Page 17 - Bible Doctrines II w videos short

Study Section 3: Character of God: Communicable Attributes (Part 1)

3.1 Connect.

In ancient days, the Greeks and the Romans worshipped gods that were just like themselves.
They were gods who married, had babies, and some even died. They had banquets, got drunk,
were promiscuous, and celebrated love and fertility. Many of their gods were quite immoral.
They would punish people on earth if they did not properly worship them. Some of their gods
were nothing more than the sun or moon. They even had a god who was a woodworker and
another a farmer that they worshipped.

People in those days made great temples to worship these gods. They would have priests who lived in
the temple. They also had resident prostitutes, both male and female, who would engage the people
coming to worship. In some of these religious practices, babies were offered as sacrifices to these gods.

Is this what the true God is like? Is He nothing more than a glorified human? Today, we are going to
study the attributes or characteristics of God as described in His Word, the Bible. We will see how
different He is than the idols and false gods of the fallen empires of the past. Aren’t you excited? Let’s
get started…

3.2 Objectives.

1. The student should be able to define each communicable attribute.

2. The student should be able to describe the difference between the incommunicable and
communicable attributes.

3. The student should be able to organize each communicable attribute under its suitable category.

4. The student should be able to explain how each communicable attribute can be imitated.

3.3 Communicable Attributes

Communicable attributes are those that God the Father shares or communicates with us.
While some communicable attributes share similarities with human attributes, God’s
communicative attributes far exceed any that a person can share with Him.

Communicable Attributes that Describe the Being of God the Father.

Spirituality
This means that God exists as a being that is not made of any matter, has no parts or dimensions, is
unable to be perceived by our bodily senses, and is more excellent than any other kinds of existence. In
24
John 4:24, apostle John says that “ God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and
in truth.” The worship of God the Father does not require us to be in Jerusalem, Samaria, Virginia, South
Carolina, Zambia because “true worship has to do not with physical location but with one’s inner

16