· Theology Proper ·

Lecture Twenty Two:  The Communicable Attributes of God I

TH330 Systematic Theology I · Moody Bible Institute · Dr. Richard M. Weber

I. Ontological Attributes

A. Spirituality

“God’s spirituality means that God exists as a being that is not made of any matter, has no parts or dimensions, is unable to be perceived by our bodily senses, and is more excellent than any other kind of existence.”  (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 187-188)

John 4:24.  “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

“God’s being cannot be rightly thought of in terms of space, however we may understand his existence as ‘spirit.’”  (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 187)

Ex 20:4-5.  “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…”

There is no way that you could make anything physical and properly represent God with it.

B. Invisibility

“God’s invisibility means that God’s total essence, all of his spiritual being, will never be able to be seen by us, yet God still shows himself to us through visible, created things.”  (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 188)

1. God is Not Able to Be Seen

John 1:18.  “No one has ever seen God…”

John 6:46.  “No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father.”

1 Tim 6:16.  “…no one has seen or can see [God].”  (cf. 1 Tim 1:17)

1 John 4:12.  “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

2. Yet God Manifests Himself To Us Through Visible, Created Things

Ex 33:11, 21-23.  “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend…  The Lord said, ‘There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.  When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.  Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

1 Cor 13:12, Rev 22:3-4, 1 John 3:2

II. Mental Attributes

A. Omniscience

Omni (all) + Scientia (having knowledge)

“God fully knows himself and all things actual and possible in one simple and eternal act.”  (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 190)

1 John 3:20.  “…God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”

Job 37:16.  “…[God] is perfect in knowledge.”

1. God Fully Knows Himself

1 Cor 2:10-11.  “…The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him?  In the same way no one knows the throughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

2. God Fully Knows All Things Actual

God knows everything that exists, and knows everything that is happening and has happened.

Heb 4:13.  “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Job 28:24.  “…He views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.”  (cf. 2 Chron 16:9; Matt 10:29-30)

Isa 46:9-10.  “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.  I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come…”

Matt 6:8.  “…[Y]our Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

Matt 10:30.  “…even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

Ps 139:1-2, 4, 16.  “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.  …Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, O Lord…  All the days ordained for me were writtin in your book before one of them came to be.”

3. God Fully Knows All Things Possible

The opposite would be open theism. That God doesn’t know all things that are going to happen.

4. God Knows All Things in One Eternal Act

There is nothing for God to learn, He knows it all already.

God all ready knows what we are going to decide.

“If God already knows what I am going to have for dinner tonight, how can I say I am free?”

Determinism: The future is already determined.

Soft Determinism or compatabilism: God orchestrates the desires. So that my inclination is to choose a cheeseburger. When the time comes, we will make the determined decision freely, because God orchestrates the steps leading to that decision point.

Isa 43:25.  “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

Jer 7:31.  “They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire – something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.”

Jer 19:5.  “They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal – something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.”

B. Wisdom

“God’s wisdom means that God always chooses the best goals and the best means to these goals.”  (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 193)

C. Truthfulness

“God’s truthfulness means that he is the true God, and that all his knowledge and words are both true and the final standard of truth.  … God’s faithfulness means that God will always do what he has said and fulfill what he has promised.”  (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 195)