(Scriptures quoted are from the NIV Bible.)

An attribute is a characteristic of a person by which we identify him or her.

When God identified Himself to Moses at the burning bush, He said His name was “I AM WHO I AM.”  (This could also be translated “I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE.”) – Exodus 3:13, 14. In other words, God becomes whatever is necessary in order to fulfill His perfect and holy will. In I Corinthians, Paul foretells the culmination of Christ’s reign on earth, the object of which is “that God may be all in all,”  verse 28.

God’s character is all-encompassing, yet we generally think of Him as having four attributes: Love, Wisdom, Justice, and Power. (Included under these four are other qualities, of course. For example, mercy and compassion are expressions of His Love; and His faithfulness results from His combined justice and love.)

We read that righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne (Psalm 97:2).  Psalm 89:14 adds to this, “love and faithfulness go before

[Him].”  It is God's justice that enables us to trust Him. It was His Justice that sentenced Adam and his children to death.  Adam had been warned against disobedience, and God executed His promised justice. To be truly just, God could not change the sentence. But God also knew that man’s inexperience contributed to his disobedience. God is love (I John 4:8, 9), but He needed to provide a just solution.  And so He “sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice” (I John 4:10), “a ransom for all “ (I Timothy 2:6).

Another demonstration of God’s almighty love is His mercy and care for us. “Cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you” (I Peter 5:7).

It is God’s wisdom that created such a wonderful plan for all mankind.  By experiencing the result of disobedience (sin and death), the world is being prepared to accept God’s love and justice in His kingdom. God also is eager to share His wisdom (His light and truth) even at this time with those who truly seek Him (James 1:5; Jeremiah 29:13).

It is by God’s power that He will complete His great plan of salvation.  “The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all nations, and all the earth will see the salvation of our God,” Isaiah 52:10.

“Oh LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress, to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth…. ‘Therefore I will teach them–this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my name is the LORD,’ ”  Jeremiah 16:19-21.