THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD Steve Lawson
Trinity Bible Church, Men's study, 1/13/22
Lesson 1. INTRODUCTION to the Attributes of God
A. MATCH
1. God knows all things ____
2. God rules over all things ____
3. God is unchanging ____
4. God is everywhere ____
5. God cannot be fully understood ____
6. God can do all things ____
7. God has no beginning or end ____
8. God needs nothing ____
9. God has no limits ____
A. God is Infinite
B. God is Incomprehensible
C. God is Self-Sufficient
D. God is Eternal
E. God is Immutable
F. God is Omnipresent
G. God is Omniscient
H. God is Omnipotent
I. God is Sovereign
B. NATURE of this study:
1. This is not going to be an academic study.
A purely academic study is aimed at the ________.
The goal of an academic study is to impart _______________.
2. This is going to be more of an experiential study.
An experiential study aimed more at the ________ and ________.
The goal of an experiential study is devotional and practical transformation.
C. FORMAT of this study:
1. Video—under 25 minutes
2. Review the video by going over the notes
3. Study Questions
4. Discussion Questions
5. Your additional questions or comments
D. Basic guidelines:
1. ALL questions must be _____________.
2. ALL comments must be concise and ____________; no sermonizing or rabbit trails please.
E. What would you consider to be the most important reason _____ we should study about God's attributes?
TEACHING OBJECTIVES
1. To provide definitions and examples of divine attributes.
2. To discuss the ways in which these attributes describe the triune God.
3. To show how theology affects ________ and ________.
I. The Importance of a Right Understanding of God
A. It has been said that what comes into a person's mind when he or she thinks about God is the most ______________ thing about him or her.
1. High views of God lead to high and holy living, worship, evangelism, and service.
2. Low views of God lead to a low and base way of interacting with God, self, and others.
B. This teaching series will seek to promote a _______ view of God by examining fifteen of God's attributes.
1. By gaining an accurate understanding of who God is, Christians become better equipped to understand themselves and the ________ around them.
2. Because every area of one's life and worldview is influenced by one's understanding of God, it is essential to understand His defining _____________.
C. An attribute refers to a quality or characteristic that belongs to a person.
1. God's attributes define and describe who God is.
2. Although we cannot understand the full depth of God's character, this teaching series will explore some of the main characteristics of God that are mentioned in Scripture.
II. God's Distinct Attributes: An Overview
1. God is self-existent (aseity): He has life in Himself and ___________ on no one.
2. God is spiritual: He does not have a material _______ and is transcendent.
3. God is sovereign: He _______ over all things with absolute control.
4. God is holy: He is pure, blameless, and flawless in all of His being.
5. God is omnipresent: He is boundless, present in all places at once.
6. God is omniscient: He __________ all things.
7. God is omnipotent: He is all-_____________.
8. God is immutable: He never _________.
9. God is truthful: He speaks accurately and authoritatively.
10. God is wise: He enacts His perfect will by the highest ends and means.
11. God is good: He deals bounteously with His _____________.
12. God is gracious: He freely bestows salvation on undeserving sinners.
13. God is loving: He demonstrates selfless love for His children.
14. God is foreknowing: He has known and _________ His people from eternity.
15. God is righteous in wrath: He loves ____________ and punishes_________.
III. Divine Attributes in Proper Perspective
A. Some of God's attributes are called "incommunicable attributes," and others are called "communicable attributes."
1. God's incommunicable attributes, such as immutability and omniscience, belong to Him _______.
2. God's communicable attributes, such as love and wisdom, find their fullest expression in Him but can also be displayed on a smaller scale by His human image-bearers.
B. God's attributes are not independent of one another but are interconnected.
1. These divine attributes are present in the _______ Godhead; they are possessed by all three persons of the Trinity.
2. Each of these attributes has always belonged to God and __________ always belong to Him.
a. God neither gains nor __________ attributes.
b. Those who claim that God is different in the Old and New Testaments misunderstand the nature of the divine attributes.
c. Each attribute is inseparably _____________ to every other attribute.
1. Complex beings have separate, identifiable _________, but simple beings do not.
2. Because God is a simple being, it is impossible to divide Him into parts, so as to separate His goodness from His wisdom or His wrath.
3. Instead, each attribute describes the others; for example, God's holiness is immutable, omnipotent, and eternal.
C. God's attributes have crucial implications for our daily lives.
1. This is not a purely _______ or intellectual subject.
2. Rather, an accurate understanding of God is foundational if we desire to know Him, serve Him, and become ______ Him.
3. Only when we know God, can we truly worship Him.
4. Knowledge of God keeps us anchored as we minister in His name and proclaim His truth to others.
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. The attribute that best describes God's kind and generous dealings with believers, unbelievers, and inanimate creation is His ___________.
a. Goodness
b. Omnipotence
c. Grace
d. Sovereignty
2. Some of God's attributes apply exclusively to the Father, while others mainly describe the Son or the Spirit.
a. True
b. False
3. God's communicable attributes are His qualities which _____.
a. Can only belong to God
b. Are unknowable apart from special revelation
c. Are most easy to describe to others
d. God demonstrates perfectly, but humans can share imperfectly
4. Each of God's attributes is _____.
a. A separate part of God
b. Unrelated to the others
c. Eternally part of God's character
d. Only found in the Godhead
5. God is better described as a simple being, rather than as a complex being.
a. True
b. False
Jeremiah 9:23-24 This is what the Lord says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the Lord.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why is a person's belief in _____ important?
In what ways do these beliefs shape other areas of a person's _____?
2. How does a biblical understanding of God's attributes impact the way that you perceive _____________ and other people?
3. As Dr. Lawson observes, our theology determines our _____________ . Consider some of the different approaches to worship that you have seen in churches today; what are the different views of God that undergird these views of worship?
4. Of the attributes of God mentioned in this message, which one is the most familiar to you?
Which of these attributes are you most curious to learn about?