‘In the Bible there are three main ways that characteristics about God are communicated:
1. Statements God makes about himself
2. Statements the Bible makes about God
3. Statements that are quotes by third parties
The natural inclination should be to value those methods in that order.
When God describes Himself, we should take special note of what He is trying to communicate. When the Bible talks about God, it might be communicating a generality or a rule of thumb. When other people talk about God, they might be flat out wrong (such as Job’s friends). What should matter most is how God portrays Himself.
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source: Christopher Fisher, “The Hierarchy of Understanding God” (realityisnotoptional).
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