What are the attributes of God?

The Bible, God’s Word, tells us what God is like and what He is not like. Without the authority of the Bible, any attempt to explain God’s attributes (inherent qualities) would be no better than an opinion, which by itself is often incorrect, especially in understanding God (Job 42:7). To say that it is important for us to try to understand what God is like is a huge understatement. Failure to do so can cause us to set up, chase after, and worship false gods contrary to His will (Exodus 20:3-5).

inherent 내재된

qualities 자질

which by itself 그 자체로 혼자서 단독으로

understatement 과소평가

chase 뒤쫓다

contrary 반대의

Only what God has chosen to reveal of Himself can be known. One of God’s attributes or qualities is “light,” meaning that He is self-revealing in information of Himself (Isaiah 60:19; James 1:17). The fact that God has revealed knowledge of Himself should not be neglected (Hebrews 4:1). Creation, the Bible, and the Word made flesh (Jesus Christ) will help us to know what God is like.

qualities 콸러티즈 자질

neglected 너글렉터드 방치된

Let’s start by understanding that God is our Creator and that we are a part of His creation (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1) and are created in His image. Man is above the rest of creation and was given dominion over it (Genesis 1:26-28). Creation is marred by the fall but still offers a glimpse of God’s works (Genesis 3:17-18; Romans 1:19-20). By considering creation’s vastness, complexity, beauty, and order, we can have a sense of the awesomeness of God.

dominion 지배권 / 더미년

marred 얼룩진 / 마아드

glimpse 언뜻 보기 / 글림프스 / 엿볼 수 있는 기회

vastness 광활함 / 배스트너스

Reading through some of the names of God can be helpful in our search of what God is like. They are as follows:

Elohim - strong One, divine (Genesis 1:1) Adonai - Lord, indicating a Master-to-servant relationship (Exodus 4:10, 13) El Elyon - Most High, the strongest One (Genesis 14:20) El Roi - the strong One who sees (Genesis 16:13) El Shaddai - Almighty God (Genesis 17:1) El Olam - Everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28) Yahweh - LORD “I AM,” meaning the eternal, self-existent God (Exodus 3:13, 14).

divine 디바인 신성한

God is eternal, meaning He had no beginning and His existence will never end. He is immortal and infinite (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 90:2; 1 Timothy 1:17). God is immutable, meaning He is unchanging; this in turn means that God is absolutely reliable and trustworthy (Malachi 3:6; Numbers 23:19; Psalm 102:26, 27). God is incomparable; there is no one like Him in works or being.

immortal 이모어털 불멸의

immutable 이뮤터벌 불변의

reliable 릴라이어벌 신뢰할 수 있는

trustworthy 트러스트워디 신뢰할 수 있는

incomparable 인캄퍼러벌 비교할 수 없는

He is unequaled and perfect (2 Samuel 7:22; Psalm 86:8; Isaiah 40:25; Matthew 5:48). God is inscrutable, unfathomable, unsearchable, and past finding out as far as understanding Him completely (Isaiah 40:28; Psalm 145:3; Romans 11:33, 34).

unequaled 어니퀄드 평등하지 않은

inscrutable 인스크루터벌 이해할 수 없는

unfathomable 언패더머벌 헤아릴 수 없는

unsearchable 언서처벌 검색할 수 없는

past finding out as far as understanding Him completely

그를 완전히 이해하는 데 있어서 과거의 발견

God is just; He is no respecter of persons in the sense of showing favoritism (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 18:30). God is omnipotent; He is all-powerful and can do anything that pleases Him, but His actions will always be in accord with the rest of His character (Revelation 19:6; Jeremiah 32:17, 27). God is omnipresent, meaning He is present everywhere, but this does not mean that God is everything (Psalm 139:7-13; Jeremiah 23:23). God is omniscient, meaning He knows the past, present, and future, including what we are thinking at any given moment. Since He knows everything, His justice will always be administered fairly (Psalm 139:1-5; Proverbs 5:21).

respecter 리스펙터 존경하는 사람

favoritism 페이버리티점 편애

omnipotent 암니퍼턴트 전능한

omnipresent 암닙레전트 보편적으로 존재하는

omniscient 암니션트 전지한

including what we are thinking at any given moment 우리가 현재 생각하고 있는 것을 포함하여

• including = ~을 포함해서
• what we are thinking = 우리가 생각하고 있는 것
• at any given moment = 어느 특정한 순간에도, 매 순간

👉**"우리가 어느 순간에든 생각하고 있는 것까지 포함해서"**

또는

👉**"우리가 그 순간순간에 무엇을 생각하고 있는지도 포함하여"**

God is one; not only is there no other, but He is alone in being able to meet the deepest needs and longings of our hearts. God alone is worthy of our worship and devotion (Deuteronomy 6:4). God is righteous, meaning that God cannot and will not pass over wrongdoing. It is because of God’s righteousness and justice that, in order for our sins to be forgiven, Jesus had to experience God’s wrath when our sins were placed upon Him (Exodus 9:27; Matthew 27:45-46; Romans 3:21-26).

devotion 디보우션 헌신

pass over 패스 오우버 넘기다

God is sovereign, meaning He is supreme. All of His creation put together cannot thwart His purposes (Psalm 93:1; 95:3; Jeremiah 23:20). God is spirit, meaning He is invisible (John 1:18; 4:24). God is a Trinity. He is three in one, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. God is truth, He will remain incorruptible and cannot lie (Psalm 117:2; 1 Samuel 15:29).

incorruptible

God is holy, separated from all moral defilement and hostile toward it. God sees all evil and it angers Him. God is referred to as a consuming fire (Isaiah 6:3; Habakkuk 1:13; Exodus 3:2, 4-5; Hebrews 12:29). God is gracious, and His grace includes His goodness, kindness, mercy, and love. If it were not for God’s grace, His holiness would exclude us from His presence. Thankfully, this is not the case, for He desires to know each of us personally (Exodus 34:6; Psalm 31:19; 1 Peter 1:3; John 3:16, 17:3).

defilement 더러움

hostile 적대적

consuming fire 불을 소비하기

holiness 성스러움

Since God is an infinite Being, no human can fully answer this God-sized question, but through God’s Word, we can understand much about who God is and what He is like. May we all wholeheartedly continue to seek after Him (Jeremiah 29:13).

wholeheartedly 호울하아티들리 진심으로