Communicable Traits (Part 2)

Good can also be translated as “worthy of approval”. But who approves? Anything truly good should be worthy of approval by us, however we are not free to decide what is worthy of approval and what is not. Therefore, God’s being and actions are perfectly worthy of his own approval, therefore HE is the final standard of goodness.

Luke 18:19 (ESV)

19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

Good is what God approves! There is no higher standard of goodness than God’s own character and his approval of whatever is consistent with that character. Scripture also tells us that God is the source of all good in the world.

James 1:17 (ESV)

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Not only IS God good, he shares the goodness with His children.

Psalm 84:11 (ESV)

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

In imitation of this communicable attribute, we should ourselves do good (that is, we should do what God approves) and thereby imitate the goodness of our heavenly Father. Paul writes, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Gal. 6:10)

God’s goodness is closely related to several other characteristics of his nature, among them love, mercy, patience, and grace. Sometimes these are considered separate attributes and are treated individually. At other times these are considered part of God’s goodness and are treated as various aspects of God’s goodness. In this chapter we will treat love as a separate attribute since it is so prominent in Scripture.

Love

Describe God’s love:

God’s love means that God eternally gives of himself to others.

This definition understands love as self-giving for the benefit of others. This attribute of God shows that it is part of his nature to give of himself in order to bring about blessing or good for others.

1 John 4:8 (ESV)

8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

We see evidence that this attribute of God was active even before creation among the members of the Trinity.

John 17:24 (ESV)

24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

This love is also reciprocal.

John 14:31 (ESV)

31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

This eternal love of the Father for the Son, the Son for the Father, and of both for the Holy Spirit makes heaven a world of love and joy because each person of the Trinity seeks to bring joy and happiness to the other two.

The self-giving that characterizes the Trinity finds clear expression in God’s relationship to humanity, and especially to sinful human beings.

1 John 4:10 (ESV)

10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Romans 5:8 (ESV)

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

We imitate this communicable attribute of God, first by loving God in return, and second by loving others in imitation of the way God loves them.

Matthew 22:37–39 ESV

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

It is one of the most amazing facts in all Scripture that just as God’s love involves his giving of himself to make us happy, so we can in return give of ourselves and actually bring joy to God’s heart.

Our imitation of God’s love is also seen in our love for others.

Mercy, Grace, Patience

What is God’s Mercy, Grace, and Patience?

God’s mercy means God’s goodness toward those in misery and distress.

God’s grace means God’s goodness toward those who deserve only punishment.

God’s patience means God’s goodness in withholding of punishment toward those who sin over a period of time.

These three characteristics of God’s nature are often mentioned together, especially in the Old Testament.

Exodus 34:6 (ESV)

6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

Because these characteristics of God are often mentioned together, it may seem difficult to distinguish among them.

The characteristic of mercy is often emphasized where people are in misery or distress.

Matthew 9:27 ESV

27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”

Scripture emphasizes that God’s grace, or his favor toward those who deserve no favor but only punishment, is never obligated but is always freely given on God’s part.

Exodus 33:19 ESV

19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Grace as God’s goodness especially shown to those who do not deserve it is seen frequently in Paul’s writings. He emphasizes that salvation by grace is the opposite of salvation by human effort, for grace is a freely given gift. Grace, then, is God’s favor freely given to those who do not deserve this favor.

In the New Testament, and especially in Paul, not only the forgiveness of sins but also the entire living of the Christian life can be seen to result from God’s continuous bestowal of grace.

God’s patience, similarly, was mentioned in some of the verses cited above in connection with God’s mercy.

Numbers 14:18 ESV

18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’

In the New Testament, Paul speaks about God’s “kindness and forbearance and patience”, and says that Jesus Christ displayed his “perfect patience” toward Paul himself as an example for others.

Romans 2:4 (ESV)

4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

1 Timothy 1:16 (ESV)

16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

We are also to imitate God’s patience and be “slow to anger”.

James 1:19 (ESV)

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

And be patient in suffering as Christ was.

1 Peter 2:20 (ESV)

20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

We are to lead a life “with patience”,

Ephesians 4:2 (ESV)

2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

and “patience” is listed among the fruit of the Spirit in

Galatians 5:22 (ESV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Holiness

What is the definition of holiness?

God’s holiness means that he is separated from sin and devoted to seeking his own honor.

The idea of holiness as including both separation from evil and devotion to God’s glory is found in a number of Old Testament passages. The word holy is used to describe both parts of the tabernacle, for example. The tabernacle itself was a place separate from the evil and sin of the world, and the first room in it was called the “holy place.” It was set apart and dedicated to God’s service. But then God commanded that there be a veil, “And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy”.

Exodus 26:33 (ESV)

33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.

The most holy place, where the ark of the covenant was kept, was the place most separated from evil and sin and most fully devoted to God’s service.

The place where God himself dwelt was itself holy.

The Sabbath day was made holy because it was set apart from the ordinary activities of the world and dedicated to God’s service.

God himself is the Most Holy One.

Isaiah 6:3 (ESV)

3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

God’s holiness provides the pattern for his people to imitate.

Leviticus 19:2 ESV

2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

When God called his people out of Egypt and brought them to himself and commanded them to obey his voice, then he said, “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6).

Exodus 19:6 ESV

6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

New covenant believers are also to strive for holiness.

Hebrews 12:14 ESV

14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

And to know that God’s discipline is given to us “that we may share his holiness”

Hebrews 12:10 (ESV)

10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.

The church itself is intended by God to grow “into a holy temple in the Lord”.

Ephesians 2:21 (ESV)

21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

Not only individuals but also the church itself must grow in holiness!

Peace

In 1 Corinthians 14:33 Paul says, “God is not a God of confusion but of peace.”

What is peace?

A freedom from disturbance; tranquillity.

Paul says that God’s actions are characterized by “peace” and not by “disorder”

God himself is “the God of peace”

In the Old Testament, the peace that God gives is described with the rich and full concept of the Hebrew term shalôm, meaning “peace” with an overall sense of well-being in all situations and relationships.

Thus God’s peace can be defined as follows: God’s peace means that in God’s being and in his actions he is separate from all confusion and disorder, yet he is continually active in innumerable well-ordered, fully controlled, simultaneous actions.

This definition indicates that God’s peace does not have to do with inactivity but with ordered and controlled activity.

Righteousness, Justice

In English the terms righteousness and justice are different words, but in both the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament there is only one word group behind these two English terms. Therefore, these two terms will be considered together as speaking of one attribute of God.

So, what is righteousness?

God’s righteousness means that God always acts in accordance with what is right and is himself the final standard of what is right.

Deuteronomy 32:4 (ESV)

4 “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

As a result of God’s righteousness (or justice), it is necessary that he treat people according to what they deserve. Thus it is necessary that God punish sin, for it does not deserve reward; it is wrong and deserves punishment.

When God does not punish sin, it seems to indicate that he is unrighteous, unless some other means of punishing sin can be seen. This is why Paul says that when God sent Christ as a sacrifice to bear the punishment for sin, it “was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

With respect to the definition of righteousness given above, we may ask, what is “right”? In other words, what ought to happen and what ought to be? Here we must respond that whatever conforms to God’s moral character is right.

But why is whatever conforms to God’s moral character right? It is right because it conforms to his moral character! If indeed God is the final standard of righteousness, then there can be no standard outside of God by which we measure righteousness or justice. He himself is the final standard.

It should be a cause for thanksgiving and gratitude when we realize that righteousness and omnipotence are both possessed by God. If he were a God of perfect righteousness without power to carry out that righteousness, he would not be worthy of worship and we would have no guarantee that justice will ultimately prevail in the universe.

Jealousy

Although the word jealous is frequently used in a negative sense in English, it also takes a positive sense at times. Here the sense is “earnestly protective or watchful.” It has the meaning of being deeply committed to seeking the honor or welfare of someone, whether oneself or someone else.

Scripture represents God as being jealous in this way. He continually and earnestly seeks to protect his honor.

Exodus 20:5 (ESV)

5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

How should we define jealousy?

God’s jealousy means that God continually seeks to protect his own honor.

People sometimes have trouble thinking that jealousy is a desirable attribute in God. This is because jealousy for our own honor as human beings is almost always wrong. We are not to be proud, but humble. Yet we must realize that pride is wrong for a theological reason: we do not deserve the honor that belongs to God alone.

It is not wrong for God to seek his own honor, however, for he deserves it fully. God freely admits that his actions in creation and redemption are done for his own honor. To realize this fact and to delight in it is to find the secret of true worship.

Wrath

if God loves all that is right and good and all that conforms to his moral character, then it should not be surprising that he would hate everything that is opposed to his moral character. God’s wrath directed against sin is therefore closely related to God’s holiness and justice.

What is biblical/God’s wrath?

God’s wrath means that he intensely hates all sin.

Descriptions of God’s wrath are found frequently in the narrative passages of Scripture, especially when God’s people sin greatly against him.

The doctrine of the wrath of God in Scripture is not limited to the Old Testament.

John 3:36 (ESV)

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

As with the other attributes of God, this is an attribute for which we should thank and praise God. It may not immediately appear to us how this can be done, since wrath seems to be such a negative concept. Viewed alone, it would arouse only fear and dread. Yet it is helpful for us to ask what God would be like if he were a God that did not hate sin. He would then be a God who either delighted in sin or at least was not troubled by it. Such a God would not be worthy of our worship, for sin is hateful and it is worthy of being hated.

Furthermore, we should feel no fear of God’s wrath as Christians, for although we “were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph. 2:3), we now have trusted in Jesus, “who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10; cf. Rom. 5:10).

Moreover, in thinking about God’s wrath we must also bear in mind his patience. Both patience and wrath are mentioned together in Psalm 103: “The LORD is … slow to anger [patience] and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger [wrath] forever”.

Psalm 103:8–9 (ESV)

8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.

Thus, when we think of God’s wrath to come, we should simultaneously be thankful for his patience in waiting to execute that wrath in order that yet more people may be saved: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Second Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020. Print.

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