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Having considered the distinction between the incommunicable and communicable attributes of God, we now consider in what manner these attributes exist in the Creator. Does God have attributes as constituent parts that come together to form His essence or nature, or is God identical to His attributes?
Answering this question requires us to consider the doctrines of God’s unity and simplicity. Today’s passage tells us that “the Lord is one” (Deut. 6:4). This affirmation of monotheism means more than that only one God exists. Divine unity entails also that His essence is one, that it is not composed of various components that can be added and subtracted while He remains God. His essence must be simple, not made up of parts. God does not have attributes, properly speaking. Instead, God is His attributes. Each attribute is identical to His essence, and thus are necessary to Him and unchangeable.
This is not how creatures exist. Human beings, for example, possess attributes and can gain or lose them without losing their essential humanity. Consider the attribute of wisdom. A person may be wise or a person may be foolish, but in either case, the person is still a human being. The same cannot be said of God. If God were not perfectly wise, He would not be God. He is “the only wise God” (Rom. 16:27).
Divine unity and simplicity also mean that God’s existence is identical to His essence. We can conceive of different natures or essences, but not every nature that we conceive of actually exists. An individual created being is a nature that possesses existence and not that nature by itself. For instance, we can conceive of the nature of the mythical half-man, half-goat creature known as a faun; we can know what a faun is. Fauns, however, do not actually exist. That a faun is (its existence) is different from what it is (its essence). On the other hand, divine existence is identical to the divine essence. God simply is (Ex. 3:14). One ramification of this is that it is impossible for God not to exist. He is what we call the necessary being. If God did not exist, nothing would exist. On the other hand, creatures are not necessary beings. No creature could exist and yet God would still exist.
Finally, divine simplicity means that God cannot violate any of His attributes. In other words, the Lord will never show love in a way incompatible with His holiness. His love is not one that overlooks His righteousness but it is a holy and righteous love. God is His attributes and He is His existence. He is simple, not composed of parts.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Second Timothy 2:13 says that “if we are faithless, [He] remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” The underlying reality for this is God’s unity and simplicity. Since He is His attributes, He can never be loving at the expense of His holiness; His wrath can never be unrighteous or capricious; and He cannot break His promises. Because of this, we know that God will always be good and will always tell us the truth.