CINXE.COM

<!doctype html> <html lang="en" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Article"> <head> <title>What does it mean that God is omnibenevolent? | GotQuestions.org</title> <META name="keywords" itemprop="keywords" content="God is omnibenevolent"><META name="description" itemprop="description" property="og:description" content="What does it mean that God is omnibenevolent? Why is understanding and believing in God’s omnibenevolence important?"> <meta charset="utf-8"><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, user-scalable=no"> <link rel="image_src" itemprop="image" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/GQlogo.png"><link rel="canonical" itemprop="url mainEntityOfPage" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/God-omnibenevolent.html"> <meta itemprop="author" content="GotQuestions.org"> <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2014-12-09"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/OG/God-omnibenevolent.jpg"> <meta property="og:site_name" content="GotQuestions.org"> <meta property="og:type" content="article"> <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.gotquestions.org/God-omnibenevolent.html"> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-M7EVHFDMSZ"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-M7EVHFDMSZ'); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css">  <script type="module" src="/components/header-element-unified.js"></script> <script type="module" src="/components/footer-element-unified.js" defer></script> <script src="/components/unified-script.js" defer></script> <link rel="preload" href="/components/unified-style.css" as="style"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/components/unified-style.css"> </head> <body data-site-theme="light"> <div class="fixed-button settings box-shadow"><img src="img/cogwheel.svg" alt="settings icon" onclick="settingsMenu(this)"></div> <div class="fixed-button sharebutton box-shadow"><img src="img/share.svg" alt="share icon" onclick="shareMenu(this)"></div> <header-element></header-element> <div id="modals"> <ul class="settings-menu modal-menu box-shadow"> <li> <div class="toggle-wrap"> <span>Light</span><input type="checkbox" checked id="toggle" class="checkbox" onclick="toggleTheme(this)" /><label for="toggle" class="switch"></label><span>Dark</span> </div> </li> <li><div id="bibleRefLinkSettings"><label for="bibleRefLinkVersion">Bible Version</label><select id="bibleRefLinkVersion" name="bibleRefLinkVersion" onchange="changeVersion();BibleRefLink.brlSavePrefs();"><option value="ESV">ESV</option><option value="CSB">CSB</option><option value="KJV">KJV</option><option value="NASB">NASB</option><option value="NIV" selected="selected">NIV</option><option value="NKJV">NKJV</option><option value="NLT">NLT</option></select></div></li> <li><label for="font">Font Family</label><select name="font" id="font" onchange="changeFont()"><option value="system-ui">Default</option><option value="Arial">Arial</option><option value="Verdana">Verdana</option><option value="Helvetica">Helvetica</option><option value="Tahoma">Tahoma</option><option value="Georgia">Georgia</option><option value="Times New Roman">Times New Roman</option></select></li> <li><label for="lineheight">Line Height</label><select name="lineheight" id="lineheight" onchange="changeLineHeight()"><option value="1.4">Default</option><option value="1">1.0</option><option value="1.2">1.2</option><option value="1.5">1.5</option><option value="2">2</option></select></li> <li><label for="fontsize">Font Size</label><select name="fontsize" id="fontsize" onchange="changeFontSize()"><option value="1">Default</option><option value="1">1.0</option><option value="1.2">1.2</option><option value="1.5">1.5</option><option value="2">2</option></select></li> </ul> <ul class="final-menu modal-menu box-shadow"> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.gotquestions.org/" class="fb"><img src="img/logo-fb-simple.svg" alt="Facebook icon">Facebook</a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/share?url=https://www.gotquestions.org/" class="tw"><img src="img/logo-twitter.svg" alt="Twitter icon">Twitter</a></li> <li><a href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://www.gotquestions.org/" class="pi"><img src="img/logo-pinterest.svg" alt="Pinterest icon">Pinterest</a></li> <li><a class="SendEmail" href=""><img src="img/letter.svg" alt="Email icon">Email</a></li> <li class="mobile-show"><a class="SendSMS" href=""><img src="img/sms-icon.svg" alt="SMS icon">Text/SMS</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="featured gradient-to-tr" style="--color-start: var(--bgcolor-featured-start); --color-end: var(--bgcolor-featured-end)"> <div class="featured-left"> <h5>Find Out</h5> <h4><a href="going-to-heaven.html">How to go to heaven</a></h4> <h4><a href="get-right-with-God.html">How to get right with God</a></h4> </div> <div class="featured-right"> <div class="desktop-hide gq-YT"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/gotquestionsorg" target="_blank"><img src="img/GQ-YT.png"></a></div> </div> </div> <main><div class="breadcrumb-wrapper"> <span class="breadcrumb" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BreadcrumbList"><span itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ListItem"><a itemprop="item" href="https://www.gotquestions.org"><span itemprop="name"><span class="home-icon"></span>Home</span></a><meta itemprop="position" content="1"></span> <span class="chevron-right"></span> <span itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ListItem"><a itemprop="item" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/content.html"><span itemprop="name">Content Index</span></a><meta itemprop="position" content="2"></span> <span class="chevron-right"></span> <span itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ListItem"><a itemprop="item" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/content_God.html"><span itemprop="name">God</span></a><meta itemprop="position" content="3"></span> <span class="chevron-right"></span> <span itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ListItem"><a itemprop="item" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/content_God_character.html"><span itemprop="name">The Character of God</span></a><meta itemprop="position" content="4"></span> <span class="chevron-right"></span> God omnibenevolent</span></div> <section class="content-wrap gradient-to-b" style="--color-start: var(--bgcolor-content-start); --color-end: var(--bgcolor-content-end);" ><div class="content"> <div class="label gradient-to-tr" style="--color-start: #96445a; --color-end: #6f637e;">Question</div> <div class="sponsor-sidebar"><div class="desktop-show" align="center"><div class="adManager-placeholder"></div></div></div> <h1><span itemprop="name headline" property="og:title">What does it mean that God is omnibenevolent?</span></h1> <div class="actions-wrap"><div class="actions"> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="INTL/God-omnibenevolent.html" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'intl'});"><img src="img/translate-icon.svg" alt="translate"></a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://printer.gotquestions.net/GeneratePF?articleId=9877" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'print'});"><img src="img/print.svg" class="questionInteract" alt="God is omnibenevolent"></a> <span class="audio-icon"><img src="img/volume.svg" alt="audio" class="questionInteract"><audio controls preload="none" style="width:300px;height:25px"><source src="audio/God-omnibenevolent.mp3" type="audio/mpeg"></audio></span> </div></div> <div itemprop="articleBody"> <div class="label gradient-to-tr" style="--color-start: #29a699; --color-end: #749c5a;">Answer</div><br><br> The word <i>omnibenevolent</i> comes from the Latin word <i>omni</i>, meaning “all,” and the word <i>benevolent</i>, meaning “good” or “charitable.” When we say that God is omnibenevolent, we are saying that God is absolutely good and that no action or motive or thought or feeling or anything else about Him is not purely good. He is “all-good.” The Bible provides many testimonies of God’s goodness, including Jesus’ own, when He asserted that no one is truly good except God Himself (Mark 10:18). This can only mean that, although human beings can do good things, only God is omnibenevolent, or wholly good.<br><br> To believe in a perfect being, one must accept that God can be omnibenevolent. If God is completely self-sustaining, independent of need, the “un-caused cause” and “un-moved mover,” He must also be perfectly good. If God were simply a good and powerful being, but not <i>perfectly</i> good, there would be an element of contingency. That is, we could conceive of a being of potentially greater benevolence—and someone with greater goodness would be greater than God. Since the goodness of anything is measured by its perfection, God must be perfectly good in order to also be omniscient and omnipotent. All three aspects of His person must be in place for us to conceive of any one of the three.<br><br> The most common objection to the assertion that God is omnibenevolent, as well as omnipotent and omniscient, is the problem of evil. If God is all-knowing and all-powerful and perfectly good, <a href="God-allow-evil.html">why does evil exist</a>? Philosophers debate this question endlessly. Some solve the problem by saying that Lucifer’s and then, later, man’s free will was the cause of evil and that God was not involved in causing evil. One might then ask, “Why then did God create a being who could choose evil?” and the typical answer to that is “because He wanted beings who would be able to make choices”; i.e., He did not want robots.<br><br> Philosophically speaking, God’s omnibenevolence is a complicated issue. The problem of evil is a complex one. However, we do know that, for God to be God, He must be omnibenevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient. And, really, the issue comes down to believing the Bible, which presents God as always good (Psalm 106:1; 135:3; Nahum 1:7). His message to sinners, through Christ, is “good news” (Luke 2:10); His revelation of Christ is called the appearing of “the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior” (Titus 3:4, ESV). It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4), goodness is one of the results of His indwelling Spirit (Galatians 5:22), and He brings goodness to fruition in our lives through faith (2 Thessalonians 1:11).<br><br> </div> <section class="homepage-sponsor desktop-hide"> <div class="desktop-hide" align="center"><div class="adManager-placeholder-mobile"></div></div> </section> <div class="related resources"><h4>For Further Study</h4> <a target="_blank" rel="sponsored noopener" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'amazon'});" href="https://amzn.to/4j5eYRo">Knowing God by J.I. Packer</a><br><br> <a target="_blank" rel="sponsored noopener" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'logos'});" href="https://www.logos.com/?utm_campaign=logossubxlaunch-phase1&utm_source=gotquestions&utm_medium=advertising_display&utm_content=logossubxlaunch-phase1-gtlink">More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free!</a> </div> <div class="related topics"><h4>Related Articles</h4> <a href="goodness-of-God.html">How can I believe in the goodness of God when there is so much evil in the world?</a><br><br> <a href="God-omnipresent.html">What does it mean that God is omnipresent?</a><br><br> <a href="God-omnipotent.html">What does it mean that God is omnipotent?</a><br><br> <a href="God-omnificent.html">What does it mean that God is omnificent?</a><br><br> <a href="God-omniscient.html">What does it mean that God is omniscient?</a> </div> <center><strong class="return">Return to:<br><br> <a class="button-link box-shadow" href="questions_God.html">Questions about God</a><br><br> What does it mean that God is omnibenevolent?</strong></center> </div> </section> <section class="subscribe gradient-to-br" style="--color-start: #153c59; --color-end: #1b537c"> <div class="grid"> <div class="gradient-to-br box-shadow" style="--color-start: #2c6482; --color-end: #64547b"> <h5>Subscribe to the</h5> <h3>Question of the Week</h3> <p>Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox!</p> <iframe src="scommon/qotw.htm" title="question of the week" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%"></iframe> </div></div> </section> </main> <footer-element></footer-element> <center> <div itemprop="dateModified" content="2022-01-04">This page last updated: January 4, 2022</div></center> <script src="scripts-2025.js"></script> <div style="display: none;" itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"><meta itemprop="name" content="GotQuestions.org"><div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img src="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/GQlogo.png"><meta itemprop="url" content="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/GQlogo.png"><meta itemprop="width" content="400"><meta itemprop="height" content="79"> </div></div> </body> </html>