We are today completing our series discussing the attributes of God that are “communicable”. We have divided God’s “communicable” attributes into five major categories:
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- God’s being attributes (Part 1)
- Spirituality definition: 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.
- Invisibility definition: 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.
- Mental attributes (Part 2)
- Knowledge (omniscience) definition: God fully knows himself and all things actual and possible in one simple and eternal act.
- Wisdom definition: God’s wisdom means that God always chooses the best goals and the best means to those goals.
- Truthfulness (and Faithfulness) definition: 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.
- Moral attributes (Part 3a (1 – 4) and last week Part 3b (5 – 8) )
- Goodness: The goodness of God means that God is the final standard of good, and that all that God is and does is worthy of approval.
- Love: God’s love means that God eternally gives of himself to others.
- Mercy, Grace, 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.
- Holiness: God’s holiness means that he is separated from sin and devoted to seeking his own honor.
- Peace: 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.
- Righteousness, Justice: God’s righteousness means that God always acts in accordance with what is right and is himself the final standard of what is right.
- Jealousy: God’s jealousy can be defined as follows: God’s jealousy means that God continually seeks to protect his own honor.
- Wrath: God’s wrath can be defines as follows: God’s wrath means that he intensely hates all sin.
- Attributes of Purpose (Part 4)
- Will: God’s will is that attribute of God whereby he approves and determines to bring about every action necessary for the existence and activity of himself and all creation.
- Freedom: God’s freedom is that attribute of God whereby he does whatever he pleases.
- Omnipotence (Power, Sovereignty). God’s omnipotence means that God is able to do all his holy will.
- “Summary” attributes (this week)
- God’s being attributes (Part 1)
This week we will examine God’s summary attributes (perfection, blessedness, beauty and glory). Even though all the attributes of God modify all the others in some senses, those that fit in this category seem more directly to apply to all the attributes or to describe some aspect of all of the attributes that it is worthwhile to state explicitly.
Perfection. This attribute is the first of those classified as a “summary” attribute because it does not fit well into the other categories that have been listed in our previous categories. Our definition of God’s perfection is this: God’s perfection means that God completely possess all excellent qualities and lacks no part of any qualities that would be desirable for him.
Jesus tells us, “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). And David says of God, “His way is perfect” (Psalms 18:30). There is some scriptural precedent, therefore, for stating explicitly that God lacks nothing in his excellence: he fully possesses all of his attributes and lacks nothing from any one of those attributes. Furthermore, there is no quality of excellence that it would be desirable for God to have that he does not have: he is “complete” or “perfect” in every way.
Blessedness. To be “blessed” is to be happy in a very full and rich sense. Often Scripture talks about the blessedness of those people who walk in God’s ways. Yet is 1 Timothy, Paul calls God “the blessed and only Sovereign” (1 Timothy 6:15) and speaks of “the glorious gospel of the blessed God (1 Timothy 1:11). In both instances the word is the Greek word eulogetos (which is often translated “blessed”), but markarios (which means “happy”).
Thus, God’s blessedness may be defined as follows: God’s blessedness means that God delights fully in himself and in all that reflects his character. In this definition the idea of God’s happiness or blessedness is connected directly to his own person as the focus of all that is worthy of joy or delight. This definition indicated that God is perfectly happy, that he has fullness of joy in himself.
The definition reflects that fact that God takes pleasure in everything in creation that mirrors his own excellence. When he finished his work of creation, he looked at everything that he had made and saw that it was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). This indicated God’s delight in and approval of his creation. Then in Isaiah we read a promise of God’s future rejoicing over his people: “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:6).
It may at first seem strange or even somewhat disappointing to us that when God rejoices in his creation, or even when he rejoices in us, it is really the reflection of his own excellent qualities in which he is rejoicing. But when we remember that the sum of everything that is desirable or excellent is found in infinite measure in God himself, then we realize that it could not be otherwise: whatever excellence there is in the universe, or whatever is desirable, must ultimately have come from him, for he is the Creator of all and he is the source of all good. “Every good endowment 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” (James 1:17).
We imitate God’s blessedness when we find delight and happiness in all that is pleasing to God, both those aspects of our own lives that are pleasing to God and the deeds of others. In fact, when we are thankful for and delight in the specific abilities, performances, and other characteristics with which God has created us as individuals, and then we also imitate his attribute of blessedness. Furthermore, we imitate God’s blessedness by rejoicing in the creation as it reflects various aspects of his excellent character. And we find our greatest blessedness, our greatest happiness, in delights in the source of all good qualities, God himself.
Beauty. God’s beauty is that attribute of God whereby he is the sum of all desirable qualities. This attribute of God has been implicit in a number of the preceding attributes, and is especially related to God’s perfection. However, God’s perfection was defined in such a way as to show that he does not lack anything that would be desirable for him. This attribute, beauty, is defined in a positive way to show that God actually does possess all desirable qualities: “perfection” means that God doesn’t lack anything desirable; “beauty” means that God has everything desirable. They are two different ways of affirming the same truth.
David speaks of the beauty of the LORD in Psalm 27:4: “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.” A similar idea is expressed in another psalm” “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing upon earth that I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25). In both cases, the psalmist recognizes that his desire for God, who is the sum of everything desirable, far surpasses all other desires. This desire culminates in a longing to be near God and to enjoy his presence forevermore. Thus, the greatest blessing of the heavenly city shall be this: “They shall see his face” (Revelation 22:4).
We reflect God’s beauty in our own lives when we exhibit conduct that is pleasing to him. The beauty of our lives is so important to Christ that his purpose now is to sanctify the entire church “that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27). Thus, we individually and corporately reflect God’s beauty in every way in which we exhibit his character. When we reflect his character, he delights in us and finds us beautiful in his sight.
We also delight in God’s excellence as we see it manifested in the lives of our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Therefore it is right that we feel joy and delight in the fellowship of one another, and that this joy deepens as our conformity to the life of Christ increases. It is right that we long to be in the fellowship of God’s people in which God’s character is manifested, for when we delight in the godliness of God’s people, we are ultimately delighting in God himself as we see his character in the lives of his people.
Glory. In one sense of the word glory it simply means “honor” or “Excellent reputation.” This is the meaning of the term in Isaiah 43:7, where God speaks of his children, “whom I created for my glory,” or Romans 3:23, which says that all “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” It also has that meaning in John 17:5, where Jesus speaks to the Father of “the glory which I had with you before the world was made,” and in Hebrews 1:3, which says the Son “is the radiance of God’s glory”. In this sense, the glory of God is not exactly an attribute of his being but rather describes the superlative honor that should be given to God by everything in the universe. This is not the sense of the word glory that we are concerned with in this section.
God’s “glory” means the bright light that surrounds God’s presence. Since God is spirit, and not energy or matter, this visible light is not part of God’s being but is something that was created. We may define it as follows: God’s glory is the created brightness that surrounds God’s revelation of himself.
This “attribute” of God is really not an attribute of God in the sense that the others were, for here we are speaking not of God’s own character but of the created light or brilliance that surrounds God as he manifests himself in creation. Thus, God’s glory in this sense is not actually an attribute of God himself. Nevertheless, God’s glory is something that belongs to him alone and is the appropriate outward expression of his own excellence. It seems right therefore to treat it here immediately after the attributes of God.
Scripture often speaks of God’s glory. David asks, “Who is the King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!” (Psalm 24:10). We also read in Psalm 104:1-2, “O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with honor and majesty, you who cover yourself with light as with a garment…” This glory of God is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament.
It is mentioned again in the New Testament in connection with the announcement of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds: “And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear” (Luke 2:9). God’s glory was also evident at the transfiguration of Christ, and we find in the heavenly city yet to come that “the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the lamb (Revelation 21:23).
It is very appropriate that God’s revelation of himself should be accompanied by such splendor and brightness, for this glory of God is the visible manifestation of the excellence of God’s character. The greatness of God’s being, the perfection of all his attributes, it is something that we can never fully comprehend but before which we can only stand in awe and worship. Thus, it is appropriate indeed that the visible manifestation of God be such that we would be unable to gaze fully upon it, and that it would be so bright that it would call forth both delight and deep awe from us when we behold it only in part.
Quite amazingly, God made us to reflect his glory. Paul tells us that even now in our Christian lives we all are being “changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Though we do not now find ourselves surrounded by a visible light, there is brightness, a splendor, or a beauty about the manner of life of a person who deeply loves God and it is often evident to those around such a person. In the life to come, such brightness will be intensified, so that as we reign with Christ, it seems that we also will receive an outward appearance that is appropriate to that reign and to our status as image bearers of God and servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.