 |
GIRS syllabus index: Survey Studies in Reformed Theology Theology Proper index: Theology Proper |
|---|
Theology Proper - Lesson 2
The Revealed Nature of God
by Pastor Bob Burridge ©1997
The Bible must be our only authoritative source of information about God. We are not at liberty to draw information about him from our own imaginations or from sources that are not specially revelatory. Our attempt to define God is limited to our study of his self-revelation as preserved only in the objective record of inspired Scripture.
The Unity of God
God, as revealed in Scripture is one. There can be only one Creator of
all things and one Absolute standard of all that is right and true. The
creed of Israel is stated in Deuteronomy 6:4.
Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear O Israel, Yahveh our God, is one Yahveh"
(Shma` Yisrael, Adonai Elohaenu, Adonai akhad)
The unity of God in substance, purpose, power and glory also demands that he is indivisible. To segment God as to his attributes or nature would leave some of him being less than the biblical definition of God. The concept of God leaves no room for multiple beings of separate essences all laying claim to be the one absolute, ultimate God, the source of everything else. We will see this more in our study of the Trinity and the decrees of creation and providence.
For example the idea that there is but one Creator is clearly stated in Scripture.
John 1:3 "all things came into being through him; and apart from him nothing came into being that has come into being."The Attributes of GodColossians 1:16 "In him all things were created..."
Ephesians 3:9 "... God, who created all things..."
Westminster Shorter Catechism defines God as to his nature and attributes in question number four. It asks, "What is God?" The answer is:
God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.
God is the origin of, not a part of, the material universe. Therefore his essence must be that which is non-physical, or what we understand as "spirit."
The attributes summarized in SC-4 fall into two categories. They show some attributes which are "incommunicable." These are not shared with any creature. They are unique to the Creator. These are his infinitude, eternality and immutability. He is "infinite, eternal and unchangeable."
The remaining attributes are "communicable." The creator has built them into humans making them in his image. Though we share them with God they are in him infinite, eternal and unchangeable. In us they are finite, temporal and changeable. While they are perfections in God, they are, in us, imperfections. The communicable attributes are: "being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth."
To each of the communicable attributes we attach the three incommunicable qualities. God's being is infinite, eternal and unchangeable. This means that he has the quality of "immensity" meaning that he, in his entirety, fills all space all the time. His being has had no beginning and will have no end. His being is never modified in any way. Similarly the three incommunicable qualities extend to the other communicable attributes.
Since we possess these qualities imperfectly, and as projections into the created realm, we should not imagine them to be the same qualitatively as those which they represent in the Creator. They are in us like the reflections in a mirror of some real-world object. While they are not the same as the original, they bear a correspondence with it. In this case the correspondence fulfills the purpose of the Creator in making us in his image. They make his revelation understandable to the degree God desired it.
The Independence of God
God created all things for his own purposes. Therefore, since he is
before all things, and he remains the same before and after creation, he
can depend upon nothing outside of himself.
Revelation 4:11"Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created."Exodus 3:14 "And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."'"
Acts 17:25 "...as if he needed anything, since he himself gives to all life and breath and all things:"
The Incomprehensibility of God
Since we are but finite and qualitatively less than God in knowledge and
understanding, we can never know him in the same way that he knows
himself. While we can know what he tells us about himself to the degree
that we are designed to know him, we can never know him comprehensively.
The divine knowledge is ... Psalm 139:6 "too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it."
The Sovereignty of God
One of the most pervasive teachings of Scripture is the absolute
sovereignty of God. As Creator and Upholder of all that is he is Lord
over all.
Psalm 135:6 "Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas, and in all deeps."God's Sovereignty is not a "Calvinistic" doctrine. It is fundamental to all truly Christian systems. If it is rejected the nature of the God of Scripture is rejected as well. Many who inconsistently try to redefine God's sovereignty introduce ideas which also deny his independence or immutability.
The Purpose of God in Creation
The greatest good and purpose of all creation is that all things should
promote the glory of God.
1 Peter 4:11 "...that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen"The first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, "What is the chief end of man?" It answers, "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever."Colossians 1:16 "...all things have been created through Him and for Him"
Questions for Review and Thought
- Why must we accept the idea that God is but one being?
- What are the incommunicable attributes of God?
- Why are these attributes considered incommunicable.
- What are the communicable attributes of God?
- In what way do humans possess the communicable attributes?
- Why do we understand God to be the only independent being?
- If God is incomprehensible, why can we not say he is unknowable?
- How does the denial of God's absolute sovereignty also endanger our acceptance of the incommunicable attributes of God?