The Characteristics of God

By - Eric Shulman, National Capital Bible Church

Growing up, how was God described to you?

Depending on the type of church you attended or the area of the country you grew up in, the answer may have varied. You may have heard of a loving God. You may have heard of a harsh, rule-focused God. Perhaps you viewed God as a being so above us all, it seemed impossible to have a relationship with Him.

The truth is, God’s essence, or characteristics, are well defined for us in His Word, the Bible. Today, we will walk through His 10 characteristics and, going a step further, discuss how we can relate each attribute to working through our problems.

1) Sovereignty

“Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.” Deuteronomy 4:39

When we discuss the idea of sovereignty, it’s easiest to think about in terms of royalty or even politics. Essentially, everything falls under the sovereign; He is the ruler of all. In this case, it applies perfectly to God - He is the ruler of all.

How can this relate to us and the issues we may be having? The knowledge that everything falls beneath God can help us remember He is in charge of all - including the circumstances before us. Take comfort in the knowledge that God rules everything and everyone you may be facing.

2) Perfect Righteousness

“The Lord is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works.” Psalm 145:17

Righteousness can be defined as the quality or state of being holy or pure. Here, we can further define it as God’s infinitely accurate principles of right and wrong.

In an age where people, political parties, and the media are constantly changing what’s acceptable and what’s evil, having an immovable truth is imperative. Through God’s perfect righteousness, we can move away from the ever-changing worldly view of morality. Instead, we can focus on the humbling messages we receive from His word.

Romans 3:22 and 23 serves as an additional reminder that we as people need His perfection in this matter.

3) Perfect Justice

“He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.” Deuteronomy 32:4

In perfect justice, everything God does to His people is fair. It would contradict His makeup, or essence, to be unfair.

It’s important to think of this in a larger context than punishment vs reward. Christianity is not a prosperity gospel; the Bible never tells us that as Christians, only “good” things will happen for us and “bad” things will not. With that in mind and armed with the knowledge that, even when “life” feels unfair, God is in fact acting in fairness, it allows us to understand that there is a greater complexity around our testing. For instance, perhaps the hardship we face will result in the salvation of a significant number of unbelievers.

4) Love

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:37-39

God’s love is unconditional. Despite our shortcomings, He cares for His children, regardless of what we’ve done. Think about this: we brought His own son (Jesus Christ) to the cross. Yet He repaid us by using that act to create the opportunity for our own salvation.

God’s love, an undying love for all of humanity, motivates His grace for us.

5) Eternal

‘“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”’ Revelations 1:8

God has no beginning and no end. He has been here since the start of time and will be here through eternity. There’s nothing God hasn’t seen or foreseen. What an incredible asset in the one who protects and watches over us; there’s no problem or issue we could face He hasn’t seen before.

6) Omniscience

“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.” Psalm 147:5

God is all knowing.

A great application of this for our lives is simple. God knows everything, from our most advanced needs to what the future holds for us. He knows every problem and every solution. As such, we don’t need to be afraid. We can find security in His knowledge, understanding no harm will come to us unless God allows it. Even then, as long as we are in His plan, it will work together for our good.

7) Omnipresence

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” Proverbs 15:3

God is everywhere. As such, there is no place we are hidden from His gaze. He is able to watch over us and protect us anywhere we go.

8) Omnipotent

‘But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”’ Matthew 19:26

God is all powerful. There’s nothing stronger or more powerful than our Savior.

His salvation can conquer the original sin. Nothing, including the boundaries of this world, can stop Him from His desires for us. Knowing the strongest being to ever exist loves you, is watching over you and protects you should come as a great comfort.

9) Immutable

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

Unable to change, God is rooted in His essence. He can never break His promises to us.

We can have complete faith in His Word and guarantees. When we consider the other characteristics on this list, we can have continued faith that nothing can be created or come into this world that could remove Him or lessen Him. God does not change His mind; we are forever secure in Him.

10) Veracity

“In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began…” Titus 1:2

God is not only unable to lie, He is the very definition of truth. As such, God has never been nor will He ever be in error. Furthermore, we can trust the Bible as He claims it to be His Word. This, similar to His immutable nature, provides us security in times of struggle as we know we can rely on His promises.

We can also apply His veracity when trying to better understand the true system of morality. Similar to how we discussed the world’s changing views on what’s acceptable in the perfect righteous section, all we need to follow is His Word. The Bible will show us God, which will reveal the perfect definition of truth, right and wrong.

It’s imperative to understand who and what God is. The knowledge not only allows us to find confidence in Him, but provides reassurance throughout a wide range of struggles we may face in our day to day life.

If you have any questions on this topic or on how to make the information above real in your life, we highly encourage you to reach out to us at National Capital Bible Church. Our pastor, Freddy Cortez, would be happy to discuss it with you.

This post was written by Eric Shulman of National Capital Bible Church. If you have questions about this post or Christianity in general, please contact us today!