# Who God is (Paterology, Christology, Pneumatology) Some of God's qualities are explicitly defined in [the Bible](theology-bible.md), and can only be true, without room for philosophical [speculation](mind-imagination.md). - That doesn't mean we can't take guesses at many other components of God, but it does mean there are certain constants. Even without [the Bible](theology-bible.md), we can still [logically conclude God's existence through induction](god-proof.md). ## God is a mystery God is unlike any other being in our experience (Psalm 113:5-6, Isaiah 55:8-9, Isaiah 57:15, John 8:23). We [understand](mind-understanding.md) God through theology (i.e., "knowledge of God"). - God has an eternal and infinite nature, so we need a decent capacity for [philosophy](philosophy.md) to [understand His viewpoint](https://theologos.site/god-sight/). - To be clear, though, we do *not* need to understand his view to [have a relationship with Him](https://theologos.site/gospel/) (Matthew 11:25) - We can partially [understand](mind-understanding.md) God, but won't be able to fully understand Him in this life (1 Corinthians 13:9-12). - Thankfully, there are no intellectual barriers to [loving people](church-serve.md), meaning everyone can act in awareness of God. We can't know everything about God - God created us in His [image](people-image-why.md), but we aren't God (Genesis 1:27). - Our finite nature means we can't fully understand Him (Psalm 103:15-16). ## God is the standard God is incorruptibly good, indivisibly powerful, and perfect. Any inherently good quality we ascribe is either embodied within God as the fullest definition, or we are ascribing to something that isn't an inherently good quality. - For example, God is the kindest being ever, and no other being can be as kind as God. - As another example, God *could* be the most efficient, except that efficiency beyond a certain point becomes tyranny, so God's efficiency stops when it starts to become tyranny. Nevertheless, all values were originally designed by God in the first place, so God is familiar with *all* of their designs. ## God is love God's attributes literally *define* love (Deuteronomy 7:7-8, John 14:31, Romans 5:5-8, Romans 8:35-39, 1 John 4:8-16). - All other qualities are subordinate to God's essence of being [love](people-love.md). - This means that any judgments we deliver against God are demonstrations of our failings, *not* on God's essence. God is [good](morality.md) (Exodus 34:6-7, Psalm 25:8, James 1:17). God is gracious (Psalm 145:17, Romans 3:24, Romans 5:15, Romans 5:20, Ephesians 4:7, Hebrews 4:16). God is nearby and actively involved (Jeremiah 23:23-24, Acts 17:27-28, Haggai 2:5). ## God is forever the same God is self-existing (Exodus 3:14, Psalm 90:2, John 1:1-5, John 5:26, Colossians 1:15-17). God is eternal (Psalm 102:12, Hebrews 13:8). - While we can understand infinity as a concept of time, eternity is entirely removed from time. God doesn't change, even from outside influences (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17) - God's unchanging nature, however, is a tricky discussion with respect to [the person of Jesus](theology-god-jesus.md). ## God is good God is holy, which means perfectly pure (Exodus 3:5-6, 1 Samuel 2:2, Psalm 99:2-3, Isaiah 6:3, Revelation 4:8). God is righteous, which is holiness applied to [action](results.md) (Genesis 18:25, Psalm 19:7-9, Psalm 145:17, Jeremiah 9:24). God is fair and [just](morality-justice.md) (Genesis 18:25, Exodus 34:6-7, Nehemiah 9:32-33, Psalm 99:4, Romans 1:32, Romans 9:14-33, 1 Peter 1:17). Therefore, only God has the right and ability to deliver judgment. God is merciful (Psalm 6:4, Romans 9:23-24, Ephesians 2:4, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 4:16, 1 Peter 1:3). The Bible *constantly* demonstrates God's involvement in our lives, which refutes the [heresy](people-conflicts-christian-4_false.md) of Christian Deism, which asserts that God doesn't intervene in or interact with the world. ## We can also know what God *can't* be God isn't [conventional](habits.md) or [predictable](mind-imagination.md). - This means God isn't "tame" or weak. God [knows](mind-understanding.md) everything (Ezekiel 11:5, Psalm 147:5, Acts 15:18, Romans 2:6, Romans 11:33, Hebrews 4:13, 1 John 3:20). God is all-present (1 Kings 8:27, Job 11:7-9, Psalm 90:1-2, Psalm 139:7-10, Jeremiah 23:23-24). - God isn't simply a cosmic energy or "in all of us". - God isn't necessarily *in* everything, but He certainly can be anywhere He wants. - This refutes Neoplatonism/Pantheism, which is the [heresy](people-conflicts-christian-4_false.md) that we are emanations from God. - This usually implies somehow that we return to become part of God again when we [depart this life](hardship-death.md). God is [all-powerful](power.md) (Psalm 115:3, Jeremiah 32:17, Matthew 19:26, Mark 14:36, Romans 11:36, Ephesians 1:11, Hebrews 1:3). - Therefore, God isn't and can't be limited, which defies the [heresy](people-conflicts-christian-4_false.md) of Limited Theism. - Alongside Limited Theism, Open Theism can't be true, which asserts that God doesn't know everything. - However, the [doctrine of the Trinity](theology-god-trinity.md) does make this particular view more nuanced. - Further, [human nature](humanity-universals.md) by comparison refutes the heresy of Audianism, which is that God has a human form and that we're precisely created in God's image. God can't [self-contradicting](logic.md), petty, or fickle. - This also extends to [logical paradoxes](philosophy-paradoxes.md). - In other words, God absolutely *could* lift a stone so heavy he couldn't lift it, and then lift it, because *He literally designed logic itself*! ## God's characteristics and actions are *not* the same God has a few frequently used names: - These names represent roles, but never fully describe God's essence. - Elohim - "El" means "strength" or "strong one", and "ohim" comes from "Alah", meaning to bind oneself by an [oath](people-contracts.md). - Altogether, it most clearly relates to "reverence". - YHWH or Yahweh - The Jews felt God's name was too sacred to pronounce with vowels, so we don't know how it would sound (e.g., "Yehwah", "Ayohuweho"). - Adonai, which means "lord, master, or husband". - There are about 960 names and titles for God, however, so this is *not* an exhaustive list: - [Names and Titles of God](https://christiananswers.net/dictionary/namesofgod) God can certainly be wrathful, but only as a response to [evil](morality-evil.md). Relative to us, He has many roles: - King of kings and Lord of lords (Deuteronomy 10:17, 1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 19:16) - Great Physician (Psalm 103:3, Matthew 14:14, James 5:16) - Great Lawyer (Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 5:18, Luke 16:17) - Great Teacher (Job 35:11, 1 Corinthians 1:27) - Great Artist (Job 37:14-16, Psalm 96:11-12, Ecclesiastes 3:11) - Great Recordkeeper (2 Samuel 14:11, Luke 21:28) - A Consuming Fire (Hebrews 12:29, Deuteronomy 4:24)