Attributes of God

Definition and Meaning

The attributes of God are the qualities that belong to God's essence. They are also called "the character of God." The subject is treated within the doctrine of God. Traditional theology does not regard the attributes as parts added to God. Rather, it explains them as God's very being disclosed under various aspects (divine simplicity).

The classification widely used in Reformed theology is as follows:

• Incommunicable attributes: qualities that belong to God alone and are not shared with creatures. These include aseity (self-existence), immutability, eternity, infinity, and omnipresence (being present everywhere).
• Communicable attributes: qualities of which a likeness, however imperfect, appears in human beings. These include wisdom, goodness, love, holiness, righteousness, and truthfulness.

Other schemes divide the attributes into absolute and relative attributes, or into natural and moral attributes. Where omnipotence and omniscience are placed depends on the classification used.

Biblical and Historical Background

Scripture does not list the attributes systematically. Instead, it reveals them through God's names and works. Exodus 34:6 describes God as "merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth"; Malachi 3:6 portrays Him as one who does not change ("I am the LORD, I change not"); and 1 John 4:16 declares that "God is love."

Ancient and medieval theology drew on philosophical concepts to articulate attributes such as immutability and simplicity, and after the Reformation, Protestant orthodoxy carried this work forward. Question 4 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism confesses that "God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth." The distinction between communicable and incommunicable attributes became widely known through the Reformed dogmatics of Herman Bavinck, Louis Berkhof, and others. In the twentieth century, process theology and open theism challenged the traditional understanding of immutability and omniscience, and conservative theologians have criticized these positions.

Practice in the Korean Church

• Presbyterian seminaries often teach the distinction between communicable and incommunicable attributes on the basis of the Westminster Confession of Faith, Korean translations of Berkhof's systematic theology, and similar sources.
• The Wesleyan tradition, including Methodist and Holiness churches, tends to explain the attributes with love and holiness at the center. It connects the communicable attributes with sanctification, emphasizing a life of growing in likeness to God.
• In Pentecostal circles, God's goodness and power are frequently emphasized in preaching and praise.
• Across denominations, believers confess God's attributes in representative prayer through forms of address such as "Almighty God," "Holy God," and "God who is good," and such language also appears frequently in the lyrics of hymns.