Is it safe to say that there are communicable and non-communicable attributes of God ?

I'm my feeble understanding raising the dead, casting out demons and calling things into existence are non-communicable attributes of God

I'd say that it's a biblical belief that God has uncommunicable traits. Their mystery can only be described through what we can manage to understand, not from knowledge.

Yeah, stuff like His omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, immutability, sovereignty, infinite wisdom are all incommunicable.

coool .. that's what I thought

this thread reminds me, I need to read more of Wayne Grudam's "Bible Doctrine" (Short version of his Systematic Theology), as this is the chapter I left off at....
"Communicable Attributes of God" that is, the things that can be experienced in ourselves that we share with God...... these would be Truth, Justice, Love, Mercy(and Grace), Forgiveness, Spirit (We have one, He is one).... though we are not always these things... we sometimes are these things, and we can be these things.... as we grow in Holiness (another one), we grow in these areas and leave their anti-'s behind... (Falsehood, Purjury, Hatred, Unforgiveness).......





and there are even things that are viewed as either Communicable or Incommunicable depending on how you define the categories.... such as His omnipresence.... His omnipotence.... for we know in part, as he knows in whole, and we exist in part as he exists in whole.....

but things like Atemporal existence beyond the flow of time and space.... we are not able to share in that.... for we have a finite, fixed beginning, He does not... He exisited before the beginning of the beginning..... even when we are translated to heaven, we will still have a beginning......
other things to like ability to be perfectly perfect, we will always lack, but He is never in short supply...... so we don't share that.... as we are sinful creatures till we die, even after death.... we are still not God.....


{what my overtaxed under slept brain thought you were getting in the morning was.......

There are things outside of Divine Revaltion we can know about God, such as He is a Creator... and he gave us internally a sense of right and wrong (Not having the Law, their conscience is a law unto themselves) these are things that given there's a God, these must be characteristics of Him

but specific Revelation things.... like his Name is YWHW (I am that I am) and his son is Jesus and that He has a specific set of laws.... and that He is our Redeemer who is also our Judge..... those are the Incommunicable Attributes.... }


hope that helps.... if not, Wane Grudam's Systematic Theology can help better...


I have to leave soon...... will be gone by the time you read this....


coming back later.... scrap what I said....

not that it's out of whack.... it's just off track..... so it will stand in bracket's {}... with a few editing remarks......