Lesson No. 20 

Lesson No. 20 Other Attributes of God

Introduction: Evidently, the Holy Scriptures attribute to God other attributes, among which the most relevant are Creator and Savior. These are especially related to His creative and redemptive activities, however, each of them is completely dependent on His natural and moral attributes.

Creator

This attribute of the Supreme Creator is closely linked to the theme of “GOD'S CREATIONS,” which we will consider in the next chapter.

Thanks to His self-existence, eternity, omnipresence, and omniscience, He is also omnipotent. And thanks to that unlimited power of His to do everything He desires, it has been possible for Him to have created all that exists, according to the narration of the universe's creation in the biblical book of Genesis and the authentic declarations of other sacred passages.

He is the Supreme Creator and the First Cause, the Cause of causes and the reason for all that exists. In this regard, the Scriptures say:

Genesis chapter 1: verse 1: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”.51

Genesis chapter 2: verses 4 and 5: “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground”.51

Another confirmation of the same God as the creator of the universe is found in Job chapter 38: verses 1 to 5: Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 2Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? 3Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. 4Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 51

And through the prophet Jeremiah, God proclaimed: I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. (Jeremiah chapter 27: verse 5).51

The apostle Paul, according to Colossians chapter 1: verse 16, tells us: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.51

In this occasion, it is evident that the first four passages confer the attribute of Creator to God the Father, while the last one also confers it to Jesus Christ the Son. All of which is clearly confirmed in the chapter's context.

Savior

The saving activity was also possible thanks to His unlimited power, divine justice, and infinite goodness reflected in His grace and great love. What prompted Him to redeem humanity through His son Jesus Christ, who had to lay down His life, to take it up again through resurrection, as His Holy Word says in John chapter 10: verses 17 and 18: Therefore doth my Father love me, because   I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.51

Among many biblical references about this attribute of God, I will cite only a few that can help us obtain a clear idea in relation with it. Let us see the following:

Isaiah chapter 45: verses 21 and 22: “Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. 22Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else”.51

Isaiah chapter 43: verse 3: “For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee”.51

In Second Samuel chapter 22: verse 3: the Scriptures indicate: The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.51

And the apostle Paul exposes: But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. (Titus chapter 3: verses 4 and 5).51

As with these divine attributes, God has other characteristics that many theologians define as His attributes, but in reality, are attitudes He assumes as an effect of some of His moral attributes. His faithfulness, for example, is one of his divine qualities grounded in His truthfulness and validated by His immutability. Similarly, His wrath is a response of His divine justice to man's sin, wickedness, and violence. Likewise, other mentions that are considered as His attributes, exercise functions related to some of His moral perfections.

In the Holy Scriptures, different qualities are also conferred to Him, for example: "God is light," "God is a consuming fire," and similar others that some also consider as attributes of God. But these are only applications in a figurative sense, which have their foundation in the majority of the attributes considered in this chapter.

Although God's nature particularly emanates light or radiance, nevertheless, when the Scripture says: "God is light," it refers in a figurative sense to the effects of His truthfulness, omniscience, wisdom, and holiness; which illuminate the human intellect and allow seeing with perfect clarity what is real and true, referring to the individual's moral and religious sense. Because literally, God is not light, but spirit.

Thus, when the Scripture says: God is a consuming fire, it refers in a figurative sense to the effects of His divine justice with which He will consume the sin and evil of this world and all who do not repent from their evil ways, as the prophet says:

Malachi chapter 4: verse 1: “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch”.51

For such reasons, we have not considered these mentions from the Holy Scriptures as God's attributes, but only those with a literal application, such as those referring to His natural and moral attributes.