The defining attribute of God. The one quality of God that defines His very nature. The one characteristic of Our Lord that is inherent in everything that He is...and does.
Why do we seek to pigeon-hole God into a single quality? Is not the Lord of creation glorious and perfect in all attributes and emotions? For years this very subject has been a matter of debate, and entire theologies have been formed around this very concept..but why? Perhaps as finite human creatures , not being able to comprehend the nature of an Infinite being, we seek to grasp something concrete, something in which we can "Sum up" the entirety of God's eternal attributes with one convenient word, and in doing so have a ready answer the the question "Who (or what) is God?" Perhaps in our choice of a defining attribute we seek to emphasize what we consider the more pleasant aspect of God, as opposed to something which would require us to deal with our own personal shortcomings... namely, our sin.
How do we determine what single attribute can describe God? Before answering, we should consider the following:
1) The defining Attribute of God should be a constant. It has to be a something that does not change in the Nature of God. A characteristic that is consistent in absolutely everything He has done, or will do.
2) An Emotion? Up until now you might have noticed that I have mentioned little of emotions.
While Emotions have been used to describe nature of God, only one, that being "love" has been, and still is, used to describe God's ontological being.
The problem with this is that emotions are not a constant. In order for an emotion to define everything that God is, it Should be consistent in everything he does.. For Love to be considered the preeminent attribute of God, every thought, every word, and every action must be permeated with that emotion, every time He moves to express himself. And Therein lies the problem. Not every act committed by God is an expression of his love.
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I. The Wrath of God (See previous blog)
There is no way to reconcile the love of God with the the final judgment, which is described as pure, unmixed wrath-Revelation 14:9-10.
II. Esau.
"As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."- Romans 9: 13
The Greek word for "hated" leaves no doubt of God's feelings toward the brother of Jacob.
1) HATED-G3404-μισέω- "miseō" -Thayer Definition: 1) to hate, pursue with hatred, detest 2) to be hated, detested Part of Speech: verb
Paul in his Epistle makes a reference to Esau that is traced back to Malachi 1:3 .
"And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. "- Malachi 1:3
The Hebrew confirms what was translated in the Greek:
2) Hated-H8130- śânê' -saw-nay'-A primitive root; to hate (personally): - enemy, foe, (be) hate (-ful, -r), odious, X utterly.
NOTE: The Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) in Malachi 1:3 shows the same Greek word for "hated" as the New Testament Greek text cited in Romans 9:13 (Gr- Miseo)
The Biblical text makes it quite clear... You can not reconcile the "all encompassing" love of God with his hatred of Esau.
The Bible says God is love. (I John 4:8 and 16) and of all the emotions that are expressed by God, perhaps it is the greatest. But it is an emotion in which even God has a limit. The belief that God can not act apart from love, which is a popular notion among the church today is false, as is seen in the previous texts. Knowing this, you must ask yourself, Can Love Be God's Defining attribute? Would it not be more proper to consider God's Holiness as His supreme attribute? I personally believe yes, and in the next post, we will examine why...
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