BOOK STUDY: Great Doctrines of the Bible by William Evans D.D.

[Gazelle]

The Great Doctrines of the Bible by William Evans, D.D.
Moody Press 1912, 1939,1949, 1972.


The Doctrine of God

His existence...is taken for granted by the Scripture writers.

It does not seem to have occurred to any of the writers of either the Old or New Testaments to attempt to prove or to argue for the existence of God. Everywhere and at all times it is a fact taken for granted. "A God capable of proof would be no God at all" (Jacobi). He is the self-existent One (Exodus 3:14) and the Source of all life (John 5:26).

The sublime opening of the Scriptures announces the fact of God and His existence: "In the beginning God" (Genesis 1:1). Nor is the rise or dawn of the idea of God in the mind of man depicted. Psalm 14:1 "The fool has said in his heart, There is no God," indicates not a disbelief in the existence, but rather in the active interest of God in the affairs of men--He seemed to hide Himself from the affairs of men (see Job 22:12-14).

The Scriptures further recognize that men not only know of the existence of God, but have also a certain circle of ideas as to who and what He is (Romans 1:18, 19).

No one but a "fool" will deny the fact of God. "What! no God? A watch broken, and no jeweler to fix it? A watch, and no repair shop? A time card and a train, and nobody to run it? A lamp lit, and nobody to change the bulb to keep it burning? A garden, and no gardener? Flowers, and no florist? Conditions, and no conditioner?" He that sits in the heavens shall laugh at such absurd atheism.

__________________

 

[Former Christian]

Gazelle

An excellent beginning to another Evidence for God Thread. It can't be proven that God exists or that he doesn't exist. One either believes or not. One either experiences the supernatural or not.

FC

 

[childeye]

The Great Doctrines of the Bible by William Evans, D.D.
Moody Press 1912, 1939,1949, 1972.


The Doctrine of God

His existence...is taken for granted by the Scripture writers.

It does not seem to have occurred to any of the writers of either the Old or New Testaments to attempt to prove or to argue for the existence of God. Everywhere and at all times it is a fact taken for granted. "A God capable of proof would be no God at all" (Jacobi). He is the self-existent One (Exodus 3:14) and the Source of all life (John 5:26).

The sublime opening of the Scriptures announces the fact of God and His existence: "In the beginning God" (Genesis 1:1). Nor is the rise or dawn of the idea of God in the mind of man depicted. Psalm 14:1 "The fool has said in his heart, There is no God," indicates not a disbelief in the existence, but rather in the active interest of God in the affairs of men--He seemed to hide Himself from the affairs of men (see Job 22:12-14).

The Scriptures further recognize that men not only know of the existence of God, but have also a certain circle of ideas as to who and what He is (Romans 1:18, 19).

No one but a "fool" will deny the fact of God. "What! no God? A watch broken, and no jeweler to fix it? A watch, and no repair shop? A time card and a train, and nobody to run it? A lamp lit, and nobody to change the bulb to keep it burning? A garden, and no gardener? Flowers, and no florist? Conditions, and no conditioner?" He that sits in the heavens shall laugh at such absurd atheism.

__________________

How utterly true. For how could it be true there is no Truth? Who is the god of no gods?

 

[Gazelle]

You have a need to believe in a Supreme Being? You are not alone!

There's a Universality of Belief in the Existence of God

Here's the fact, stated and proven:Man everywhere believes in the existence of a supreme Being or beings to whom he is morally responsible and to whom propitiation needs to be made.

Such belief may be crudely, even grotesquely stated and manifested, but the reality of the fact is no more invalidated by such crudeness than the existence of a father is invalidated by the crude attempts of a child to draw a picture of it's father.

Moffat, Livingstone's father-in-law, made a claim that were were tribes in inland Africa that possessed no idea or conception of God. But Livingstone himself, after a thorough study of the customs and languages of such tribes,conclusively showed that Moffat was wrong.

Nor should the existence of a few tribes, even if granted, violate the fact we are here considering, and more than the existence of some few men who are blind, lame, deaf, and mute would make untrue the statement and fact that man is a seeing, hearing, speaking, and walking creature. The fact that some nations do not have the multiplication table does no violence to arithmetic.

Concerning so-called atheists in Christian lands: it may be questioned if there are really any such beings. Hume, known as a famous skeptic, is reported to have said to Ferguson, as together they looked up into the starry sky: "Adam, there is a God." Voltaire, the atheist, prayed to God in a thunderstorm. Ingersoll, when charged with being an atheist, indignantly refuted the charge, saying: "I am not an atheist; I do not say that there is no God; I am an agnostic; I do not know that there is a God.: "I thank God that I am an atheist,: were the opening words of an argument to disprove the existence of God. A new convert to atheism was once heard to say to a coterie of unbelievers: "I have gotten rid of the idea of a supreme Being, and I thank God for it."

So now we feel like we fit in with the rest of the world, in believing there is a Supreme Being. But from where does this universal belief come? Many sources. Perhaps you rely upon one main one, I'll list many sources for this "argument" and you won't have to pick just one!


From where does this universal belief in the existence of God come?

It doesn't come from outside sources such as reason, tradition, or even the Scriptures!

Not from reason or argument, for many who believe in God have not given any time to reasoning and arguing the question; some, indeed, intellectually, could not. Others who have great powers of intellect, and who have reasoned and argued on the subject are professed disbelievers in God. Belief in God is not the result of logical arguments, else the Bible would have given us proofs.

Nor did this universal belief come from tradition, for "Tradition," says Dr Patton, "can perpetuate only what has been originated."

Nor can it be said that this belief came from the Scriptures even, for, as has been well said, unless a man had a knowledge of the God from whom the Scriptures came, the revelation itself could have no authority for him. The very idea of Scripture as a revelation presupposes belief in a God who can make it.--Newman Smith. Revelation must assume the existence of God.

All the evidence points to the conclusive fact that this universal faith in the existence of God is innate in man, and comes from rational intuition.

The fact that all men everywhere believe in the existence of a supreme Being or beings to whom they are morally responsible, is a strong argument in favor of its truth. So universal an effect must have a cause as universal, otherwise we have an effect without any assignable cause. Certain is it that this argument makes the burden of proof to rest upon those who deny the existence of God.

 

[Gazelle]

THE ARGUMENT FROM CAUSE: Cosmological.

When we see a thing we naturally ask for the cause of that thing. We see this world in which we live, and ask how it came to be. Is is self-originating, or is the cause of its being outside of itself? Is its cause finite, or infinite?

That is could not come into being of itself seems obvious; no more than nails, brick, mortar, wood, paints, colors, form into a house or building of themselves; no more than the type composing a book came into order of itself. When Liebig was asked if he believed that the grass and flowers which he saw around him grew by mere chemical forces,m he replied: "No; no more than I could believe that the books on botany describing them could grow by mere chemical forces. : No theory of an "eternal series" can account for this created universe. No matter how long a chain you may have, you must have a staple somewhere from which it depends. An endless perpendicular chain is an impossibility. "every house is builded by some man", say the Bible; so this world in which we live was built by a designing mind of infinite power and wisdom.

So it is when we consider man. (Ourselves.) Man exists; but he owes his existence to some cause. Is this cause within or without himself, finite or infinite? Trace our origin back, if you will, to our first parent, Adam; then you must ask, How did he come into being? The doctrine of the eternity of man cannot be supported. Man is an effect; he has not always existed. Geology proves this. That the first Cause must have been an intelligent Being is proven by the fact that we are intelligent beings ourselves.


[For those wishing a more extensive study, most current with today's science see this link http://www.reasons.org/origin-life/artificial-life-lab]

THE ARGUMENT FROM DESIGN: Teleological

A watch proves not only a maker, an artificer, but also a designer; a watch is made for a purpose. This is evident in its structure. A thoughtful, designing mind was back of the watch.

So it is with the world in which we live. These "ends" in nature are not to be attributed to "natural results," or "natural selection" results which are produced without intelligence, nor are they "the survival of the fittest,: instances in which "accident and fortuity have done the work of mind." No, they are the results of a superintending and originating intelligence and will.

"The twentieth century discovery of a cosmic beginning points to a “beyond natural†cause that brought the universe into existence. The arrow of time (that is second nature to us) also provides evidence that something supernatural affected the space-time fabric of this universe. Otherwise, this creation would not have the three spatial and one temporal dimension required for life."

[http://www.reasons.org/design/universe-design]

THE ARGUMENT FROM CAUSE: Cosmological.

When we see a thing we naturally ask for the cause of that thing. We see this world in which we live, and ask how it came to be. Is is self-originating, or is the cause of its being outside of itself? Is its cause finite, or infinite?

THE ARGUMENT FROM BEING: Ontological

Man has an idea of an infinite and perfect Being. From whence this idea? From finite and imperfect beings like ourselves? Certainly not. Therefore, this idea argues for the existence of an infinite and perfect Being: such a Being must exist, as a person, and not a mere thought.

THE MORAL ARGUMENT: Anthropological

Man has an intellectual and a moral nature, hence his Creator must be an intellectual and moral Being, a Judge, and Lawgiver.

Man has an emotional nature; (don't we know oh so well!)

Only a Being of goodness, power, love, wisdom and holiness could satisfy such a (emotional) nature, and these things denote the existence of a personal God.

Conscience in man says, :"Thou shalt" and "Thou shalt not", "I ought" and "I ought not". These mandates are not self-imposed. (Indeed, why would we?) They imply the existence of a Moral Governor to whom we are responsible.

Conscience--there it is in the breast of man, an ideal Moses thundering from an invisible Sinai the Law of a holy Judge. Said Cardinal Newman: "Were it not for the voice speaking so clearly in my conscience and my heart, I should be an atheist, or a pantheist, when I looked into the world."

Some things are wrong, others right: love is right, hatred is wrong. Nor is a thing right because it pleases, or wrong because it displeases. Where did we get this standard of right and wrong?

Morality is obligatory, not optional. Who made it obligatory? Who has a right to command my life? We must believe that there is a God, or believe that the very root of our nature is a lie.

THE ARGUMENT FROM CONGRUITY

If we have a key which fits all the wards of the lock, we know that it is the right key. If we have a theory which fits all the facts in the case, we know then that we have the right theory.

"Belief in a self-existent, personal God is in harmony with all the facts of our mental and moral nature, as well as with all the phenomena of the natural world.

If God exists, a universal belief in His existence is natural enough; the irresistible impulse to ask for a first cause is accounted for; our [spiritual] nature has an object; the uniformity of natural law finds an adequate explanation, and human history is vindicated from the charge of being a vast imposture. Atheism leaves all these matters without an explanation, and makes, not history alone, but our moral and intellectual nature itself, an imposture and a lie." Patton.

Something else to think about.

 

[Gazelle]

THE ARGUMENT FROM SCRIPTURE
A great deal of our knowledge rests upon the testimony of others. Now the Bible is competent testimony. If the testimony of travelers is enough to satisfy us as to the habits, customs, and manners of the peoples of the countries they visit, and which we have never seen, why is not the Bible, if it is authentic history, enough to satisfy us with its evidence as to the existence of God?

Some facts need more evidence than others, we know. This is true of the fact of the existence of God. But the Bible history is sufficient to satisfy every reasonable demand. The history of the Jews, prophecy, is not explainable minus God. if we cannot believe in the existence of God on the testimony of the Bible we might as well burn our books of history. (An historical book used by archaeologists; the Bible.) A man cannot deny the truth of the testimony of the Bible unless he says plainly: "No amount of testimony will convince me of the supernatural."

Scripture does not attempt to prove the existence of God; it asserts, assumes, and declares that the knowledge of God is universal. (Romans 1:19-21, 28, 32; 2:15.) It asserts that God has wrought this great truth in the very warp and woof of every man's being, so that nowhere is He without this witness. A believer may, therefore, safely follow the example of the Scripture in assuming that there is a God. Indeed, he must unhesitatingly and explicitly assert it as the Scripture does, believing that "His eternal power and divinity" are things that are clearly seen and perceived through the evidences of His handiwork which abound on every hand.

With this I complete the basic "arguments" on why one can believe there is a God. Next, I'll walk us through some basics about the nature of the God we believe to exist.

 

[Gazelle]

THE NATURE OF GOD
The Spirituality of God (God is a Spirit....)

Statement of the fact John 4:24
Meaning: The Samaritan woman's question, "Where is God to be found?" etc. on Mt Zion or Gerizim? Christ's answer: God is not to be confined to any one place (cf Acts 7:48; 17:25; 1 Kings 8:27)

God must be worshipped in spirit as distinguished from place, form, or other sensual limitations (John 4:21); and in truth as distinguished from false conceptions resulting from imperfect knowledge (4:22)

Light on "God is Spirit", from other Scriptures

Luke 24:39: "A spirit hath not flesh and bones": i.e., has not body, or parts like human beings; incorporeal; not subject to human limitations
Colossians 1:15: "The image of the invisible God"
1 Timothy 1:17: "Now unto the King incorruptible, invisible"

These passages teach that God has nothing of a material or bodily nature. Sight sees only objects of the material world, but God is not of the nature of the material world, hence He cannot be seen with the material eye--at least not now.

Light derived from cautions against representing God by graven images

Deuteronomy 4:15-23; Isaiah 40:25; Exodus 20:4. Study these passages carefully and note that the reason why images were forbidden was because no one had ever seen God, and consequently could not picture how He looked, and further, there was nothing on the earth that could resemble Him.

Definition of "God is Spirit" in the light of all this

God is invisible, incorporeal, without parts, without body, without passions, and therefore free from all limitations; He is apprehended not by the senses, but by the soul, hence God is above sensuous perceptions. 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 intimates that without the teaching of God's Spirit we cannot know God. He is not a material Being. "LaPlace swept the heavens with his telescope, but could not find anywhere a God, he might just as well have swept a kitchen with his broom." Since God is not a material Being, He cannot be apprehended by physical means.


QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS WITH REFERENCE TO THE STATEMENT THAT "GOD IS SPIRIT"

Since many are seeking to strengthen their belief in God, it can seem daunting at times because of seemingly difficult questions that arise. I'm going to go over a few to help support you in that you can know there is supportive data.

What is meant by statement that Man was made "in the image of God"?

Colossians 3:10, Ephesians 4:24 declare that this "image" consists in "righteousness, knowledge, and holiness of truth." By that is meant that the image of God in man consisted in intellectual and moral likeness rather than physical resemblance. Some think that 1 Thessalonians 5:23 indicates that the "trinity of man" --body, soul, and spirit--constitutes that image and likeness.

What is meant by the anthropomorphic expressions used of God?

For example: God is said to have hands, feet, arms, eyes, ears; He sees, feels, hears, walks, etc. Such expressions are to be understood only in the sense of being human expressions used in order to bring the infinite within the comprehension of the finite. How otherwise could we understand God saving by means of human expressions, in figures that we all can understand?!

How are such passages as Exodus 24:10 and 33:18-23, in which it is distinctly stated that men saw the God of Israel, to be reconciled with such passages as John 1:18: "No man hath seen God at any time: and Exodus 33:20: "There shall no man see Me and live"?

Answer: Spirit can be manifested in visible form: John 1:32: "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove (or in the form of a dove)." So throughout the ages the invisible God has manifested Himself in visible form. (See Judges 6:34: The Spirit of the Lord clothed Himself with Gideon.)

Answer: On this truth is based the doctrine of "The Angel of the Lord"
In the Old Testament: Genesis 16:7, 10, 13. Note here how the Angel of the Lord is identified with Jehovah Himself, cf. vv 10, 13. Also Genesis 22:12--"The Angel of the Lord . . . not withheld from me." In 18:1-16, one of the three angels clearly and definitely identifies himself with Jehovah. Compare chapter 19, where it is seen that only two of the angels have come to Sodom; the other has remained behind. Who was this one, this remaining angel? Genesis 18:17, 20 answers the question; v. 22 reads: "and Abraham stood yet before the Lord,"

In Exodus 13:21 it is Jehovah while in 14:19 it is the Angel that went before Israel. Thus was the way prepared for the incarnation, for Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament is undoubtedly the second person of the Trinity. This seems evident from Judges 13:18 compared with Isaiah 9:6, in both of which passages clearly referring to Christ, the name "Wonderful" occurs. Also the omission of the definite article "the" from before the expression "Angel of the Lord," and the substitution of "an" points to the same truth.


Next: What was it then that the elders of Israel saw when it is said they "saw the God of Israel"?

 

[Gazelle]

What was it then that the elders of Israel saw when it is said they "saw the God of Israel"?

Certainly it was not God in His real essence, God as He is in Himself, for no man can have that vision and live. John 1:18 is emphasis in this verse is on the word "God," and may read, clear on that point: "No man hath see God at any time." The "GOD no one has seen at any time."

In 5:37 Jesus says: "Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape." From this is seems clear that the "seeing" here, the which has been the privilege of no man, refers to the essence rather than to the person of God, if such a distinction can really be made.

This is apparent also from the omission of the definite article before God, as well as from the position of God in the sentence. None but the son has really seen God as God, as He really is. What, then, did these men see?

Evidently an appearance of Go din some form to their outward senses, perhaps the form of a man, seeing mention is made of his "feet." The vision may have been too bright for human eyes to gaze upon fully, but it was a vision of God. Yet it was only a manifestation of God, for, although Moses was conversing with God, he yet said: "If I have found grace in they sight, show me thy face."

Moses had been granted exceeding great and precious privileges in that he had been admitted into close communion with God, more so than any other member of the human race. But still unsatisfied he longed for more; so in v. 18 he asks to see the unveiled glory of God, that very thing which no man in the flesh can ever see and live; but no, this cannot be.

By referring to Exodus 33:18-23 we find God's answer: "Thou canst not see my face. . . thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not been seen." (Numbers 12:8 throws light upon the subject, if compared with Exodus 33:11.)

"The secret remained unseen; the longing unsatisfied; and the nearest approach to the beatific vision reached by him with whom God spake face to face, as friend with friends, was to be hidden in the cleft of the rock, to be made aware of an awful shadow and to hear the voice of the unseen."

The personality of God with regards to those who see God in everything.

THE PERSONALITY OF GOD (with regards to pantheism.)

Pantheism maintains that this universe in its ever changing conditions is but the manifestation of the one ever changing universal substance which is God; thus all, everything is God, and God is everything; God is all, all is God. Thus God is identified with nature and not held to be independent of and a separate from it. God is, therefore, a necessary but an unconscious force working in the world.

To believe that God is a Person allows us to formulate the assurance that He can care, and that things are not coincidental but purposeful in our lives.

The bearing of the Personality of God on the Idea of Religion. (Yes, I said it and will define it if I may.)
True "religion" may be defined as the communion between two persons; God and man. Religion is a personal relationship between God in heaven, and man on the earth. If God were not a person, there could be no communion, and, consequently, no religion. An independent personal relationship on both sides is absolutely necessary to communion. Man can have no communion with an influence, a force, an impersonal something; nor can an influence have any moving or affection towards man. It is absolutely necessary to the true definition of religion that both God and man be persons. God is person, not force or influence.

There are many who misunderstand the true definition of "religion" and instead suppose that it means what is defined as "denomination"--that being of a man-made way to worship or follow one's own beliefs. That is not what is being presented and discussed here.

DEFINITION OF PERSONALITY
Personality exists where there is intelligence, mind, will, reason, individuality, self-consciousness, and self-determination. There must not be mere consciousness--for the best has that--but self-consciousness. Nor is personality determination--for the beast has this, too, even though this determination be the result of influences from without--but self-determination, the power by which man from an act of his own free will determines his acts from within.

Neither corporeity nor substance, as we understand these words, are necessarily, if at all, involved in personality. There may be true personality without either or both of these.


Next: Scripture teaching on the Personality of God

 

[Gazelle]

SCRIPTURE TEACHING ON THE PERSONALITY OF GOD

To come to accept that God is a Person, and thus has Personality, helps us to know and feel comforted in that He understands us as people.

These texts are Old Testament and New Testament.
(In this connection is will be well to refer to the Ontological Argument for the Existence of God, previously mentioned. That is that man has an idea of an infinite and perfect Being, some one that we imperfect and finite beings cannot have created.)

Exodus 3:14: -- "I AM THAT I AM"
This name is wonderfully significant. Its central idea is that of existence and personality. The words signify "I AM. I WAS. I SHALL BE." so suggestively corresponding with the New Testament statement concerning God: "Who was, and is, and is to come."

All the names given to God in the Scripture denote personality. Here are some of them from the Hebrew:
Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord will provide (Genesis 22:13, 14)
Jehovah-Rapha: The Lord that healeth (Exodus 15:26)
Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord our Banner (Exodus 17:8-15)
Jehovah: Shalom: The Lord our Peace (Judges 6:24)
Jehovah-Ra0ah: The Lord my Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)
Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The Lord our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6)
Jehovah: Shammah: The Lord is Present (Ezekiel 48:35)

Moreover, the personal pronouns ascribed to God prove personality: John 17:3, et al "To know thee"--we cannot know an influence in the sense in which the word "know" is here used.

Statement: All through the Scriptures names and personal pronouns are ascribed to God which undeniably prove that God is a Person.

 

[Gazelle]

There is a sharp distinction drawn in the Scriptures between the Gods of the heathen and the Lord God of Israel
(Jeremiah 10:10-16)
See also Acts 14:15; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; Psalm 94:9, 10.

Statement: The Lord God of Israel is to be clearly distinguished from things which have no life; He is a living Person.

ATTRIBUTES OF PERSONALITY ARE ASCRIBED TO GOD IN THE SCRIPTURES

God repents (Genesis 6:6)
grieves (Genesis 6:6)
becomes angry (1 Kings 11:9)
is jealous (Deuteronomy 6:15)
hates (Proverbs 6:16)

Statement: God possesses the attributes of personality, and therefore is a Person.

THE RELATION WHICH GOD BEARS TO THE UNIVERSE AND TO MEN, AS SET FORTH IN THE SCRIPTURES, CAN BE EXPLAINED ONLY ON THE BASIS THAT GOD IS A PERSON.

Deism maintains that God, while the Creator of the world, yet sustains no further relations to it. He made it just as the clockmaker makes a self-winding clock: makes it and then leaves it to run itself without any interference on this part. Such teaching as this finds no sanction in the Bible. What are God's relations to the universe and to men?

He is the Creator of the Universe and Man
Genesis 1:1, 26; John 1:1-3 These verses contain vital truths. The universe did not exist from eternity, nor was it made from existing matter. It did not proceed as a emanation from the infinite, but was summoned into being by the decree of God.

Science, by disclosing to us the marvelous power and accuracy of natural law, compels us to believe in a superintending intelligence who is infinite. (In this connection the ARGUMENTS FROM CAUSE AND DESIGN, maybe be properly considered.)

God sustains certain relations to the Universe and Man which He has made.
Hebrews 1:3--"Upholds all things." Colossians 1:15-17--"By Him all things hold together." Psalm 104:27-30--"Promotion" among men, the putting down of one man and the setting up of another, is from the hand of God.

What do we learn from these scriptures regarding the relation of God to this universe, to man, and to all God's creatures?

First, that all things are held together by Him; if not, this old world would go to pieces quickly. The uniformity and accuracy of natural law compels us to believe in a personal God who intelligently guides and governs the universe. Disbelief in this fact would mean utter confusion. Not blind, chance, but a personal God is at the helm. (In this 21st century we have the discovery of "laminin"...it has been called a "glue" that holds everything together. It's amazing, it's components, and it's molecular structure? It's in the shape of a cross! Well, many things in nature are though.

Read more about such molecular structure here: http://www.reasons.org/design/bioche...idence-creator

Second, that the physical supplies for all God's creatures are in His hand: He feeds them all. What God gives we gather. If He withholds provision, we die.
(For me, this is important because environmentalists, those who would put other things above Man, would have us to believe that God forgot that there would be 6 1/2 billion people on earth who needed water, oil etc.

Nope, God has provided all that we need, no reason to stop water for people to save a tiny fish, etc. That's upsetting God's own food chain!)

Third, That God has His hand in history, guiding and shaping the affairs of nations. Victor Hugo said: "Waterloo was God."

Fourth. Consider with what detail God's care is described: The sparrows, the lilies, the hairs of the head, the tears of His children, etc.

Se how these facts are clearly portrayed in the following scriptures: Matthew 6:28-30; 20:29,30; Genesis 39:21; with 50:20; Daniel 1:9; Job 1:12.

Statement: The personality of God is shown by His active interest and participation in all things, even the smallest things in the universe, the experience of man, and in the life of all His creatures.

Next: The unity of God (vs polytheism)




THE UNITY OF GOD

There are three monotheistic faiths in the world: Judaism, Christianity, and Mahommedanism. The second is a development of the first; the third is an outgrowth of both.

The doctrine of the unity of God is held in contradistinction to Polytheism, which is belief in a multiplicity of gods; to Tritheism, which teaches that there are 3 Gods--that is, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are, specifically, three distinct Gods; and to Dualism, which teaches that there are two independent divine beings or eternal principles, the one good, and the other evil, as set forth especially in Gnostic systems such as Parseeism.

THE SCRIPTURES ASSERT THE UNITY OF GOD
Deuteronomy 6:4--"Hear O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord"; or, "The Lord our God, the Lord is one." Isaiah 44:6-8--"First...last...beside me there is no God." Isaiah 45:5--"There is none else, there is no God beside me." 1 Timothy 2:5--"There is one God." 1 Corinthians 8:4--"There is none other God but one."

That God is one, that there is no other, that He has no equal is the forceful testimony of above fifty passages in the Scriptures. The fundamental day of life, namely, the devotion of the entire being to the Lord, is based upon the unity of God: "The Lord...is one...therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy hear." etc.

No other truth of the Scripture, particularly of the Old Testament, receives more prominence than that of the unity of God. This truth is clearly pronounced also in the material universe; it is the introduction and conclusion of all scientific researches. Any other representation contradicts both creation and revelation. Its denial is a proper object for the ridicule of every thinking man, and of the disbelief of every orthodox Christian. Let this, then, be our first and necessary conclusion --that Deity, whether creating, inspiring, or otherwise manifesting itself, is one God; one, and no more.--Credo.

A multiplication of gods is a contradiction; there can be but one God. There can be but one absolutely perfect, supreme, and almighty Being. Such a Being cannot be multiplied, nor pluralized. There can be but one ultimate, but one all inclusive, but one God.

Monotheism, then, not Tri-theism, is the doctrine set forth in the Scriptures. "If the thought that wishes to be orthodox had less tendency to become tri-theistic, the thought that claims to be free would be less Unitarian. " --Moberly.


Next: The nature of the divine Unity.

Distinctions made throughout the study merely show how the God of Israel is followed vs other belief systems.

 

[Gazelle]

THE NATURE OF THE DIVINE UNITY

The doctrine of the unity of God does not exclude the idea of a plurality of persons in the Godhead. Not that there are three persons in each person of the Godhead, if we use in both cases the term person in one and the same sense.

We believe, therefore, that there are three persons in the Godhead, but one God. Anti-trinitarians represent the evangelical church as believing in three Gods, but this is not true; it believes in one God, but three persons in the Godhead.

The Scriptural use of the word "ONE."
Genesis 2:24--"And they two (husband and wife) shall be one flesh. " Genesis 11:6--"The people is one." 1 Corinthians 3:6-8--"He that planteth and he that watereth are one. " 12:13--"All baptized into one body." John 17:22,23--"That they may be one, even as we are one...that they may be made perfect in one."

The word "one" in these scriptures is used in a collective sense; the unity here spoken of is a compound one, like unto that used in such expressions as "a cluster of grapes," or"all the people rose as one man." The unity of the Godhead is not simple but compound. The Hebrew word for "one" (yacheed) in the absolute sense, and which is used in such expressions as "the only one", is never used to express the unity of the Godhead. On the contrary, the Hebrew word "echad," meaning "one" in the sense of a compound unity, as seen in the above quoted scriptures, is the one used always to describe the divine unity.

The divine name of "GOD" is a plural word; plural pronouns are used of God.
The Hebrew word for God (Elohim) is used most frequently in the plural form. God often uses plural pronouns in speaking of Himself. e.g. Genesis 1:26--"Let us make man," Isaiah 6:8-Who will go for us?" Genesis 3:22--"Behold man is become as one of us."

Some would say that the "us" in Genesis 1:26--"Let us make man, " refers to God's consultation with the angels with whom He takes counsel before He does anything of importance; but Isaiah 40:14--"But of whom took he counsel," shows that such is not the case; and Genesis 1:27 contradicts this idea, for it repeats the statement "in the image of God," not in the image of angels; also that "GOD created man in HIS OWN image, in the image of God (not angels) created he him. " The "us" of Genesis 1:26, therefore, is properly understood of plural majesty, as indicating the dignity and majesty of the speaker. The proper translation of this verse should be not "let us make," but "we will make." indicating the language of resolve rather than that of consultation.

Next: The doctrine of the trinity (vs unitarianism)

I enjoy the discussions of God being a triune God. Maybe an easy analogy would be to show how a woman can be one person yet she is a daughter, a mother, and a wife all at the same time, a man is a son, a brother, a father etc... We can relate to that.

(Though those capabilities are pretty much confined to the one body.)

 

[Gazelle]

The Doctrine of the Trinity

The doctrine of the Trinity is, in its last analysis, a deep mystery that cannot be fathomed by the finite mind. That it is taught in the Scripture, however, there can be no reasonable doubt. It is a doctrine to be believed even though it cannot be thoroughly understood.

THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

This doctrine is not so much declared as intimated in the Old Testament. The burden of the Old Testament message seems to be the unity of God. Yet the doctrine of the Trinity is clearly intimated in a four-fold way:
First: In the plural names of the Deity; e.g. Elohim
Second: Personal pronouns used of the Deity, Genesis 1:26; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8
Third: The Theophanies, especially the "Angel of the Lord." Genesis 16 and 18
Fourth: The work of the Holy Spirit Genesis 1:2; Judges 6:34

THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

The doctrine of the Trinity is clearly taught in the New Testament; it is not merely intimated, as in the Old Testament, but explicitly declared. This is evident from the following:

First: The baptism of Christ: Matthew 3:16, 17. Here the Father speaks from heaven; the Son is being baptized in the Jordan; and the Spirit descends in the form of a dove.

Second: In the Baptismal Formula: Matthew 28:19--"Baptizing them in the name (singular) of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

Third: The Apostolic Benediction: 2 Corinthians 13:14--"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ...love of God...communion of the Holy Ghost."

Fourth: Christ Himself teaches it in John 14:16--"I will pray the Father...He will give you another Comforter."

Fifth: The New Testament sets forth: A Father who is God, Romans 1:7; A Son who is God, Hebrew 1:8; A Holy Spirit who is God, Acts 5:3,4.

The whole is summed up in the words of Boardman: "The Father is all fulness (sic) of the Godhead invisible. John 1:19; the Son is all the fulness of the Godhead manifested, John 1:14-18; the Spirit is all the fulness of the Godhead acting immediately upon the creature, 1 Corinthians 2:9,10."

 

[Gazelle]

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD.

Here is an outline of what will be presented.

THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

1. The Natural attributes
a. the Omniscience of God
b. the Omnipotence of God
c. the Omnipresence of God
d. the Eternity and Immutability of God

2. The Moral attributes
a. the Holiness of God
b. the Righteousness and Justice of God
c. the Mercy and Loving-kindness of God
d. the Love of God


It is clearly difficult to clearly distinguish between the attributes and the nature of God. It is maintained by some that such a division ought not be made; that these qualities of God which we call attributes are in reality part of His nature and essence.

Whether this be exactly so or not, our purpose in speaking of the attributes of God is for convenience in the study of the doctrine of God.

It has been customary to divide the attributes of God into two classes: the natural an the moral. The natural attributes are omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, eternity; the moral attributes: holiness, righteousness, faithfulness, mercy and loving-kindness, and love.

GLOSSARY:
attributes: an inherent characteristic, word ascribing a quality
benevolent: marked by or disposed to doing good
essence: : the permanent as contrasted with the accidental element of being, the individual, real, or ultimate nature of a thing especially as opposed to its existence <a painting that captures the essence of the land>, the properties or attributes by means of which something can be placed in its proper class
eternity:state or quality of being eternal, infinite time
faithfulness:state of being faithful, : steadfast in affection or allegiance : loyal, firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty, conscientious, given with strong assurance, binding, true to the facts, to a standard, or to an original
holiness: quality or state of being holy, exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness
immutability: the quality of being immutable, not capable of or susceptible to change
love: strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties, affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests, unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another, the fatherly concern of God for humankind, God or personification of love
loving-kindness:: tender and benevolent affection
mercy: : compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power; also : lenient or compassionate treatment, a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion, compassionate treatment of those in distress
moral: of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior : ethical <moral judgments> , expressing or teaching a conception of right behavior, conforming to a standard of right behavior, sanctioned by or operative on one's conscience or ethical judgment, capable of right action,: perceptual or psychological rather than tangible or practical in nature or effect
omnipotence: that state of being omnipotent, Almighty, having virtually unlimited authority or influence
omnipresence:the state of being omnipresent, present in all places at all times
omniscience: that state of being omniscient, having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight, possessed of universal or complete knowledge
righteousness: acting in accord with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin, morally right or justifiable


Surely having a good understanding of WHO and WHAT my GOD IS helps to realize that HE IS ABLE as well as WILLING AND WANTING to help me.

 

[Gazelle]

THE NATURAL ATTRIBUTES

The Omniscience of God
God is a Spirit, and as such has knowledge. He is a perfect Spirit, and as such has perfect knowledge. By omniscience is meant that God knows all things and is absolutely perfect in knowledge.

Scriptures Setting Forth The Fact Of God's Omniscience
In general: Job 11:7,8--"Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?" Job's friends professed to have discovered the reason for his affliction, for, forsooth, had they not found out the secrets of the divine wisdom unto perfection? No, such is beyond their human, finite ken.

Isaiah 40:28--"There is no searching of his understanding." Jacob's captive condition might lead him to lose trust and faith in God. But Jacob has not seen all God's plans--no man has.

Job 37:16--"The wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge." Could Job explain the wonders of the natural phenomena around him? Much less the purposes and judgments of God. Psalm 147:5--"His understanding is infinite." Of His understanding there is no number, no computation. Israel is not lost sigh of. He who can number and name and call the stars is able also to call each of them by name even out of their captivity. His knowledge is not to be measured by ours.

1 John 3:20--"God knoweth all things." Our hearts may pass over certain things, and fail to see some things that should be confessed. God, however, sees all things.

Romans 11:33--"How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out." The mysterious purposes and decrees of God touching man and his salvation are beyond all human comprehension.

I know that those who believe in God yet have suffered abuse question IF God knows all, or believe that He does and yet ask WHY He didn't stop the abuse. Please know that issue is not lost to me, but I do ask that you trust as you continue to study with me, God will help you see why He does not always interfere with the evil.

continuing... The Omniscience of God...

aa) His knowledge is absolutely comprehensive

Proverbs 15:3--"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch upon the evil and the good." How could He reward and punish otherwise? Not one single thing occurring in any place escapes His knowledge. 5:21--"For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings." We may have habits hidden from our fellow creatures, but not from God.

bb) God has a perfect knowledge of all that is in nature

Psalm 147:4--"He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names." Man cannot (Genesis 15:5) . How, then, can Israel say, "My way is hid from the Lord"? CF.

Isaiah 40:26, 27, Matthew 10:29--"One...sparrow shall not fall to the ground without your Father." Much less would one of His children who perchance might be killed for His name's sake fall without His knowledge.

cc) God has a perfect knowledge of all that transpires in the human experience.

Proverbs 5:21--"For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord , and he pondereth all his goings." All a man's doings are weighed by God. How this should affect his conduct!

Psalm 139: 2, 3--"Thou know my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understands my thought afar off. Thou compasses my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways." Before our thoughts are fully developed, our unspoken sentences, the rising feeling in our hearts, our activity, our resting, all that we do from day to day is known and sifted by God.

v.4--"There is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether." Not only thoughts and purposes, but words spoken, idle, good, or bad.

Exodus 3:7--"I have seen the affliction...heard the cry: know the sorrows of my people which are in Egypt." The tears and grief which they dared not show to their taskmasters, God saw and noted. Did God know of their trouble in Egypt? It seemed to them as though He did not. Be He did.

Matthew 10:29, 30--"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." what minute knowledge is this! Exodus 3:19--"And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand." Here is intimate knowledge as to what a single individual will do.

Isaiah 48:18--"O that thou hadst harkened to my commandments! then had thy peace have been as a river," etc. God knows what our lives would have been if only we had acted and decided differently.


dd) God has a perfect knowledge of all that transpires in human history.

With what precision are national changes and destinies foretold and depicted in Daniel 2 and 8! Acts 15:18:--"Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world [ages]." In the context surrounding this verse are clearly set forth the religious changes that were to characterize the generations to come, the which have been so far literally, though not fully, fulfilled.

ee) God knows from all eternity to all eternity what will take place.

The omniscience of God is abduced as the proof that He alone is God, especially as contrasted with the gods (idols) of the heathen:

Isaiah 48:5-8--"I have even from the beginning declared it unto thee; before it came to pass I showed it thee...I have showed these new things from this time, even hidden things," etc.

46:9.10--"God...declaring the end from the beginning. and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. "

Here God is announcing to His prophets things that are to occur in the future which it is impossible for the human understanding to know or reach. There is no past, present, future with God. Everything is one great living present. We are like a man standing by a river in a low place, and who, consequently, can see that part of the river only that passes by him; but he who is aloof in the air may see the whole course of the river, how it rises, and how it runs. Thus is it with God.

 

[Gazelle]

CERTAIN PROBLEMS IN CONNECTION WITH THE DOCTRINE OF THE OMNISCIENCE OF GOD

How the divine intelligence can comprehend so vast and multitudinous and exhaustless a number of things must forever surpass our comprehension.
"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33).

"There is no searching of his understanding; it is beyond human computation." We must expect, therefore, to stand amazed in the presence of such matchless wisdom, and find problems in connection therewith which must for the time, at least, remain unsolved.

Again, we must not confound the foreknowledge of God with His foreordination. The two things are, in a sense, distinct. The fact that God foreknows a thing makes that thing certain but not necessary. His foreordination is based upon His foreknowledge. Pharaoh was responsible for the hardening of his heart even though that hardening process was foreknown and foretold by God. The actions of men are considered certain but not necessary by reason of the divine foreknowledge.

DOCTRINE OF THE OMNISCIENCE OF GOD

By the omnipresence of God is meant that God is everywhere present. This attribute is closely connected with the omniscience and omnipotence of God, for if God is everywhere present He is everywhere active and possesses full knowledge of all that transpires in every place.

This does not mean that God is everywhere present in a bodily sense, nor even in the same sense; for there is a sense in which He may be in heaven, His dwelling place, in which He cannot be said to be elsewhere.

We must guard against the pantheistic idea which claims that God is everything, while maintaining the Scriptural doctrine that He is everywhere present in all things. Pantheism emphasizes the omnipresent activity of God, but denies His personality. Those holding the doctrine of pantheism make loud claims to philosophic ability and high intellectual training, but is it not remarkable that it is in connection with this very phase of the doctrine of God that the Apostle Paul says "they became fools"? (Romans 1.)

God is everywhere and in every place; His center is everywhere; His circumference nowhere. But this presence is a spiritual and not a material presence; yet it is a real presence.

Scriptural statement of the fact

Jeremiah 23:23,24--"Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord."

Did the false prophets think that they could hide their secret crimes from God? Or that He could not pursue them into foreign countries? Or that He knew what was transpiring in heaven only and not upon the earth, and even in the most distant corners? It was false for them to thus delude themselves--their sins would be detected and punished (Psalm 10:1-14)

Psalm 139:7-12--"Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from they presence," etc. How wondrously the attributes of God are grouped in this psalm. In vv. 1-6 the psalmist speaks of the omniscience of God: God knows him through and through. In vv. 13-19 it is the omnipotence of God which overwhelms the psalmist. The omnipresence of God is set forth in vv. 7-12. The psalmist realized that he is never out of the sight of God any more than he is outside of the range of His knowledge and power.

God is in heaven: "Hell is naked before Him"; souls in the intermediate state are fully known to Him (cf. Job 26:2; Jonah 2:2); the darkness is as the light to Him. Job 22:12-14--"Is not God in the height of heaven?...Can he judge through the dark cloud? Thick clouds are a covering to him that he seeth not," etc.

All agreed that God displayed His presence in the heaven, but Job had inferred from this that God could not know and did not take notice of such actions of men as were hidden behind the intervening clouds. Not that Job was atheistic; no, but probably denied to God the attribute of omnipresence and omniscience.

Acts 17:24-28-- "For in him we live, and move, and have our being." Without His upholding hand we must perish; God is our nearest environment. From these and many other scripture we are clearly taught that God is everywhere present and acting; There is no place where God is not.

This does not mean that God is everywhere present in the same sense. For we are told that He is in heaven, His dwelling place (1 Kings 8:30); that Christ is at His right hand in heaven (Ephesians 1:20); that God's throne is in heaven (Revelation 21:2; Isaiah 66:1).

We may summarize the doctrine of the Trinity thus: God the Father is specially manifested in heaven; God the Son has been specially manifested on the earth; God the Spirit is manifested everywhere.

Just as the soul is present in every part of the body, so God is present in every part of the world.

Glossary:
foreordination: to dispose or appoint in advance, predestine
foreknowledge: to have previous knowledge of : know beforehand especially by paranormal means or by revelation
(The above two are both transitive verbs, btw. That means the word can be a noun in some places, or a verb in other.)

 

[Gazelle]

Some practical inferences from this doctrine.

First, of comfort: the nearness of God to the believer. "Speak to Him then for He listens. And spirit with spirit can meet; Closer is He than breathing. And nearer than hands or feet. " "God is never so far off, as even to be near; He is within . Our spirit is the home He holds most dear. To think of Him as by our side is almost as untrue, As to remove His shrine beyond those skies of starry blue." --Faber.

The omnipresence is not only a detective truth--it is protective also. After dwelling on this great and awful attribute in Psalm 139, the psalmist, in vv. 17, 18, exclaims: "How precious are thy thoughts to me...when I awake, I am still with thee": By this is meant that God stands by our side to help, and as One who loves and understands us. (Matthew 28:20)

Second, of warning: "As in the Roman empire the whole world was one great prison to a malefactor, and in his flight to the most distant lands the emperor could track him, so under the government of God no sinner can escape the eye of the judge." Thus the omnipresence of God is detective as well as protective. "Thou God seest me. " should serve as warning to keep us from sin.

THE ETERNITY AND IMMUTABILITY OF GOD

The word "eternal" is used in two senses in the Bible: figuratively, as denoting existence which may have a beginning, but will have no end, e.g., angels, the human soul; literally, denoting an existence which has neither beginning nor ending, like that of God. Time has past, present, future; eternity has not. Eternity is infinite duration without any beginning, end, or limit--an ever abiding present.

We can conceive of it only as duration indefinitely extended from the present moment in two directions--as to the past and as to the future. One of the deaf mute pupils in the institution of Paris, being desired to express his idea of the eternity of the Deity, replied: "It is duration, without beginning or end; existence, without bounds or dimension; present, without past or future. His eternity is youth, without infancy or old age; life, without birth or death; today, without yesterday or tomorrow."

By the immutability of God is meant that God's nature is absolutely unchangeable. It is not possible that He should possess one attribute at one time that He does not possess at another. Nor can there be any change in the Deity for better or for worse. God remains forever the same. he is without beginning and without end; the self-existent "I AM"; He remains forever the same, and unchangeable.

SCRIPTURAL STATEMENT OF THE FACT: THE ETERNITY OF GOD:

Habukkuk 1:12--"Art thou not from everlasting , O Lord my God, mine Holy One?" Chaldea had threatened to annihilate Israel. The prophet cannot believe is possible, for has not God eternal purposes for Israel? Is He not holy? How, then, can evil triumph?

Psalm 90:2--"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou ART GOD." Short and transitory is the life of man; with God it is otherwise. The perishable nature of man is here compared with the imperishable nature of God:

Psalm 102:24-27--"I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days; thy years are throughout all generations. Of old thou hast laid the foundations of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou at the same, and thy years shall have no end. "

With the perishable nature of the whole material creation the psalmist contrasts the imperishable nature of God. Exodus 3:14--"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM." The past, present and future lie in these words for the name of Jehovah.

Revelation 1:8--"I Am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, said the Lord, which is and which was and which is to come, the Almighty."

SCRIPTURAL STATEMENT OF THE IMMUTABILITY OF GOD:

Malachi 3:6--" I am the Lord, I change not." Man's hope lies in that fact, as the context here shows. Man had changed in his life and purpose toward God, and if God, like man, had changed, man would have been destroyed.

James 1:17--"The Father of Lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

There is no change--in the sense of the degree or intensity of light such as is manifested in the heavenly bodies. Such lights are constantly varying and changing; not so with God. There is no inherent, indwelling, possible change in God.

1 Samuel 15:29--"And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent." From these scriptures we assert that God, in His nature and character, is absolutely without change.

 

[Gazelle]

Now I'll post a bit about a subject I think everyone can --and should-- keep in mind. It can come in handy when another type of believer (or non?) asks ...when it comes to God "repenting."

From the book study:

DOES GOD REPENT

What, then, shall we say with regard to such scriptures as Jonah 3:10 and Genesis 6:6--"And God repented of the evil, that he said he would do unto them." "And it repented the Lord that he had made mean on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart."

In reply we may say that God does not change, but threatens that men may change. "The repentant attitude in God does not involved any real change in the character and purposes of God. He ever hates the sin and ever pities and loves the sinner; that is so both before and after the sinner's repentance.

Divine repentant is therefore the same principle acting differently in altered circumstances. If the prospect of punishment answers the same purpose as that intended by the punishment itself, then there is no inconsistency in its remission, for punishment is not an end, it is only a means to goodness, to the reign of the law of righteousness.:

When God appears to be displeased with anything, or orders it differently from what we expected, we say, after the manner of men, that He repents. God's attitude towards the Ninevites had not changed, but they had changed; and because they had changed from sin unto righteousness, God's attitude towards them and His intended dealings with them as sinners must of necessity change, while, of course, God's character had in no wise changed with respect to these people, although His dealings with them had.

So that we may say that God's character never changes, but His dealings with men change as they change from ungodliness to godliness and from disobedience unto obedience. "God's immutability is not that of the stone, that has no internal experience, but rather that of the column of mercury that rises and falls with every change in the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere. When a man bicycling against the wind turns about and goes with the wind instead of going against it, the wind seems to change, although it is blowing just as it was before." --Strong

The word "repent" is man's word to describe God's merciful allowance at man's repenting. One way to think about this is that God has set events and outcomes...depending upon how man responds is how God will respond to man, though with God, each response has it's own determined "character action" by God. He doesn't "change his mind" as we do as humans. Just like we have plan a, b and c... we don't change our minds when plan a doesn't work, we go right on to plan b. Another example is, as a parent, you know your child pretty well...and in a given situation you expect him to act a certain way, which means you will respond a certain way. However, in case he acts differently, you also have a reaction for that to correlate.

Hope I helped make that clearer.

 

[Gazelle]

THE MORAL ATTRIBUTES

If there is any difference in importance in the attributes of God, that of His holiness seems to occupy the first place. It is, to say the least, the one attribute which god would have His people remember Him by more than any other.

In the visions of Himself which God granted men in the Scriptures the thin that stood out most prominent was the divine holiness. This is clearly seen by referring to the visions of Moses, Job, and Isaiah. Some thirty (30) times does the Prophet Isaiah speak of Jehovah as "the Holy One," thus indicating what feature of those beatific visions had most impressed him.

The holiness of God is the message of the entire Old Testament. To the prophets God was the absolutely Holy One; the One with eyes too pure to behold evil; the One swift to punish iniquity. In taking a photograph, the part of the body which we desire most to see is not the hands or feet, but the face. So it is with our vision of God. he desires us to see not His hand and finger, denoting His power and skill,m nor even His throne as indicating His majesty. it is His holiness by which He desires to be remembered as that is the attribute which most glorifies Him.

Let us bear this fact in mind as we study this attribute of the divine nature. It is just this vision of God that we need today when the tendency to deny the reality or the awfulness of sin is so prevalent. Our view of the necessity of the atonement will depend very largely upon our view of the holiness of God. Light views of God and His holiness will produce light views of sin and the atonement.

Next: Scriptural statements setting forth the holiness of God.

 

[Gazelle]

SCRIPTURAL STATEMENTS SETTING FORTH THE FACT OF GOD'S HOLINESS

Isaiah 57:15--"Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I swell in the high and holy place."

Psalm 99:9--"Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy."

Habakkuk 1:13--"Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity."

1 Peter 1:15--"But as he which has called you is holy, so be holy in all manner of conversation. Because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy."

God's personal name is holy. John 17:11--"Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me."

Christ here contemplates the Father as the Holy One, as the source and agent of that which He desires for His disciples, namely, holiness of heart and life, being kept from the evil of this world

Is it not remarkable that this attribute of holiness is ascribed to each of the three person of the Trinity? God the Father is the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 41:14); God the Son is the Holy One (Acts 3:14); God the Spirit is called the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30)

The Scriptural Meaning of Holiness as Applied to God

Job 34:10--"Be it far from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty that he should commit iniquity."

An evil God, one that could commit evil would be a contradiction in terms, an impossible, inconceivable idea. Job seemed to doubt that the principle on which the universe was conducted was one of absolute equity.

He must know that God is free from all evil-doing. However hidden the meaning of His dealings He is always just. God never did, never will do wrong to any of His creatures; He will never punish wrongly. Men may, yea, often do; God never does.

Leviticus 11:43-45--"Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled thereby. For I am the Lord your God; ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy; neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth...Ye shall therefore be hold, for I am holy."

This means that God is absolutely clean and pure and free from all defilement.

The construction of the Tabernacle, with its holy and most holy place into which the high priest alone entered once a year; the Ten commandments, with their moral categories, the laws of clean and unclean animals and things--all these speak to us in unmistakable terms as to what is meant by holiness as applied to God.

Two things, by way of definition, may be inferred from theses Scriptures; first, negatively, that God is entirely apart form all that is evil and from all that defiles both in Himself and in relation to all His creatures; second, and positively, by the holiness of God is meant the consummate holiness, perfection, purity, and absolute sanctity of His nature. There is absolutely nothing unholy in Him. So the Apostle John declares: "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."

The Manifestation of God's Holiness

Proverbs 15:9, 26--"The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord. The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination unto the Lord."

God hates sin, and is its uncompromising foe. Sin is a vile and detestable thing to God.

Isaiah 59:1, 2--"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."

Israel's sin had raised a partition wall. The infinite distance between the sinner and God is because of sin. The sinner and God are at opposite poles of the moral universe. This is answer to Israel's charge of God's inability. From these two scriptures it is clear that God's holiness manifests itself in the hatred of sin and the separation of the sinner from himself.

Herein lies the need of the atonement, whereby this awful distance is bridged over. This is the lesson taught by the construction of the Tabernacle as to the division into the holy place and the most holy place.

Proverbs 15:9--" But he loves him that follows after righteousness."

John 3:16:--For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son," etc.

Here God's holiness is seen in that He loves righteousness in the life of His children to such a degree that He gave His only begotten Son to secure it. The Cross shows how much God loves holiness. The Cross stands for God's holiness before even His love. For Christ died not merely for our sins, but in order that He might provide us with that righteousness of life which God loves. "He died that we might be forgiven; he died to make us good." Do we love holiness to the extent of sacrificing for it?

There are other manifestations listed under "righteousness and justice" of God...

Next: Practical deductions from the doctrine of God's holiness.

 

[Gazelle]

Practical deductions from the The Doctrine of God's Holiness

First, we should approach God with "reverence and godly fear" Hebrews 12:28

In the story of Moses' approach to the burning bush, the smiting of the men at Bethshemesh, the boundary set about Mt Sinai, we are taught to feel our own unworthiness. There is too much hilarity in our approach unto God. Ecclesiastes 5:1-3 inculcates great care in our address to God.

Second, we shall have right views of sin when we get right views of God's holiness. Isaiah, the holiest man in all Israel, was cast down at the sight of his own sin after he had seen the vision of God's holiness. The same thing is true of Job (40:3-5; 42:4-5). We confess sin in such easy and familiar terms that it has almost lost its terror for us.

Third, that approach to a holy God must be through the merits of Christ, and on the ground of a righteousness which is Christ's and which naturally we do not possess. Herein lies the need of the atonement.

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE OF GOD

In a certain sense these attributes are but the manifestation of God's holiness. It is holiness as manifested in dealing with the sons of men. Holiness has to do more particularly with the character of God in itself, while in righteousness and justice that character is expressed in the dealings of God with men.

Three things may be said in the consideration of the righteousness and justice of God: first, there is the imposing of righteousness, laws and demands, which may be called legislative holiness, and may be known as the righteousness of God; second, there is the executing of the penalties, attached to those laws, which may be called judicial holiness; third, there is the sense in which the attributes of the righteousness and justice of God may be regarded as the actual carrying out of the holy nature of God in the government of the world. So that in the righteousness of God we have His love of holiness, and in the justice of God, His hatred of sin.

Again righteousness, as here used, has reference to the very nature of God as He is in Himself--that attribute which leads God always to do right.

Justice, as an attribute of God, is devoid of all passion or caprice; it is vindicative, not vindictive.

And so the righteousness and justice of the God of Israel were made to stand out prominently as contrasted with the caprice of the heathen gods.

GLOSSARY:

Vindicative: punitive
Vindictive: disposed to seek revenge : vengeful, intended for or involving revenge, intended to cause anguish or hurt : spiteful



SCRIPTURAL STATEMENT OF THE FACT

Psalm 116:5--:Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful." The content here show that it is because of this fact that God listens to men, and because, having promised to hear, He is bound to keep His promises.

Ezra 9:15--"O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous." Here the righteousness of Jehovah is acknowledged in the punishment of Israel's sins. Thou are just, and thous hast brought us into the state in which we are today. Psalm 145:17--"The Lord is righteous is all his ways, and holy in all his works."

This is evident in the rewards He gives to the upright, in lifting up the lowly, and in abundantly blessing the good, pure, and true.

Jeremiah 12:1--"Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee." That is to say, "If I were to bring a charge against Thee I should not be able to convict Thee of injustice, even though I be painfully exercised over the mysteries of Thy providence."

These scriptures clearly set forth not only the fact that God is righteous and just, but also define these attributes. Here we are told that God, in His government of the world, does always that which is suitable, straight, and right.

Next: How the righteousness and the justice of God are revealed.