The Attributes of God (With Free Printable for Bible Study!)
Download this printable list of 18 of the attributes of God to use alongside your Bible reading plan, in your prayer journal, or as a resource for your Sunday school Bible lesson.
Reflecting on the character of God is one of the best ways to deepen our understanding of God. Understanding who He is and how He acts allows us to be anchored in truth when difficult times come our way.
We are able to praise his greatness more fully when we understand exactly how great God truly is.
And what better way is there to fight the lies of the enemy than to repeat the truths of who God is, over and over?
In this post, and the PDF download, I’ve included 18 of God’s attributes. Check out the list of resources below, as well as a more in depth look at each attribute, and then get set up with your free printable!
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Books on the Attributes of God
The following books having been a huge help in better understanding the nature of God in my own life. I hope that they will be equally helpful to you.
The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer– This book is packed with wisdom to help deepen your understanding of God.
In His Image and None Like Him by Jen Wilkin – These two books separate out the attributes of God by communicable and incommunicable (see below for what this means). You’ll take an in depth look at 10 attributes in each book, written in an easy-to-understand format.
The Ology – Marty Mackowski – This book is excellent for training younger children in the truths of God. We’re actually using this book as the spine of our homeschool Bible time this year, but you can also use it for reading together during family devotion time!
(Like free printables?! Check out these printable memory verse cards that I’ve put together in this post! Use them to get started on the spiritual discipline of Scripture Memory.)
Communicable vs. Incommunicable Characteristics of God
An incommunicable attribute of God means that it is only true of God. These attributes cannot apply to us. These attributes are things like omnipotence and self-existence.
Other attributes are communicable, meaning that God has created us to be able to share in these characteristics. Even though we share these attributes with God, it is important to remember that we are not perfect in them as God is.
An example of a communicable attribute is love. We are able to love one another, but we are not able to love one another perfectly. God’s love is perfect and complete.
Another is wisdom. We are able to grow in wisdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. However, we can never be wise as God is wise because we are limited in knowledge, and He is not.
Check out these other free Bible study related resources that I’ve put together!
5 Free Printable Bible Study Worksheets for Christian Women and 40 Everyday Prayer Journal Prompts (Free Printable)
18 Attributes of God
“To have a correct understanding of the attributes it is necessary that we see them all as one. We can think of them separately, but they cannot be separated.” A.W. Tozer
Omnipotent
God is all powerful. He is able to do anything He wills. His power is not “used up”. He has unlimited power, never decreasing or running out.
Omniscient
He is all knowing. There is nothing, no thought or act, that is unknown to God.
Because God is outside of time, He knows all things at all times. He is not waiting for things to happen and then just observing them. He knows all things, past, present, and future.
Omnipresent
God is always everywhere. He is in all places, at all times.
“Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” Psalm 139:7
For God’s people, knowing that we are never out of sight for God Almighty should be a great comfort.
Eternal
God has no beginning and no end. He is self-existent, uncreated. He has eternal life within Himself.
The idea of something being “uncreated” cannot be understood by created beings. No matter how deeply we think about it, it will never make complete sense because it is not of our world.
“From everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.” Psalm 90:2
Immutable
God never changes. His attributes, His plans, His promises never change. He is never “better” or “worse”. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
When reading the remainder of these attributes, be reminded of the immutability of God. He is never loving at one moment and just at another. He is always all of these things, perfectly consistent.
Just
God always does what is right and good to all men. In His infinite wisdom and knowledge, there is never any wrongdoing or dishonesty.
A.W. Tozer explains it this way:
“Justice, when used of God, is a name we give to the way God is, nothing more; and when God acts justly He is not doing so to conform to an independent criterion, but simply acting like Himself in a given situation. As gold is an element in itself and can never change not compromise but is gold wherever it is found, so God is God, always, only, fully God, and can never be other than He is.”
Gracious
In His loving kindness, God gives to us things we are not deserving of.
His grace can be seen in everyday things that all people can enjoy – such as the beauty of His creation, the sun rising each day. This is referred to as common grace.
For Christians, we have also experienced His saving grace, that has come to us through faith in Christ Jesus.
Merciful
He is infinitely compassionate and kind, withholding from us the wrath that we are deserving of.
The ultimate display of God’s mercy, Jesus came to absorb the wrath that was due to sinful man.
Grace and mercy are often used interchangeably – but they are not the same. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve; mercy is not getting what punishment we do deserve.
Faithful
God is faithful to His plans and purposes. He is incapable of being unfaithful.
Holy
“His holiness, therefore, most essentially consists in his absolute uniqueness and therefore the infinite value of his beauty and his excellence. He’s in a class by himself. He’s above all things. He’s sui generis. He’ s distinct from everything that is not God, and therefore, he is of infinite and of absolute worth.” John Piper – Desiring God
Good
God is perfect. He is without sin and there is no evil in Him. All that He does is good.
In order to trust God, we must know that He is a good God.
Loving
God’s love is eternal and steadfast. His love has no limits, because He is limitless. His love is perfect and pure because He is holy. God’s love is self-existent and eternal, without beginning or end.
God’s love is perfect within Himself.
It is hard to comprehend that the self-sufficient, amazing God, who needs nothing and has everything within Himself, allows Himself to be in a loving relationship with His creation.
And while I am sure I will never grasp the fullness of His love I will certainly spend my days praising Him for it.
Self-Sufficient
God has no needs. The word need applies only to creatures – that which has been created – which is everything aside from God.
Nothing can be added to God to make Him more complete or fulfilled. All that He is, He has within Himself. He does however choose to be in a loving relationship with His creation.
“God has a voluntary relation to everything He has made, but He has not necessary relation to anything outside of Himself.” A.W. Tozer
Sovereign
God is ruler over all of creation. He is sovereign over the entire world and all that happens in it.
Righteous
God is blameless and upright. There is no wrong found in Him. He is incapable of wrongdoing.
Patient
God’s patient does not simply mean that He waits a long time. It means that God shows longsuffering kindness to sinner. His patience invites our repentance.
Like the loving father of the prodigal son, we find our Heavenly Father patiently waiting for us, with open arms, ready to receive us.
So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. Luke 15:20
Wise
God is infinitely knowledgeable, and in His infinite knowledge, He is truly wise. He sees from beginning to end, and never guesses at what may be best. He is never more or less wise. God is infinitely, consistently, and perfectly wise.
Glorious
John Piper describes the glory of God this way:
“The glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of God’s manifold perfections. The infinite beauty—and I am focusing on the manifestation of his character and his worth and his attributes — all of his perfections and greatness are beautiful as they are seen, and there are many of them”.
Free Printable Attributes of God Download
Here’s the free printable you came for! Print on US Letter Sized Paper (8.5X11 inches). Print on cardstock for durability. Enjoy, friends!
Simply click this link and the PDF should open in a new page.
*This printable is the property of Humblyrootedhome.com and is for personal use only. It should not be resold.*
