not punish us as He ought to (John 1:14, Ephesians 2:8-9).

  • Love: He has affection for His creation without condition (Psalm 136:26, John 3:16).

  • Holiness: He is set apart and blameless (Isaiah 43:15, Revelation 15:4).

  • Sovereignty: He is the supreme power and authority (2 Samuel 7:22, Lamentations 5:19, Romans 14:11).

  • Creative: He has original ideas and many unique ways He does things (Genesis 1-2, Romans 1:20, Ephesians 2:10, Matthew 9:27-30, Mark 8:22-25)

  • Wrath: He has anger towards wickedness, evil, and those who practice it, but not towards His family (Ephesians 5:6, Colossians 3:6, John 3:36, 2 Peter 2:9, Romans 5:9, Luke 15:11-32)

  • Humble: He puts others before Himself (Matthew 11:29, John 13:1-17, Philippians 2:7-8)

  • Light: there is no darkness in Him (1 John 1:5, John 8:12)

God is loving, He has nothing but love when He looks at you. His desire is to be with you, He is not angry or ashamed or disappointed with you! Believe it! 

Application

Walk through each attribute in the above list, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the significance of each one. Also do some research on each attribute!