When considering the attributes of God as revealed in Scripture, there is debate among Christians as to whether any one attribute stands above the rest. God’s attributes, such as His love, justice, holiness, etc., all perfectly reflect His divine nature and character. However, Scripture does not explicitly rank God’s attributes, which has led to differing perspectives on this question.
On one hand, some argue that God’s love is supreme over all other attributes. They point to verses like 1 John 4:8 which says “God is love.” In this view, God’s love motivates and shapes how He expresses His other attributes like justice and wrath. His love is understood as His defining essence. However, others counter that representing any single attribute as supreme fails to capture the completeness of God’s perfections.
Another perspective states that God’s glory stands highest among His attributes. Passages like Isaiah 48:11 state “For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.” God’s primary motivation is seen as the promotion and display of His own glory. All other attributes work together to maximize God’s glory.
However, many caution against isolating any one attribute of God and claiming its supremacy. God is simple and unified in His perfections, not composite. His attributes do not compete with one another, but rather complement each other as an integrated whole. Attempting to rank God’s attributes creates a false dichotomy within His divine nature.
With that said, the attribute most emphasized and exalted throughout Scripture is God’s holiness. Passages like Isaiah 6:3 depict the seraphim continuously crying out “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” God’s holiness distinguishes Him completely from all of creation. It encompasses His uncompromising moral perfection.
Additionally, God’s holiness is seen as central to all He does. Leviticus 11:44 states “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.” Holiness is the only attribute God requires His people to imitate, as seen in 1 Peter 1:15-16. Furthermore, holiness motivates God’s acts of judgment against sin, as well as Jesus’ atoning sacrifice which allows unholy sinners to approach the presence of a holy God.
While rankings of God’s attributes remain debated, His holiness can be seen as having a certain primacy and ultimacy according to Scripture. It uniquely reflects God’s “God-ness” and the reverence He deserves. His holiness underscores the theological truth that God alone is worthy of worship. He stands apart from all creation in moral perfection, power, and purity.
At the same time, God’s holiness never operates in isolation from His other perfect attributes like love and justice. Holiness could be seen as the central attribute that integrates and qualifies how God expresses His other attributes. However, Scripture does not explicitly state that any attribute supersedes another. Ultimately, God’s attributes work in perfect harmony to reveal the awesome divine nature that is far above human comprehension.
God’s Attributes Complement Each Other
When studying Scripture, it becomes clear that God’s attributes do not compete with one another, but rather complement each other in reflecting His nature. For example:
- God’s holiness and justice – God’s holiness means He is morally pure and separate from sin. His justice expresses how He deals righteously with sin and rebellion.
- God’s mercy and grace – God’s mercy is seen in withholding deserved punishment, while His grace provides undeserved favor.
- God’s sovereignty and love – God rules supremely over all as sovereign Creator and King. Yet He exercises His power to pursue an intimate love relationship with people.
- God’s immutability and responsiveness – God never changes in His eternal nature and character. Yet He dynamically responds and relates to His changing people in their circumstances.
These examples demonstrate how God’s attributes do not contradict, but rather complement one another in perfect harmony. This integration reflects God’s unique nature as one God existing in three equally divine Persons of the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The co-existence of God’s attributes also points to His incomprehensible ways that are higher than human ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).
The Bible Describes God’s Attributes
Scripture uses a variety of human descriptors to reveal theological truths about God’s divine attributes. Here are some key examples:
God’s Love
- “God is love” (1 John 4:8)
- “The LORD your God…will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)
- “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3)
God’s Justice
- “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:4)
- “Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice.” (Isaiah 30:18)
God’s Holiness
- “There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2)
- “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)
- “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.'” (1 Peter 1:15-16)
These verses provide a sampling of divine attributes that convey theological truths about God’s nature. While they use human terms, God’s love, justice and holiness far surpass anything experienced in creation. They emanate directly from His divine being.
Holiness Uniquely Highlights God’s “Otherness”
When considering which of God’s attributes especially highlights His transcendent nature, holiness stands out. The prophet Isaiah encountered a powerful vision of God’s holiness:
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.” (Isaiah 6:1-4)
Isaiah was shaken to the core experiencing the all-surpassing holiness of God. His holiness points to God’s transcendent “otherness” – the fact that He is entirely distinct from His creation. God’s holiness causes created beings to tremble in awe and reverence before Him.
Among God’s moral attributes like love and justice, only holiness prompts such radical reactions like covering one’s face and shaking doorposts. Holiness thus uniquely captures God’s supreme greatness, glory and perfection.
As Catholic theologian Rudolf Otto described it, God’s overwhelming holiness evokes the “mysterium tremendum.” It surpasses human intellect and ability to comprehend. God’s holiness prompts awe, reverence, worship and humility. It highlights the infinite divide between the Creator and His creation.
Holiness as “the Sparkling Sum of all Perfections”
Reformed theologian B.B. Warfield described God’s holiness as:
“God’s consummate perfection and total glory. It is His infinity moralized. The holiness of God is His self-affirming purity which delights infinitely in its own moral excellence. It is the very sparkling sum of all perfections.”
This quote captures how God’s holiness encompasses and reflects the totality of His divine perfections. Holiness most intensely magnifies and displays God’s glory. It sets Him apart from all created beings as totally unique and excellent.
God’s holiness also includes His majestic greatness and authority as the Supreme Ruler over all. As Warfield notes, holiness is infinite moral excellence – the pinnacle of God’s virtue and goodness as the standard for all morality.
However, while holiness consummately reflects God’s attributes, it does not diminish the importance of each attribute. As Warfield states elsewhere:
“Holiness is the all-comprehensive attribute, gathering into itself and representing in itself all other attributes…No attribute of God is commensurable with the divine holiness.”
Though incomparable, holiness works in perfect harmony with every other divine attribute revealed in God’s word and character. All of God’s attributes interdependently reveal who He is.
God Uniquely Requires His People to Be Holy
Another indication of holiness holding special ultimacy among God’s attributes is that it is the only one He requires His people to imitate. For example, 1 Peter 1:15-16 states:
“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.'”
God’s command for His people to “be holy” is rooted in the fact that He Himself is holy. None of God’s other attributes elicit this same expectation. God’s holiness is the model for human holiness.
As prominent 20th century theologian Millard Erickson wrote:
“God’s holiness, as that which especially set Him apart from all his creatures, was regarded as most basic…Holiness was seen as transcendent purity, majestic glory, and awesomeness before which humanity could only prostrate itself.”
Erickson notes how God’s supreme holiness separates Him from humanity, requiring humble reverence. Holiness as God’s defining quality prompts worship. People cannot share completely in God’s perfect holiness, yet they are still called to live holy lives mirroring His moral purity in a limited way.
Holy Love Motivates God’s Work of Redemption
A key reason God’s holiness can be viewed as supreme is the way it motivates His redemptive work to deal justly with sin and make a way for unholy people to approach Him. This reflects the interplay between God’s holiness and other attributes like love and justice.
Specifically, the cross of Christ deals with the conflict between God’s holiness and His desire to show mercy. God’s holiness requires separation from sin and judgment against it. But in love, God wants to forgive and reconcile with sinners. The cross resolves this conflict by both expressing God’s holiness through judgment against sin, as well as His loving forgiveness.
2 Corinthians 5:21 states: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Christ took human sin upon himself and suffered God’s wrath in our place. This supreme act of redemptive love allows unrighteous people to be counted holy before a holy God.
In this way, God’s holiness qualifies His demonstration of love. His redemptive plan centers on restoring unholy people so they can share in His holiness and enjoy relationship with Him. This demonstrates holiness holding a certain primacy in relationship to God’s other attributes.
God’s Glory and the Purpose Behind All His Attributes
While God’s holiness consummately reflects His perfections, His overarching purpose in all He does relates to glorifying Himself. The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes:
“Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
All of God’s attributes work together to fulfill this ultimate purpose of God glorifying God. His foreknowledge, grace, righteousness, lovingkindness – every attribute aims at magnifying His glory.
Isaiah 48:11 states:
“For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.”
This purpose of divine glorification relates closely to God’s holiness, which supremely displays His glory. Yet it encompasses all God’s attributes expressed perfectly in harmony to glorify Him.
God is uniquely worthy to be the object of His own supreme worship because of the sum total of His infinite perfections. His peerless glory eclipses any glory found in the created order. All creation ultimately exists to display God’s excellence.
Conclusion – God’s Attributes Beautifully Reflect His Divine Nature
While debates continue about whether any one attribute ranks above others, Scripture ultimately paints God’s attributes as perfectly integrated to reveal His divine nature. God’s love, justice, holiness, sovereignty, etc. interdependently express facets of His multifaceted character.
At the same time, God’s holiness can be seen as reflecting the very essence of His “God-ness” – the sparkling summation of His moral purity, excellence, and consuming fire of glory before which all creation bows. His holiness supremely sets Him apart as the One True God worthy of worship.
Yet each attribute revealed in Scripture spotlights God’s glorious divine nature from a unique angle. All God’s attributes intertwine in the profound work of redeeming unholy people so they can share in His holiness. Each attribute complements the others.
While debates persist, it is important not to isolate any one attribute as supreme at the expense of God’s unity and simplicity. As A.W. Tozer said, “God’s attributes are what He is.” They exist in perfect harmony emanating from His being, impossible for humanity to fully comprehend. Despite differing views on primacy, Christians affirm God’s peerless transcendence displayed through the spectrum of His divine attributes revealed in Scripture.
