The attributes of God

Following is a list of the attributes of God as compiled by Josh McDowell. Well known as an articulate Christian speaker, Josh has addressed more than 25 million people, giving over 27,000 talks in 125 countries. He has a website at https://www.josh.org/

  • God has the power to create anything from nothing (Ps. 33:6-9)
  • God has power to deliver (Exod. 13:3)
  • God’s creative power is beyond our comprehension (Job 38:1-11)
  • God speaks and things happen (Ps. 29:3-9)
  • His resurrection power is immeasurably great (Eph. 1:19-20)
  • His creation reflects His power (Ps. 19:1-4)
  • His powerful word sustains everything (Heb. 1:3)
  • He has power over death (Rev. 1:18)
  • No one can challenge what God does (Dan. 4:35)
  • Reveals Himself as the almighty God (Gen. 17:1)

Because God is ever-present…

He is always with me.
“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You. , (Psalms 139:7-12)

  • all creation is dependent upon His presence (Col. 1:17)
  • God’s continual presence brings contentment (Heb. 13:5)
  • God is everywhere and no one can escape Him (Ps. 139:7-12)
  • no task is too large or too difficult for Him (Jer. 32:17, 27)
  • One cannot hide from God (Jer. 23:23-24)

Because God knows everything…

I will go to Him with all my questions and concerns.
“He determines the course of world events; He removes kings and sets others on the throne. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.” (Daniel 2:21)

Because God is sovereign…

I will joyfully submit to His will.
“All the people of the earth are nothing compared to Him. He has the power to do as He pleases among the angels of heaven and with those who live on earth. No one can stop Him or challenge Him, saying, ‘What do You mean by doing these things?”‘ (Daniel 4:35)

  • God controls time and seasons (Dan. 2:21)
  • God powerfully delivered His people from Egypt (Exod. 12:29-32; 13:13-31)
  • God has dominion over the affairs of people (Job 12:13-25)
  • God controls nature for His purposes (Job 37:2-13)
  • God chose His people to become like Christ (Rom. 8:28-30)
  • God chose His people before He made the world (Eph. 1:4)
  • God’s eternal purpose is to make His wisdom known (Eph. 3:10-11)
  • He raises and removes rulers (Dan. 2:21)
  • He has a plan for His people and will carry it out (Eph. 1:5, 11)
  • He chose His people to save and purify them (2 Thess. 2:13)
  • He is the only Sovereign (1 Tim. 1:17; 6:15)
  • The Creator looks after His creation (Ps. 104:3-32)
  • The powerful Creator reduces human rulers to nothing (Isa. 40:21-26)
  • Relationship with God requires worship (John 4:24)
  • God has dominion over the affairs of people (Job 12.13-25)
  • God controls nature for His purposes (Job 37:2-13)
  • God chose His people to become like Christ (Rom. 8:28-30)
  • God chose His people before He made the world (Eph. 1:4)
  • God’s eternal purpose is to make His wisdom known (Eph. 3:10-11)
  • He raises and removes rulers (Dan. 2:21)
  • He has a plan for His people and will carry it out (Eph. 1:5, 11)
  • He chose His people to save and purify them (2 Thess. 2:13)
  • He is the only Sovereign (1 Tim. 1:17; 6:15)

Because God is holy…

I will devote myself to Him in purity, worship, and service.
“So obey God because you are His children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God—who chose you to be His children—is holy. For He Himself has said, “You must be holy because I am holy ” (1 Peter 1:14-16)

  • God guards His holy reputation (Ezek. 36:21-23)
  • God’s holiness demands exclusive worship (Josh. 24:19)
  • He disciplines believers to impart His holiness to them (Heb. 12:10)
  • His holiness is unique (Exod. 15:11)
  • His holiness is the standard for believers’ behavior (Lev. 19:2; 1 Pet. 1:15-16)
  • His holy presence rejects impurity (Isa. 6:3-5)
  • No one else is holy like He is (1 Sam. 2:2)
  • The most holy One deserves constant honor (Rev. 4:8)

Because God is absolute truth…

I will believe what He says and live accordingly.
“You are truly My disciples if you keep obeying My teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31,32)

  • believers know that God is true (John 3:33)
  • eternal life is knowing the only true God (John 17:3)
  • even if all humanity lies, God remains true (Rom. 3:4)
  • God is the Truth (John 14:6)
  • God follows through on His promises (Num. 11:22-23; 31-34)
  • God’s words are true and completely righteous (Ps. 19:9)
  • God’s truth is everlasting (Ps. 117:2)
  • God’s word is truth (John 17:17)
  • God’s words are faithful and true (Rev. 21:5; 22:6)
  • God’s truth can be suppressed to our peril (Rom. 1: 1 8ff)
  • He is “the God of truth” (Ps. 31:5; Isa. 65:16)
  • God doesn’t lie but keeps His word (Num. 23:19)
  • He is full of grace and truth (John 1:14)
  • His Spirit guides believers into all truth (John 16:13)
  • the Holy Spirit is characterized by truth in every way (John 14:17; 15:26; 1 John 5:6)
  • true freedom comes from abiding in God’s truth (John 8:31-32)

Because God is righteous…

I will live by His standards.
“Throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness—righteous, holy, and true.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)

  • His righteousness is absolute (Ps. 71:19)
  • He rules out of righteousness (Ps. 97:2)
  • He is righteous in everything He does (Ps. 145:17)
  • He delights in demonstrating righteousness (Jer. 9:24)
  • in the end, the righteous Judge will judge righteously (2 Tim. 4:8)
  • people must declare humbly God alone is righteous (Exod. 9:27; 2 Chron. 12:6)
  • the Lord’s name: “The L{sc}ord{xc} is our righteousness” (Jer. 23:6; 33:16)

Because God is just…

He will always treat me fairly.
“For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies. ” (2 Corinthians 5:10)

  • a day is fixed for His righteous judgment of the world (Acts 17:31)
  • all sin is ultimately against a righteous God (Ps. 51:4)
  • all God’s ways are righteous and deserve praise (Rev. 15:3)
  • God alone is the judge (James 4:12)
  • God judges all people with justice (Ps. 9:7-8)
  • God’s law and judgments are completely righteous (Ps. 19:7-9)
  • He exercises justice toward all humanity (Gen. 18:25)
  • He is just in all His ways (Dent. 32:4)
  • God rightly judges heart, mind and deeds (Jer. 17:10)
  • Jesus, our righteous defender before the Father (1 John 2:1)
  • the Messiah will judge all with complete justice (Isa. 11:4-5)
  • the righteous Messiah will establish a righteous people (Jer. 33:16)
  • the righteous God justifies those who believe in Jesus (Rom. 3:25-26)

Because God is love…

He is unconditionally committed to my well-being.
“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death?” “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love, Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can not keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35, 37-39)

  • as a father, God corrects His beloved children (Prov. 3:12)
  • believers should imitate God’s universal love (Matt. 5:44-45)
  • eternal plans are motivated by His love (Eph. 1:4-5)
  • God loves and preserves His godly people (Ps. 37:28)
  • God loves His people, even when they are faithless (Hos. 3:1)
  • God deserves thanks because of His perpetual love (Ps. 100:5)
  • God loved the world enough to send His Son to die (John 3:16)
  • God loves those who love His Son (and obey Him) (John 14:21)
  • His love is poured into believers’ hearts (Rom. 5:5)
  • God is love, and those who know God love others (I John 4:7-8, 20-21)
  • nothing can separate the believer from His love (Rom. 8:38-39)
  • to love enemies and the wicked is to be like God (Luke 6:35)

Because God is merciful…

He forgives me of my sins when I sincerely confess them.
“Have mercy on me, O God, because of Your unfailing love. Because of Your great
compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a
right spirit within me. Do not banish me from Your presence, and don’t take Your Holy
Spirit from me. Restore to me again the joy of Your salvation, and make me willing to obey
You.” (Psalm 51) or “If we confess our sins to Him, He Is faithful and just to forgive us and
to cleanse us from every wrong.” (I John 1:9)

  • God will never relent from showing mercy to His children (Ps. 23:6)
  • God will listen to our please for mercy (Ps. 30:8)
  • Because of mercy, God washes away our transgressions (Ps. 51:1)
  • Because God is merciful, He has not hidden Himself from us (Ps. 69:16)
  • Mercy comes to those who confess their sins (Prov. 28:13)
  • Mercy is given to those who are themselves merciful (Matt. 5:7)
  • God desires to show mercy to His people instead of having His people trying to obtain their own righteousness (Matt. 9:13)
  • God shows mercy to those who fear His name (Luke 1:50)
  • Our mercy of others should be an imitation of God’s mercy to us (Luke 6:36)
  • Knowing God’s mercy encourages us to follow Him (Rom. 12:1)

Because God is faithful…

I will trust Him to always keep His promises.
“Remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. And when you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it. ” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

  • forgives the repentant (1 John 1:9)
  • God is faithful to the faithful (Dent. 7:7-11)
  • God deserves thanks for His constant faithfulness (Ps. 100:5)
  • God is faithful through calamity (Lam. 3:22-23)
  • God faithfully matures believers (1 Thess. 5:24)
  • God is faithful to fulfill His promises (Heb. 10:23)
  • His faithfulness endures (Ps. 119:90)
  • His faithfulness is immeasurable (Ps. 36:5)

Because God never changes…

My future is secure and eternal.
“Who has done such mighty deeds, directing the affairs of the human race as each new generation marches by? It is I, the LORD, the First and the Last. ” (Isaiah 41:4)

  • God never changes (Mal. 3:6)
  • God is consistent throughout all time (Heb. 13:8)
  • God is good–all the time (James 1:17)
  • He doesn’t lie and is true to His word (Num. 23:19)
  • His love is never-ending (Lam. 3:22-23)
  • though the universe will change, God never will (Ps. 102:25-27; Heb. 1:10-12)
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