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The ABCs

of the Attributes of God

ARTICLE: 20 MINUTES

We have made you a list. Don’t worry, it’s not a to-do list!

It’s a list of attributes, or character qualities, of the one true God, as he has revealed himself to us in the Bible. This isn’t just a list of facts; it’s a list of truths about a person, and it has a function.

We hope this list is a gift to you—that it helps make excellent use of your time in dull moments, but also that leads your mind from worry to peace, from fretting to rest, from emptiness to profitable meditation.  For, as you meditate on these truths, they can affect your heart.

There is a precious verse in the Bible which says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3 ESV). Fixing our thoughts on who God is and what he’s like can lead our hearts to peace. The exercise of thinking about God isn’t what magically makes us at ease. Rather, the more we know what God is like, and the glory of his character, the more we are inclined to trust him. As the 19th century Scottish pastor and author George MacDonald said, “Few delights can equal the mere presence of one whom we trust utterly.” May this list lead you to delight, as you come to see the beautiful and trustworthy character of God.

We call this list “The ABCs of the Attributes of God”—we thought it would be fun to share with you what the Bible says about God’s character from A to Z. Before you explore the list, here are three ideas for how to use this list.

How to Use This List

First, when you’re bored. When you’re waiting at the doctor’s office, setting out for a 30-minute run, on a road trip, or in any other situation where you have time to think and need something to think about—remember this list. Maybe you pull it out on your phone and read through it. Or maybe you just adopt the idea as your own and try to think of attributes of God from A to Z in those spare moments.  

Second, when you pray. You can use this list to structure your conversations with God. We tend to affirm those we love. We tell them what we love about them, and we celebrate the character qualities that make them unique. God, as any person, deserves our highest adoration and is most worthy of it! Use this list to help shape your conversations with God. Talk to him about who he is and tell him why you love him.  

Third, use this list when you’re suffering. Pain often throws up a smoke screen in our hearts and minds, hiding God’s true nature from our perception. Pain disorients us. We easily lose sight of who God is and what he’s truly like. We feel our limitations acutely, our perspective narrows, and pain threatens to consume our minds. What a wonderful time to “look up” so to speak and let the Scriptures’ reassuring testimony of who God is and what he’s like refill our vision.  

Is this list exhaustive? No, this is not an exhaustive list of the attributes of God, but it’s a thoughtful one and a substantial one. You will find multiple options of God’s attributes for most letters of the alphabet.  There are two reasons for this. First, to share with you as many of the wonders of who God is as we can. Second, to give you ideas so that when you want to recall who God is and what he’s like, you’ve got plenty of ideas to draw from. 

Jump to a Certain Letter:

The ABCs of the Attributes of God

God Is Able

God can do anything he wills, but not anything that is contrary to his nature and character, like lying or sinning (Titus 1:2).

God Is All-Knowing

God knows everything—both actual and potential. He has perfect knowledge of things past, present, and future, things that have and will happen, and things that could happen.

God Is Almighty

God’s power is unlimited and he is able to do anything he wills.

God Is All-Present

God is present everywhere at all times; he is not limited by space. There is no place hidden from God’s sight.

God Is Awesome

God’s nature, character, and acts inspire awe and reverence.

God Is Beautiful

God possesses all qualities and attributes that are desirable and praiseworthy. He is beautiful in his person and nature. He loves beauty and creates beauty, for he is the source of all beauty.

God Is Bountiful

God is a generous person who lavishes his grace on others. God gives gifts abundantly. He gives beyond what is needed. He adds blessing upon blessing.

God Is Compassionate

God cares deeply for and has sympathy on those suffering and in need. When we suffer, God is not indifferent, but his heart is full of compassion.

God Is Divine

God’s being is not of this world; it is not natural, it is supernatural.

God Is Everlasting

God is not limited by time and has no beginning and no end; he has always and will always exist. God is eternal, immortal, and infinitely exists.

God Is Exalted

God is worthy of all of our praise. God’s name should be lifted high and he is deserving of our highest honor.

God Is Faithful

God is trustworthy, always keeps his promises, and never goes back on his word.

God Is Forgiving

God is a forgiving person. He once and for all willingly pardons sinners who ask for the forgiveness he freely offers through his Son, Jesus. Because Jesus has paid the debt we owe for our sins through his death on the cross, God forgives anyone who trusts in Jesus and he does not hold their past wrongdoings against them. 

God Is Free

God is unconstrained. His plans cannot be thwarted, and he does whatever he pleases.

God Is Glorious

“The glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of his manifold perfections.”

(We borrow this one from Pastor John Piper at Desiring God in his podcast episode, “What Is God’s Glory?”)

God Is Good

All that God does is worthy of approval; his intentions and motives are noble, devoid of wickedness and evil. God himself is the standard of goodness.

God Is Gracious

Grace is favor shown to people who don’t deserve it. God shows his blessings and favor to those who deserve his punishment.

God Is Great

God’s nature and actions are so vast and marvelous and unsearchable that he is superior to all other beings. Nothing in heaven or on earth compares to God. He is the Greatest Of All Time 😊.

God Is Holy

God is absolutely full of integrity, without any moral flaw or failing in any way. He is totally devoted to his own glory, and he is distinct and set apart from all other creation.

God Is Impartial

God does not show bias or favoritism toward people based on external factors like ethnicity or skin color, but judges all with equal justice.

God Is Invisible

God’s total essence will never be seen by us, yet he reveals his nature to us by what he has made.

God Is Jealous

God expects an exclusivity of relationship between himself and his children. God will have first place in their hearts and will not share his glory with another. He does not tolerate us worshiping any other god. His jealousy is righteous, for he is jealous over what rightfully belongs to him; namely, the affections, worship, love, and devotion of his own creation.

God Is Kind

God deals benevolently and gently with his children. He shows kindness to his people.

God Is Living

God is eternal and active in the world and in our lives. He is “living,” contrary to false gods and idols. He cannot die and is the God of every age.

God Is Loving

God eternally gives of himself for the benefit of others. He is love (1 John 4:8) and demonstrates love. He is the source of love and the inventor of human love. 

God Is Merciful

God delights in showing mercy. God willingly withholds punishment from those who deserve it.

God Is Most High

God is transcendent. He is high and lifted up above his creation, distinct and superior to all else.

God Is Near

God is actively involved with his creation. He is not distant from us but is immanent. This is best seen in the incarnation of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who is “Immanuel,” God with us.

God Is One

There is only one true God.

God Is Patient

God withholds judgment toward those who deserve it, giving the opportunity to repent. He is forbearing with our sin, and slow to anger.

God Is Peaceful

God is never worried, confused, or troubled; he acts calmly and purposefully. In the Bible, God is called “the God of peace” and the “prince of peace,” and is the source of peace.

God Is Perfect

God has no flaws. All that he is and does is perfect. God lacks nothing desirable or praiseworthy in his nature.

God Is Quiet

God will at times seem distant and silent in dealing with us, in order to test our faith and trust in him.

God Is Righteous

God always acts in accordance with what is right and just; he is the standard of righteousness. All his judgments are just and fair. He does not wink at evil, nor leave the guilty unpunished.

God Is Self-Existent

God does not (and cannot) need anything outside himself to exist. He does not need any part of his creation but rather sustains everything that he has made.

God Is Sovereign

God has authority over his creation and controls all things that happen. God’s sovereignty over all things is often called “providence.” The Bible calls God our Lord, Master, and King because of this attribute. When people say, “God is in control” they are referring to his sovereignty.

God Is Spirit

God is a spirit being who does not have a physical body.

God Is Tireless

God never grows weary or needs sleep as he constantly governs his creation and provides for his children.

God Is Triune

God exists in three co-equal and co-eternal Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—yet is one in being; God is triune—three in one.

God Is Truthful

God cannot lie; everything he says is true; he is the standard of truth.

God Is Unchanging

God does not change in his being, character, purposes, or promises.

God Is Unfathomable

God’s nature and ways are so beyond human comprehension that we will never fully understand them, but we are able to understand what God has specifically revealed about himself in his Word.

God Is Unique

God is incomparable, different from anything or anyone in existence; there is none beside him, none before him, none like him.

God Is Victorious

God triumphantly conquers all his enemies and accomplishes all his plans without fail.

God Is Wise

God always uses his perfect knowledge to make the best decisions yielding the most desirable outcomes according to his will. God acts and speaks according to his perfect wisdom.

God Is Wonderful

Who God is and what God does inspires wonder in his people. His character and works lead us to overwhelming, joyous awe.

God Is Worthy

God has a right to our worship, complete devotion, and unwavering adoration. He is worthy of all the praise we could give him, all the love we could have for him, and all the worship we could offer him.

God Is Wrathful

God intensely hates sin and rightly judges it.

God Has X-Ray Vision

Okay, we know this is a stretch, but there aren’t any words in the Bible describing God that begin with X (go figure). But it is true that God has better-than X-ray vision. God sees everything; nothing is hidden from him.

God Is “Yahweh”

God has a name! He has revealed himself to us as “Yahweh,” which many of our English Bibles translate as “Lord.” Yahweh means, “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). 

God Is Zealous

God intensely and energetically accomplishes his plans for his creation and especially for his children.

Publisher

Bibles.net Editor

This article was written by our editorial team here at Bibles.net. We like to write articles as a team—one person writing, another editing, another proofreading, and all of us making sure we stick to the truth and say it well. If you see a contribution line at the end of the article, that means we didn't write the article, but we selected it from an excellent book to share with you. If you'd like to find out a little more about all of us, check out our "About Us" page.
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What Is God Like?
God has given us a whole book of true ideas about himself—the Bible—that we might put them into our minds and let them shape an accurate vision of him. God has many attributes. He described his character in two ways: through attributes exclusive to God, and attributes can share with him.
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