Answering the question, ‘Who is God?’ is like trying to calculate infinity. The study of the Nature of God, traditionally termed Theology Proper, is the foundational pursuit of all biblical scholarship. While the account of Creation in the Bible establishes God as the Originator of all reality, the “Nature of God” defines His essence, His character, and His relational existence. To understand the plan of salvation, one must first understand the One who saves. A rigorous theological framework requires an understanding of these attributes to interpret the mechanics of biblical history, the purpose of humanity, and the structure of divine law.
Biblical theology categorizes the nature of God through His Attributes. These are not parts that compose God, but descriptions of His entire, undivided being. These attributes are divided into two categories: Incommunicable (qualities unique to God) and Communicable (qualities shared in finite measure with humanity).
The Doctrine of Divine Simplicity
Before examining individual attributes, scholarship must address the doctrine of Divine Simplicity. This technical framework asserts that God is not composed of parts. He is not “partly” holy and “partly” loving; rather, God is entirely His attributes.
- Integrative Essence: In the Nature of God, every attribute is identical to His essence. His love is a holy love; His justice is a merciful justice.
- Theological Significance: Simplicity ensures that God is not a “composite” being who could potentially come apart or be in internal conflict. This provides the metaphysical basis for His absolute reliability and oneness. When we study the “Nature of God,” we are studying one simple, perfect being through various linguistic “windows.”
The Incommunicable Attributes: The Transcendence of God
The incommunicable attributes represent the “Otherness” of God, highlighting the absolute distinction between the Creator and the creature. These qualities emphasize that God is fundamentally different in kind, not just in degree, from the material world.
1. Divine Aseity (Self-Existence)
The term aseity is derived from the Latin a se, meaning “from Himself.” It signifies that God is the only being who exists by His own necessity and possesses life within Himself (John 5:26).
- Technical Distinction: Unlike humans, who are “contingent” beings—meaning our existence depends on parents, oxygen, and a first cause—God is the Uncaused Cause.
- The Tetragrammaton: In Exodus 3:14, the revelation of the name YHWH (“I AM”) serves as the linguistic bedrock for aseity. It establishes God as the “Is-ness” of reality, an eternal being who requires no external source for power, joy, or existence.
2. Divine Immutability (Unchangeableness)
Immutability refers to the biblical truth that God’s essence, character, and core purposes do not change.
- The Logic of the Covenant: As Malachi 3:6 states, “For I the Lord do not change.” This attribute provides the moral and legal certainty required for biblical covenants. If God’s character could shift, His promises would lose their objective value.
- The Distinction of Expression: While the Bible describes God “reacting” to human choices—such as “relenting” from judgment—scholars distinguish between God’s essence (which is static) and His relational expressions (which are dynamic within time). This ensures that God is both perfectly stable and authentically relational.
3. Omniscience and the Knowledge of All Things
Omniscience denotes that God possesses perfect, exhaustive knowledge of all things—past, present, and future—including all possibilities and the internal thoughts of all hearts (Psalm 139:1-4).
- The Categories of Knowledge: Scholars often distinguish between “Natural Knowledge” (everything that could happen), “Free Knowledge” (everything that will happen), and Middle Knowledge (what any free agent would do in any given circumstance).
- Knowledge and Agency: In the Nature of God, knowledge is not causation. To know a future event is not the same as necessitating it. This distinction is vital for maintaining human responsibility and the integrity of the Somatic Soul.
4. Omnipresence and Omnipotence
Omnipotence signifies that God possesses all power to perform whatever is consistent with His nature.
- The Moral Boundaries of Power: God cannot do what is logically contradictory (like making a square circle) or morally contrary to His character (like lying).
- Sovereignty: This is the exercise of His power as King. Sovereignty in the Nature of God is the absolute right to govern. However, biblical scholarship observes that God often sovereignly chooses to “self-limit” His exercise of power to allow for the genuine choices of His creatures.
The Communicable Attributes: The Moral Character of God
Communicable attributes are those that God possesses in an infinite degree but reflects within humanity as part of the Imago Dei (Image of God). These define the ethical relationship between the Nature of God and the world.
1. Holiness: The Moral Transcendence
The primary Hebrew term Qadosh means “set apart.” Holiness is often cited as the “attribute of attributes” because it describes the purity and moral excellence that permeates all other divine qualities.
- The Ethical Gap: Holiness establishes the standard for the moral order. It is the quality that necessitates the “set apart” nature of the Tabernacle and the technical requirements for atonement in the Levitical law.
- The Repetition of Three: In Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4, the angelic cry “Holy, Holy, Holy” signifies the superlative nature of this quality. In biblical Hebrew, a three-fold repetition is the highest form of emphasis.
2. Love (Agápe) and Mercy
In the New Testament, the Nature of God is essentially defined as love (1 John 4:8). The Greek term used is Agápe, denoting a purposeful, sacrificial commitment to the well-being of others.
- Grace (Charis): While mercy is God withholding the judgment we deserve, grace is God providing the favor we do not deserve. Both are expressions of His loving character.
- Mercy (Hesed): In the Old Testament, this is often translated as “steadfast love” or “mercy.” It is the application of God’s love to those in distress.
3. Justice and Truth
Justice is the application of God’s holiness to the governance of His creatures. Because God is Truth (Emeth), His standards are objective and His judgments are fair.
- The Judicial Foundation: Biblical justice is not arbitrary; it is the outworking of God’s own character. He cannot act contrary to the truth of His own being. This provides the framework for the entire biblical narrative of law, judgment, and redemption.
The Doctrine of the Trinity: Essence and Personhood
The most distinctive feature of the Nature of God is the Trinity—the belief that God exists eternally as one essence (ousia) in three distinct persons (hypostases): the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
1. The Unity of Being
Biblical monotheism is absolute. There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4). The three persons of the Trinity are not “three gods” (Tritheism), nor are they merely “three roles” played by one person (Modalism). They are “co-essential” and “co-eternal.”
2. The Distinction of Persons
The Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct in their personal relations:
- The Spirit: Eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son (John 15:26). These distinctions do not imply a hierarchy of “value” or “essence,” as all three persons possess the full and undivided Nature of God.
- The Father: The source of the internal relations.
- The Son: Eternally begotten of the Father (John 1:14).
3. Ontological vs. Economic Trinity
- Ontological Trinity: Refers to the internal, eternal nature of God (Father, Son, and Spirit as co-equal in essence).
- Economic Trinity: Refers to how the three persons act in time and history (the Father sends, the Son redeems, the Spirit sanctifies).
- The Distinction: While their roles in redemption differ, their being is identical. The Son is not “less” God because He submits to the Father in the Incarnation.
4. Perichoresis: Mutual Indwelling
This technical term describes the interpenetration and mutual indwelling of the three persons. They exist in an eternal, perfect communion. This relational nature is why humanity—designed in this image—finds its highest fulfillment in relationship and community.
For an extensive dive into divine attributes and the trinity it is worth reading “Giving Perfections, Receiving Perfections: The Essential Divine Attributes in Aquinas’s Trinitarian Theology,” a dissertation by Michael Joseph Higgins. It is a difficult task to explain the infinite God, however, this work helps one to grasp who God is and inspires further theological study.
The Philology of the Divine: The Names of God
To understand the nature of God, one must examine the specific names used in the Scriptural Canon. Each name reveals a specific facet of His character.
- Elohim: Used over 2,500 times, this plural noun denotes God’s role as the “Strong One” and the Creator. Its plurality hints at the Trinity while maintaining monotheism.
- Yahweh (YHWH): The personal, covenantal name of God. It is derived from the verb “to be,” emphasizing His Aseity and His fidelity to His people.
- El Shaddai: Often translated as “God Almighty,” it refers to God’s sufficiency to fulfill His promises, particularly in the context of the Abrahamic Covenant.
- Jehovah Jireh: “The Lord Will Provide.” This name establishes God as the Provider, most notably in the sacrificial context of Genesis 22.
Historical Challenges to the Nature of God
To maintain scholarly authority, we must recognize the historical debates that shaped the Orthodox understanding of God. Throughout history, several “isms” have challenged the biblical view:
- Arianism: The claim that Jesus was a created being, not co-eternal with the Father. This was rejected at the Council of Nicaea (325 AD).
- Pantheism: The belief that “God is the universe.” Biblical scholarship rejects this, maintaining the Creator-Creature distinction.
- Deism: The belief that God created the world but is no longer involved. This is countered by the attributes of Love and Omnipresence.
- Open Theism: A modern debate regarding whether God knows the future free choices of men. Traditional scholarship affirms God’s exhaustive foreknowledge as an anchor for His sovereignty.
Theological Anthropology: Man as the Mirror
Because man possesses the image of God, our study of the Nature of God informs our understanding of humanity.
- Rationality: We reflect God’s Omniscience through our ability to reason.
- Morality: We reflect God’s Holiness through our conscience.
- Volition: We reflect God’s Sovereignty through our Libertarian Free Will.
The Fall of Man marred these attributes, it did not destroy them. Humanity remains capable of responding to the Prevenient Grace of a God whose nature is to seek and to save the lost.
Conclusion: The Fidelity of the Divine
The Nature of God is the objective anchor for all biblical study. Because He is Immutable, His promises are secure. Because He is Holy, His laws are perfect. Because He is Love, His mercy is the central hope of history. To study God’s nature is not merely an academic exercise in “Theology Proper,” but a journey into the heart of reality itself. By understanding who God is, the scholar gains the necessary context to understand what God does.
