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).

 

[Lamb]

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).

Set apart because it's of God. God is Holy and blameless, faultless, unblemished and that makes Him good.

 

[Lucian]

and that makes Him good

But first we must come to an agreement on what good is. What is the ontological meaning of good? Is good something that God decides or does good exist independently of God, as an intrinsic aspect of reality?

 

[jswauto]

Let's Examine the Bible: What does it say?​

Goodness is the expression of God’s own nature.​

God commands the good because He Himself is good, and His nature is the standard by which goodness is defined.​

1. God IS good — goodness is His nature, not His choices.​

Psalm 119:68​

“You are good and do good.”

This is the clearest verse in the entire Bible on the topic.
It does not say: “Whatever You do becomes good.”
It says: “You ARE good — therefore You DO good.”
Goodness flows from His nature, not His commands.
This destroys the “arbitrary morality” horn of the dilemma.

2. God cannot do evil — not because He chooses not to, but because His nature forbids it.​

James 1:13​

“God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.”

This is ontological. It’s about what God IS, not what He decides.
God cannot do evil because evil is incompatible with His being.
This destroys the “God could command cruelty” horn.

3. God’s nature defines goodness — goodness does not exist outside Him.​

Psalm 25:8​

“Good and upright is the Lord.”

Goodness is not a rulebook God follows. Goodness is God Himself.
This destroys the “good exists independently of God” horn.

4. God’s commands flow from His nature — not from external moral laws.​

Psalm 19:7​

“The law of the Lord is perfect.”

Why is the law perfect?
Because it flows from a perfect Lawgiver.
Commands are good because they express His nature, not because He arbitrarily declares them.

5. God’s nature is the standard of goodness — not His commands.​

1 John 1:5​

“God is light; in Him is no darkness at all.”

Light = goodness Darkness = evil
This is not about commands. This is about being.
Goodness is not something God “decides.” Goodness is something God is.

6. God’s holiness includes moral perfection — not just separateness.​

If you try to argue “holy = set apart,” Look, Scripture expands holiness far beyond that.

Leviticus 11:44​

“Be holy, for I am holy.”

Holiness here includes:

• purity
• moral perfection
• righteousness
• goodness

Holiness is not just separateness — it is moral transcendence.

7. God’s nature is the source of moral truth.​

John 14:6​

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Truth is not external. Truth is not arbitrary. Truth is not invented.
Truth is God Himself.
Goodness and truth share the same ontological root.

8. God’s character is the definition of goodness.​

Exodus 34:6​

“The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.”

Goodness is not a rule. Goodness is God’s character.

9. God’s goodness existed before creation — proving it is not based on commands.​

Psalm 136:1​

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.”

God was good before He commanded anything. Before creation. Before moral laws. Before humans existed.
Goodness is eternal because God is eternal.

10. God’s goodness is the foundation of His commands — not the other way around.​

Micah 6:8​

“He has shown you, O man, what is good.”

God doesn’t invent goodness. He reveals it.
Because goodness is Him.

THE EUTHYPHRO DILEMMA — EXPLAINED​

1. Where it comes from​

The dilemma comes from Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro, where Socrates asks:

Is something good because the gods command it? Or do the gods command it because it is good?

This creates a trap with two bad options.

2. The Two Horns (the trap)​

Horn 1: Good is whatever God commands​

This makes morality arbitrary. If God commanded cruelty, cruelty would be “good.” This destroys the meaning of God’s goodness.

Horn 2: God commands what is already good​

This makes goodness independent of God. God becomes a messenger of moral truths He didn’t create. This destroys God’s sovereignty.
Plato designed this dilemma to trap polytheists — but skeptics still use it today against Christians.

3. The Christian Answer​

The Bible and classical Christian theology reject both horns.
The answer is:

**Goodness is not whatever God commands.​

Goodness is not something outside God. Goodness is what God IS.**
Goodness is God’s nature, not His decisions and not an external standard.
It's “nature-grounded.”

4. Why this collapses the dilemma​

Because the dilemma assumes:

• God is separate from goodness
• God chooses goodness
• goodness exists independently
• goodness is a rulebook
• goodness is a category God fits into

But Scripture teaches:

God is goodness.​

God is righteousness.​

God is love.​

God is light.​

God is truth.​

Goodness is not a rule God follows. Goodness is not a rule God invents. Goodness is God’s own nature expressed.
So the dilemma fails because it misunderstands God.

 

[Lucian]

We're finally getting somewhere. If goodness is fundamentally identical to God's nature, the statement "God is good" merely means "God is like God" or "God possesses God's own characteristics".

If "good" is defined by whatever God's nature happens to be, then saying "God is good" offers no informative description of His character. It is a circular definition.

If goodness is just a reflection of God's nature, praising God for being "good" is hollow. You are essentially praising Him for matching His own template.

This merely pushes the problem back a step. If God's nature happened to favor cruelty (and we have clear examples in the Bible that it does sometimes favor cruelty), then cruelty would, by definition, be "good". Asserting that God's nature is inherently loving or just assumes a priori, independent understanding of what "loving" and "just" mean.

Is it goodness to have eternal torture as a consequence for disagreement with God's views? If you're going to answer yes, then we need to answer why the moral compas of most humans find this immoral and not good. Curiously, even the conscience of some of the holiest of God followers throughout history have found the idea of eternal hell immoral and evil, therefore developing the doctrines of universal reconciliation and annihilationism.

 

[Frankj]

We're finally getting somewhere. If goodness is fundamentally identical to God's nature, the statement "God is good" merely means "God is like God" or "God possesses God's own characteristics".

If "good" is defined by whatever God's nature happens to be, then saying "God is good" offers no informative description of His character. It is a circular definition.

If goodness is just a reflection of God's nature, praising God for being "good" is hollow. You are essentially praising Him for matching His own template.

This merely pushes the problem back a step. If God's nature happened to favor cruelty (and we have clear examples in the Bible that it does sometimes favor cruelty), then cruelty would, by definition, be "good". Asserting that God's nature is inherently loving or just assumes a prior, independent understanding of what "loving" and "just" mean.

Is it goodness to have eternal torture as a consequence for disagreement with God's views? If you're going to answer yes, then we need to answer why the moral compas of most humans find this immoral and not good. Curiously, even the conscience of some of the holiest of God followers throughout history have found the idea of eternal hell immoral and evil, therefore developing the doctrines of universal reconciliation and annihilationism.

Lucian, don't let the simple definition of words prevent you from understanding their meaning.

If you haven't studied Wittgenstein's latter work Philosophical Investigations you might find some value in doing so, it may give you a new direction to pursue for an understanding of the questions you pose.

A point to remember: Ethics and morality are different things, one derived from the thinking of men and the other derived from a higher source that establishes it.

FWIW, what would you say 'good' means?