Relational Attributes

One of the most helpful ways, I've found, to understand God is by the attributes He demonstrates in relation to the created order. We often call these attributes the omnis because they are attributes of God that must be understood in the scope of God's Infinity.

The first speaks to God's way of being present within and without the created order. God is omnipresent. God exists in all places at the same time. He has never entered a place in which He was not already present. To further articulate what I said earlier, God cannot be circumscribed. The scope of His presence is infinite, and simultaneous. Not only can He go anywhere, but He currently is everywhere. God does not enter your heart when you accept His saving grace, He's already there. The Godhead is fully present in hell. When we are in worship it is more helpful to help each other understand that God is altogether present than to pray for God to “come into this place.” We see in Scripture a precedent laid down that while God is everywhere, He does exist differently in certain places and times in history (not to be confused with dispensationalism). This is illustrated in Acts 2:1-3 “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them [NIV].” We see that the person of the Holy Spirit was existing differently to them in this time and in this place, but Omnipresence explains that the Son, and the Father were all equally present. It is very important that I point out that I believe that the Godhead always exist, and act in concert, even if one Person is acting distinctly. We also see this in the life of Christ. The Spirit and Father were not less present in the salvific moment of the Cross, but it was the Son that was existing differently. This principal is not only true of the Spirit and Son, but is also true of the Father, as we see in the Creation narrative.

The second concept is that of Omniscience, and describes the truth of God's knowledge. I believe that God knows all that has happened, is happening and will happen. His knowledge is actual in that its not merely that He could know all, but that He actually does know all. He does not restrict His knowledge in any way, I would assert that His knowledge is consummate. We also understand that His knowledge is eternally perfect, in that it does not begin imperfect, gradually moving toward perfection, but has and will always exist perfectly – never growing in its scope. We also have this understanding called “middle knowledge;” which states that God has always known every possibility that could happen. We are called to hold in tension the fact that while God has always known all that could and will be, this knowledge does not in any way determine events. This is one of the places where God's Omniscience and God's Omnipresence overlap. God is eternally present; He exists inside as well as outside of time, and therefore He exists in all of time and space, as if He is experiencing all of history in an instant. God allows the created order the power of free will, giving each human a will that is in the image of God's will. Thus God knows all, and free will is still exercised.

I also believe that God is Omnipotent; or all powerful. In fact in order for God to be God, He must be all powerful. While God's power is over all things, it exists in such a way so as to empower creation, and enable the freedom of other things. I mentioned earlier that I believe that God's omnipotence is defined by His character; this means that God cannot be other than He is. God cannot exhibit cruelty for instance, not that He does not have the power to do this, but that cruelty is in fact powerlessness, or privation of power; simply put power is not cruel. God's power can be coercive or persuasive in nature. God is in complete control, yet He does not always control. This means that God can push His creation into His will, and pull it toward His will. God operates coercively at times imposing His will on the created order, and persuasively at times, leading and drawing the created order into His will; a topic that will be dealt with in depth under Providence. The most important thing to understand under the Doctrine of Omnipotence is this; God cannot do anything because His character informs His will. There are three viewpoints that articulate God's omnipotence. One states that God is able to do absolutely anything, and that His character is subject to His power; God could become a tyrannical destroyer in an instant, ant that nothing is preventing Him from doing so. The second one states that while He can do anything, He won't; or His character directs His will. My belief is that God's omnipotence is subject to His character and that there are some things God simply cannot do. God can only be that which He is.