God’s Invisible Attributes

In my Bible study, we are just now starting our in-depth study of the book of Romans. Today my focus was learning about the character of God from Romans chapter 1.

A few of my favorites:

1. He is the author of the gospel. (v. 1)
2. His will determines all that happens. (v. 10)
3. He holds all power. (v. 16)
4. He is all righteous. (v. 17)
5. He makes knowledge of Himself evident to all. (v. 19)
6. He is glorious and incorruptible. (v. 23)
7. He is truth. (v. 25)

Being the beautiful 67 degree Colorado winter day that it was, I decided to take a walk this afternoon. I was still thinking about the above attributes of God and also specifically about verses 19-20, “That which is known about God is evident within them [all people]; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

So as I enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air, I began to notice other attributes of God that were “invisible,” hidden in His creation.

A few of my favorites:

1. I noticed how all of creation has order. God loves order.
2. I noticed how the grass is yellow, the trees are bare, and the plants look dead – but I know that spring will come when the grass will flourish and grow in shades of green, leaves will again grow on the trees, and flowers of all varieties will bloom. And that fall will also eventually arrive with the beautiful reds, yellows, and oranges. God created seasons in our lives, too. Seasons of singleness and seasons of marriage. Seasons of sorrow and seasons of joy. Seasons of change and seasons of waiting. All seasons of growing in our faith.
3. I noticed the pine cones on the pine trees, which reminded me that God is the Giver of all new life. He created opportunities for new life in all of His creation.
4. I noticed a man working on the engine of his car in the driveway and thought how God created us in His own image, intelligent beings who are capable of thinking and building and fixing things.
5. I noticed various shapes of windows on the houses. God made each of those shapes that we can recreate in our own designs.
6. I noticed a man and woman arriving to someone’s house and realized that God cares about relationships. In His trinity, He is the perfect picture of relationship.
7. I noticed water running downhill along the street and marveled at the landscape that He created.
8. And I noticed a man talking with a friend in a foreign language. God created great diversity among all people on earth.

What a wonderful God we have! As verse 23 of Romans 1 says, God is a glorious and incorruptible God. He is pure in who He is and cannot be replaced by any other image. The true God is the only One worthy of our worship.