| God's Attributes [message #6581] |
Fri, 08 January 2010 18:18  |
 Mark L
Messages: 856
Registered: October 2006
Location: Canada |
Senior Member |
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One definition would be the perfections of his nature.
Freemans List
1/ Metaphysical Attributes
Eternalness / Sovereignty / Immutability / Omnipresence (Trancendence /Imminence) /Omniscience / Wisdom / Omnipotence / Infinity /
2/ Moral Attributes
Holiness / Righteousness / Faithfulness / /Patience / Love / Grace & Mercy / Glory
A W Tozers List
Self-existent / Self-Sufficiency / Eternity / Infinitude / Immutable / Omniscient / All-Wise / Omnipotent / Trancendent / Omnipresence / Faithfulness / Goodness / Just / Mercy / Grace / Love / Holiness / Sovereignty
Authur Pink's List
Solitariness / Decrees / Knowledge / Foreknowledge / Supremecy / Sovereignty / Immutability / Holiness / Power / Faithfulness / Goodness / Patience / Grace / Mercy / Love / Wrath
You can read
"Meanderings on Scripture by Mark
https://mlederman.substack.com/
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| Re: God's Attributes [message #6582 is a reply to message #6581] |
Fri, 08 January 2010 18:19  |
Mark L
Messages: 856
Registered: October 2006
Location: Canada |
Senior Member |
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God’s attributes are generally thought of as part of his nature. Holiness for e.g. Holiness is what he is. How could he be anything else.. Or his love the expression of his being. I should probably do some more study on this but . . . I have some thoughts I’ve been thinking about for some yrs.
God’s attributes are the very expression of his nature. But it seems to me for some there is more to be said. Like wisdom, strength, knowledge, power. I think that wisdom & knowledge are something God created at the beginning when he decided to begin creating. I mean absolute beginning. Before heaven and everything.
Wisdom & knowledge so he could put a universe together and know when 3 min eggs were done and make 2+2=4 and know how to properly wire a house so it doesn’t go up in flames and how to fashion the inner nature of boys and girls so the generations would go on and how to build an atmosphere that oxygen fueled creatures could thrive in and and and . And how to build heaven and spiritual creatures etc.
His power/strength/faith so he had a way to actually make what his wisdom/knowledge wanted to bring to pass.
We had a teacher from FA many yrs ago who said. “God doesn’t possess power , he is power” How would I argue with that? Of course he is! But at the same time I think there is something deeper. To me some of God’s perfections would simply have no meaning unless there was something outside of his own being. Like wisdom and strength.
There was a time (time?) when there was nothing but God. No heaven or spiritual realm or anything but God. He didn’t dwell somewhere,. There was nowhere to dwell. There was only God. (Father/Son/HS) I realize that bit is theology 101 but I’m trying to simply make my point. So if there was only God why did he need faith or wisdom or knowledge.
Obviously this is not a well thought out position. It’s just something I have thought about for many yrs. I believe He holds these attributes in perfection. I also think they are something he created for the reasons I mentioned
You can read
"Meanderings on Scripture by Mark
https://mlederman.substack.com/
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| Re: God's Attributes [message #6587 is a reply to message #6582] |
Fri, 08 January 2010 20:26 |
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william
Messages: 1464
Registered: January 2006 |
Senior Member
Administrator |
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| Quote: |
Hardbones wrote:
God's attributes are the very expression of his nature. But it seems to me for some there is more to be said. Like wisdom, strength, knowledge, power. I think that wisdom & knowledge are something God created at the beginning when he decided to begin creating. I mean absolute beginning. Before heaven and everything.
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Obviously all of the things we know about God, all of the attributes, go into helping us to "understand" who He is and what He is like. What we know about Him is what He has revealed to us in His Word (the primary source of theology!).
Some of God's attributes are transferable (to us) and some are not, hence the distinctions like "absolute attributes" and "relative attributes", i.e. those attributes that are "communicable" -truth, love, holiness- and those that are not communicable -Eternalness, self-existence, etc.. Since we are called to reflect God in our walk, the question becomes how do we acquire these traits?
The "born again" experience takes care of the main hindrance to the possibility of this happening (our sin nature), but if I understand the book of James, it is the "seed" of the Word that is implanted within our hearts that eventually will produce the fruit, or more specifically, the character of God though our lives.
Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Jas 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
Jas 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
The parable of the sower shows that the reception of the seed alone is not a guarantee that the wonderful character of God will eventually flourish within us, but one thing is clear --without that WORD it isn't going to happen!
Blessings,
William
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