Is wrath an attribute of God?
1. “Wrath is the disposition of God arising from his holiness that constitutes his necessary and inevitable reaction to sin.”
God’s wrath should not be understood as uncontrolled anger or irritation but as the settled, righteous opposition of a holy God toward all that is evil. Because God is perfectly holy, He cannot ignore or tolerate sin—it contradicts His very nature. Wrath, therefore, is not optional but inevitable; it is the moral necessity of a God whose holiness demands justice. For instance, in Habakkuk 1:13, the prophet acknowledges that God is “of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong.” Thus, wrath flows naturally from holiness as the divine response to sin’s corruption and rebellion.
2. “It cannot be said, however, that ‘God is wrath’ (in the sense of an attribute), because in the absence of sin, God exhibits no wrath.”
Wrath is not an eternal quality of God’s being, unlike love, holiness, or omniscience. Before sin entered creation, there was no need for God to express wrath, and in the eternal future—when sin is fully judged and removed—God’s wrath will no longer be manifested. Wrath is, therefore, reactive rather than intrinsic. To say “God is wrath” would be a distortion, for wrath is not essential to His character but rather His response to evil. In contrast, the Bible declares, “God is love” (1 John 4:8), because love is eternal and essential to His very being.
3. “The same cannot be true of love, mercy, etc., because even in the most violent expression of divine wrath, God’s attributes are always present.”
Unlike wrath, God’s love, mercy, grace, and justice are intrinsic to His nature and never absent. Even when executing judgment, God’s love and mercy are at work. For example, in the flood narrative (Genesis 6–9), God’s wrath brings judgment on widespread wickedness, but His mercy preserves Noah and his family, ensuring humanity’s survival. At the cross of Christ, we see the most profound display of this tension: divine wrath against sin is poured out, yet simultaneously, God’s love and mercy shine most brightly in offering salvation. Wrath never negates God’s other attributes; rather, it reveals them in harmony, demonstrating that His justice and love are inseparably linked.
Stand Firm! 