Discover how believers can reflect God's communicable attributes like justice, mercy, and humility. Explore the dual aspects of God's holiness, linking transcendence with moral responsibilities. Learn about the Holy Spirit's role in guiding believers toward holiness and the pursuit of divine wisdom. Dive into the complexities of justice and mercy, understanding the balance in a fallen world. Gain insights into the impact of sin on character and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit.
The podcast emphasizes that communicable attributes, like love and holiness, allow believers to reflect God's character in their lives.
Holiness is twofold, encompassing both God's transcendence and moral purity, which believers are called to pursue through the Holy Spirit's transformative work.
Deep dives
Understanding God's Communicable Attributes
God's attributes can be categorized into communicable and incommunicable. Incommunicable attributes, such as omniscience and eternality, are unique to God and not shared with humans. Conversely, communicable attributes are characteristics like love, holiness, and goodness that believers are encouraged to reflect in their lives. This distinction emphasizes the potential for humans, through divine influence, to emulate certain aspects of God's nature.
The Complexity of Holiness
Holiness in biblical terms carries two distinct meanings: one relating to God's greatness and transcendence and the other pertaining to His moral purity. The first meaning indicates that God’s holiness is ultimately incommunicable, signifying His unique and supreme nature. The latter, however, involves a moral expectation for believers to pursue holiness, as God commands them to reflect His moral perfection. This pursuit of holiness is facilitated through the transformative work of the Holy Spirit within believers, guiding them toward sanctification.
Justice and Mercy in God's Character
God's justice is inherently linked to His righteousness, signifying that He acts justly according to His character, which is devoid of any form of injustice. Justice includes the correct enactment of fairness and righteousness, serving as a moral obligation that governs God's actions. In contrast, mercy and grace exist outside the realm of justice; they are voluntary acts rather than obligations. This dichotomy clarifies that while believers can expect God's justice, they are encouraged to seek His mercy and grace, which highlight His compassion and benevolence.
God’s communicable attributes are those characteristics that He shares with all people made in His image. Today, R.C. Sproul shows how studying these divine attributes can help Christians reflect the holy character of God.
Receive R.C. Sproul’s book Everyone’s a Theologian, his 60-message teaching series Foundations: An Overview of Systematic Theology as a special-edition DVD collection, and lifetime digital access to the messages and study guide, all for your donation of any amount: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/3887/donate
Meet Today’s Teacher: R.C. Sproul (1939–2017) was known for his ability to winsomely and clearly communicate deep, practical truths from God’s Word. He was founder of Ligonier Ministries, first minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s Chapel, first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. Meet the Host: Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of ministry engagement for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, host of the Ask Ligonier podcast, and a graduate of Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne, Australia. Nathan joined Ligonier in 2012 and lives in Central Florida with his wife and four children.
Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode