Exploring the Attributes of God with Logos: Practical Steps from Dr. John Fallahee’s Webinar

Introduction: Why Study God’s Attributes?

Dr. John Fallahee’s Logos webinar "The Attributes of God: A Logos Deep Dive" begins with a clear purpose: to equip users with practical tools for studying the doctrine of God using Logos Bible Software. The training emphasizes that understanding God’s attributes is not just academic—it shapes how we live. As Jeremiah 9:23‑24 reminds us, true wisdom lies in knowing the living God, not in earthly achievements. This insight sets the tone for the entire session, encouraging students to center their study on God’s character rather than personal ambition.

Two Categories of Divine Attributes

The webinar organizes God’s attributes into two groups. First, incommunicable attributes—such as eternality—are unique to God; they have no beginning or end and cannot be fully shared by created beings. Second, communicable attributes—like love or wisdom—are reflections of God’s nature that we can embody to varying degrees because we are made in His image (Genesis 1). While we cannot achieve perfect love, we can pursue these qualities as a response to God’s grace, always recognizing our limitations due to sin.

Setting Up Your Logos Study System

Dr. Fallahee walks through a step-by-step workflow for organizing notes and verses. He starts by creating a Notebook titled "Attributes of God (Webinar)" through Tools → Notes → Notebook icon → “+”. Naming it clearly helps with alphabetical sorting and quick access via the search box. Next, he creates individual Notes for each attribute—using ALL CAPS and bold formatting for titles like HOLY or LOVE. This visual structure makes headings stand out and keeps each attribute on its own page.

When adding verses, he types a reference (e.g., Exodus 15:11), and Logos automatically links the passage. He notes that you can skip typing the full verse; pressing Enter lets Logos retrieve it. For gathering multiple verses, he uses Passage Lists via Documents → New → Passage List. This feature extracts verses en masse, which he then cleans by sorting and removing duplicates to maintain a tidy list. The Passage List can be embedded directly into a note, with a chain‑link icon allowing instant navigation back to the list.

Using Collections and Refined Searches

To avoid information overload, the webinar stresses the value of specialized collections. Users type "collect" in the search bar and choose "Collections" from the menu. Downloadable collections such as "07 Theology All" must be opened manually, but they provide focused resources. In the training, four collections—Theological Background, Theological Dictionaries, Theological Journals, and Historical Theology—are dragged into the main interface, while Theological Background is removed to keep the workspace uncluttered.

Refined searches are another key skill. By combining terms with or (e.g., "attributes of God" or "omniscience") or using quotes for exact phrases like "all-knowing," students can capture both academic and popular language. Adding the word near further narrows results—for instance, "omniscience near Psalms" limits matches to Psalms, reducing the output from hundreds to just eight verses. Dr. Fallahee advises starting with smaller, targeted collections before expanding to the full library, saving time and computational resources.

Leveraging the Bible Browser and Fact Book

The Bible Browser (Tools > Bible Browser) is highlighted for discovering thematic tags related to attributes. Typing "omniscience" reveals categorized results such as "promises" (3 verses) and "preaching themes" (over 2,000 verses). When combined with other tags like "Israelites," the Browser uncovers connections, such as God’s self‑revelation in Isaiah 48:6. This tool helps users see how attributes appear in narrative contexts, not just isolated verses.

The Fact Book (the book with a checkmark icon) serves a similar purpose for theological themes. Clicking "show all" populates a list of related tags—"God’s wrath," "God’s grace," "God’s truth"—and a refined search for "God’s attributes theological theme" auto‑generates precise library tags. This eliminates manual tag entry and ensures comprehensive results, especially when exploring indirect references like God’s creative power in Genesis 1:26.

Highlighting and Labels for Tagging

One of the most practical tools introduced is the highlighting feature with custom labels. Dr. Fallahee creates a palette named "Attributes of God" and defines a style with magenta text, a matching capsule, and a label prompt for attributes like omniscience. When highlighting a passage such as Psalm 139:4 (*"Yahweh, you have searched me and known me"*), he selects the palette, chooses the appropriate label, and confirms. The tagged text becomes instantly searchable within the notebook, allowing quick retrieval of all verses marked with the same attribute.

To reinforce organization, he links the highlighted notes to a dedicated notebook. After tagging, he copies the location of the search (three dots > Copy Location) and pastes it into a note in the "Attributes of God" notebook. This creates a searchable index of all verses associated with a particular attribute, streamlining future study and sermon preparation.

Using the Logos AI Study Assistant

The webinar also showcases Logos’ AI Study Assistant, accessible from the main menu. A simple prompt like "What are the attributes of God?" returns a list of biblical terms—eternality, immutability, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, perfection, and glory—along with communicable traits such as mercy and grace. For deeper exploration, prompts such as "List key passages on God’s attribute of omniscience" generate verses like Psalm 139:1‑4 and Hebrews 4:13, while "Related topics to God’s attributes of omniscience" surfaces nuanced discussions on human freedom versus divine foreknowledge and theodicy.

Dr. Fallahee demonstrates how AI can generate an outline of God’s attributes in a Word document. After creating the .docx file (e.g., via ChatGPT), he imports it into Logos via Tools → Personal Book → Add Book. The resulting personal book is formatted with tables and structure, providing a ready‑to‑use study resource. He cautions that AI outputs should always be cross‑checked against trusted commentaries or original language texts to ensure theological accuracy.

Practical Tips and Warnings

Several cautions accompany these powerful tools. The sheer volume of information can feel overwhelming, but the notebook and Passage List system offers quick organization. Duplicates often appear after mass‑copying; the Sort function is essential to remove them and keep lists clean. New verses added to a Passage List appear at the bottom, so re‑ordering may be needed as the list expands. Regularly updating downloaded collections through Tools → Update/Revise ensures that resources stay current.

Dr. Fallahee also warns against overloading searches. Adding too many terms can dilute relevance, while strategic use of or and near maintains precision. By starting with focused collections and gradually broadening the scope, students can balance depth and efficiency. The combination of highlighting, labels, notebooks, Passage Lists, and AI assistance creates a robust framework for systematic, searchable study of God’s attributes.

Conclusion: Walking in God’s Glory Through Prayer

The webinar closes with a reminder that studying God’s attributes is ultimately meant to deepen our prayer life. As we learn to know God more fully through Scripture, our prayers become more informed and heartfelt. The next segment of the training will apply these organizational tools to the specific incommunicable and communicable attributes, helping believers walk in the reflection of God’s glory each day.