Who Is God? Understanding His Attributes and Why They Matter Part 6

Part 6: God Is Good

Among all the things we say about God, none is more common than this: God is good. We hear it in prayer, we see it on bumper stickers, and we affirm it in times of joy or trial. But what does it really mean? And how do we know it's true?

In this part of the series, we explore how God’s goodness flows from everything we’ve seen so far—His being, simplicity, wisdom, and power—and why understanding what “good” truly means changes how we see everything.

What Is Goodness?

In classical philosophy and Christian theology, goodness is not just a feeling or label. It is closely tied to being. A thing is good insofar as it exists and fulfills the purpose for which it was made. Evil is not its own substance or force. It is a lack—a deficiency in something that should be whole.

For example, blindness is not a thing in itself, but the absence of sight where sight belongs. A lie is a failure of speech to correspond to truth. A vicious act is a failure of the will to direct itself toward what is truly good.

Goodness, then, is the full expression of being as it ought to be.

Augustine’s Threefold Definition of Goodness

St. Augustine identifies three primary aspects of goodness: measure, form, and order. Each of these gives us a different way of understanding what it means for something to be good.

1. Measure (modus)

This refers to the greatness or fullness of a thing’s being. A lion has more measure than a worm, and a human being has more than a rock. The more power, capacity, or actuality a thing has, the more being it expresses—and therefore the greater its measure. However, measure alone does not make something morally good. A powerful tyrant has great measure, but not moral worth.

2. Form (species)

This refers to how well a thing fulfills the goal or nature it was made for. A pencil that writes is better than one that is broken. A healthy body is better than a diseased one. In rational beings—humans and angels—form includes moral goodness. A virtuous person is good not because they are powerful or productive, but because their will is rightly ordered toward their true end. A vicious person, even with gifts or strength, fails in this most important sense.

3. Order (ordo)

This refers to how things are arranged in relation to one another. A solar system has order. A symphony has order. This type of goodness is not moral and does not require personal virtue or intention. It reflects fittingness and harmony within a larger structure. Even things that are themselves evil can, by God’s providence, become part of an ordered whole.

Each of these kinds of goodness—measure, form, and order—can be found in creation. But only form, and specifically in rational beings, includes the possibility of moral goodness.

Why God Must Be Good

Given all that we’ve said about God—His fullness of being, His simplicity, His wisdom, and His will—it follows necessarily that God is good in the highest possible sense.

• God has perfect measure, because He is the fullness of being itself. There is nothing lacking in Him.

• God has perfect form, because He is what He ought to be, always and without fail. There is no gap between who He is and what He should be.

• God is the source of perfect order, both within Himself and in all that He creates. All beauty, harmony, and design flow from His eternal wisdom.

And because God is not merely a force or idea, but a personal being, His goodness is also moral. He wills only what is right. His actions are never arbitrary or capricious. He cannot do evil—not because of weakness, but because of perfection.

God is not good by comparison. He is good by nature. He is not measured against a standard outside Himself. He is the standard.

Why It Matters

If God is good, then the world is not built on chaos or indifference. It is grounded in meaning, purpose, and love.

This changes how we see everything:

• Creation is a gift, not an accident. To exist is good. The world was made, and it was made good.

• Morality is real, because goodness is not a matter of opinion. Right and wrong are grounded in the eternal nature of God Himself.

• Suffering is not the final word. Evil is a distortion, a lack—not a rival to God’s power. And through His goodness, God can bring restoration and grace from even the deepest wounds.

  
  

God’s Goodness Is Personal

God is not only good in theory. He is good to us.

Scripture is filled with testimonies to His goodness:

• He feeds the hungry

• He defends the weak

• He forgives sinners

• He heals the brokenhearted

• He gives His own Son to bring us home

This is not kindness added on to His power. It is the expression of who He is. As Psalm 100 says, “The Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever.”

To say that God is good is not to say something shallow. It is to say that everything He is and everything He does flows from the fullness of perfect being. His goodness is deep, personal, and trustworthy.

Next Time: Why God’s Attributes Aren’t Just Theories

In the final part of this series, we’ll reflect on how all of these truths come together—and why understanding them is not just an intellectual exercise, but a foundation for worship, trust, and joy.