Theology I: Attributes of God (part 4)
God’s Communicable Attributes | Holiness, Love, and Becoming Like Christ
In this final lecture on the doctrine of God, Cedarville University students explore God’s communicable attributes — the qualities God shares with His people and calls them to reflect in everyday life. Building on earlier discussions of God’s transcendence, immanence, and incommunicable attributes, this session focuses on holiness and love as the two primary roots of God’s moral character and the foundation for Christian living.
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0:27 Review of transcendence, immanence, and attributes
0:58 Incommunicable vs. communicable attributes
1:49 Holiness and love as root attributes
2:30 God’s wrath and the doctrine of hell
5:24 Key biblical texts on judgment and eternity
8:16 Eternal punishment and eternal life
9:23 Judgment, accountability, and perseverance
12:00 God’s holiness explained
15:51 Positional and progressive holiness
18:47 Holiness in daily life and moral purity
20:44 God’s love as the ground of salvation
21:03 Does God love those who are not saved?
23:08 Defining biblical love
24:02 Love as joy in God that meets others’ needs
26:04 God’s goodness, grace, and mercy
30:32 Steadfast love and covenant faithfulness
32:30 The beauty of God
34:23 Worshiping the whole God, not a partial one
35:16 Imitating God in holiness and love
The lecture begins by reviewing how God’s communicable attributes flow from His immanence and are rooted most deeply in holiness and love. Scripture presents God as perfectly holy, set apart from sin, devoted to His own glory, and unwaveringly opposed to evil. From this holiness flow righteousness, justice, and wrath. Students examine difficult but essential biblical passages on judgment and hell, learning why eternal punishment must be understood alongside eternal life and why God’s wrath is a settled, righteous opposition to sin rather than uncontrolled anger.
At the same time, the lecture emphasizes that holiness is never separated from love. God’s love is the ground of all hope for fallen humanity. This love is unearned, undeserved, and graciously given through Christ. Students explore different biblical expressions of God’s love, including His intra-Trinitarian love, His love for creation, His love for the fallen world, His saving love for His people, and His delight in Spirit-empowered obedience.
Drawing from 2 Corinthians 8, love is defined as the overflow of joy in God that gladly meets the needs of others. This reframes Christian obedience, showing that growth in love is inseparable from growth in joy in God. The lecture also highlights God’s goodness, grace, mercy, steadfast love, and beauty, reminding students that God’s attributes are not a buffet to pick and choose from but a perfectly unified whole.
The session concludes with a call to imitation. Because God is holy and loving, His people are called to pursue purity, generosity, and joyful obedience, becoming more like Christ as they behold God in His Word.
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