Moral Attributes of God
by Nick Bibile
Moral Attributes of God. (Communicable Attributes)
1. The Goodness of God.
2. Holiness of God.
3. The Righteousness of God.
Moral attributes are the most glorious of his divine perfections.
The Goodness of God.
Goodness of God can be divided into the following.
1. Love of God.
2. Grace of God.
3. Mercies of God
4. Long Sufferings of God.
Goodness of God means as he is God he is good. In goodness of God he is
absolutely perfect. "The goodness of God endureth continually" (Ps. 52:1) The
"goodness" of God respects the perfection of His nature: "God is light, and in
Him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). There is such an absolute perfection in
God’s nature and being that nothing is wanting to it or defective in it, and
nothing can be added to it to make it better. He cannot be less good than He is; as
there can be no addition made to Him, so no subtraction from Him. (Thomas.
Manton).
Mark 10:18; Exod 33:19: Gen 3:21; Ps 106:1
Love of God.
God is love" 1 John 4:8, 16
There is a love of God to all his creatures comes out of his goodness. Even
though sin is an abomination to God yet there is a common goodness to all his
creatures Ps 145:9,15-16 Mat 5:45-48; Acts 14:17
But to the elect, believers there is a special love an intimate love where we can
call God, ‘our heavenly Father’. John 3:16; John 16:27; Rom 5:8: 1 John 3:1
The love of God endures for ever; it is an everlasting love, in that sense, (Jer. 31:3)
it is the bond of union between God and Christ, and the elect; and it can never be
dissolved; nothing can separate it, nor separate from it (Rom. 8:35, 38, 39). The
union it is the bond of, is next to that, and like it, which is between the three
divine persons (John 17:21, 23). The union between soul and body, may be, and is
dissolved, at death; but neither death nor life can separate from this; this loving
kindness of God never departs; though health, and wealth, and friends, and life
itself may depart, this never will, (Isa. 54:10) having loved his own which were in
the world, he loves them to the end, to the end of their lives, to the end of time,
and to all eternity (John 13:1).
Grace of God
Out of God’s goodness comes the grace of God. Grace is God’s favor to the
underserved. We don’t deserve it yet it is given to us, it is unmerited. Grace of
God is the source of all spiritual blessings.
We are called by grace Gal 1:15
Saved by grace Eph 2:7-9
The word of God is of grace Acts 20:32
By grace we are justified. Rom 3:24; 4:16; Tit 3:7
By grace we are enriched with spiritual blessings John 1;16; Eph 1:2-3
Grace is given to all those who love him. Eph 6:24
God gives grace to the humble. 1 Pet 5:5
Our labor in the Lord is by his grace 1 Cor 15:10; Acts 14:26
Gospel is of grace Gal 1:6
In modern theology and evangelism they believe the word grace of God, yet we
see the true meaning is lost as it becomes more synergistic. Synergistic means our
human will has a great place in God’s grace as it has to cooperate with God. Let
me give an illustration. It is said that Hydrogenated oil can cause cancer. As it is
not natural but manufactured by man. The merchants add hydrogenated oil to
other natural oil and to foods as it taste good and the food lasts longer, so they
make good profits. This is the meaning of synergism, meaning you are adding
something extra to the original. This comes from Roman Catholicism and
Arminianism. This is totally opposite to the true biblical meaning of grace which
is monergistic. Monergistic means grace is the work of God alone to the
underserved sinners. There is no works involved in receiving the gospel. Rom
11:6
If you add 50% of hydrogenated oil to 50% of vegetable oil it taste good, however
it can cause cancer. This is the modern evangelism where they add 50% human
works to 50% of God’s grace. The pure gospel is perverted in to a gospel of man
and Christ together, this is the worldly gospel of man, not the true gospel.
Mercies of God
Out of the goodness of God comes mercies of God. The grace of God shows man
is guilty before God, therefore man need forgiveness of God. Man need divine
help in his pitiful condition. God instead of judgment shows his mercy towards
the sinner.
Deut 5:10; Ps 57:10; 86:5; 1 Chro 16:34; 1 Tim 1;2 2 Tim 1:1 Titus 1:4 Ps 145:9
Longsuffering of God
Out of his goodness also comes the long suffering of God. The Hebrew word
which literally signifies "long of both nostrils", is sometimes rendered
"longsuffering", as in the places referred to; and sometimes "slow to anger", (Neh.
9:17; Ps. 103:8) The thought is that God takes a long deep breath as he holds his
anger. In the New Testament, (Rom. 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9, 15) the allusion is to the
nose, the seat of anger, which restrains or shows it, as it is long or contracted.
Even the sinner is continually sinning against God, there are warnings and
advice comes to him, postponing God’s judgment.
Ex 34:6; Ps 86:15; Rom 2:4; 9:22 1 Pet 3:20; 2 Pet 3:15
Recommended in-depth studies can be found from Louis Berkof Systematic Theology. Robert Raymond
Systematic Theology. John Gill – Body of Divinity. A.W Pink Body of Doctrinal Divinity, Thomas Watson
Body of Divinity.