Attributes of God

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AStudying God’s Word

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Studying God’s Word

Introduction

In our last lesson we talked about the importance of understanding our worldview. Everyone looks at the world around them through a set of “glasses” that influence how they understand what they see. While some people might claim to be unbiased or neutral, everyone has a bias. The question is, which bias is the best bias to be biased by?

• What set of “glasses” should we be looking through to understand the world around us? We should be using the Bible as a lens through which we look at the world. God’s Word should be our starting point as we examine every idea, question, and situation we encounter as we seek to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
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  So, why is the Bible the best bias? It is the Word of the God who created everything in the universe. As the Creator, we can only rightly understand the world by starting from what God has revealed to us. And as we saw from the passages we looked at last week, God’s Word is trustworthy and true in all it sets before us. It is a lamp to our feet and the only sure source of guidance for our lives (Psalm 119:105).

God Declared His Attributes to Moses

This lesson will focus on how God has revealed himself to us in Scripture so that we can understand, at least in a small way, what he is like.

Let’s read Exodus 34:4–8 together. This passage gives us amazing access to God as he has revealed himself to us. Have someone read the passage aloud as others follow along. Remind the students they can take notes in their Student Guides.

Now that we have read the text, let’s take some time to observe what it is saying to us by asking basic questions of the text. We are going to continue to apply the principles of hermeneutics that we briefly discussed last week (observe the text, interpret the ideas, apply the truths to our lives), as we look to draw truth out of the text (exegesis) rather than imposing our ideas on the text (eisegesis).

• Exegesis: Drawing truth out of a text Eisegesis: Imposing our ideas onto a text

• Do other passages in Scripture relate to this passage? Exodus 20:5–6. Many other passages reiterate the specific attributes of God expressed in this passage. Write some of these down on the board to give students the opportunity to record them and make cross-references later.

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  Let’s consider a verse from the New Testament that relates. How does Romans 5:8 point to Christ/the gospel? God represents himself as merciful and gracious. We see the ultimate fulfillment of that in Christ’s substitutionary death for sinners.

Discover the Truth

The main idea of this passage is God’s revelation of his character to Moses—and to us as we have it recorded for our benefit. Since this lesson is about understanding what God is like, let’s make a list of the attributes that God has revealed in this passage. God’s character has so many facets that we often forget about some of them. We tend to focus on particular aspects that are our favorites, but it is important that we remember that God is infinite, and we should worship him for all that he is.

• Knowing that there are some 1,500 years between Moses’ writing and Paul’s writing, what other attribute is evident in the consistent description of his character? God is unchanging, or immutable, so his love is a constant part of his character.

God Is Love

Let’s look at another revelation of God’s character.

• Would someone read 1 John 4:7–21? Have someone read the verses aloud.

  Now that we have read the text, let’s take some time to understand what it is telling us about God’s character. We are particularly interested in verses 8 and 16, but we want to make sure that we read the verses in context, not just picking and choosing words here and there. Reading an individual verse, apart from its context, can lead to misunderstanding or misapplying the verse. For example, if we isolate the phrase “perfect love casts out fear” from the rest of the passage, we might use this verse to comfort someone who is afraid of spiders. But, in context, as believers we are not to fear God’s judgment (verse 17) because of what Christ has accomplished for us on the cross (verses 10, 14, and 17).

• Who are the characters? God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit interacting with believers.
• Who is the audience? The specific body of believers is unidentified, other than it seems clear John was familiar with them and understood them to be familiar with who he was. The use of the term “beloved” in verses 7 and 11 along with other clues from the text make this clear.
• What actions are believers called to in this passage? Living through Christ (v. 9), loving one another (v. 11), testifying of the Savior (v. 14), confessing and abiding in Christ (v. 15), knowing and believing the love God has for us (v. 16), not fearing judgment (vv. 17–18), loving God (v. 19–20), and loving our brother (v. 21).
• What type of literature is this passage? Epistle; a letter of instruction written to other Christians from the apostle.
• Are there any figures of speech in the text? “Abides in love,” “abides in God”; we do not actually live or abide in God, but the word picture is of an intimate relationship between God and his children.
• What is the biblical context of the passage? This epistle was written many years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. 1 John 2:18–19 points to the rise of false teachers, which have come from among the ranks of the churches as the church was growing. False teachers are to be tested against God’s standard of love.

  It is clear that this is a rich passage, and we could glean many truths from it, but there is clearly one overarching theme concerning God’s character in this passage.

• Are any phrases or words repeated? God is love.
• What is the main point of the passage? God is the ultimate standard of love. We define love based on God and his actions, not our romantic ideas of love.
• What does the passage tell us about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit? Together, as the triune God, they are the very standard of love. We can love God and others because God first loved us and has given us his Spirit.
• How does this passage point to Christ/the gospel? John 3:16 summarizes God’s selfless and sacrificial love for lost mankind. This is the propitiation spoken of in verse 10.
• If we looked at the natural world as it is today, would we easily conclude from what we see that God is a God of love? Since the world is full of death and suffering, we would not likely conclude that God is love. Many have pointed to the nature of the world today to malign the character of God.
• So, how do we reconcile a loving God with the fact of all of the suffering in the world? We must remember that this is a fallen creation and is not how God originally intended things to be. This concept will be covered in more detail as the course continues. Here is a great example of why we must use the Bible as our starting point to understand the world around us.

Discover the Truth

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  What attribute of God’s character can we clearly identify from this passage? Loving. Refer to the Attributes of God Poster.

God Is Eternal

Now let’s go back to the Old Testament.

Let’s read Psalm 90:1–6 together. Have someone read the passage aloud.

• Who is the author of this psalm? Moses.
• Who is the audience? The psalm is identified as a prayer to God, but the children of Israel would have been the initial readers.
• What is the context (biblical, historical, geographical, chronological) of the passage? The generation of the children of Israel that left Egypt had been forbidden from entering the Promised Land due to their repeated rebellion. They were in the wilderness wanderings.
• What type of literature is this passage? Poetry; this is evident in the pattern of repeated ideas. This is different from what we would typically think of as poetry, but it is a very common form in Hebrew poetry. The parallel ideas in verse 6 mark this form of poetry rather than a series of rhyming words.
• Are there any words that are repeated? The words “like” and “as” are used for several similes, an identifier of the poetic nature of this passage.
• What are the similes used in verses 4–6 and what do they refer to? The similes express the brevity of man and the eternality of God. Each is compared to the “thousand years” from verse 4. We are not to think that 1,000 years is exactly like yesterday (24 hours) or a watch in the night (three hours), but to realize that God is outside of time.
• What is the phrase “everlasting to everlasting” intended to communicate? This phrase brings us to think of the past and future eternality of God. Unlike us, God had no beginning and will have no end.
• What is the main point of the passage? The brevity of human life as compared to the eternality of God.
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  What does the passage tell us about God? God is eternal and in sovereign control over the brief lives of humans.
• Do other passages in Scripture relate to this passage, especially as it relates to the concept of time? 2 Peter 3:8 contains a similar description of time, relating God’s eternal nature. If there are margin notes in the students’ Bibles, point out that there may be verses that are cross-referenced. These may also appear in different forms in electronic Bibles or apps.
• How does this passage point to Christ/the gospel? The certainty of our physical deaths and the brevity of our time here on earth point us to following truth: “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Discover the Truth

• What key truth about God can we understand based on this passage? God is eternal.

Worshipping God through Prayer Activity

Have the students examine the list of attributes discussed in this lesson and on the Attributes of God poster. Ask them to think about which of these they tend to focus on and which they may have neglected or forgotten recently. Have them write out a short prayer or meditation in their Student Guides that they can use throughout the next week to bring to remembrance those attributes they may have failed to worship God for.

In your Student Guide you will find a space to write a short prayer or meditation. Think about the attributes of God we have talked about today, including those on the Attributes of God poster, and think about any of his attributes you might have forgotten about or neglected as you worship God in prayer. Give the students several minutes to complete the activity.

Connect to the Truth

Meditating on or offering worshipful prayers to God can help us remember how infinitely glorious God’s attributes are. We tend to get stuck in ruts, praying the same things over and over. Looking to Scripture and recognizing and worshipping God for all of his attributes can help us remember the truths of God’s vastness. Praying through a passage like Isaiah 40 or Job 38–40 can remind us of the greatness of God and our own smallness.

Application

As we have looked at these three passages of Scripture, we have only scratched the surface of God’s attributes. He has revealed a portion of himself to us, but we must keep in mind that he alone is the eternal Creator whose attributes are infinite. As we will learn more about in a few weeks, God expresses these attributes in the three Persons of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Like a precious gem we hold up to the sun to see how the light dances across each of the faces in a different way, we can examine the attributes God has revealed to us. Let us all take time to read God’s Word and meditate on his many glorious attributes. Encourage students to use the lists created in the activity to meditate on and grow deeper in their relationship with the Lord.

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  Why is it important to understand all that the Bible has to say about God’s attributes? If we have a simplistic or incomplete view of God, our worship of him will be simple and incomplete. We should desire to know more about God so that we can worship him in truth and in the fullest expression of that truth.
• How can a study of God’s attributes lead you into a deeper understanding of your salvation? As we understand more about someone, we develop a deeper connection to them. The same is true of our relationship with God. As we study and learn more about him, our appreciation for his attributes grows.
• How do you see the attributes of God questioned by those in your school or workplace? How can you respond to these questions? Discuss various answers. Encourage the students to engage others when they hear them questioning God’s attributes or misrepresenting the true God, pointing them to the truths of Scripture as the only source to fully understand who God is and what he is like.

Group Prayer

Be sure to pray with your students before you dismiss them.

• Praise God for his unchanging character.
• Thank God for how he has revealed himself to us.
• Ask God for grace, that everyone will come to a deeper understanding of his character so that they might walk worthy of the calling they have received.