Our Absolutely Awesome God - Part One

This is the third sermon in a ten-part series on the attributes of God. This message speaks about some of the attributes that have been referred to as absolute attributes by some theologians.

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Written Excerpts:

Introduction: What is an attribute? It is a description or quality that is true about something or someone. For example, the attributes of a car include: an engine; a body; a frame; wheels; etc.

When we think of the attributes or qualities that are true about God, we must remember that since He is infinite, there is no way our descriptions can adequately measure up to what He really is.

We often have a problem organizing our thoughts about God. I have read through comments by many different theologians as they have listed and tried to describe the attributes of God. Every one of them has a slightly different way of categorizing or organizing the attributes in their attempts to make them understandable.

I doubt that any one method is better than another, but for our purposes in this study I have chosen categories used by an old Nazarene theologian, by the name of H. Orton Wiley, to serve as the main divisions or categories by which we will examine the attributes of God.

However, I will not be presenting each category exactly in the way that Wiley does. I will mix and mingle thoughts from other writers into his outline.

Wiley uses three main divisions or categories when he speaks about the attributes of God.

Absolute Attributes – Those attributes that describe God’s nature, being and existence apart from everyone or everything else in His creation. They represent qualities that refer to His mode of existence, distinct from those which refer to His mode of operation or activity. They include qualities that He does not share with any other being or creature.

J.I. Packer says, “There are certain qualities of Deity which set God apart from men and mark the difference and distance between the Creator and His creation.”

Relative Attributes – Those attributes that arise out of God’s relationship with His creation. They include qualities that define God’s mode of operation and activity within His creation and with His creatures.

Moral Attributes – Those qualities of God that not only describe His own nature, but they are qualities that he shares with mankind, who was made in His image. They also can refer to God’s governance over free and intelligent moral agents / i.e. human beings.

We must remember that all of these divisions or categories are only designed for our ease and convenience in understanding them. God isn’t made up of separate or divided qualities that He slips into and out of as needed. No matter how we study them, they are all completely and continually who He is.

God always exists in all of His attributes at the same time. He doesn’t lay aside one quality in order to express or demonstrate another.

I.    Absolute Attributes - Those attributes that describe God’s nature, being and existence apart from everyone or everything else in His creation. They represent qualities that refer to His mode of existence, distinct from His mode of operation or activity. They include qualities that He does not share with any other being or creature.

A. Spirituality

God does not possess a physical body. He is spiritual and invisible, not material substance.

John 4:24 “God is spirit and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Deut. 4:15 “Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire.”

This attribute is contrasted with flesh and blood which characterizes mankind and other creatures.

There are several truths that this attribute teaches us.

1. Unity and Simplicity – Since God is spirit, He is not composed of different or separate parts such as body, soul and spirit. Simplicity does not mean “easy to understand / comprehend” but not composed of many different parts.

Deut. 6:4 “…the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”

Even in the concept of the Trinity, which we talked about last week, there is no separation or division, but perfect unity and harmony.

2. Figurative “body” language conveys concepts, not literal appearance.

Since God is spirit, then all language in the Bible describing “body parts” of God are not to be understood literally. They are used for our human understanding. (Theology term – anthropomorphisms.)

“Eye/Ear of the Lord” – God’s constant awareness of everything.

“Hand of the Lord” – The activity of God

“Arm of the Lord” – The strength of God

3. Our worship must be spiritual in nature as well.

The earlier reference mentioned (Deut. 4:15) was given in the context of warnings against making images to represent God or assist in worshiping God. This is also included as part of the Ten Commandments.

Jesus explained to the Samaritan woman that the core of worship or central focus of worship is not about location and position, but it is all about connecting in spiritual communication and adoration.

If God had a body, then location would matter. If God had a physical body, then He could not be present everywhere, and the best worship would be that which was nearest to Him.

Rev. Gordon Warner stated once, “To the extent that we need images, pictures, buildings, etc. to assist us in worship, it is to that extent we fail to perceive the reality that God is spirit.”

Our goal in worship then is to somehow connect with God’s Spirit by our spiritual nature in a communication that is quite beyond expression; beyond image and shape.

B. Immutability

God does not change in His nature or essence.

Mal. 3:6a  “For I am the Lord, I do not change…”

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

“…God, at all times and in all His relations with the world, perfectly corresponds to His own idea. He is at all times like Himself….” (Rothe, quoted in Wiley, p.340)

Immutability refers to the essence or attributes of God, and not to His operations in creation and providence.

When Scripture says God repented of something He had intended to do, it simply refers to His change in actions/operations in order to keep in harmony with His nature.

Conclusion:

Today we have considered two of the attributes of God that we refer to as Absolute Attributes. We will continue exploring more of the absolute attributes in our next message.

The next sermon in this series is: Our Absolutely Awesome God - Part 2 http://waysidepastor.blogspot.com/2011/01/our-absolutely-awesome-god-part-two.html