I have been facilitating large group bible studies for a decade and this is the best bible study I have ever done. We've done Beth Moore, Jennifer Kennedy Dean, etc....and while I'm not disrespecting them, this was the most spot-on study on God I have ever read. I wish it had a video because I run a video format study. I did it with a small group in my home and we were all blown away with the content. This study will make you see yourself and all humanity with different eyes-- and magnify God at the same time. It has incredibly sound doctrine, very orthodox, not one heterodox sentence. She explains everything in a way that makes you marvel at the way she turns a phrase and then marvel at our incredible God. I wish it didn't have roses on the front because I think it limits readership--- hubby doesn't care for people seeing him read something with pretty flowers! But it would be worth it because all you need is this little book to change everything you thought about everything. From how majestic God really is to how everything we do is really an attempt to dethrone God, you will be rocked with awe and humility. After all these years helping women learn about God, I learned more about God than I ever knew and feel closer to Him than I ever have. I can't recommend this book with greater urgency. Buy it and take a week to read each chapter--- meditate on each attribute during the week. I promise God will use this study to open your eyes to the truth of His all-surpassing greatness.

It is staggering to think that the life of faith is really an invitation to share in the nature of God. He is holy, and he calls the believer to a life of holiness, providing the means and the might to make it happen. He is loving, and He pours His love through us in surprising ways. He is just, merciful, gracious, and wise and the list could grow very long, but miraculously it is a list that the believer can grow into by walking in obedience to the commands of God through the power of the Spirit of God within.

In None Like Him, Jen Wilkin ponders another list of Gods attributes: the ones in which humans are not invited to share, and which, by their very nature, can be true only of God. She examines ten of these traits, helping her readers to appreciate the uniqueness of God while at the same time disclosing the startling truth that, like our ancestor Eve, we are still in the family business of aspiring to become like God. The challenge for us, then, is to aspire to be more like our Heavenly Father without seeking to usurp His position!

Only God is infinite.

He cannot be measured, and He has no limits or boundaries. Job 11:7-9 finds even the vast heavens and the broad seas are not not up to the job of demonstrating the infinitude of Gods greatness.

A right response to an immeasurable God is celebration of our own God-ordained limits. They teach us the fear of the Lord and remind us that we are not meant to be like God in His unlimited divinity; we are to be like God in our limited humanity. Image bearing means becoming fully human, not becoming divine.

Only God is incomprehensible.

A life time of searching the Scriptures will not uncover all that there is to know about God and yet He is able to be sufficiently known. By contrast, we humans are knowable and known by a Creator whose expertise (expressed in Psalm 139:1-6) surpasses even our own self-knowledge.

Believing that only God is an expert on human nature relieves me of the responsibility for judging my neighbors faults, allowing me to bring my own faults to the God who understands my nature and invites me into a life-long exploration of His limitless perfection.

Only God is self-sufficient.

Acts 17:24-25 makes the critical connection between Gods creative power and His absolute independence from His creation. This is a cause for rejoicing, for since God has no needs, He cannot be tempted by anything. On the other hand, our needs are many and urgent. Although we have been bent and broken by the fall, this state of dependence is not an outcome of our fallenness. Adam and Eve were created to need God and his provision. Ironically, it is when we view need as a flaw and suppress our humanity (again, striving to be God), we go without necessary rest, starve ourselves to a size 2, and practice saying Im fine in front of the mirror until we believe it ourselves.

Divine self-sufficiency is a given. Human attempts to masquerade as self-sufficient lead to prayerlessness, forgetfulness of Gods provision, anger at our limitations, side stepping the conviction of the Holy Spirit when we sin, and refusing help from brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.

Only God is eternal.

Time binds us like cords. It chafes against our do-list and keeps us in continual catch-up mode. Even our preferences and manner of life are time bound to the era that we call home. God, on the other hand, transcends time even book-ending it! Like Gandalf, he is never late, nor is He early. His actions occur precisely when he intends for them to.

Even so, we arrogate to ourselves the grasping irony of putting God on a deadline rather than honoring this attribute by trusting Him. We demonstrate this trust by letting go of the past, leaving the future with Him, and living fully in the moment. Viewing time as a gift from the God who owns time results in days that are lived well with a priority on relationships over possessions and with a prayer on our lips that God would establish the work of our hands.

Only God is immutable.

When the Psalms refer to God as our rock over twenty times, the biblically fluent will take comfort in this imagery of changelessness. There is much to ponder here, even in regard to His attributes, for nothing we do can add to or diminish His glory. God will never be more holy or less faithful than He has ever been. This is good news, for He has set His love upon us, and this, too, is unchangeable.

As creatures, however, we are subject to continuous change, and my own particular discomfort with this established truth reveals in me a serial idolatry, fixed upon whatever condition or person that is in flux: I need YOU to be God for me, so please just stay the same.

Our species tendency to usurp Gods place is, I believe, most prevalent in this sentence about change: Thats just who I am. I cant change. Jen Wilkin summarizes the situation:

Just as my assurance of salvation rests in the fact that God cannot change, my hope of sanctification rests in the fact that I can.

Only God is omnipresent.

It stretches the mind to conceive of Gods uncontainable nature. Hes not engaged in some cosmic game of Twister, trying to stretch Himself between an infinite number of locations, and yet He is fully present in all places past, present, and future. Although He fills all of creation and is near to us in every sense, he is distinct from His creation.

As one of His creation, I hunger for this combination of immanence and transcendence and technology can even give me the illusion of it. Jen calls it makeshift omnipresence this addiction we have to multitasking and efficiency that would keep me from ever having a face-to-face conversation with my boys or entering fully into any one task or event.

Only God is omniscient.

It follows that since God is everywhere, He is able to know everything. He did not learn what He knows and unlike me, He will not forget it. It would be a long pondering to even begin to appreciate the implications of Gods all-knowing, but, once again, technology is helping me to chase after this off-limits-to-humans attribute with an all-you-can-eat buffet of data, trivia, inspiration, and drivel. Research shows that we suffer from information overload, but this unhealthy desire for unlimited knowledge goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, and Solomon saw the tie between endless consumption and weariness.

Honoring the omniscience of God fleshes itself out in an acceptance of His perfect way (Ps. 18:30); a refusal to bargain with Him or to try to fool Him. When I view the myth of human omniscience through the lens of Truth, I can conclude that because God holds all knowledge, I dont have to.

Only God is omnipotent.

Jobs ultimate acceptance of the will of God was based upon his acknowledgement of Gods power. Creating and sustaining all things, His power is infinite. Humanity attempts to wield our own versions of power based upon physical strength, beauty, charisma, or wealth only to find that we are in the power of these forces. In the end, it is Gods power at work in us that will bring about the transformation and security that we seek.

Only God is sovereign.

While the previous attributes focused on Gods ability to act, His sovereignty asserts that God is unlimited in His authority to act. The only sensible conclusion that we can draw from our consideration of Gods nature is that the most right and logical place for God to inhabit is a throne. It goes without saying that the essence of our sin nature is to question and to attempt to usurp the sovereignty of God. We doubt His motives; we crave control.

Ironically, the myth of human sovereignty leads some to the pursuit of an impossibly perfect and ageless body, an obsessive accumulation and maintenance of possessions, controlling relationships and a spirit of legalism. It is far better to honor God by accepting His delegated authority in areas which are mine to control: my thoughts, my attitude, my words, and my actions.

The tremendous amount of theology that permeates None Like Him is certain to inoculate the readers heart against the disease of awe-lessness. Each chapter begins with a creative hook that anchors the truth into a concrete foundation: the unchanging reference point of mountains on the horizon leads the mind into thoughts about Gods immutability; the pink-fuzzy Energizer bunny demonstrates our quest for the perpetual energy source; fear of tornadoes reveals our uneasy relationship with the raw and unpredictable power of nature.

I am planning to use this book as a guide in teaching the kids in my weekly Sunday School opening exercises one lesson per week on the attributes of God, because I believe the material is that accessible. (And, like Madeleine LEngle, I believe that if information is too difficult for grown ups, then you teach it to children.)

Also, committing this list of ten attributes to memory is a faith-building and awe-generating exercise that will enhance God-focused prayer. Considering these truths in light of the incarnation brings into focus the stunning sacrifice of God the Son who was suddenly subject to the full range of human needs and limitations. Embracing those limitations and acknowledging their ultimate opposite in the God-head cannot help but lead to a new appreciation and joy, fear and awe of the God we worship.

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This book was provided by Crossway in exchange for my review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 : Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

I have done a boat load of bible studies in the last 15 years and this little book is sooo deep and so good. Every page I marked up and re-read as I prepared to lead a small group of women this past summer. We all agreed her writing style and expression makes you look at the scripture differently. One amazing read. My daughter just purchased her newest , In His Image, for me and I can't wait to read it!

I bought the book for a woman's bible study. My little group of six read a chapter each week then came together to talk about it. We learned so much about ourselves and about GOD. The other reviews of this book are spot on. I would highly recommend this book to deepen your relationship with GOD!

I loved this book! I've done studies on the attributes of God before but this took it to another level. What attributes does God have that makes Him different than anything I could ever be? Some of His attributes (love, just, faithful) we should be striving to exemplify in our lives. They are hallmarks so to speak of what a Christian should be. But His omniscience, sovereignty, immutability, etc are things we TRY to attain sinfully but we can never fully reach. And that is part of what makes Him God of the Universe.

Wilkin doesn't simply give definitions and say, "That makes Him Who He is". She goes beyond that and makes it personal. She offers ways this shows up in our lives and what our response should be. She fills her text with Bible passages and references, real life examples, quotes from notable Christians, and current statistics. This is not just a book filled with her opinions or her insights. It's dripping with Biblical truth and I found myself wanting to read the book slowly to soak everything in but also quickly to see and remember the whole picture she is presenting.

It's difficult to quote just a few passages because there were so many that resonated with me, that I read over and over. The conclusion about Psalm 139 was huge to me. So often we reference that passage to talk about how well God knows us, how amazing He created us. But it's really about how amazing God is. I had never thought about that before but it made me consider God with a new sense of awe and reverence.

I have Wilkin's other book "Women of the Word" and it's been sitting in my to be read pile. But after reading this, I'm moving it to the top of the stack. I can't wait to dive into God's Word and apply the things I've learned from this study and I'm sure her previous book will ignite a similar fire under me to want to study the Bible.

I received this as an ebook from the publisher for review purposes but it's a book I want in my print library so I can mark it up, lend it to friends, and easily reference certain chapters. I'll be reading this again and recommending it to my friends.

I was given an ebook copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. The thoughts and comments above are my own and were not influenced in any way.