The last installment of a sermon I wrote for preaching class at Southern Baptist Seminary. As a disclaimer, the Scripture verses used are the choice of E.Y. Mullins.
After Israel had acknowledged the Lord to be their God He poured out His blessings upon them. Then Elijah predicted the rain would come. He went off to the top of Carmel where it was very high and very private to pray, and thanked God for His answer by fire. Elijah understood the real power of God that can be found when we are alone and on our knees.
Elijah ordered his servant to bring him the news when a cloud rose out of the sea. While Elijah prayed he sent his servant out seven times to look for a cloud. Finally a cloud no larger than a man's hand appeared, and then the skies blackened and the rains came.
E.Y. Mullins, former president of Southern Seminary, listed several natural and moral attributes of God, the same God Who proved His majesty and sovereignty at Mount Carmel.
1 - God is SELF-EXISTENT. God exists by reason of what He is in Himself. He is eternal in being (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 57:15).
2 - God is IMMUTABLE. God does not change His character, nature or purpose. He is active, progressive, free to choose, and He experiences both joy and sorrow. But while changing His methods, He never changes in His nature or purpose (Deuteronomy 4:26-38; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Matthew 21:33-35; 2 Peter 2:4-10).
3 - God is OMNIPRESENT. God is present at all times in every part and time of His universe (Psalm 139:7-12). He is limited by neither time nor space, but is a free, personal Spirit.
4 - God has the quality of IMMENSITY. God is superior to space. He is the God of the universe. No human concept can contain Him (Romans 11:33-36).
5 - God is ETERNAL. God has no beginning or end. He is related to events in time, yet He is not confined to time. Past, present, and future are one to Him.
6 - God is OMNISCIENT. God has all knowledge. He knows all things simultaneously. His knowledge is immediate, without the processes of thought, reason, or inference. He knows the workings of His natural, physical, moral, and spiritual laws which work toward definite ends. Individuals are free to choose in the light of them, but are responsible for their choices. God knows these choices beforehand.
7 - God is HOLY. Holiness connotes supreme moral excellence (Isaiah 6:3). The word holy carries the idea of separation or exaltation. When used of persons or things, it means separated for God's service. Because God is holy, He demands holiness in His people (Leviticus 11:44).
8 - God is RIGHTEOUS. This is God's self-affirmation on behalf of right as opposed to wrong. As righteous, God cannot ignore or condone evil. Righteousness connotes what God is in His nature, what He demands in man, and what by grace He bestows through Christ upon all who believe in Him (Romans 3:26; 10:1-13; 2 Corinthians 5:19).
9 - God is TRUTH. God is the source and ground of all truth. He is the criterion by which all thoughts and acts shall be judged. Truth--whether in science or religion--harmonizes. For all truth is of God. Any error is a departure from God's nature (John 17:17). Jesus answered man's eternal search for truth when he said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).
Jesus Christ is the incarnation of truth (John 1:14,17; 14:6). In Him dwells all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).
10 - God is LOVE. Love is the attribute which permeates all other of God's attributes. "God is love" (1 John 4:7-10). Love involves absolute loyalty to its object. By it God seeks the complete possession of and the highest good for His creatures.
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