Attributes of GOD | ACBC Exam Question #7

1.       List and develop five attributes of God and how they relate to the believer’s life and counseling.

God is true; meaning “being in accordance with the actual; conforming to reality or fact; not false, real; not deceitful, faithful.”¹ “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)  The foundation for us to become believers is faith in God as true, and in counseling this must be believed by the counselee also.  It’s the foundation that God and His Word are truth that gives us a framework on which to build our lives.   

God is holy; meaning “separation from all that is common, or unclean.  In respect to God, holiness means not only that He is separate from all that is unclean and evil but also that He is positively pure and thus distinct from all others.”² God’s holiness ought to clearly confront us with our own sin, and drive us to Jesus, the only solution.  Holiness becomes our standard for living; “…but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior” (1 Peter 1:15).  

God is merciful; meaning “the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment.”³  “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” Ephesians 2:4,5.  God’s mercy makes it possible to be forgiven, to know Christ.  We deserve God’s wrath, judgement, and hell for our sin, and yet God has given us a way out through faith in Christ we can be redeemed, forgiven, and have eternal life with Him.

God is sovereign; meaning “supreme; preeminent; indisputable, greatest in degree; being above all others in character, importance, excellence.”⁴ Understanding God’s sovereignty requires some clarification because if God is in full control does that impede upon the free will of humanity?  No.  This takes some faith to accept, God is over all that exists, in authority and power, He controls everything, and yet we do freely choose.  He has permitted sin, and evil in the world but He did not design it or desire for humans to sin or pursue evil, but it is permitted and used in His bigger plan.  The characteristic of God being sovereign gives us and counselees hope and peace because we cling to the facts that “….according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,” (Ephesians 1:11b) and, “The Lord works out everything to its proper end—even the wicked for a day of disaster.” (Proverbs 16:4) 

God is eternal; meaning “God exists endlessly, His existence extends endlessly backward and forward (for our view of time) without any interruption or limitation caused by succession of events.”⁵  “…from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:2b)  The eternality of God is a great source of comfort in the life of a believer in our world where nothing lasts forever, and very little can be relied upon fully, there is a God who is always and will forever exist, and we can be certain of that fact.

Who God is in His character is absolutely awesome.  Knowing Him through His Word offers such rich truths to think on; challenging the unbeliever to decision, offering security to believers, and much help for ourselves and those we counsel.  We want Biblical counsel to always point to God.   Discussing who He is and what that means in our day-to day reality and struggles is a powerful and practical way to accomplish that.     

^2,5 “Basic Theology” Charles Ryrie, page 36,37    ^1,3,4 www.dictionary.com