Basic Bible Doctrine
Lesson Three
"Attributes of God"

This is just a partial list of known attributes of God.  I could name others, and other sites may have other things listed that I do not.  An "attribute" is simple a characteristic associated to someone or some thing.  Since God is so far above man, we can not completely know or understand God in His entirety.

Eternal
God exists forever, meaning he has no beginning or end (cf. Psalm 90:2; 1 Tim. 1:17). He has always existed in the same way: fully and completely as God. "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" (Revelation 4:8)

Holiness
"To say that God is holy is to say that He is eternally separate and distinct from all impurity. The term holiness in Hebrew, qodesh, has the notion of separation, of uniqueness, of one-of-kindness as it were." -Bruce Ware

Unchanging
Also called immutability, this means that God never changes in his being (who he is) or promises (cf. Mal.3:6; James 1:17; Heb. 6:17).

Impassable
God is without passions. He is not overwhelmed by any emotion, he is not incapacitated or weakened or stifled by any event or any amount of grief or love. Rather, God is totally self-controlled. While God does grieve, and does passionately love, he does so completely on purpose.

Infinite
God is not subject to any of the limitations of humanity or his creation.

All-powerful
God has all power. He can exercise dominion over the entire universe, carry out the purposes of his wisdom, govern the hearts of men, and even create things out of nothing.

Everywhere-present
God is everywhere - Jer. 23:24; Psa. 139:7-10; 1 Kings 8:27. This is not to say that God’s form is spread out so that parts of Him exist in every location. God is spirit; He has no physical form. He is present everywhere in that everything is immediately in His presence. At the same time He is present everywhere in the universe. No one can hide from Him and nothing escapes His notice.

All-wise
God has all wisdom. He works everything out for the good of his people, and for the display and enjoyment of his glory. This involves countless factors and people and events and decisions that would be far above any human. But not God. Even when things look the worst, God is carrying out his perfect wisdom. He never fails, never lacks any foresight, and never estimates. He knows all, and plans all, and he loves to display the glory and beauty of his wisdom by accomplishing the seemingly impossible.

All-knowing
God knows all things - 1 John 3:20; Psa.147:5; Heb.4:13. This includes the past, the present, and the future. It includes actuality, and contingencies. That is, he knows what will happen, and he knows what "could" happen. There was never a time when God did not know anything. The greatest and deepest and most fascinating thing that God knows is himself, for his is infinitely deep in character and substance and beauty and wisdom. "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" (Romans 11:34)

Simple
The simplicity of God means that God is a unified being – He is one essence. God is not composed of a variety of substances.   In this sense he is different from humans who are made up of matter and spirit. Jesus is not an exception to this truth. While he took a human body while here on earth he is still absolute spirit in his essence. The simplicity of God reminds us that God needs nothing else to exist neither did he comes about by a number of forces or substances joining together. This reassuring fact will encourage us to worship him as the unchanging God,

Self-existent
God's self-existence means that he does not need us or the rest of creation for anything. While everything other than God depends on God for everything, God depends on no one for existence. He is absolute reality, with whom we have to reckon.

Self-sufficient
The Scriptures allude to the fact that God does not need anything that we humans need to survive. He requires no water, air, food, sleep or money. Counselors, supervisors, and advisers of any kind are of no need to Him. He is self sufficient in all capacities. This is hard for the human brain to consider, that someone does not need what we do to survive, but to God, this is normal
See main page: Self-sufficiency of God

Immaterial

God is not fundamentally composed of matter, for he is spirit, and he created all matter (and all spirit other than himself). This does not mean that God is absolutely nothing ("immateriality" as a word can sometimes mean this), rather it means that God is nothing physical. "[T]he true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:23-24)

Love
"He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." 1 John 4:8. God is concerned for his creatures, and especially his people. He is tender toward them, and does not take pleasure in their suffering or condemnation. He seeks the best for us, and He died for us in love as a substitution for sin.  

Gracious
God loves to give us what we don't deserve. He loves to pardon sin and lavish us with his goodness. He takes pleasure in giving gifts to people to display the glory of his resourcefulness, patience, and mercy.

Merciful
God shows his mercy by not giving us the punishment we deserve. Mercy as used in the Bible frequently has a much wider sense which may be translated "loyal love".

Just
God is deeply concerned with making wrongs right. He lets no sinner off the hook without a fitting punishment, or a fitting substitutionary atonement.