Continuing with the nature of God are the next four traits that describe God’s character. Stemming from His ‘fixed’ nature, we see key characteristics that define who God is.
- Eternal → Sovereign
- Omnipresent → Omniscient
- Formless → Goodness
- Immutable → Trustworthy
To remind you, we’re looking at the eleven defining traits of the nature of God.
Eternal and TimelessOmnipresentEthereal and Non-materialImmutable and Constant- Trustworthy
- Sovereign
- Righteous and Good
- Omniscient
- Esoteric and Inexplainable
- Omnipotent
- Holy
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Essential Traits: Trustworthy, Sovereign, Good, and Omniscient
From God’s fixed ‘physical’ attribute, we derive the essential traits of God’s nature—His characteristics. God’s dependability stems from His immutability. His sovereign rulership comes from His timelessness, and His omniscience comes from His omnipresence.
These three characteristics of God are what we, as humans, often praise. However, we should understand that these characteristics are inherent (or intrinsic). These aren’t simply attributes of God that we assign to God because of what He does, but rather who He is.
Trustworthy
To be trustworthy, one should first and foremost be reliable and dependable. A trustworthy person is worthy of confidence.
In John’s vision, the man seated on the Throne told John to write down the words because His words were trustworthy and true.
And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also, He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 21:5 ESV
The thing about trustworthiness is that it means not only that one can be depended on, but that their dependability stems from honesty and truthfulness. The unchanging nature of God means that His words are fixed and remain objectively true regardless of changing times.
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will he not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?
Numbers 23:19 ESV
God is free from fraud and deception. His spoken Word must come to pass. His truthfulness is not a matter of choice, but rather a matter of God’s fixed character. Jesus sets Himself as the essence of truth, one whose word is sincere and sure.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 ESV
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32 ESV
Throughout Scripture, the Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Truth. This Spirit of Truth stems from the immutability of God, and since the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, He too shares in this immutable nature.
When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.
John 16:3
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
John 14:16-17
The Psalmist praises God for His truth and the surety of His word.
The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous rules endures forever.
Psalms 119:160 ESV
Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day long.
Psalms 25:5 ESV
Sovereign
The word ‘sovereign’ is a political term referring to leadership and authority, in which a ruler governs an entire region or nation with supreme power.
Throughout Scripture, God is considered sovereign—the creator of all things —placing Him as a leader with supreme political power over His creation.
Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.
Psalms 115:3 ESV
“I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’”
Isaiah 46:10 NIV
His supremacy comes through being the Creator of all things, one who is not limited by time, matter, or space. Thus, God is the one who judges, settles disputes, and establishes rules and regulations that His creation must abide by.
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
Proverbs 19:21 ESV
The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.
Psalm 103:19 ESV
The book of Hebrews opens up by establishing Christ’s authority and rulership of the cosmos. Christ is described as having the exact imprint of the Father’s nature. Thus, Christ’s characteristic of sovereignty also stems from His timeless nature. It was through Christ that all things were created.
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
Hebrews 1:1-4 ESV
Good/Righteous
Stemming from God’s sovereignty is His righteousness. Being the ultimate standard of quality, morality, and merit, God’s nature is good. In Mark, when a rich, young man addresses Jesus as the ‘Good Teacher’, Jesus responds:
And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”
Mark 10:17-18 ESV
Jesus established God as the ultimate authority on morality. It is from Him our moral framework descends. Being the Creator, God sets the standards, and we follow them. His standards give us assurance that we can trust in His Word and who He is.
The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge in Him.
Nahum 1:7 ESV
The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes good as being of favorable character, suitable and fit for a task, and one who is reliable.
Throughout scripture, we are reminded that God is good, that He is a stronghold, a refuge, and a fortress.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
Psalms 34:8 ESV
The dictionary also says that the word ‘good’ can mean deserving of honor and respect, true, and well-founded and cogent.
The Bible speaks of God’s goodness as marked by compassion and kindness. He is sympathetic toward His creation, with great patience and leniency.
The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works.
Psalms 145:17 ESV
God’s goodness and righteousness are worthy of praise. This is one of God’s characteristics that shapes us as believers.
For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold His face.
Psalms 11:7 ESV
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
Psalms 27:13 ESV
Omniscient
The omniscience of God stems from His omnipresence, that is, being present at all times. God has infinite awareness and understanding. He knows all things as the Creator of the universe and as God who is not bound to time.
Paul writes to the Romans about the richness and wisdom, and knowledge of God. He explains that God’s judgments are ‘unsearchable’ and ‘inscrutable’.
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid?” For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:33-36 ESV
In the last part of this segment ‘The Nature of God,’ I’ll explain what Paul means by inscrutable. However, Paul’s portrayal of this aspect of God shows that God is beyond our understanding and that what He knows is beyond our comprehension.
The Psalmist, David, praises God for His knowledge, stating that God knows our hearts and thoughts before we even speak them.
Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
Psalm 139:4 ESV
The dictionary defines omniscience as having infinite awareness and insight or possessing universal or complete knowledge.
We know that God not only possesses infinite wisdom, but wisdom stems from Him.
For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 2:6 ESV
His infinite wisdom also brings about perception and discernment. This, along with His righteousness, fosters compassion and sound judgment. The Apostle John tells us that God is greater than our hearts, even when we condemn ourselves.
For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.
1 John 3:20 ESV
The Prophet Isaiah says that God’s thoughts and ways cannot be compared to our thoughts. He is our Creator, keen to see and hear all things, even our most private thoughts.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8 ESV
Until Next Time…
As you continue in this series, I hope that clarity and the strengthening of your faith will be at the forefront of your spiritual growth.
Signed,
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