By Shawn McMullen

God is unique. He is “above all gods” (Psalm 95:3) because he is “the only God” (1 Timothy 1:17).

God is transcendent. He is not bound by the limits of space and time because he exists beyond them. In fact, every aspect of God’s being transcends our knowledge, our experience, and our comprehension.

God is eternal. He has always existed: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). He is “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14), “the Alpha and the Omega . . . who is, and who was, and who is to come” (Revelation 1:8). 

God is omnipresent. He is everywhere at once. “‘Am I only a God nearby,’ declares the Lord, ‘and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?’ . . . ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’” (Jeremiah 23:23, 24).

God is omnipotent. He is all-powerful. Job acknowledged, “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). Jeremiah concluded, “Nothing is too hard for you“ (Jeremiah 32:17). It’s doubtful any created being understands this truth better than the angel Gabriel, who said to Mary, “For nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37, NIV 1984).

God is omniscient. He knows all things. The psalmist acknowledged this when he wrote, “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit” (Psalm 147:5). The apostle John reassured his readers, “God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:20).

God is incomprehensible. Isaiah declared, “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom” (Isaiah 40:28). Paul praised God for this attribute in a doxology written to the church in Rome: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” (Romans 11:33).

God is immutable. He never changes. “But you remain the same, and your years will never end” (Psalm 102:27), says the psalmist. James put it this way: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).

God is holy. The term holiness refers to all that sets God above and apart from us—his supremacy, sovereignty, and majesty. Holiness also points to God’s moral purity and ethical uniqueness. In both the Old and New Testaments, God is praised particularly for his holiness. The angels in Isaiah’s vision called out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). In John’s revelation, the living creatures surrounding God’s throne cried, “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come” (Revelation 4:8).

He is “the only God” who is “above all gods.” He alone is worthy of our allegiance, our service, and our worship. Let’s give him our best.