Have You Created a God in Your Own Image? (Part 1)
The oft quoted line from Tozer, “What comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you,” reveals the importance of thinking properly about God. There is eternity at stake in the difference between a god we have created in our image and the God who created us in his image and graciously revealed himself through his Word. So when Christians engage in contemplation of God, how do they guard against caricaturizing him into something they desire him to be and instead cultivate a true heart of devotion and humility? Is there a proper/biblical entry point into who God has revealed himself to be? I believe there is a proper entryway into growing in the knowledge of God and it is found in focusing on the holiness and glory of God. To establish this, I believe a brief investigation of how systematic theologians have viewed these two attributes will help set the stage for why they stand out amongst the rest of God’s perfections.
“There is eternity at stake in the difference between a god we have created in our image and the God who created us in his image and graciously revealed himself through his Word.”
A Brief History of Holiness
“Holiness is the glory of every perfection in the Godhead.”
A cursory look through church history at the attribute of God’s holiness reveals that its importance lay relatively dormant for centuries, until remedied by Stephen Charnock and the Puritans. Originally a private journal, Charnock’s The Existence and Attributes of God is considered by some to be “the work on the character and attributes of God.”1 He mused on holiness, “If any, this attribute hath an excellency above his other perfections,” thus, God’s holiness “is the glory of every perfection in the Godhead.”2 He was joined by his contemporary, John Howe, who vaulted holiness to “an attribute of attributes” and would extrapolate its importance further by saying that it “may be styled a transcendental attribute,” and that it is “the very lustre and glory of his other perfections.”3
Another writer, William Gurnall, stated, “Were it possible…that the holiness of God could be separated from any of his attributes or works, God himself would cease to be glorious…,” because the “glory of all God’s attributes and works” result from his holiness.4 These men are but a small sampling of what could be stated from the teaching of the Puritans.5
Following the seismic shift in Puritan theology that elevated God’s holiness were men such as John Bengel who, according to John Burk, produced a theology and philosophical treatise on the holiness of God in order to show “…by parallel passages of Scripture, that all the attributes of God are implied in the Hebrew expression kadosh…Divine holiness comprehends all His supreme excellency.”6 A. A. Hodge joins the chorus of theologians emphasizing holiness by writing, “The holiness of God is not to be conceived of as one attribute among others; it is rather a general term representing the conception of his consummate perfection and total glory.”7
More recently, this distinguishing of God’s holiness has shown itself in many disciplines of theology. Old Testament scholars have asserted its uniqueness among God’s attributes. Walter Eichrodt offers this insight:
Of all the qualities attributed to the divine nature there is one which, in virtue both of the frequency and the emphasis with which it is used, occupies a position of unique importance - namely, that of holiness. Some indication of the significance of this term as a definition of God’s nature is given by the fact that it has been found possible to characterize the whole religion of the Old Testament as a ‘religion of holiness’ (Hänel).8
“More than any other attribute, holiness is the one quality in God’s character that describes the essential nature of God in all his fullness.”
Eugene Merrell, who acknowledges Eichrodt's words in a footnote, writes, “In agreement with many theologians we propose that the fundamental truth about the character of God of the Bible is that he is holy. Nearly everything else that may be said of him springs from this conviction.”9 Walt Kaiser joins the mix by adding, “More than any other attribute, holiness is the one quality in God’s character that describes the essential nature of God in all his fullness.”10 He goes on to write that encapsulating all that holiness covers is difficult, and then quotes approvingly James Muilenberg, who suggests that holiness should be regarded “not as one attribute among other attributes, but as the innermost reality to which all others are related.”11
Not to be outdone, some modern Reformed theologians, who have all been impacted by the Puritans, join the cascading voices singing the praises of God’s holiness. Louis Berkhof proceeds with caution, but highlights the supreme importance of holiness this way:
It does not seem proper to speak of one attribute of God as being more central and fundamental than another; but if this were permissible, the Scriptural emphasis on the holiness of God would seem to justify its selection. It is quite evident, however, that holiness in this sense of the word is not really a moral attribute, which can be co-ordinated with the others, such as love, grace, and mercy, but is rather something that is co-extensive with, and applicable to, everything that can be predicted of God.12
J.I. Packer appears less bashful than Berkhof as he insightfully notes the comprehensiveness of God’s holiness, covering both his essential transcendence and also his ethical perfection, leading him to reflect that holiness is “...an attribute of all his attributes, pointing to the ‘Godness’ of God at every point. Every facet of God’s nature and every aspect of his character may properly be spoken of as holy, just because it is his.”13
“But when the word holy is applied to God, it does not signify one single attribute…The word is used as a synonym for his deity. That is, the word holy calls attention to all that God is.”
In Terry Johnson’s work on the attributes of God, he entitles his chapter on the holiness of God as “The Attribute of Attributes.”14 R.C. Sproul agrees with this rendering of what it means for God to be holy. He laments the tendency to add holiness to a compiling list of attributes, as if it is merely characteristic to describe him. “But when the word holy is applied to God, it does not signify one single attribute…The word is used as a synonym for his deity. That is, the word holy calls attention to all that God is.”15
Finally, the late John Webster’s penetrating work Holiness rounds out this discussion well when he advances this position of the unequaled attribute, “The pervasiveness of holiness in all talk of God has led some to suggest that holiness ought not to be treated as a separate attribute, taking its place in a sequential exposition of all the divine perfections, but rather should be expounded first as what it is, an ingredient within all God's attributes.”16 Webster calls this instinct sound and advantageous, though with some caution offered, and then quotes Hermann Cremer extensively, summarizing well the idea of holiness being the sine qua non attribute of God:
Through the revelation of God's holiness, the real deity of God becomes truly revealed ... [Holiness] is the decisive attribute for knowing and acknowledging God and for understanding his will and action; on this attribute, all other knowledge of the attributes of God depends. If the holiness of God is not perceived and understood, then the entire work and conduct of God are not grasped.17
Glory as Attribute of Attributes
“God’s glory is to be understood essentially, as one of the divine attributes but, moreover, as an attribute that eminently reflects and reveals the perfection of all the attributes.”
The attribute of God’s glory has not enjoyed the storied history of preeminence that holiness found amongst theologians. It was relegated by some to a “secondary” essential attribute,18 but it would not be relegated to that status for long. In his magisterial work on the post-Reformation development of Reformed doctrine Richard Muller summarizes the attribute of God’s glory this way, “God’s glory is to be understood essentially, as one of the divine attributes but, moreover, as an attribute that eminently reflects and reveals the perfection of all the attributes.”19 So, the impact that glory has reflecting and revealing all of the attributes seems to highlight its uniqueness over the other attributes.
Edward Leigh is representative of this perspective on God’s glory. In his A Treatise of Divinity, Leigh classifies the Glory of God as “the infinite excellency of the Divine essence.”20 He notes that glory can signify the very nature and essence of God (as in Ex. 33:18), or his attributes, noting that glory can be used as a substitute for the exercise of other attributes (i.e. grace in Ephesians 1:12).21 This showcases glory as a meta-attribute of God, functioning flexibly between the nature that God possesses internally, yet also manifesting externally in the working out of his will through his other attributes.22
Jonathan Edwards, perhaps the most important theologian in American history, was consumed with a passion for the glory of God.23 For Edwards, the glory of God consisted both of an internal essence and external expression of glory.24 The implications of that breakdown are summarized nicely by Brandon Crawford, “God’s internal glory consists of His infinite excellencies. God’s external glory consists of His internal glory diffused to all things external to Himself. Together, they form the one reality that Scripture describes as “the glory of God.”25
John Gestner notes the same tendency in Edwards, and helpfully expands its impact on glory among the other attributes of God as he writes:
…Edwards had the glory of God consisting in God’s greatness (natural attribute) and goodness (moral attribute). So glory is another word used for the sum total of all divine excellencies. It refers to the internal as well as manifestative glory. The latter amounts to a setting forth of the attributes in their reality and fullness.26
The idea of God’s glory as ‘the sum total of all divine excellencies,’ and the manifestive glory ‘setting forth of the attributes in their reality and fullness,’ make the glory of God in Edwards’ theology a preeminent attribute. All other attributes “do not stand on their own” as his glory does, and so the internally glorious God must express himself externally to demonstrate his other attributes as “infinitely and eternally glorious.”27
Donald Bloesch extends the line of theologians who note how the intrinsic nature of God’s glory is distinct from his external glory. Bloesch believes it is helpful to distinguish between the two aspects, and he quotes from Eastern Orthodox theologian Petro Bilaniuk for support:
The intrinsic glory of God is His holiness, goodness, beauty and all the other attributes. The extrinsic glory of God is the true goal of creation, for it is a reflection and manifestation, through creatures, of the intrinsic and substantial glory that is God Himself. Therefore, God necessarily ordered all things to His extrinsic glory. Consequently, the intrinsic perfection of any creature is in reality the extrinsic glory of God.28
The association between the intrinsic glory and all of God’s attributes (notice that holiness headed the list) indicates that idea of glory being a summary attribute, which binds all of God’s attributes under its umbrella.
With the proliferation of theologians utilizing and categorizing the glory of God as an overarching attribute of God, it was not until Bernard Ramm’s work, Them He Glorified, that the idea was fully codified. Ramm’s work is not a dense treatise, yet in its brevity he does a remarkable job covering the magnitude of glory. Here is his assessment of the attribute of glory:
The glory of God is not, however, a particularized attribute like the wisdom of God but an attribute of the total nature of God, virtually an attribute of the attributes. Jacob says that “it is a kind of totality of qualities which make up his divine power.” God is glorious in his entire being. He is a being of such perfection and beauty that the word glory (kabod) serves as a synonym for God himself…29
Ramm’s elevation of the attribute of the glory of God has caused some to call for caution. Graham Cole’s recent work on glorification says that this take is an “exaggeration” that “lacks nuance,” and yet he goes on to separate glory from other attributes, identifying it as “a descriptor that summarizes the attributes of God.”30 Chris Morgan affirms a similar sentiment on God’s intrinsic glory being “broader than one single attribute. It corresponds to his very being and sometimes functions as a summation of his attributes.”31 Finally, Mark Jones sets forth this take of God’s glory, “...God’s essential glory represents the sum of his attributes, which together make him the “God of glory” (Acts 7:2).”32
That’s Interesting, So What?
“When we approach God on his terms, we can avoid both of these extremes and promote worshipful, edifying, soul-strengthening faith in him.”
History can be helpful and instructive to the present if those studying it can retrieve or preserve whatever is good and true, but also learn to refine what is fuzzy and avoid what is wrong. There can be a temptation to swing the pendulum one of two ways when contemplating God: the sentimental, focused mainly on God’s love or mercy, or the stodgy scholarship that debates ad nauseam the intricacies of God’s simplicity. When we approach God on his terms, we can avoid both of these extremes and promote worshipful, edifying, soul-strengthening faith in him. Part 2 will look at the biblical depths of these attributes and how their confluence should influence our thoughts about God.
1Joel R. Beeke and Randall J. Pederson, Meet the Puritans: With a Guide to Modern Reprints (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2006), 144–45.
2Stephen Charnock, The Existence and Attributes of God: Volume 2 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022), 112–13.
3John Howe, The Blessedness of the Righteous: In Two Treatises on Psalm 17:15 and Psalm 89:47, 72, accessed October 29, 2025, https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/howe/The%20Blessedness%20of%20the%20Righteou%20-%20John%20Howe.pdf.
4William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armor: Volume 1 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1990), 414.
5The works of both Beeke and Johnson have a feast of quotes from other Puritans with similar views on the holiness of God. See also Edward Leigh, A Treatise of Divinity, vol. 2 (London, 1654), 103. His first reflection on God’s holiness is that it “…is the foundation of all his other excellencies….”
6John Burk, A Memoir of the Life and Writing of John Bengel, trans. R. F. Walker (Arkose Publishing, 2015), 7. Burk added that Bengel “adduced quotations from the most eminent divines of every period, to show that it was no new opinion” (italics added).
7A. A. Hodge, Outlines of Theology: Rewritten and Enlarged (Hatchett: Hodder & Stoughton, 1878), 163.
8Walther Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament, Volume 1, The Old Testament Library, trans. J. A. Baker (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1961), 270.
9Eugene Merrill, Everlasting: A Theology of Old Testament Dominion (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2006), 56. See also John E. Hartley, who refers to holiness as the quintessential “character” and “nature” of God, making it “the center of divine motivation” in J. E. Hartley, “Holy and Holiness, Clean and Unclean,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, eds. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 420.
10Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Toward Old Testament Ethics (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1983), 140. Similarly, Timothy M. Pierce notes, “There are many attributes of God’s personhood that one could focus on. None of them, however, rises to the level of significance as His holiness… In short, more than just an attribute, holiness is what makes God who he is and is also the result of His being God. It is the essence of His being and the element through which we must interpret all other attributes.” Timothy M. Pierce, Enthroned on Our Praise: An Old Testament Theology of Worship, NAC Studies in Bible and Theology, ed. E. Ray Clendenen (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2008), 44–45.
11Kaiser, Toward Old Testament Ethics, 141.
12Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, New Combined Edition (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996), 72.
13J. I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 1993), 49.
14Terry L. Johnson, The Identity and Attributes of God (East Peoria, IL: Versa Press, 2019), 143.
15R. C. Sproul, The Holiness of God, 2nd ed. (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2006).
16John Webster, Holiness (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003), ch. 2, sec. IV.
17Webster, Holiness, ch. 2, sec. IV.
18Gerald Bray, The Attributes of God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 128.
19Richard A. Muller, Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics: The Rise and Development of Reformed Orthodoxy, ca. 1520 to 1725 (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003).
20Edward Leigh, A Treatise of Divinity (London, 1654), 110, Google Books.
21Leigh, A Treatise of Divinity, 111.
22Leigh, A Treatise of Divinity, 112.
23Brandon Crawford, “Jonathan Edwards: Theologian of the God’s Glory in Christ,” Puritan Reformed Journal 7, no. 1 (2015): 120–42.
24John Piper, God’s Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1998), 231–34, 241–44.
25Crawford, “Jonathan Edwards,” 120–42.
26John H. Gerstner, The Rational Biblical Theology of Jonathan Edwards (Logos Bible Software).
27Crawford, “Jonathan Edwards,” 120–42.
28Donald G. Bloesch, God the Almighty: Power, Wisdom, Holiness, Love, Christian Foundations (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995), 127.
29Bernard Ramm, Them He Glorified: A Systematic Study of the Doctrine of Glorification (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1963), 18.
30Graham A. Cole, Glorification: An Introduction, Short Studies in Systematic Theology, eds. Graham A. Cole and Oren R. Martin (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022), 37–38.
31Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, The Glory of God and Paul: Texts, Themes, and Theology, New Studies in Biblical Theology, ed. D. A. Carson (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2022), 13.
32Mark Jones, God Is: A Devotional Guide to the Attributes of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 103.
Professor Mike Elliott
Professor of Theology
B.A., Liberty University
M.Div., Th.M., The Master’s Seminary
Professor Elliott grew up in a pastor’s home where he was taught the word of God and the importance of the church. During his sophomore year of college, he felt the call to ministry and has pursued the pastorate ever since. Professor Elliott graduated with a biblical studies degree from Liberty University (2005), and he received his Master of Divinity (2009) and Master of Theology (2011) degrees from The Master’s Seminary. Professor Elliott served as a staff pastor at Compass Bible Church, Aliso Viejo, for five years, and he has served as the senior pastor of Compass Bible Church, Tustin, since its founding in 2016.
Professor Elliott is married to Andrea, and they have five sons: Miles, Trenton, Wesley, Hudson, and Knox.
