Doctrine Matters with Kevin DeYoung What are Incommunicable Attributes?
Feb 17, 2026
A clear run through the difference between communicable and incommunicable attributes. A look at divine simplicity and what it means for attributes to be identical with God’s essence. Discussion of aseity, infinity, eternity, immensity and omnipresence. Thoughts on immutability and impassibility and how biblical language about regret fits in.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Simplicity Means No Divine Parts
- God is simple, meaning he is not composed of parts or attributes that add up to his being.
- Every attribute of God is identical to his essence, so no attribute is more essential than another.
God Exists Completely In Himself
- Aseity means God exists from himself and needs nothing external to sustain him.
- Genesis presents God as existing before everything else and not depending on preexistent matter or rivals.
Infinity: Three Ways God Is Unlimited
- God's infinity shows up as absolute perfection, eternity, and immensity across relation to self, time, and space.
- He is unbounded in greatness, non-successive in duration, and not constrained by physical location.
