What is The Main Moral Attribute of God?

By just listening to most people around us one would think that love is the main moral attribute of God. Many are quick to quote John 3:16 and the declarations in 1 John 4:8 and 16 that God is love. There are some who resort to those texts in a heated debate when a true disciple takes a stand against sin.

Let us look at what YHWH God says about Himself (Exodus 34:6-7): “YHWH, YHWH God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”

This revelation came after Moses asked God to show him His glory (Exodus 33:18) and in the above we see His apparent (to most people) moral attributes begin with the word “merciful” and conclude with “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” They even sound loving.

However, in actuality God begins to describe Himself with His divine name, which probably essentially means “the existing one.” Though we are infinite (having a beginning but no ending) we can have a truly living existence in Him through Christ. While many conclude that this is due to His moral attribute of love, it is made possible through His attribute of being merciful. An application of His mercy is found in Exodus 34:7, “forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,” yet He “will by no means clear the guilty.” There is forgiveness for some, not all. Evidently there is another attribute.

If one runs a whole Holy Bible check, they will discover that while love is often associated with God, the most common moral attribute is holiness. Quite striking is Isaiah 6:3 where Isaiah saw the glory of YHWH. Seraphim were flying, crying out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy, is YHWH of hosts.” The triple declaration of holiness is repeated in Revelation 4:8.

Some have the notion that the God of the New Testament is more loving than the God of the Old Testament. This is not so, for He is the same God Who does not change (Malachi 3:6). While “God is love” is often quoted, we would do well to learn 1 John 1:5, “… God is light, and in him is no darkness at all,” which occurs before the love verses of 1 John.

While all of the moral attributes of God are important for the true disciple to develop, their foundation is holiness. We read in Hebrews 12:10 that God disciplines us “ for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.” And verse 14 shows us that holiness is to be our priority: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:”

Let us not fall into the trap that many have fallen into, emphasizing love over the holiness of God. While love is the first fruit mentioned of the fruits of the Spirit, all those fruits are to be the sum of 1 Peter 1:16, “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

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God willing this article shall be part of my Bible GemLight series as sardius003.