Systematic Theology Part Dec 09

Transcription

1 Systematic Theology Part 28 (Sec. 3: Theology Proper) 6 Dec 09 Previous sessions are available online at:

2 Music: Concerto Grosso fatto per la notte Natale (Op. 8, No. 2, Adagio) by Arcangelo Corelli from the album Ein Weihnachtskonzert (A Christmas Concert) (Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan)

3 Systematic Theology Part 28 (Sec. 3: Theology Proper) 6 Dec 09 Previous sessions are available online at:

4 The Incommunicable Attributes of God

5 The Incommunicable Attributes of God 1. Aseity / Independence

6 The Incommunicable Attributes of God 1. Aseity / Independence 2. Immutability

7 The Incommunicable Attributes of God 1. Aseity / Independence 2. Immutability 3. Eternity

8 The Incommunicable Attributes of God 1. Aseity / Independence 2. Immutability 3. Eternity 4. Omnipresence

9 The Incommunicable Attributes of God 1. Aseity / Independence 2. Immutability 3. Eternity 4. Omnipresence 5. Unity / Simplicity

10 3. Eternity (Definition)

11 3. Eternity (Definition) God has no beginning, end, or succession of moments in his own being, and he sees all time equally vividly; still, God sees events in time and acts in time. This doctrine is sometimes called infinity with respect to time.

12 3. Eternity (Scriptural Basis)

13 3. Eternity (Scriptural Basis) Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God (Psa. 90:2).

14 3. Eternity (Scriptural Basis) I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty (Rev. 1:8).

15 3. Eternity (Implications)

16 3. Eternity (Implications) 1. God s own being does not have a succession of moments or any progress from one state of existence to another.

17 3. Eternity (Implications)

18 3. Eternity (Implications) 2. God sees all time equally vividly.

19 3. Eternity (Implications) 2. God sees all time equally vividly. For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night (Psa. 90:4).

20 3. Eternity (Implications) 2. God sees all time equally vividly.

21 3. Eternity (Implications) 2. God sees all time equally vividly. With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Pet. 3:8).

22 3. Eternity (Implications) 3. God sees events in time and acts in time.

23 3. Eternity (Implications) 3. God sees events in time and acts in time. When the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law (Gal. 4:4-5).

24 3. Eternity (Implications) 3. God sees events in time and acts in time.

25 3. Eternity (Implications) 3. God sees events in time and acts in time. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed (Acts 17:30-31).

26 3. Eternity (Implications) 4. Since humanity is finite, we will always be temporal creatures.

27 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations (Rev. 22:1,2).

28 The Incommunicable Attributes of God 1. Aseity / Independence 2. Immutability 3. Eternity 4. Omnipresence 5. Unity / Simplicity

29 The Incommunicable Attributes of God 4. Omnipresence (Definition)

30 The Incommunicable Attributes of God 4. Omnipresence (Definition) God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places.

31 The Incommunicable Attributes of God 4. Omnipresence (Scriptural support) Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it (Deut. 10:14).

32 The Incommunicable Attributes of God 4. Omnipresence (Scriptural support) Am I a God at hand, says the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord (Jer. 23:23 24).

33 Whither shall I go from your Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me (Ps. 139:7 10)

34 The Incommunicable Attributes of God 4. Omnipresence (Implications)

35 The Incommunicable Attributes of God 4. Omnipresence (Implications) God cannot be contained within spatial dimensions. He is no prisoner within the limits that He Himself has created.

36 The Incommunicable Attributes of God 4. Omnipresence (Implications) But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built! (1 Kings 8:27).