The Attributes of God by: Alaina Mankin

Each month, our Northside women meet in small groups for prayer, fellowship, and to read and discuss a devotion written by our writers' group. This year we're studying the book of Exodus as we delve into the character of God. The following is an excerpt from our February devotion:

“The LORD passed in front of [Moses] and proclaimed: The LORD—the LORD is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation” (CSB). 

     God speaks these words to Moses during a time of restoration. In chapter 32 we read that Israel had rebelled against God. While God was establishing his covenant with Israel on the top of Mt. Sinai, the Israelites were at the base of the mountain, giving their worship to a golden calf. Over the course of the next two chapters, we read about Moses’ angry response as he by breaks the tablets on which were written God’s commandments, and then sends the Levites (the one tribe in Israel who responded to Moses’ call that “whoever is for the LORD, come to me”) to go from one end of the camp to the other “each killing his brother and friend and neighbor” (Ex. 32:27, NIV). God then sends a plague among the people as punishment for their sin and removes his presence from the Israelite camp. But even in the midst of sin and punishment and brokenness, God does not forget his people. A tent is set up away from the camp, and it is in this tent that God continues to meet with Moses. It is during this time that we read these unfathomable words: “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend” (Ex. 33:11a, NIV). And it is during this time that God renews his covenant with his people and reminds Moses of who he is: He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, loving, faithful, forgiving, and just. 

When we think about the attributes of God, we can divide them into two categories: communicable and incommunicable. Communicable attributes are things that are true about God, but they can also be true about us as we continue to grow in Christ. Attributes like love, mercy, righteousness, and goodness fall into this category. Incommunicable attributes are those things that are only true about God. God is all-seeing, all-knowing, eternal, sovereign. These are things finite beings can never be. Another of God’s incommunicable attributes is his immutability. God never changes. He is the same now as he was at the beginning of time. The same God who struck the Israelites with a plague at the base of Mt. Sinai is the same God who came to earth as a man and became the atoning sacrifice for our sin. James, the brother of Jesus, refers to God as “the father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17b, NIV).  The eighteenth Psalm asks and answers: “And who is a rock? Only our God” (Ps. 18:31, CSB) The writer of Hebrews proclaims, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8, CSB). Sometimes in our humanity we can forget that the same God we worship today is the same God who spoke the universe into existence, parted the Red Sea, brought down giants and empires, and calmed raging storms with a word. He’s still the same God. He hasn’t become disinterested. All of God’s attributes are still just as true of him today as they were then. 

Culturally, we can be guilty of elevating one of God’s attributes above the others. For example, the over-emphases of one phrase from 1 John 4:8 has left some with the impression that because “God is love,” they are free to live however they please; but they have forgotten that God is also holy, just, and wrathful toward sin. But to lean too far in the other direction also distorts the character of God. God doesn’t sit on his heavenly throne stewing in righteous anger and gleefully hurling down judgments. To understand who God is, we need to consider the complete picture of his character. We cannot pick and choose only the attributes that we like and discard those that we don’t. 

 Another important thing to remember is God's attributes do not exist in isolation from each other. All of God’s attributes are on display in everything that he does, and that’s good news! God is sovereign all the time! God is holy all the time! God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present at the same time that he is loving, merciful, compassionate, and gracious! And even though we humans are a mess of contradictions, there is no contradiction in the character of God. When life feels unfair, God is still good. When it looks as though the wicked prosper over the righteous, God is still just. When it feels like our circumstances are spiraling out of control, God is still sovereign. Remember, our lives compose just a few stitches on the tapestry of time, but God not only sees the finished product—he’s the one weaving everything together. And it’s beautiful!