Is something good because God commands it or does God command it because it is good?

[Lucian]

Does God get to decide what is good, or does goodness exist an an intrinsic part of God that God has no control over and He merely commands good things because goodness itself decides that they are good?

 

[Lamb]

Does God get to decide what is good, or does goodness exist an an intrinsic part of God that God has no control over and He merely commands good things because goodness itself decides that they are good?

God is Holy, which makes Him good and the things He does as good.

 

[Frankj]

Does God get to decide what is good, or does goodness exist an an intrinsic part of God that God has no control over and He merely commands good things because goodness itself decides that they are good?

You ask a question that can't be answered.

Some things are simply beyond our designed ability to understand.

 

[Lucian]

God is Holy, which makes Him good and the things He does as good.

No. Holy merely means "set apart", not good. Something holy is something unique, not like others, separated in nature from the rest. It has nothing to do with goodness. This is the basic theological understanding. In the Old Testament, the word means separateness, sacredness, or being cut out for a specific use. An object, day, or person was "holy" simply because it belonged exclusively to God and was removed from common, everyday use (like temple dishes or the Sabbath).