by Rev. Donald MacLean, Glasgow
When we speak of the attributes of God we speak of the several things which are revealed to be true of the Divine nature.
The attributes themselves should never be considered apart from the Divine nature. The nature and essence of God cannot be thought of apart from consideration of the attributes.
For instance when we say “God is a Spirit,” we mean that the nature and essence of God is Spiritual. In further explanation of this we mean that the nature of God does not possess bodily parts or passions. It is not composed of material parts and not subject to material limitations and consequently cannot be discerned by us through our bodily senses. On the other hand, we affirm that he is a rational and moral Being whose actions are determined by his own will. He is one who is self-existent and not dependent upon anything outside of himself, and distinct from this created universe.
In discussing the perfections of God a distinction is sometimes made between ‘incommunicable’ and ‘communicable’ attributes. By incommunicable attributes we mean those perfections of the Divine nature which he does not communicate to any creature. Communicable attributes, on the other hand are such as are found in the human spirit created or re-created in the image of God.
The Shorter Catechism divides this subject for us very nicely in answer to the Question “What is God?”: “God is a Spirit, Infinite, Eternal and Unchangeable in his Being, Wisdom, Power, Holiness, Justice, Goodness and Truth.” The perfections of Infinity, Eternity and Unchangeability are incommunicable. These mark God out as the self-existent Being who alone is infinite from everlasting to everlasting, and without change. The other attributes, Wisdom, Power, Holiness, Justice, Goodness and Truth, God did communicate in finite measure to man in his original creation and when he restores sinful man by the new creation in Christ Jesus he communicates these lost attributes to him once more.
We shall proceed, therefore, to make a few remarks on these various perfections which are true of the nature of God and can be seen by the eye of the Soul anointed with the Divine eye-salve in the works of creation and providence, always remembering that the latter sphere includes redemption.
A. The Incommunicable Attributes
(i) Infinity. — By saything that God is Infinite, we mean that he has no limitation which would involve any imperfection on his part. He is above and beyond space and time. “Great is the Lord: His understanding is infinite.” He is infinite in all his perfections. The immensity of God refers to his infinitude with respect to space. Omnipresence is another word used for this aspect of God’s infinitude. (ii) Eternity — This is the aspect of God’s infinitude relative to Time, and can be thought of as duration through endless ages. This is a great mystery which the finite mind of man cannot grasp and yet it is clearly revealed in the Word of God. “Before the mountains were brought forth or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God.” (Psalm 90-v.2). (iii) Immutability — That God is unchangeable not only in his being, but in his knowledge, will, purposes and attributes, is absolutely essential to the perfection of God. The perfect being is one who can neither improve nor become less than perfect. This glorious truth is a wonderful strength and stay to the people of God. Speaking of the earth and the heavens the Psalmist says, “They shall perish but thou shalt endure: yea, all of these shall wax old like a garment: as a vesture shalt thou change them and they shall be changed: but thou art the same and thy years shall have no end” (Psalm 102 vv. 26 and 27). In the midst of the defections of Israel, the Lord, by the mouth of Malachi says “I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Ch. 3-v. 6).
Sometimes phrases in the Bible such as God being said to “repent” raise difficulties when viewed in the light of his unchangeability. If God is said to “repent” does this not mean some change in his mind? Shedd writes as follows on this particular point “God is said to repent. (Gen. 6:6). It repented the Lord that he had made man upon the earth’ (Jonah 3:10): ‘God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them.’ This means no change in his attributes and character, but only in his manner of treating men. ‘Repentance in God is not a change of will, but a will to change.’ If God had treated the Ninevites after their repentance as he had threatened to treat them before their repentance, this would have proved him to be mutable. It would have showed him to be one time displeased with impenitence, and at another with penitence. Charnock (Immutability of God) remarks that ‘the unchangeableness of God, when considered in relation to the exercise of his attributes in the government of the world, consists not in always acting in the same manner however circumstances and causes may alter, but in always doing what is right, and in adapting his treatment of his intelligent creatures to the variation of their actions and characters. When the Devils, now fallen, stood as glorious angels, they were the objects of God’s love, necessarily: when they fell, they were the objects of God’s hatred, because impure. The same reason which made him love them while they were pure, made him hate them when they were criminal.’ It is one thing for God to will a change in created things external to himself, and another thing for him to change in his own nature and character. God can will a change in the affairs of men, such as the abrogation of the Levitical priesthood and ceremonial, and yet his own will remain immutable, because he had from eternity willed and decreed the change. In like manner, promises and threatenings that are made conditionally, and suppose a change in man, imply no change in the essence or attributes of God. ‘If that nation against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.’ (Jer. 18:7-10) No change is made in God, as there is in the creature, by his knowledge. A creature increases his knowledge, and experiences a change intellectually. But God’s knowledge is a fixed quantity, because it is infinite. He knows everything from everlasting to everlasting, and at each instant, and there is no more than everything. He knew before it came to pass that Christ would be crucified upon Calvary. When that event occurred, it made no change in his knowledge. He was no better informed than he was before. He was no more certain of the crucifixion after the event than he was before it, because he had decreed that it should take place. He could not have foreknown that it would take place, unless he had predetermined that it should. If God does not first decide that an event shall happen, he must wait and see whether it happens in order to any certain knowledge; and this would make a change in his knowledge.”
We shall deal (D.V.) with the communicable attributes in our next article.