As an introduction study to the topic of Trinitarianism, in today’s post we are looking at the communicable and incommunicable attributes of God. These might be new terms for you, but they basically mean two things:
- Communicable Attributes – These are the things that God shares with humans to some degree.
- Incommunicable Attributes – These are the things that God does not share with finite humanity.
Sometimes, in our effort to understand God we “shrink” God. For example, we might see God as a policeman, ill-humored parent, grand old man, heavenly bosom, or distant unloving father. Based on our physical experiences here on earth we might use those “lenses” to try to understand our God. In this post I want to give a thorough and clear explanation of the being of God.
Photo Credit: “Holy Trinity” by Hendrick van Balen
TRINITARIANISM
The Being of God
I. COMMUNICABLE ATTRIBUTES
First, I would like to look at the attributes of God that we more easily can understand because we share them to some degree. Let’s take a look at God’s communicable attributes.
A. God Is Truth
In Jesus’s prayer to God just before he was betrayed he asks God to help his disciples. He prays to God asking,
