The Attributes of God: An Introduction (Short Studies in Systematic Theology)
Overview
God is the Creator of all things. As Creator, he is unique and cannot be compared to any of his creatures. Throughout history, the church has recognized the importance of studying and understanding God’s attributes. In this addition to the Short Studies in Systematic Theology series, theologian Gerald Bray examines the attributes of God, presenting their biblical foundations, systematic-theological structure, and practical relevance for the church today. Bray separates the attributes into two categories: God’s relational attributes (which focus on how he interacts with his creation) and his essential attributes (which describe his essence and relation to time). As Christians better understand the attributes of God they will see, delight in, and apply what Scripture reveals concerning who God is and what he is like.
- Examines the biblical roots of the attributes of God
- Explores the essential and relational attributes of God
- Focuses on the practical relevance for the church today
- The Being of God and His Attributes
- God’s Essential Attributes
- God’s Relational Attributes
- The Relevance of God’s Attributes Today
- Appendix: God’s Attributes in Christian Tradition
Top Highlights
“Our analysis of God’s being and attributes is derived from his self-revelation to us in the Bible and confirmed by our experience of its truth. It is a genuine reflection of our personal relationship with him, but it is not comprehensive or exhaustive. There is much about God that we do not (and cannot) know. The theology of God’s attributes is therefore both a confident expression of faith and a humble admission of ignorance in line with the nature and content of God’s self-disclosure to us.” (Page 19)
“Impassibility. According to the early Christians, God is impassible—that is to say, unable to suffer.” (Page 34)
“Second, there are the relational attributes of God. These are descriptions of him as he relates to us, but they remain unique to his being and are shared with us only in terms of analogy. To put it simply, God is holy, righteous, and good in an absolute sense, whereas we can be holy, righteous, and good only within the limits of our finite nature.” (Page 22)
“God is not jealous of other deities in the way we might be jealous of our peers or colleagues. The whole point is that he has no peers or colleagues of which to be jealous. Jealousy is not an attribute of his being but a reminder to his people that he must claim their whole attention and be the sole object of their worship.” (Pages 92–93)
“Divine simplicity means that whatever we say about God applies to the totality of his being. God is not partly invisible or partly immortal. When we meet with God, we meet with him in the fullness of his being, because he cannot be anything less than that.” (Page 27)
- Title: The Attributes of God: An Introduction (Short Studies in Systematic Theology)
- Author: Gerald Bray
- Series: Short Studies in Systematic Theology
- Publisher: Crossway
- Print Publication Date: 2021
- Logos Release Date: 2020
- Pages: 159
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: God (Christianity) › Attributes
- ISBNs: 9781433561177, 9781433561207, 9781433561184, 9781433561191, 1433561174, 1433561204, 1433561182, 1433561190
- Resource ID: LLS:ATTRBTSGODINTRO
- Resource Type: Systematic Theology
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-08-30T17:14:53Z
Dr. Gerald Bray is Research Professor of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, AL, and Distinguished Professor of Theology at Knox Theological Seminary, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
He was born and raised in Montreal, Canada, where he did his undergraduate work at McGill University. He completed his doctoral studies at the Sorbonne in Paris and went on to study theology in Cambridge. In 1978 he was ordained in the Church of England and served a parish in London for two years before going on to teach at Oak Hill College in London. He has been at Beeson since 1993.
Dr. Bray is the editor of the Anglican journal Churchman and has published a number of books, including the award-winning Biblical Interpretation: Past and Present (InterVarsity Press, 1996), Yours Is the Kingdom: A Systematic Theology of the Lord's Prayer(InterVarsity Press, 2007), God Is Love (Crossway, 2012), and his most recent work, God Has Spoken: A History of Christian Theology (Crossway, 2014).
Dr. Bray speaks several languages fluently. He has lived in Germany, Greece, and Russia, and he has taught in several European countries and Australia. He can often be found in one of the archives of the Church of England, researching parts of its history, on which he has also published a number of important works. He is also an avid swimmer and cyclist.