Theological Term of the Week

incommunicable attributes
Those attributes of God that belong to Him alone, such as his simplicity, aseity, immutability, impassibility, and eternality. 

• From scripture:

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. (Acts 17:24-25 ESV)

…remember the former things of old;

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me,

declaring the end from the beginning

and from ancient times things not yet done,

saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,

and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

calling a bird of prey from the east,

the man of my counsel from a far country.

I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;

I have purposed, and I will do it.

Isaiah 46:9-11 ESV) 

• From Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem:

Those attributes we call “incommunicable” are better defined by saying that they are attributes of God that are less shared by us. Not one of the incommunicable attributes of God is completely without some likeness in the character of human beings. For example, God is unchangeable, while we change. But we do not change completely, for there are some aspects of our characters that remain largely unchanged: or individual identities, many of our personality traits, and some of our long-term purposes remain substantially unchanged over many years (and will remain largely unchanged once we are set free from sin and begin to live in God’s presence forever).

Similarly, God is eternal, and we are subject to the limitations of time. However, we see some reflection of God’s eternity in the fact that we will live with him forever and enjoy eternal life.

Learn more:

1. Blue Letter Bible: What are the various ways in which God’s attributes are categorized?
2. Sam Storms: Classifying the Attributes
3. Bruce Ware: Attributes of God: Incommunicable Attributes, Part 1, Part 2
4. Wayne Grudem: Series of lectures on the incommunicable attributes

Related term:

• communicable attributes
• aseity
• eternity
• immutability
• impassibility 
• omnipresence
• simplicity 

Filed under God’s Nature and His Work

Do you have a term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it, giving you credit for the suggestion and linking back to your blog when I do.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms in alphabetical order.

Round the Sphere Again: Father and Son and Children

Watch This
It’s quick—only a minute and a half (Mike Reeves).

And then…

Read This
Greg Koukl and Alan Shlemon give their assessment of the insider movement (pdf), a movement aiming to advance the gospel among Muslims by allowing

new followers of Christ to identify and live as Muslims. These converts are called “insiders” because, although they claim allegiance to Christ, they remain inside their Islamic social and religious community.

The goal is to remove obstacles that make it difficult for a Muslim to convert to Christianity. This includes endorsing—and here is the part of the piece that relates to the video above—

“Muslim-friendly” translations of Scripture—versions that replace terminology that’s offensive to Islamic sensibilities with more acceptable words.

All filial language pertaining to God, for example, is modified in these translations. To Muslims, any reference to the kinship of Jesus with the Father (e.g.,“the Son of God”) is blasphemous. For this reason, God’s declaration at the Transfiguration (Luke 9:35), “This is my Son, whom I have chosen…” (NIV) has been changed to,“This is the beloved Messiah whom I have sent….”

In the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19) Jesus’ words,“baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (NIV), have been changed to “baptizing them in the name of God and His Messiah and the Holy Spirit.”

Even filial language referring to believers as God’s children is too intimate for Muslims and must be amended. Therefore, in the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:2), the address “Father, hallowed be your name” (NIV) has been changed to “Our loving, heavenly Lord.” 

In light of the Mike Reeves video, think about how much of the gospel is missing when God is not thought of as Father and Christ as Son. Is a gospel without God as Father, Christ as Son, and believers as God’s children, even the gospel? If you watched the video, I’m guessing you’ll answer no. Or at least you’ll acknowledge that it’s a lesser gospel—a gospel missing a the piece that makes it truly good news.

A Catechism for Girls and Boys

I think this question could be improved, but I’m not sure how I’d change it. I’d like to take out the phrase “covenant of Grace,” because, for one, none of the texts say anything about it. (They can’t, because the phrase isn’t found in scripture.) I think “work of salvation” or something like that would be better.

Would you change it? How?

Part III: Questions about Salvation

101. Q. What did the Holy Spirit undertake in the covenant of Grace?
         A. He regenerates, baptizes, and seals those for whom Christ has died.

(Click through to read scriptural proof.)

Click to read more ...