Philosophers call these universal qualities the transcendentals: Unity, Truth, Goodness, Beauty, and sometimes Love. Everything that exists carries at least a trace of them, a hint pointing beyond itself.
- Unity: Every being is one whole.
- Truth: Each thing is what it is, regardless of how we describe it.
- Goodness: To exist at all is already a kind of goodness.
- Beauty: Anything ordered and proportionate has some measure of beauty.
- Love: Across creation, we see patterns of giving, receiving, and shared life.
If these belong to everything, then God, the fullness of existence, is their perfect expression. And in Him they aren’t separate qualities but one reality: Perfect Goodness is Perfect Truth is Perfect Beauty is Perfect Love.
This sheds light on some familiar questions. God isn’t a material being because matter has parts, and what is perfectly one can’t be divided. He exists outside time because time measures change, and perfect being doesn’t change. Even puzzles like, “can God make a rock so big He can’t lift it?” fall apart once we stop imagining Him as a super-powered creature within the universe.
It also clarifies evil: it isn’t a “thing” God made, but a distortion or absence of good, like fire used destructively instead of to warm or illuminate.
And at the heart of it all is this: if God is Love itself, then He is personal, relational, and seeks connection. Christians believe God took on a human face so we could see and touch what Love looks like. To understand what God is like, the best place to look is Jesus.
Discussion questions
When someone tells you their name, something happens between you and them. What does it mean for us when God reveals his name, “I am who am”?
Which of the transcendentals makes the most sense to you? Can you explain how it helps you understand who God is?
If God is all good, all powerful, and all knowing, why does He let evil happen and suffering exist?
How does God help us enter into a relationship with Him when He is not material, but we are?
