Attributes of God

One of Nebuchadnezzar’s favorite names for himself was the bombastic title, “King of the Universe.” But on that fateful day of God’s judgment, Nebuchadnezzar found out Who is the real King of the Universe! Over the course of seven years of humiliation, the proud king was humbled and brought to his senses. Even the mightiest kings on earth are dependent upon God for their power. He is the One Who “removeth kings, and setteth up kings” (Daniel 2:21).

As mortals, as much as we may admire independence as a social ideal, mankind is inherently dependent. To prove this point, a person needs only to peer into a cradle. From the moment of conception, infants depend entirely upon their parents for food, shelter, and protection. In the same manner, each one of us is ultimately dependent upon God, our Creator and Sustainer, for the very breath of life.

Does the fact that we serve a longsuffering God mean that He will allow wickedness to go unpunished forever? This was the question that the martyrs of Revelation 6, pleading underneath the altar of Heaven, asked the Lord after the opening of the fifth seal. The interesting aspect about God’s answer to the martyrs’ question is that He encourages them also to be longsuffering.

Patience is the result of bearing up under the trials that God sends our way. What does patience have to do with longsuffering? The two virtues are linked together in the Word of God, both in the Old and New Testaments. There are primarily two words in the Greek New Testament that are rendered “patient” or “patience.” James incorporated both words in his epistle. Let’s look closer at these two Greek words which denote longsuffering.

Forgiveness is closely linked with God’s longsuffering. For a man to be like Christ—slow to anger, plenteous in mercy—he must be willing and able to forgive offenses swiftly and completely. He must not hold grudges. He must realize that as God forgives us, in the same manner we ought to forgive others.

In a display of God's longsuffering, He spared the wicked city of Nineveh. However, one man was not happy with God’s display of longsuffering to the sinful Assyrians! That man was Jonah. According to Jonah 4:1, “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.” If God was “long of nose,” Jonah was certainly “short of nose”! His anger waxed hot! He was angry at the Assyrians for their repentance. He was angry at God for His longsuffering and forgiveness.

Longsuffering is one of the essential attributes of our Lord. The Hebrew idiom that God used here to describe Himself as being patient literally means “long of nose.” This interesting phrase was a Hebrew expression used in the ancient world that meant “slow to anger.” Our God is a patient, “long of nose” God! He is not quick to respond in anger to sinful man. He is patient, longsuffering, and eager to forgive.

The test of stewardship is not how much we have but how well we use what we have for the Kingdom of God. Some may have more assets like a large inheritance, land, or a successful business venture. We should all carefully earn, save, invest, spend, and give according to the individual requirements and abilities that God has given us. The simple requirement of stewards is that they be found faithful with whatever they have, however little or much.

During Christ’s earthly ministry, His faithfulness was on full display. In every situation, His disciples found Him entirely reliable. His promises could be counted upon. Men, women, and children could stake their soul’s eternal destiny upon His Word. Our Lord told grieving sisters Mary and Martha that if they would believe, they would see the power of God. And so it was, at the tomb of Lazarus, they saw their brother walk forth from the grave!

Great is Thy faithfulness! Are you able to say that when your home lies in smoking ruins? Are you able to proclaim that when you have lost a loved one? Are you able to affirm that when your entire nation is destroyed by the treachery of man? Absolutely! If you are a child of God, you can rest in this assurance, no matter the circumstances.

Today, land transactions, business agreements, insurance sales, medical treatments, and even church associations cannot be made without documents, signatures, fine print, and a burdensome display of signatures, seals, and certifications. But we serve a God Who can be trusted. He is a faithful God Who keeps every promise He makes and Who is able to swear by Himself. His covenant is sure. His Word is true. His promises are assured. His oaths are bound in Heaven. His faithfulness is more everlasting than the timeless hills.

Christ commended the Good Samaritan for doing good to the wounded Jew whom he found on the side of the road. In telling this story, our Lord asked a listening lawyer a question: Who was the true neighbor to the wounded man—the priest, the Levite, or the Samaritan? The lawyer replied, “He that shewed mercy on him” (Luke 10:37). Then the verse closes with Christ’s exhortation to all His disciples, “Go, and do thou likewise.”

In His earthly ministry, Jesus manifested His mercy on many occasions. Indeed, it could be said that He lived constantly with a mindset of compassionate mercy. He satisfied the justice of God as well as the mercy of God by His sacrifice upon the cross of Calvary. Only in Jesus could mercy and justice find perfect harmony.

Can God show wrath and mercy at the same time? God has mercy upon His children because He has promised to do so. His mercy is a covenant mercy; its administration is not dependent upon circumstances. Mercy and wrath do not contradict one another; rather, they exist side by side as equally important attributes of God’s character.

The very first appearance of the word mercy in the Bible is in connection with the life of Lot. After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot acknowledged Jehovah’s mercy upon him and his daughters: “thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life” (Genesis 19:19). Lot recognized that he and his family deserved God’s righteous judgment, but that the Lord had spared them in His mercy.

The virtue of humility, which is the same as lowliness, is the key to all other virtues. Besides Proverbs 3, let’s consider seven other key verses in the Bible that demonstrate how God extends His grace to those who are humble. Each of these Scriptures, although translating the same word in various ways, are all rooted in the Hebrew word, עָנָו (anav, lowly).

Our God is the “God of all grace.” He is the ultimate source of all the grace in the universe. Just as there is no light apart from Him, there is no grace apart from Him. The gracious spirit we find in sanctified men and women comes ultimately from the God of all grace.

The greatest act of God’s grace in human history was the gift of God’s only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Apostle John introduced Christ to the world, he said, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Unseen winds refresh our planet daily. Similarly, the grace of God is invisible to our eyes. Yet, we see evidences of wind all around us: clouds move across the sky, leaves rustle on trees, and waves of wheat in fields yield to its mighty force. So, too, we can see the evidence of God’s grace all around us.

Today, grace and law are viewed widely as mutually exclusive. It is fallaciously assumed that the God of the Old Testament was the God of Law, and that the God of the New Testament is the God of grace. Terms like “the age of grace” reflect the mistaken assumption that before the cross there was no grace.