Foundations of the Faith: An Overview of Systematic Theology The Doctrine of God June 15, 2011 A. Introduction 1. The importance of studying the Doctrine of God a. The doctrine of God has immediate and practical implications for how we worship, what we preach, the content of our prayer life, and the way we live and act in the world. Timothy George b. Point: How we perceive God will determine everything we believe and teach 2. How much can we know about God? a. The Bible says that there is not much we can know, or will ever know about God 1.) God dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16) 2.) God s greatness no one can fathom (Psalm 145:3) 3.) His knowledge is too wonderful for us, too lofty for us to attain (Psalm 139:6) 4.) Isaiah asks, To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare Him to? (Isaiah 40:18) b. Point: God cannot be compared to anything or anyone outside of Himself. 3. Point: The only things that we can know about God are what He chooses to tell us about Himself, which He revealed to us through the Bible. B. God the Holy Trinity (One God: Three Persons) 1. Point: God has revealed Himself to us as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit 2. Genesis 1:1-3 - In the beginning God created and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters and God said, Let there be light a. God created The Father b. Spirit of God The Holy Spirit c. Said Jesus Christ is the eternal Word of God, through whom God made all that is. (John 1:1-3, Col. 1:15, 17) 3. Elohim is used in the plural sense, designating more than one person of God a. Gen. 1:26 - Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness 4. Isaiah 6:3 - Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory a. This shows the seraphim (angel) to acknowledge the thrice-holy character of God. 5. Matthew 28:19 - Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit 1
2 a. The Great Commission shows the three persons of the Godhead. 6. 2 Corinthians 13:14 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. a. This threefold formula appears in many different places in the New Testament C. God s Self-Description 1. In the first five books (Pentateuch) of the Old Testament, God reveals His nature and character by the names in which He gives Himself to be known. a. The Old Testament is filled with anthropomorphic images and analogies for God, which describes God (non-human) in terms that relate to humans. 1.) God is referred to as a shepherd, a physician, a bridegroom, a father, a friend, etc. 2.) God is described to have eyes, ears, a nose, a mouth, and hands. 3.) God is compared to various animals: the lion, the eagle, the lamb. 4.) God is described as physical objects: a rock, a tower, a shield, and a shadow. 5.) Point: Even though God s nature is described by comparing Him to some of these realities, it would be a great mistake to assume that God is equivalent to these. (Idolatry) b. The Names of God 1.) Elohim this is the first name of God we encounter in the Bible. It occurs 255 times in the first five books. It describes God as creator, the one who blesses, judges, curses, and punishes. 2.) El this is the generic semitic name for God and can be translated the strong and mighty one. (Same word Jesus uses on the cross; Eli, Eli my God, my God ) 3.) El Shaddai usually translated God almighty, but better rendered God the All- Sufficient. This describes God as being one who nourishes and sustains what He has made in His infinite and unfailing power. 4.) El Roy This is the God who sees all, whose eyes run to and from throughout the whole earth. Nothing can be hidden from God. 5.) El Olam The name means the everlasting God and was used to speak of God s loyalty. (Used between Abraham and Abimelech in Gen 21:33) 6.) Yahweh the most common designation of God in the Bible. It occurs over 6000 times. It was not a term that was spoken orally, but simply wrote at YHWH. The name was so sacred that the Jews didn t speak it, and rabbis would substitute it in their writings as Adonai. D. The Divine Attributes of God (6) 1. Holiness a. God s holiness refers to His perfect nature, which is untouched by evil. 1.) Isaiah 41:16 The Holy One of Israel
3 2.) Exodus 15:11 Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness 3.) Exodus 3:5 Then he said, Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. b. God s holiness in each person of the Trinity 1.) John 17:11 - Jesus refers to the Father as Holy Father in His high priestly prayer 2.) Luke 1:35 - Jesus is called holy in the angel s announcement to Mary. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy the Son of God. 3.) Romans 1:4 - The Holy Spirit is called holy when Paul says, [Jesus] was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead. c. God s holiness is recognized by our own unworthiness and sinfulness 1.) Isaiah 6:1, 5 (Isaiah declared God s holiness) I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple And I said: Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts! d. God s holiness is to be reflected by believers 1.) 1 Peter 1:15 You shall be holy, for I am holy (cf. Lev. 11:44) 2.) Eph. 4:24 - Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. e. God s holiness is His reason for judgment 1.) Romans 3:23, 6:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God for the wages of sin is death 2.) Point: God s holiness would be violated if He had fellowship with evil. 2. Love a. God is love (1 John 4:16) - this verse is not just describing an action or quality of God, but the essence and nature of God as love. b. God loves His creation: the great theme of the Bible 1.) Hosea 11:1 - When Israel was a child, I loved him, and our of Egypt I called my son 2.) 1 John 4:10 - In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us c. God s love as Chesed 1.) Chesed is the Hebrew word translated loving-kindness. It expresses the depth and durability of God s unfailing compassion and mercy toward His people. This love is fully revealed in Jesus Christ. 2.) Example: God s way of forgiveness and giving grace to the sinner. d. God s love is displayed the greatest at the Cross
4 1.) The Cross is where God s love and holiness meet: God s holiness requires a payment for sin and God s love provides that payment through His Son, Jesus Christ. 2.) Romans 5:8 - But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us 3.) John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life 3. Eternal a. God s eternality refers to His infinite nature with respect to time. God pre-dates anything outside of Himself 1.) Psalm 90:2 - Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 2.) Isaiah 57:15 - God is the one who lives forever 3.) Job 36:26 - The number of God s years is unsearchable b. He is before and after; above and beneath; incomparable to all creature-like realities including the heavens and the earth. 1.) Psalm 102:56 - They will perish, but thou remains, and they all will become old as a garment, and as a mantel Thou will roll them up; as a garment they will also be changed. But Thou art the same, and thy years will not come to an end. 2.) John 8:58 - Before Abraham was, Jesus said, I AM. 3.) Point: Eternity is the dimension of God s own life. It has no beginning and no end; no parameters or boundaries outside of God himself. 4. Omniscient a. God s omniscience His comprehensive knowledge of all that was, is and shall ever be. God is all-knowing. 1.) Psalm 139:16 - Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 2.) Matt. 10:30 - Jesus spoke of the very hairs of our head being numbered 3.) Isaiah 44:28 - God revealed the name of pagan King Cyrus and knew what he would do before he did it. 4.) Isaiah 7:14 - God predicted Jesus would be born of a virgin and His sacrificial death on the cross was also foreknown and foreordained by God 5. Omnipresent denotes that as eternal Creator, God is not bound by space. a. God s omniscience means that God cannot be excluded from any part of space. 1.) Quote: He is in all things as giving them being, power, and operation. Thomas Aquinas 2.) Psalm 139:7-10 - Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where 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
5 3.) Jeremiah 23:23 - Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares thee Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord 4.) Point: God is not a being filling all space, but by His divine agency he is available in the fullness of His power to sustain, order, govern, and guide everything that is, wherever it is. b. God cannot be contained in any one part of creation 1.) 1 Kings 8:27 - Solomon speaking about the new Temple: But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built 2.) Point: God cannot be boxed in or contained in a certain location. c. Point: The doctrine of God s omnipresence is one of our most comforting truths in the entire Bible. We can never outrun the power or presence of our great Lord. 6. Sovereignty (Omnipotence) a. God s Omnipotence/Sovereignty - God s power to do everything that in His rational and moral perfection God wills to do J.I. Packer 1.) Job 42:2 - I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted 2.) Psalm 106:2 - Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all of His praise 3.) Matt. 28:18 - Jesus said as He gave the great commission, All power has been given unto me in heaven and in earth 4.) Ephesians 1:21 - Speaking of Christ, Paul says, Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come b. Point: Nothing happens apart from God s purposeful activity 1.) Psalm 103:19 - The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all 2.) Psalms 135:5-7 - I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses 3.) Eph. 1:11 - [God] works all things according to the counsel of His will 4.) Southern Baptist Abstract of Principals: God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs, governs all creatures and events. 5.) Point: There are no accidents with God; He is in control of everything.