One Word for God?

by David Roberts


A while ago, I was involved in a course entitled “The Attributes of God.” We covered many of them without, I’m sure, even coming close to exhausting the subject. It occurred to me as we were studying week after week that most of these attributes were actually names of God or could easily be turned into names for Him. We examined His love, His mercy, His creativity, His faithfulness, His presence, His wisdom, His goodness, and even His judgment.

In all this investigation of the nature of our Father in heaven, I started on my own quest to find a single word that would apply to God and to Him only. I considered several. “Eternal” came to mind early in my search. It had its merits. It can be used to further explain most of the other names we had studied. Eternal love had a nice ring to it. There is comfort in meditating on this aspect of His love.

That He is eternally faithful is recorded in 2 Timothy 2:13:
“If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

I considered other combinations of the word eternal, and God’s attributes, but somehow it didn’t include all I was looking for.  After thinking of several other words that could only be applied to God, I hit on “Absolute.” In a society that seems to worship “relativity,” I thought that I had finally found something I could work with.

First, I tried to apply this word to satan. Is he not absolutely evil? If we believe the Scriptures, when Lucifer was first created, he was like all the other angels. He was good. I’ve heard he was in charge of praise and worship in heaven. He was named for the first creation on earth: light. No matter how far he has fallen since then, that early part of him is still within him somewhere, so he cannot be “absolutely evil.”

So I began to apply this term to God. Is He not absolutely love(ly) and absolutely faithful? Even when we consider some attributes of God that are not to our minds kind or lovely, like just, holy, judge, or jealous, still He is absolutely all of these too! We may understand in heaven how these seemingly incompatible characteristics are all true of Father, but here on earth we can exercise our faith and believe that what Scripture says is true.

After two or three weeks of thinking about my “find” I was quite satisfied that there was no better single word to describe Papa in heaven. I was also convinced that there was no one else to whom this word could properly be applied to. One day Jesus gently came to me and reminded me that there was at least one other being who could truly be called absolute. He said, “David, you are absolutely unworthy of the grace, mercy and peace that has been extended to you by the power of My Blood.”

“Oh, Lord, You are right! Thank You for reminding me of the absolute power of the cross that purchased for even me Your great salvation.”

The Names of God: 52 Bible Studies for Individuals and Groups By Ann Spangler Experience the Lord in a new and deeper way by studying His names and titles: Adonay, El Shadday, Abba, Yeshua, Lamb of God, Prince of Peace. Adding new material to excerpts from her bestsellers Praying the Names of God and Praying the Names of Jesus, Ann Spangler offers 52 Scripture-based studies revealing important aspects of God’s multifaceted character. Each week’s study includes: Background information to help readers understand the name A key Scripture passage in which the name was first or most significantly revealed A series of questions for individual or group study A list of Bible passages for further reflection Also included is a helpful pronunciation guide to the Names in Ancient Hebrew and Koine Greek.

Attributes of God, Book and Study Guide What is God like? With profound spiritual insight and solid biblical guidance, Tozer examines 20 attributes that reveal God’s essential nature. A study guide is included in each volume. Softcovers.

Passion: How Great Is Our God CD By Passion Worship Band Join Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, the Dave Crowder Band, and 11,000 worshipers at the 2005 Passion gathering—recorded live! Includes “Great Is Our God,” “Marvelous Light,” “Mission’s Flame,” “Here Is Love,” “Yearn,” “All over the World,” “Indescribable,” “Glory of Your Name,” “No One Like You,” and more.

Experiencing God’s Attributes By Warren Myers & Ruth Myers What’s it like to experience God’s attributes? If we did experience them, how would we be changed? Would our idea of God change? This study takes you through scriptural passages that let you experience God’s attributes for yourself. Throughout, you’ll be asked to connect what you learn about God to your own experiences of Him. Your idea of God will indeed change as any misconceptions of what He’s like give way to the truth about His glorious character.

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