Episode Transcript
Hello and welcome to another episode of Worldwide Wonderful Women. I am your host, Paula Harris, and this podcast is for women who are all about learning how to live in God's divine power. It is produced on behalf of Transformed Worldwide Ministries. Thank you so much for being here.
Hello. I'm so glad that you're here with me today.
This is Episode #373 and it's entitled, "The Attributes of God Our Father."
In light of Father's Day taking place this month, I wanted to put some focus on the attributes of our Heavenly Father. Whether your natural father was or is good or not, you can have an intimate relationship with God our Father. Your Heavenly Father wants you to know and experience him on a daily basis, and it's through the forgiveness of sins and receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior that anyone can have this relationship with God the Father.
So please go to our website given at the end of this podcast and click on the section New Life in Jesus if you need a better understanding of what I am saying. As I review these attributes of God with you, let it cause you to know, to trust, to follow, and to love him more. Let it draw you closer to our Heavenly Father who wants to comfort, protect, guide and provide for you as his child. Anyone who has repented of their sin and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior is a child of God.
Now, the attributes of God refer to the character traits of God as they are revealed to us in the Scriptures and through the life of His Son, Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:15 states, "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God." In other words, he sent Jesus Christ to earth so that we can learn his attributes that are revealed through the life of His Son, Jesus.
His attributes are his inherent, essential, and permanent qualities. Any list that you may see of these attributes are really incomplete because we do not fully understand all that there is to know about God. We only know the attributes that have been revealed to us. And we know that because Deuteronomy 29:29 says, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever that we may follow all the words of his law." And then Isaiah 55:8 - 9 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts." Let's focus on some of his attributes. Listen to this again and pray, thanking God for who he is in your life.
All right, let me list some of his attributes.
One attribute of God is omnipotence. And this means that God is described as all powerful, able to do anything and control everything.
And a scripture for this is found in Jeremiah 32:17 - "Ah, Lord God, it is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you."
Another attribute is that he is omniscient. And this means that God's knowledge is absolute and perfect, encompassing all things past, present and future.
Romans 11:33 says, "Oh, the depth of his riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out."
Another attribute is that he is omnipresent. And this means that God is present everywhere at all times. He's actively involved in the world.
And you can look at Jeremiah 23:23 -24, and it states, "Am I a God near at hand, says the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places so I shall not see him, says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? Says the Lord."
And then also 1 Kings 8:27 says, "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? And behold, heaven and the heavens of heavens cannot contain you."
Another attribute of God is love. God is love and loving both in his creation and relationship with humanity.
First John 4:8 says, "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
And so basically this is letting us know that true love does not exist without God, because God is love.
Another attribute of God is that he's immanence. And this means that God is not just a distant creator, but is also present and active within the creative world. This contrasts with the concept of transcendence. And that means that there is a deity who is seen as separate from and above the universe. Now really, when you think about it, God can be described as immanence and transcendence, because both of these are true of God.
If you look at Acts 17:27 -28, it says, "He is not far from each one of us, for in him we live and move and have our being."
So yes, God is present and active within the creative world, but then again, he is God. He's separate from and he is above the universe.
Another attribute of God is that he is holy. And this means that he is utterly pure and and separate from all that is impure, defiled, or evil.
Revelation 4:8 says, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come."
Another attribute is that he is eternal, and that means that he exists outside of time and is not subject to any change.
Psalm 91:2 says, "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God."
Another attribute is that he is immutable. And that means that God does not change. His character, will, and purpose will always be consistent and remain.
Malachi 3:6 says, "For I am the Lord, I do not change."
Another attribute is that he is truthful. God is truthful and he never lies, ensuring us the reality of His Word.
In Numbers 23:19 says, "God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do? Or has he spoken and he will not make it good?"
I almost have to laugh on that one. God is true, and there's so much falsehood nowadays. But okay, let's get back to it.
Another attribute is that he is sovereign. He is the supreme ruler with ultimate power and authority.
We can look at Romans 11:36 and it says, "For of him, through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen."
Another attribute is that God is good.That means again that no evil or no darkness resides in him.
Psalm 25:8 says, "Good and upright is the Lord."
Another attribute of our Father is that he is righteous. And that means he acts in accord with divine or moral law. He is free from guilt and from sin.
Psalm 145:17 says, "The Lord is righteous in all his ways, gracious in all his works."
Another attribute is that he is just. This means that he is perfectly righteous in all things. He is not a respecter of persons, and he shows no partiality.
Deuteronomy 32:4 says, "He is the rock. His works are perfect, and all his ways are just. God, who will judge injustice and wrongs. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He."
Another attribute of our Father is mercy. And this means that God shows compassion and kindness, particularly in times of difficulty or sin. It is when he withholds the punishment that's due an individual or nation.
Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Another attribute, and the final one that I'll share in this podcast, is that God is faithful. That means that God is reliable and keeps his promises, and so this helps to demonstrate his trustworthiness.
In 2 Timothy 2:13 it states, "If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny Himself."
So being faithful is a part of his character that he cannot and will never deny.
These attributes that I've shared with you are not exhaustive, but they provide a foundational understanding of God's character as revealed in Scripture and through His Son, Jesus Christ.
The main thing I want you to know through this podcast is that I want you to know that you have a Heavenly Father who wants you to know and love him in the same way that he knows and loves you. He has done his part by making sure that we are able to be reconciled in a right relationship to him through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son. Now what are you going to do? Are you going to do your part in drawing closer to Him?
Contact us if you need assistance in what steps to take next. And in the meantime, until next month, Lord willing, Smile, Jesus loves you!
Thank you for listening. To make sure you do not miss any future episodes, please subscribe to our podcast. We want all to be able to live in God's divine power. Also sign up for our monthly newsletter on our website twmforjesus.org. Please do share our podcast with others; and, Lord willing, we'll be together next month.
