In The Margins

by Justan Borth

I often go back to this moment in my mind. I was sitting in a lounge chair on the deck of a cruise ship, book in hand, soaking in the kind of rest and peace only the ocean seems to bring. I glanced up from my reading and froze. Before me stretched a sky painted with oranges, yellows, reds, and pinks as the sun slowly sank into the horizon. For 45 minutes I sat in awe, watching the colors shift and deepen.

The whole time one thought kept running through my head: What kind of God would create something so magnificent simply for us to marvel at?

At its core, that question leads to something bigger: Who is God?

To answer that, we turn to God’s attributes—those qualities that make Him who He is. Attributes aren’t side details about God’s character. They are essential to His very identity. In fact, when we ask “Who is God?” we are really asking, “What are the attributes that make Him God?”

Theologians often divide God’s attributes into two categories: communicable and incommunicable.

Communicable Attributes

These are the qualities God shares with us as people created in His image. Genesis 1:27 tells us, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Being image-bearers means we reflect aspects of God’s character. We can love, pursue holiness, show mercy, and seek righteousness. But our reflection is dim and broken compared to His perfection. Where we fall short because of sin, God is holy, pure, and complete. Even so, the fact that we can mirror Him at all is an incredible gift and a reason for gratitude.

Incommunicable Attributes

These are the qualities that belong to God alone—things we will never share. They reveal His power, majesty, and “otherness.”

Take Psalm 139:7–8, for example:
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.”

This describes God’s omnipresence—His ability to be everywhere at once. Unlike us, bound by time and space, God has no limits. Other incommunicable attributes include His omniscience (all-knowing) and omnipotence (all-powerful). These qualities remind us that He is God, and we are not.

Why It Matters

Understanding God’s attributes should do more than fill our heads with knowledge—it should shape our hearts.

His communicable attributes should stir gratitude. He made us in His image and invites us to reflect His love, justice, and mercy. His incommunicable attributes should humble us. They remind us that He is infinite, beyond our comprehension, and worthy of our worship.

That night on the cruise ship, I only caught a glimpse of God’s creativity and beauty in a sunset. But that glimpse was enough to remind me: the God who paints the skies is both infinitely beyond me and graciously near to me. And that truth is worth marveling at every single day.

Reflective questions:

-When was the last time you paused to marvel at God’s creation, like a sunset or the stars? How did it shape your view of Him?

-Which of God’s communicable attributes (love, mercy, holiness, righteousness) do you most want to reflect more in your daily life?

-How does remembering God’s incommunicable attributes (like His power, presence, or knowledge) change the way you see your struggles or fears?

Further reading and study: Hebrews 1