Podcast Summary

Doctrine Matters with Kevin DeYoung

Episode: What Are Divine Attributes?
Date: February 10, 2026
Host: Kevin DeYoung (Pastor, Author, Theologian)
Produced by: Crossway

Episode Overview

In this episode, Kevin DeYoung introduces and unpacks the concept of divine attributes as part of his ongoing series on theology proper (the doctrine of God). He explores how the church has historically understood what qualities are ascribed to God, discusses the key distinctions between different types of attributes, and explains why these matters are not just academic, but vital for a deeper understanding and worship of God.

DeYoung thoughtfully weaves together perspectives from church history, philosophy, and confessional theology to set the stage for further exploration of God’s attributes in coming episodes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Importance of Language When Describing God

• Analogy in Language:
  • When we talk about God's attributes, our human words are neither completely the same as (univocal) nor totally different from (equivocal) their meaning about God; rather, they're analogical – there's a relationship, but not identity.
  • “Though we cannot know God exhaustively, we can know God truly as he reveals himself to us.” (01:00)

2. Defining Divine Attributes

• What Are Attributes?
  • Attributes, also called “perfections,” “virtues,” “excellencies,” or “properties,” refer to what is proper and unique to God Himself. They are not additional qualities attached to God, nor things that come together to form Him.
  • “God’s attributes are not things that exist apart from himself, nor are they things that come together to form God. What God is cannot be separated from what God has.” (02:50)

3. Historic Confessional Summaries

• Belgic Confession (03:25):
  • God is “a single and simple spiritual being, eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, unchangeable, infinite, almighty, completely wise, just and good, and the overflowing source of all good.”
• Westminster Confession (03:40):
  • God is “a most pure Spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute, working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will…most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth.”

4. Apophatic Theology & John of Damascus

• Apophatic (Negative) Approach:
  • Understanding God can often be about saying what He is not.
  • “So then we both know and confess that God is without beginning…without end, eternal and everlasting, uncreated, immutable, unchangeable, simple, non-composite, incorporeal…” (from John of Damascus, 05:06)
• East vs. West:
  • Both Western and Eastern Christian traditions have long reflected on divine attributes; this is not a modern or exclusively Western concern.

5. Classifying Attributes

• Incommunicable vs. Communicable Attributes (06:45):
  • Incommunicable: Those qualities unique to God that cannot be shared or “caught” by creatures (e.g., eternity, infinity, immensity).
    • “Immensity, eternity, infinity are incommunicable because nothing analogous to these attributes can be found in God’s creatures.” (07:12)
  • Communicable: Qualities that, in some sense (though always imperfectly), can be reflected in creatures (e.g., love, mercy, goodness, justice).
    • “Those attributes are communicable because we also…can be loving and merciful and good and just.” (07:36)
• Other Classifications: Absolute/relative, greatness/goodness – but the incommunicable/communicable distinction is most common and helpful.

6. Substance and Accident: An Aristotelian Distinction

• Why Philosophy Matters:
  • Western theology uses philosophical distinctions not to override Scripture, but because these patterns of thought are deeply embedded in how theology has historically been done. Even the New Testament uses Greek philosophical terms.
  • “It’s true we don’t want Aristotle or any philosopher to be more important than the Scriptures, of course… Yet, the Greek philosophical tradition is so ubiquitous in Western thought.” (08:36)
• What Is the Distinction?
  • Substance: The essence of what something is (e.g., “dogginess”).
  • Accident: Qualities or features that are not essential (e.g., color, size).
  • In God: There are no “accidents”—nothing incidental or additional. Everything about God is essential to who He is.
    • “There is nothing incidental to God. There is nothing that you can say, ‘we’ll take this away from God and he’s still God.’” (11:40)
  • Quoting Turretin: No accidents in God, because that would imply parts, change, or composition—all of which deny His simplicity, infinity, and immutability.
  • Bottom Line:
    • “Everything about God is essential to God, and nothing, not one of his attributes, is incidental to God.” (12:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Analogical Language

“Though we cannot know God exhaustively, we can know God truly as he reveals himself to us.”
— Kevin DeYoung, (01:00)

Attributes Not Added to God

“God’s attributes are not things that exist apart from himself, nor are they things that come together to form God. What God is cannot be separated from what God has.”
— Kevin DeYoung, (02:50)

On Communicable & Incommunicable

“When we speak then of communicable attributes, we’re thinking of something that can be caught by God’s creatures in a way that incommunicable attributes cannot.”
— Kevin DeYoung, (07:48)

On Substance & Accident

“When we talk about God, he does not have substance and accidents. There is nothing incidental to God.”
— Kevin DeYoung, (11:31)

Bottom Line on God’s Attributes

“Everything about God is essential to God, and nothing, not one of his attributes, is incidental to God.”
— Kevin DeYoung, (12:45)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:46 — Recap of last week and introduction to divine attributes
• 03:25 — Belgic and Westminster Confessional definitions
• 05:06 — John of Damascus on apophatic theology
• 06:45 — Incommunicable vs. communicable attributes
• 08:36 — Use of Aristotle and Greek philosophy in Christian theology
• 11:10 — Explanation of substance and accident (Aristotelian logic)
• 12:45 — Summary and key conclusion on divine attributes

Conclusion

Kevin DeYoung’s exploration of divine attributes offers listeners a clear, accessible entry point into some complex areas of Christian doctrine. By tracing both the philosophical and confessional history of this topic, he demonstrates why understanding the nature of God’s attributes is foundational for sound theology and practice. The episode lays the groundwork for later, deeper dives into individual attributes and encourages listeners to appreciate not just that God is magnificent, but how and why Christian tradition has described him this way.