Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.’
— (ESV)
The question “Who is God?” is the most important question for human consideration. Nothing is more fundamental or more worthy of our whole lives than this question. Our answer determines how we understand ourselves, the world in which we live, the purpose of our existence, and how we relate to and worship God. Our knowledge of God shapes our knowledge of ourselves and ultimately the way we live. To misunderstand God is therefore to misunderstand life itself; to fail to know Him truly is to live fundamentally out of step with reality.
A Confusion About God, Clarified.
Several recent conversations, together with wider claims about religion, have exposed a recurring confusion about who God is and what He is like.
One person confidently remarked that if the Bible were written today, it would probably contain different truths because society has changed and developed far beyond the world in which the Bible was written. Such a claim directly conflicts with God’s omniscience, immutability, and truthfulness. Scripture declares that God “knows everything” (), that He “declares the end from the beginning” (), and that “it is impossible for God to lie” (). Scripture is inspired, inerrant, and infallible because the God who inspired it is Himself perfectly truthful (). When God inspired the human authors of Scripture, He perfectly knew the world in which every generation would live. The developments of our own age have neither surprised Him nor rendered His Word outdated.
Another insisted that his destiny must be changed through prayer, as though God’s eternal purposes could be rewritten through sufficient faith or persistence in prayer. Scripture presents God as the sovereign Lord whose purposes stand: “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations” (). Isaiah similarly declares, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose” (). This does not make prayer meaningless. Prayer is one of the means God has ordained through which His purposes are accomplished. We pray because God commands us to pray and because He graciously works through our prayers (). Biblical prayer is therefore not an attempt to change an uncertain God but an expression of dependence upon the sovereign God who has revealed Himself to us.
A third questioned whether God is truly in control when suffering and evil seem inexplicable. Scripture repeatedly affirms God’s sovereignty even in circumstances that are difficult for us to understand. “Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases” (). The book of Job reminds us that God’s wisdom and purposes transcend human understanding, while assures believers that “for those who love God all things work together for good.”
Even more concerning are growing claims, both from adherents of other religions and from some influential people who identify themselves as Christians, that all religions ultimately worship the same God and that the God of Christianity is not fundamentally different from the gods worshipped elsewhere. Scripture does not leave us uncertain about the identity of the true God. The Lord declares, “I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God” (). Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (). The apostle Paul likewise distinguishes the one true God from the many so-called gods: “For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords,’ yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist” ().
Across the Christian landscape, people hold differing and often contradictory ideas about who God is. These differences are not merely matters of theological opinion; what we believe about God inevitably shapes how we worship and live before Him. If we misunderstand who God is, we will inevitably misunderstand how He ought to be worshipped. We may worship sincerely while worshipping a god formed by our own imagination rather than the God who has revealed Himself.
As Mark Jones observes in God Is, “Worship without knowledge is idolatry.” He also reminds us that “all true theology depends on God.” The consequences of a distorted view of God are therefore far more serious than simply possessing incorrect theological information. A wrong view of God produces distorted worship. Because worship lies at the heart of the Christian life, our understanding of God deserves our most careful attention.
One of the great dangers facing modern Christians is the haste to express worship without first seeking to know the God whom we worship. This has led many professing Christians to construct a god according to their own imaginations. When worship is shaped by our imagination rather than God’s revelation, it inevitably tends toward idolatry. The study of God’s attributes is therefore foundational to the Christian life because it helps us understand who God is and how the knowledge of Him should shape our worship and obedience.
Who is God?
The importance of knowing God is not a modern theological concern. It is a consistent emphasis throughout Scripture. Jeremiah’s words are striking because he places the knowledge of God above the things in which human beings naturally find their confidence and significance. Wisdom, strength, and riches are not condemned in themselves, but none of them provide the ultimate reason for boasting. The one thing worth boasting in is that we “understand and know” the Lord.
Jeremiah does not leave this knowledge undefined. To know God is to know Him as He has revealed Himself and as the One who delights in practicing steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. This call to know God is echoed throughout Scripture. Hosea exhorts God’s people, “Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD” (). There is an ongoing call for the people of God to pursue a deeper and fuller knowledge of Him.
This pursuit, however, must be held alongside an important truth: we can never know God exhaustively. God is infinite while we are finite. His being and perfections are infinitely greater than the capacity of the human mind to comprehend fully. Paul exclaims, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” ().
We can know God truly without ever knowing Him completely. Scripture gives us a true and sufficient revelation of who God is—everything He has chosen to reveal concerning Himself and everything necessary for faith, worship, and obedience. Knowing God is therefore not merely knowing that He exists or possessing information about Him. It is knowing who He is and what He delights in. Such knowledge is not optional for the Christian. We cannot love rightly, trust wholly, obey faithfully, or worship honestly a God whom we do not know.
Rediscovering the God We Worship
This is where the study of God's attributes becomes so important. Throughout church history, faithful theologians have understood God's character and perfections under various theological categories.
Before considering these categories, one important truth must be established; God is not composed of separate parts or attributes. His holiness is not one part of Him, His love another, His wisdom another, and His justice another. God is one, undivided, and perfect in His being. When we speak of His attributes, we are not describing different pieces of God, but the many ways Scripture reveals the glory of the one undivided God. His attributes do not compete with one another or exist independently of one another.
One common distinction is between His incommunicable attributes and His communicable attributes. His incommunicable attributes are those glorious perfections that belong to God in a way that distinguishes Him from His creation. His self-existence, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and absolute sovereignty remind us that God is not simply a greater version of humanity. He is the eternal Creator before whom all creation stands in awe.
His communicable attributes, on the other hand, are those moral excellences that God possesses perfectly and that He graciously reflects in those created in His image. Gerald Bray, in his book The Attributes of God, classifies these as relational attributes. They are relational because God commands His children to imitate these attributes – in other words, He shares them with His children by bidding them to be same. His holiness, goodness, justice, mercy, wisdom, love, truth, patience, and faithfulness are qualities that believers are called to imitate, though never with the perfection that belongs to God alone.
Indeed, many of our misunderstandings about prayer, suffering, destiny, Scripture, and Christian living can ultimately be traced to an inadequate understanding of one or more of God's attributes. That is precisely the purpose of studying God's attributes. We are learning to see more clearly the God whom we love and worship. The attributes of God therefore do more than tell us what God is like. They shape how we live our lives before Him.
The emphasis of Jeremiah’s words should echo throughout our study of God’s attributes: “Let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me” (). We are seeking to know the living God as He has revealed Himself in His Word. As we grow in the true knowledge of Him, may the Holy Spirit lead us to trust Him more deeply, worship Him more reverently, and live before Him more faithfully. There is no greater pursuit than to understand and know God.
For Further Reading
Gerald Bray, The Attributes of God: An Introduction
Mark Jones, God Is: A Devotional Guide to the Attributes of God
J. I. Packer, Knowing God
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion