The Attributes of God: Simplicity

This attribute has a confusing name. The simplicity of God does not mean God is easy to understand - the next poster in this series says almost the opposite.
It means God is not made of constituent parts. His nature is not the result of assembling elements together. He is not partly powerful over here and partly all-knowing over there, with the pieces combining to make God. Put positively: everything God is, he is fully, and all at once.
Why this matters practically. If God were assembled from parts, then something would have had to do the assembling, and those parts would be more basic than God himself. You would always be able to ask what he is made of. Scripture never lets that question start, because there is nothing underneath him.
It also means you cannot play his attributes off against each other - as though his mercy were one component competing with his justice. They are not pieces. They are all simply him.
Scripture links:
- Deuteronomy 6:4 - the LORD our God, the LORD is one.
- James 1:17 - with him there is no variation or shadow due to change.
- Exodus 3:14 - the name God gives is a statement about simply being.
Not a combination of qualities. One undivided God.