Attributes of God: Part 1

There are two main ways to describe God’s attributes: incommunicable and communicable. Incommunicable attributes are the qualities of God that we cannot share. Communicable attributes are the qualities of God that we, as His creation, can also share. The way I remember the difference is because if we can communicate, I am able to be like you- communicable. But if we are not able to communicate (the prefix in- means not), then I cannot be like you- incommunicable.

Today we are going to focus on only 3 of God’s attributes. All of them are considered incommunicable, because you and I can never be any of these three things. 

Lord, you have searched me and known me. 

You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
you understand my thoughts from far away.
You observe my travels and my rest;
you are aware of all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue,
you know all about it, Lord.
You have encircled me;
you have placed your hand on me.
This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.

Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I fly on the wings of the dawn
and settle down on the western horizon,
even there your hand will lead me;
your right hand will hold on to me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,
and the light around me will be night”—
even the darkness is not dark to you.
The night shines like the day;
darkness and light are alike to you.

For it was you who created my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.
Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well.
My bones were not hidden from you
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in your book and planned
before a single one of them began.

God, how precious your thoughts are to me;
how vast their sum is!
If I counted them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand;
when I wake up, I am still with you.

Psalm 139:1-18

God is omniscient. 

This means God is all knowing. 

Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
you understand my thoughts from far away.
You observe my travels and my rest;
you are aware of all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue,
you know all about it, Lord.
You have encircled me;
you have placed your hand on me.
This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it. –Psalm 139:1-6

God knows literally everything about everything. EVERYTHING. He knew you before your parents were even born. God knows the beginning of time, the ending of time, and everything in between. He knows every move you make- standing up or sitting down. God knows the words that will come from your mouth before they even pop up as thoughts. 

Our brains don’t comprehend this aspect well because we are so finite. We can only know so many things. God has no limit. So He is able to know all things. 

What is amazingly neat about this attribute of God is that even though he knows literally everything about you- your actions, beliefs, opinions, preferences, thoughts, desires- He still loves you beyond your wildest dreams. He loves you completely AND He knows you completely!! We, as silly finite humans, are not capable of this kind of knowledge or love. 

God is omnipresent.

This means He is present everywhere at the same time. 

Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I fly on the wings of the dawn
and settle down on the western horizon,
even there your hand will lead me;
your right hand will hold on to me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,
and the light around me will be night”—
even the darkness is not dark to you.
The night shines like the day;
darkness and light are alike to you.- Psalm 139:7-12

God is all places at all times. Again, how can our finite brains understand this concept? Of course, in our current culture we try to be multiple places at the same time. Hello, SOCIAL MEDIA. Hello, FACETIME. With this technology, it is evident that we are trying to be in multiple places with multiple people instead of just in one spot in our home as in years past.

This attribute is clearly stated in these verses because David is expounding upon the fact that there is no place we can go that God is not already there. God is present in heaven, at the end of the world (which is funny because we know there is no finite ending since earth is a sphere), in the dark, and in the light. 

How comforting to know that God is always with me. I never have to worry about if He has taken the day off or if he is busy with Sally-Sue and not able to come to my rescue. Hebrews 4:13 reiterates this by saying that nothing is hidden from God. He is all places at all times and is able to see all. 

When we are struggling in our sin, this may seem scary or intimidating because we want to hide our sin. Even Adam and Eve tried to hide from their sin. But we cannot hide from God. It simply isn’t possible. So shouldn’t we just go ahead and admit our sins and failures? He knows them already- He was there when we made that poor choice. He wants us to come to Him with a humble heart acknowledging what God already knows and seeking repentance. 

God is omnipotent.

God is all powerful. 

For it was you who created my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.
Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well.
My bones were not hidden from you
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in your book and planned
before a single one of them began. - Psalm 139:13-18

God’s power is not limited. All you have to do is look around outside to figure this one out. He created such beautiful and wonderful things by His power- and it didn’t even tire Him out! 

In these verses we see David praising God because by His power, God chose to create David. Even though science has tried, I’m pretty sure no human has successfully been able to create another human without the power of God (aka through procreation). 

God’s power is limitless. Just look at all the miracles in the Bible! The parting of waters, turning water to literal blood, raising dead people to life, healing lifelong ailments, a talking donkey, multiplying food to feed thousands, calming the storms, walking on water, etc. Can any of us do these things by our own power? 

So, how can we describe God?

God is beyond our comprehension, but we do know for sure that He is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. He is more than worthy of all of our praise and devotion!