Grace Institute: Systematic Theology: Theology Proper: Introduction

Theology Proper Grace Institute for Biblical Leadership Winter 2006

I. Introduction

A. Classifications of God's Attributes

As theologians have studied the scriptures to determine the attributes of God, there have been countless attempts to classify His nature. Some theologians suggest the character of God cannot be properly categorized, because God himself defies categorization. Nonetheless, there seem to be four primary classifications of the attributes of God put forth by theologians:

• Communicable and incommunicable . Put forth by the reformers, communicable attributes are those attributes in which humans can participate (e.g. love, holiness) while incommunicable are those attributes uniquely belonging to God (e.g. omniscience, omnipotence, etc.)
• Intransitive and Transitive . Intransitive are those qualities which remain in God's nature (e.g. spirituality) while transitive are those qualities which operate on objects outside of God (e.g. grace).
• Absolute and Relative . Absolute are qualities that he has in himself (e.g. infinite), relative are qualities that are manifest in his relationship with others (e.g. eternal and omnipresent, being the relative qualities of his absolute infiniteness).
• Natural and Moral . Moral qualities are those related to the concept of rightness (e.g. holiness, love, faithfulness), while natural qualities are not connected to any moral idea (e.g. knowledge and power).

Footnotes

1. Charles Swindoll. Growing Deep in the Christian Life . (Zondervan, 1995), 89.

[Next: God is Holy]