THE CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD

(For Storying to Muslims)

1. Allah is one God.

He always acts in harmony with His Spirit and the Word.

2. Allah is Creator and a communicating God.

He made all things and so is all-powerful.
He made man and desires to communicate with him.
He sees and knows every thought, every intention of
man's heart, and every act of man.
He provides for man's needs to show His love for man.

3. Allah is a holy and righteous God.

He is holy. There is no wrong or unrighteousness in him.
He always does what is right and just.
He hates sin and judges all sin.
His holy nature demands that all sin be punished.
Man is accountable to Allah and cannot escape Allah's
judgment by his own works

4. Allah is Sovereign Ruler.

He has given all judgment to the Righteous Judge.
He has anointed One to rule over man in God's Kingdom.
He must be the One to provide an acceptable sacrifice
for sin--the sinless Lamb from God.
All Allah's work brings glory and honor to His Name.

5. Allah always keeps His Word.

Whatever Allah says, He will do, even if a
long time passes before it happens.
Allah can be known through His revealed Word.
Man can have assurance of his relationship with Allah through
the written Word and revealed Word.

JOT
rev 10/94

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD

(For Storying to Muslims)
188
 Note in the accompanying list of Characteristics of God there is a strong emphasis upon
certain areas of God's nature and work that have implication for Muslims. These follow a
pattern similar to the summarized list of natural and moral attributes of God in the God and
Man model.
It is an attempt to pick up some of the attributes Muslims are in agreement with, some they
are fuzzy about, and some which challenge their understanding and belief system.
There is a deliberate use of words which lead into the nature and work of Jesus in the
Gospels.
This list is not rigid and should be considered as a suggested model subject to revision according
to local worldview issues. If the list is too long to be manageable then it can be trimmed down
or summarized as necessary. For a review tool it is best if kept to six or less characteristics for
ease of retention and recall.
The corollaries define the main statement and can be used in explaining the meaning of the
characteristic. After the group learns the chart by memory, then it should become an “oral
chart” that is recalled from time to time when the group is being asked to find the characteristics
that are in a particular story. Later the characteristics chart can become a confession in worship
or for individuals to explain to others about their new faith. When reciting a characteristic found
in a story the best way is to state the characteristic and then the specific corollary. For instance,
“Allah is a holy and righteous God. He hates sin and judges all sin and punishes the sinner.”
Or, “Allah always keeps His Word so he can be known through his revealed Word.”
The intent of the chart was to begin where the Muslim is and point in the direction that one
needs to go. The chart begins with the “oneness” of Allah but points to a harmony with His
Spirit and the Word which is Jesus. While this states the Trinity in a sense, it does so without
blatantly challenging one of their most sensitive areas.
It was decided to separate the Creator/Communicating characteristic from the Sovereign
Ruler characteristic for the latter one to emphasize His right to appoint the sacrifice and the
judge.
Creator/Communicating begins with creation which there is agreement and moves toward a
desire for communication with man as God knows the heart and mind. God demonstrates His
love by what He does for man. This challenges their idea of the transcendent nature of God.
The Holy/Righteous characteristic begins with righteousness and moves toward the problem
of sin and accountability and lack of escape for the sinner. It touches on the moral nature of
God.
The Sovereign Ruler characteristic begins with agreement on God’s sovereignty and moves
toward defining what that allows Him to do—appoint the ruler, sacrifice, and judge. And it
reminds that all His work brings glory and honor to His Name.
The last characteristic speaks to God’s consistency rather than capriciousness as some believe
because He is God and can do anything He wants to do including break His Word. Because of
this consistency man can have assurance in his relationship with God.
This model looks more toward the characteristics of the Father. The God and Man model
has a certain flexibility in that it can be used to demonstrate that Jesus had characteristics like
those of the Father so providing a Father/Son link.
JOT
rev 6/98

189