Does God Have Emotions?

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Many Bible passages portray God as expressing emotions of many different kinds.

God Expresses Emotion

Jeremiah 31:3 Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.

Psalm 5:4-5 O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked. Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence, for you hate all who do evil.

Psalm 37:12-13 The wicked plot against the godly; they snarl at them in defiance. But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming.

Judges 2:18 For the Lord took pity on his people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering.

Psalm 78:40 Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved his heart in that dry wasteland.

Deuteronomy 9:22 You also made the Lord angry at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth-hattaavah.

Zephaniah 3:17 For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

God’s Emotions Are Central to His Personhood

God is not merely a projection of human attributes, like the ancient pagan gods. The Bible often speaks of God in human terms, but this is to help us understand him in ways familiar to us. They are not always meant to be taken literally. So when the Bible describes God’s emotions, should we take this literally or it is merely figurative language?

God is a living person, not an impersonal force. Personhood is generally understood in terms of three qualities: the ability to think, to choose, and to feel. If that is accurate, then emotions are a central element of God’s personhood and are necessary for him. God made human beings in his image. We reflect essential qualities of God in a finite form. Since we express emotions, and the Bible shows God expressing emotions, it makes sense that God’s emotions are as real as ours. As the ultimate representative of true personhood, God is the source of emotions. At the center of the universe is a being who thinks, chooses, and feels.

God’s Emotions Are Not Just Like Ours

First, God’s emotions are never tainted by sin. Our sinful nature leads us to rash and extremes expressions of emotion. But since God has no sin, his emotions cannot be corrupt in any way. Second, God’s emotions can never lead to sin. Humans will allow emotions to cloud our judgment and to affect our actions in many sinful ways. Consider human anger versus divine anger. Human anger is usually self-centered, volatile, and often out of control. God’s anger is rooted in his perfect justice. It is always righteous and never malicious. Since God’s emotions are rooted in his holy nature, God’s compassion, sorrow, joy, love, and anger are all perfect expressions of his perfect deity.

God Is Unchanging

The Bible tells us that God does not change (Malachi 3:6). Some people have understood this to mean that God cannot have emotions. But God is not some stone-cold, stoic being. He does express feelings, but not haphazardly, like humans do. God does not have mood swings! His love doesn’t change. His anger and mercy don’t change. God always hates evil and always rejoices over his people. He is all these things in unwavering fullness. God’s emotions are not swayed by outside forces or circumstances. God does not run hot and cold in his love for his people. Because God’s emotions continually flow from his perfection, God will never have a bad day. He will never change his feelings toward his people.