Catechesis · Inquirer
The Attributes of God
Catechesis · Inquirer
The Attributes of God
Scripture and the Fathers describe God's nature through a series of attributes — eternal, omnipresent, all-knowing, all-powerful, holy, good, just, all-wise. Each one is a genuine…
Question
Who is God in His nature?
Scripture and the Fathers describe God's nature through a series of attributes — eternal, omnipresent, all-knowing, all-powerful, holy, good, just, all-wise. Each one is a genuine truth about God. None of them, taken alone or together, exhausts what God is. They are real windows into an inexhaustible reality.
The attributes of God are not abstract philosophy. They are the foundation of faith, prayer, and trust. Because God is omnipresent, there is no place where prayer cannot reach Him. Because He is perfectly good, His will can be trusted absolutely.
The teaching
Eternity, omnipresence, simplicity, love
God is *eternal*: He has no beginning and no end. He is not in time as we are. Past, present, and future are all equally present to Him. This means He is never surprised, never too late, never limited by what He does not yet know.
God is *omnipresent*: He is fully present everywhere at once. Not spread thin across space, but wholly present in every place. God is *omniscient*: He knows all things — past, present, and future — perfectly and completely. God is *omnipotent*: He can do all things that are consistent with His nature. He cannot lie, cannot sin, cannot cease to exist — not because He lacks power, but because these things are incompatible with what He is.
God is infinite and incomprehensible, and all that is comprehensible about Him is His infinity and incomprehensibility.
Every true thing we know about God points toward what we cannot grasp. His infinity has no boundary, no limit, no end, and that reality genuinely exceeds every concept we can form of it.
St. John of Damascus
On the Orthodox Faith I.4 · c. 730 AD
Holy Scripture
"God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."
1 John 4:16
"Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!"
Psalm 139:7–8