Understanding the Attributes of God and the Path of Biblical Wisdom

Attributes are inherent characteristics that help us identify, distinguish, or analyze a subject. If someone were to ask, “Describe God to me,” what would you say? God’s attributes are very different than human attributes. For example, the Westminster Shorter Catechism describes God by his attributes: He is “Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” We study God’s attributes to know him better, though no finite human can fully comprehend God. These attributes come from the Bible, and Bible study is essential for understanding them to see his glory.

The Essential Attributes of God

Regarding the nature of the Divine, here are several key attributes explained clearly and succinctly:

• Unity: Foundational to all of God’s attributes is God’s “oneness.” God is one divine essence, as indicated in Mark 12:29 where Jesus quoted the Shema, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
• Trinity: The Trinity is three Persons (Father, Son [Jesus], and Holy Spirit) sharing one divine essence or nature. As the three corners must co-exist simultaneously to be one triangle, the three Persons must co-exist simultaneously with the one divine nature.
• Eternity: God, by his very definition, is eternal. He is timeless and everlasting without beginning or end. He has no past, present, or future; He exists in one eternal indivisible “now.”
• Self-Existent (Asceity): God is uncaused and self-existent. He has always existed in and of himself, independent of anything else, meaning no “thing” and no “one” caused God to come “into existence.”
• Infinity: To be “infinite” means to be unlimited by boundaries or restrictions. Only God can be infinite because he created the universe; therefore, he is beyond the universe’s time-space, matter, and energy.

Walking in Wisdom and Truth

Wisdom is always far more than mere knowledge. To be truly wise, one must think of things both in their full context and with their ultimate implications. Solomon begins by getting us to see how we need to speak the truth to ourselves, or you certainly won’t speak it to others. The mind must be trained to think in clear lines of careful consideration, and not allowed to blur right and wrong. This is especially needed in prayer, learning to be brutally honest before the Throne so as to live in the truth at all times.

Furthermore, a wise person is never aimless. He takes time to consider the consequences of his actions, decisions, attitudes and words. Always ask: Where will this take me? What is the end of what I am contemplating? If you are aiming at entering heaven, keep your eyes on that destination, and make the decisions that coincide with going there. Keep your eyes fixed on what you intend to do and be there—and Who you are longing to spend eternity with.

Finally, note our responsibility not to place ourselves in the way of temptation. It is one thing to ask God to guard us from temptation—but quite another to take up our end in making the path for our own feet level. If we are constantly immersing ourselves in unrighteous things, it is no wonder we stumble in them. We must navigate life only by the star of God's presence.