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The Bible reveals humanity as a vibrant, rational, and resilient Let's explore the concept of God - the ultimate, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable reality that inspires awe and wonder. The Westminster Shorter Catechism provides a profound definition that guides us toward a deeper understanding, helping us navigate beyond vague notions and misconceptions. In today's world, people often perceive God as a distant, higher power or intelligent designer, but these concepts only scratch the surface. Others imagine God as a magnified version of humanity, yet this too falls short. The true essence of God lies beyond these limited perspectives, revealing a boundless, eternal, and unchangeable reality adorned with magnificent perfections. As the sovereign Creator and sustainer of all existence, God embodies both transcendent mystery and knowable intimacy. Through Scripture, Christians discover a God who has chosen to reveal Himself, inviting us to explore His names, attributes, and eternally self-existent perfections, inspiring a sense of reverence, gratitude, and connection. entity, endowed with a brilliant mind, emotions, in the will of God. As Christians, we are uniquely empowered by a profound integration of body, soul, and spirit, enabling us to flourish, as we reflect God's magnificent image, and rise above the impact of sin. Through faith and spiritual rebirth, we can break free from the constraints of sin, living lives that radiate God's glory. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we become beacons of hope beacons of his light, testifying to God's presence as we navigate life's journey with courage, wisdom, and unwavering love, grounded in our identity in Jesus Christ realm of love.

Getting a handle on God's nature is like leveling up in the game of life - it's a total game-changer for spiritual growth and self-discovery. The Westminster Shorter Catechism is like the ultimate cheat code, revealing God as an infinite, eternal, and unchangeable spirit who's way bigger than our tiny human brains can handle. As we dig deeper into the divine, we ditch those wacky misconceptions of God being some kind of impersonal force or a dude with a beard. Instead, we get to know the Big Cheese, the sovereign Creator and sustainer of all things, who's super gracious and reveals Himself through Scripture, inviting us to a deeper understanding of His eternal awesomeness. This revelation is like a superpower, empowering us to tackle life with hope, confidence, and a sense of purpose, knowing that with God, all things are possible.

At that profound moment, as the resplendent light of divine revelation began to illuminate my being, God entrusted me with the sacred task of writing. We were truly blessed to bear witness to this extraordinary journey from its inception. You ponder, 'When shall these things be?' Matthew 24:3. In the Bible, Matthew 23:3 inspires us to heed the Word's guidance, and it is through this obedience that we shall emulate the remarkable works of Jesus. We are called to preach, practice, and observe the law, ever mindful not to dismiss the teachings that transcend the Scriptures. We must be reminded that no mortal knows the timing, day, or hour of Jesus' glorious return. Yet, we are assured that He will arrive unexpectedly, like a thief in the night, yet with divine purpose. We recognize that God reveals His secrets to His chosen prophets, and it is during their lifetime that He speaks through them. Just as in the days of Noah, the Spirit empowers us to think and act as reflections of God, responsible beings yielded to God's will. The person of God within us is a Spirit being, God's indwelling Spirit dwelling in our flesh, a Spirit-man abiding in God's anointed, elected vessel. God's being, infused with His distinct personality, which harmoniously balances human and divine nature, is the essence of our entire rational being, most eloquently represented by 'the will of God.' God's consent has adopted us as heirs, and He does not initiate but yields to what the principal proposes in Him, connecting us in a sacred bond. Since then, His oath remains unbroken. And when His servant speaks in obedience to God, He validates His servant's words, confirming the actions of that elected servant. When the act is accomplished, the world will be satisfied, and they will acknowledge that it is indeed God who dwells within that chosen individual. At the time. As sacred light began to dawn in the word God gives to His elected servant, we were present when we embarked this radiant light. You ask When shall these things be? Matthew 24.3. No one knows the time, day, or hour when Jesus will come. What we know is He will come like a thief in the night. We know that He reveals his secrets to His prophets wherever he tells servant, it is during the life span of that servant living. Just as it was in the days of Noah. The Spirit allows the body to think and act as a representation of God. A responsible being acting in obedience to God's will. His person in them is is a Spirit being. It is God indwelling spirit living in their flesh, A spirit being a God man dwelling in Gods anointed elected vessel. God's being with his personality which is distinctive of man and God. Personality is the unit of the entire rational being and is most clearly represented by "the will of God. God's consent adopted me as an heir; He does not take the initiative but yields to what the principal proposes in him he connects us. Since then, his oath has not been broken. And when His servant speaks In obedience to God, He backs his servant up after the time of actions by that elected servant.When the act is passed, the public will be satisfied.  And they will know that it is God that lives in that elected person. 

The Nature of Gods Eats

7 Min Read

Introduction

“God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” This succinct definition from the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q&A 4) provides a sound place to begin our consideration of the nature of God to help us avoid inaccurate concepts and notions. In our day, many define God as an impersonal “higher power” or an unknowable “intelligent designer.” Others think of God in human terms—something like a larger version of themselves. However, the true and living God is neither an impersonal or unknowable force or a physical being. He is the infinite, eternal, and unchangeable God in all His perfections. God is the sovereign Creator and sustainer of all things. God is both incomprehensible and knowable. Christians recognize that God has made Himself distinctly known through the revelation of His Word. The transcendent God reveals Himself in Scripture—by His names and attributes—to be eternally self-existent in all His perfections.

Explanation

There are numerous ways that Christian theologians have sought to describe the being and nature of God. For example, Anselm—archbishop of Canterbury (1093–1109)—in his Proslogion memorably defined God as “that [being], than which nothing greater can be conceived.” In apologetics, this phrase begins what has come to be known as the ontological argument. It is a logical and philosophical explanation of God’s essence that explains one aspect of the being of God. The being and power of God are displayed in all creation, so we can know something about God by means of general revelation (Ps. 19:1–2; Rom. 1:19–20). However, when we consider God’s nature, we are dependent on God’s revelation of His names and character given by special revelation in the Scripture for a full, though never comprehensive, understanding of all that God is.

In the Old Testament, God reveals Himself to His people by proclaiming to us His names. All these names reflect something of the character of the one true and living God. As R.C. Sproul rightly explained, “the most basic affirmation the Scriptures make regarding the nature of God is that He is one.” As such, He is distinguished from all the other gods of the nations. As Psalm 96:5 states, “All the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.” He will not share His glory with another. This one God reveals Himself as Elohim (God), El Elyon (God Most High), El Shaddai (God Almighty), Yahweh (His personal name), Adonai (Lord), and Yahweh Sabaoth (Lord of Hosts). A revelation of the names of God in the Old Testament often accompanies some special (usually redemptive) work or act of God. For instance, throughout the book of Job, God reveals Himself as El Shaddai—the Almighty God. When God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush—to prepare Moses to deliver Israel from their bondage in Egypt—He did so by declaring His covenant name, Yahweh. He is “I am who I am,” the eternally existing and unchangeable God who keeps covenant with His people from generation to generation (Ex. 3:14). When God again revealed Himself to Moses on the mountain, He proclaimed His covenant name, Yahweh, together with His attributes: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation” (Ex. 34:6–7). The special revelation of the names and the attributes of God highlights His character in such a way that His people can rightly worship and serve Him.

Reflecting on the attributes God has revealed in Scripture, the members of the Westminster Assembly formulated the following careful definition of God in the Westminster Confession of Faith:

There is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions; immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will, for his own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek him; and withal, most just, and terrible in his judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty. (WCF 2.1)

When approaching the subject of the attributes of God, Reformed theologians have highlighted the importance of the aseity and simplicity of God. In his Reformed Dogmatics, Geerhardus Vos defined aseity as “that attribute of God by which He is the self-sufficient ground of His own existence and being.” God never becomes something other than what He has been from all eternity. God never develops. He is eternally independent, being dependent only on Himself (Isa. 40:13; Rom. 11:34). This truth about God has massive implications both for how we speak of Him and for how we worship and serve Him. God doesn’t stand in need of anything (Ps. 50:10–12).

God is the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, both visible and invisible, who has no need of the creature. We cannot add anything to God. God is free to do as He pleases, and He always does according to the good pleasure of His own decretal will (Eph. 1:11). God did not need to create the world. He did so freely out of His eternal wisdom. Thus, God voluntarily made all things, and He voluntarily reveals Himself, being bound by no external force or person to do so. God desires to display His grace and mercy, together with His wrath. Therefore, He ordained a world in which He could reveal His attributes to His image bearers. Vos explained: “God’s attributes are absolute. In other words, the ground for them resides in His being, apart from the existence of the world, although we must admit that we could not conceive of some of them in action (e.g., grace and mercy) if the world did not exist.”

Simplicity carries with it the idea of the indivisibility of God. God does not possess a certain quantity of love. God is love (1 John 4:8). There is no limit to God’s holiness. He is holy (Lev. 19:2, 20:7, 26, 21:8; Ex. 19:6; 1 Peter 1:16). God is never in short supply of His attributes. In fact, it is right for us to say that God is His attributes. His wrath harmonizes with His love inasmuch as His wrath is fueled by His love for His own holy and righteous character. God’s love is holy love. It is loving for God to exercise His justice on the wicked. However, God also acts in holy love toward the elect by removing the wrath they justly deserve by pouring it out on Christ when He became a curse for them on the cross.

Although theologians have sought to categorize God’s attributes in a diversity of ways, the most commonly accepted division is between communicable and incommunicable attributes. Communicable attributes are those characteristics that God chooses to share with image bearers in some measure. For instance, God is righteous and human beings can be righteous in a manner that is similar to how God is righteous and yet not identical with it. Out of His own fullness, He makes His people righteousness. This is a communication by way of analogy. The difference between righteousness in God and the righteousness that He shares with men and women exists in the infinitude of God and the finitude of man. God’s righteousness is not derivative. Righteousness in man is always derivative.

Incommunicable attributes are those characteristics of God that He cannot and will not share with His creatures. God is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable. He is also omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (everywhere present), and omnipotent (all powerful). These attributes are part of what it means for God to be transcendent—distinct from and Lord over creation. God remains distinct from the creature; otherwise, He would cease to be God.

Quotes

What can we know about God? That’s the most basic question of theology, for what we can know about God and whether we can know anything about Him at all determine the scope and content of our study. Here we must consider the teaching of the greatest theologians in history, all of whom have affirmed the ‘incomprehensibility of God.’ By using the term incomprehensible, they are not referring to something we are unable to comprehend or know at all. Theologically speaking, to say God is incomprehensible is not to say that God is utterly unknowable. It is to say that none of us can comprehend God exhaustively.

R.C. Sproul

“Divine Incomprehensibility”

Tabletalk magazine

Reformed theologians . . . self-consciously see the doctrine of God as informing the whole scope of Christian theology. That’s one of the reasons why Calvinists tend to focus so much on the Old Testament. We’re concerned about the character of God as defining everything—our understanding of Christ, our understanding of ourselves, our understanding of salvation. We turn to the Old Testament because it’s one of the most important sources that you find anywhere in the universe on the nature and character of God. Reformed Christians tend to take the Old Testament very seriously because it’s such a vivid revelation of the majesty of God.

R.C. Sproul

“The Reformed Doctrine of God”

Tabletalk magazine

God operates according to the law of His own nature. That is to say, God never acts in such a way that would contradict His own holiness, His own righteousness, His own justice, His own omnipotence, and so on. God never compromises the perfection of His own being or character in what He does.

R.C. Sproul

“Cur Deus Homo”

Tabletalk magazine

God is the ultimate Being. Before there was a universe, there was God. He exists independently of matter and sequence of time. God transcends space and time. He is not limited by spatial considerations (He is everywhere in His fullness continually). Nor is He locked into the present in any way. It is not strictly accurate to say that before the universe was created there was ‘nothing,’ for this, too, is a spatial and temporal idea: before the created universe existed, there was God. Theologians speak of God’s immensity, infinity, and transcendence to describe this and our minds race at the thought of it, unable to take it in. All we can do is acquiesce and worship.

Derek Thomas

“Creation Ex Nihilo”

Tabletalk magazine