God's Attributes:Love and Goodness; Righteousness and Holiness

Define God's wrath as love

"God's love is a covenant commitment, we see it as a jealousy love that leads to wrath when abused. God's love respects God's standards of righteousness and which burns in jealousy against those who betray it. So God's wrath serves the purposes of his love, and God's love is the richer for it: it bestows on the beloved the ultimate blessing of a sin free world." though scripture sometimes makes it appear impersonal, its not.

Define "In different respects and with different intensity, all of creation is holy, and all of creation is common."

"The concept of "holy ground," the intensive presence of the Lord, continues through Scripture, though it exists in different degrees. The innermost court of the tabernacle and temple is the "Most Holy" (Ex 26:33; Heb 9:8). Compared to it, the "Holy Place" (Ex 26:33) is less holy, but still holy. Similarly, the whole temple is holy, but not as holy as the Most Holy Place. The radiation of God's holiness also extends in diminished intensity to the holy mountain, the holy city, the holy land )Zech.2:12), and indeed to the whole creation (Isa. 6:3; 66:1)."(277) check diagram page 277 on degree of holiness. So it is not the case that "holy" and "common" designate a simple bifurcation(the division of something into two branches or parts) of the universe, so that one is in either "the sphere of holy" or the "sphere of common." So In different respects and with different intensity, all of creation is holy, and all of creation is common.

How does Scripture teach us about God in three ways?

1 By narrating his acts: Miracles, providence, decrees, creation. 2 by presenting him directly in authoritative descriptions: 3 by portraying his inner life as Father, Son, and Spirit

What are various aspects of Common Grace

1. God restrains sin 2. God restrains wrath 3. God gives temporal blessing to all 4. Unregenerate people do good 5. unregenerate people know truth 6. Unregenerate people experience some blessings of the HS. Sometimes the very blessings of God's common graces looks very much like salvation itself.

Define God's righteous deeds: Retributive

According to the Ramist outline it is the distribution of punishment. Frame stresses that this concept arose from God's own character.

Define God's righteous deeds: External

According to the Ramist outline, this is God's Rectitude/behavior/thinking, or the righteousness, of his conduct

Define God's righteous deeds: Internal

According to the Ramist outline, this is God's moral excellence.

Define God's righteous deeds: Rectoral

According to the Rmist outline, rectoral (or legislative/ruling) righteousness is God's proclamtion of just laws for his creatures

What is the extent of God's Love?

As with goodness, it extends to everyone, but in different ways. God loves himself in his trinitarian society, meaning it is eternal and not contingent upon creation. therefore it is a necessary attribute. - He loves even his enemies ( not to be implied with universal salvation)

Within the classification of Divine Attributes, describe Authority: Static, form, structure for Power

Aseity simplicity, essence

What is the difference between benevolence and beneficence?

Benevolence: The love by which God willed good to the creature from eternity. Beneficence: The love by which God does good to the creature in time according to his good will.

Define nonmoral goodness

Can be referred to as "teleological goodness", which means it's good for something. Example is when God calls creation good.

Within the classification of Divine Attributes, describe Control; dynamic, Content for Power

Eternity, immensity, incorporeality, will, power, existence (esse)

What are other forms of God's goodness

Gentleness: Can be used in association with meekness & humility. An expression of compassion, seen in God's dealings with the frail and weak, and expected of believers in their dealings with others. Peace: quality of human life given by God as a blessing of salvation;divine attribute;fullness of the blessings of salvation. Blessedness: divine favor; quality of life possessed by One who embodies all perfection

Within the classification of Divine Attributes, describe Presence: integrity, involvement for Power

Glory, Spirituality, omnipresence.

Define God's Attribute of Goodness

God is good to all- his goodness is conduct that meets His standards- so that no one will be able to complain that he wasn't good to them.

What is common Grace?

God restrains sin, God restrains his wrath, God gives temporal blessings to all, the wicked are still able to good, and the wicked experience blessing of Holy Spirit are all examples of the grace that God extends outside the parameters of the salvific narrative.

Define God's righteous deeds:Situational

God's actions in history will apply his righteous standards and ensure their triumph. It connects righteousness to salvation.

Does God's love persuade us?

God's love is a covenantal concept...is controlling sovereign...God's love does persuade us to believe in the sense that he makes us WANT TO believe...but in doing this, he works changes in us far deeper than the term persuasion suggest. He creates in us a new heart

Does God's love coerce some people?

God's love is a covenantal concept...is controlling sovereign...God's loves does certainly coerce some people...sometimes seen in the conversion of sinners...although it is not the best word to describe what happens in conversion. The problem is not that coercion connotes too much divine control, but rather too little...For God does not need to coerce, for he has control of our hearts and thus makes us to believe without any sense of being forced. So control and coercion are not the same thing.

Define God's righteous deeds: Existential/ relating to exisitence

God's moral excellence, the quality of his own character and actions.

Define God's righteous deeds: Normative

God's own standards for himself and creation (includes but goes beyond "rectoral or legislative (Promulgating just laws for his creatures).

Within the classification of Divine Attributes, describe Control; dynamic, Content for love

Goodness, love, grace, mercy, patience, compassion, jealousy wrath

Define God's covenant Love

His hesed love- his hesed love endures forever.- the key to the meaning is the concept of love. In scripture it is referred to covenantal loyalty.- It also refers to God's covenantal loyalty. ( there are times when hesed refers to curses rather than blessings) Therefore it is conditional.

Define God's righteous deeds?

Internal righteousness External righteousness Rectoral righteousness Distributive righteousness Remunerative righteousness Retributive righteousness Existential righteousness Normative righteousness Situational righteousness Righteousness in Scripture is not only a standard governing conduct, but also a means of salvation.

Within the classification of Divine Attributes, describe Presence: integrity, involvement for Love

Joy, blessedness, beauty, perfection, holiness

Within the classification of Divine Attributes, describe Authority: Static, form, structure for Love

Justice, Righteousness

Within the classification of Divine Attributes, describe Presence: integrity, involvement for knowledge

Knowledge, wisdom, mind

What are relative attributes?

Lord: Relative attributes of God depend on his free decision to create being outside himself. Sometimes relative attributes are grounded in the his necessary attributes for example even if his lordship is relative to creating servants, if he chose to, it is also grounded in his omnipotence and supreme wisdom.

Define Love as a Language?

Love is about God's benevolence- it IS the heart of the biblical story. ( agapao ; philia; eros)

What is "the Euthyphro" problem"?

Plato's "Euthyphro" arises from his discussion of the meaning of "goodness" and how it is applied to God as an attribute. Frame points out that in a broad sense, "goodness" is most often thought of as "conduct that measures up to God's standards," but the question of standard is often debated. In the dialogue, Socrates argues what is evidently Plato's position, that the gods command piety b/c of its intrinsic nature. So piety, then, is something independent of the gods, something impersonal and objective, or, in Plato's system, a form". If this same question about "piety" as mentioned here is related to Frame's discussion of "goodness," ..."The biblical answer is that goodness is, first of all, God's own character. It is an attribute of God himself. So it is as objective as Plato wished it to be, but it is a personal quality, rather than an impersonal form....goodness is based on his commands, but his commands are not arbitrary, they are grounded in his eternal nature."

Define God's love and His Lordship?

Since God's love is in many ways covenantal, choosing us, loving us, saving us, it is a controlling love, it is sovereign. It is also the authoritative norm for our behavior, for we are to image God's very redemptive love in Christ.

Within the classification of Divine Attributes, describe Control; dynamic, Content for knowledge

Speech

Scripture, then, seems to recommend hatred in some contexts, to deplore it in others. So we must look more closely to see whether there are different kinds of hatred, or different situations in which it is and is not appropriate."

The meaning of hate varies throughout the bible in different contexts. For instance it can be emotional disgust (Proverbs 6:16 God hates the seven sins, they are detestable), relative priorities (Matt 10:37 Jesus says you must hate your family), lack of romantic attraction (Gen 29 referring to Jacob, Leah, & Rachel), or seeking the worst for somebody (1John 3:15 "if you hate your brother"). Hate can also be used in a positive, for instance when God says he Hates wickedness (Deut 25:16) it implies his love for goodness. God loves his created image bearers, so he hates murder. The two can be compatible.

Define God's saving love

There are various ways God loves everyone. But there is a divine love that is most central to the message of Scriptures. This is His love God has for saving sinners- the good news. ( a special love for the people whom Jesus came to seek and save).

Within the classification of Divine Attributes, describe Authority: Static, form, structure for KNowledge

Truth

"God's holiness, then, which initially seems so forbidding and judgmental, is the means of our salvation." Explain . How is this like God's righteousness?

What this statement means is that holiness is a rich concept in that it not only describes God's "transcendence" from us, but "it also describes His immanence or how He draws us to himself, making us holy. He is not only "the Holy One," but "the Holy One among us...which drives us to worship. This is similar to God's righteousness because both attributes represent God in his transcendence and immanence, his forbidding, awesome majesty, and his loving approach to human beings." righteousness does not cast us aside but draws us to God- brings us to his.

Define Attribute

a concept expressed by an adjective (as eternal) or a noun ( as eternity) used to describe a person or thing.

Define God's Jealousy

a passionate zeal to guard the exclusiveness of marriage relationship, leading to anger against an unfaithful spouse.( scripture never presents it as a negative trait.

Define God's compassion

a sympathetic view of another's distress, motivating helpful action.

Define God's righteous deeds: Distributive and Remunerative

administering rewards and punishments (Situational - God's actions, by which he makes his righteousness prevail and arise from God's character)

Define Communicable attributes

attributes are attributes that God and man can share in common but not the same thing because God is the original and ours is the derivative.

Define Grace

refers to God's benevolence, as do goodness and love, but with different perspectives. Coming from the hebrew word, 'hen' often as "favor" and sometimes as "mercy"... in human relationships...although, does not presuppose any details about why the favor is needed or granted. The use of the term does not prejudice the question whether the favor is merited or not, or what motivates the one giving it. Great example is seen with its first reference in Scripture ( Gen 6) with Noah " found favor in the eyes of the Lord". This favor of God was not based on Noah's goodness. For His own reasons, God was favorable to Noah...and those reasons do not include Noah's merit. It is also seen as pleased, undeserving, utterly personal, powerful, ( through the Gospel) eternal in our election and a blessing of God..

What attributes are necessary to God's being?

without these He could not be God: love, knowledge, eternity- he would have these attributes even if he never created the world. These are better known as defining attributes or necessary attributes