Alan Dunn
Chapter 2: Of God and of the Holy Trinity
History informs us that part of what motivated the authors of the London Baptist Confession of 1689 was the desire to write a Confession that would identify them with other orthodox Christians. The Confession articulates doctrinal and practical convictions that make it a distinctive document, but at this juncture, the writers were happy to reiterate essential Biblical Orthodoxy and stand united with all orthodox Christians who worship the Creator God revealed in Scripture.
Biblical ethics is based upon a faith obedience to the first and second commandments: You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Exodus 20:3-6) Scripture informs us and history affirms that manâs greatest sin is the sin of idolatry. Fallen men cannot suppress their essential religiousness but must express an inherent awareness of the existence of God. Paul, using the language of the second commandment, says, they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Rom 1:25) Men cannot rid creation of its Creator. What they can do, however, is make an exchange. The creature made in the image of God makes a god in the creatureâs image! He does this by fashioning an idol made out of the lies of Satan. Then, with faith in a lie, man honors his idol with the reverence due only to God. He is committed to his idol with sinful pride. In selfish pride and rebellion, the idolater exchanges deities and directs his worship to a false god that tolerates his sin and perpetuates his self-deception. From the Fall, through the history of Israel, to cultures both ancient and modern, manâs fundamental and taproot sin is the sin of idolatry.
The essence of true conversion is a turning from idols to embrace the true and living God (cf. 1 Thes 1:9,10). Biblical orthodoxy has the true and living God Himself at the core of doctrinal truth. It is little wonder then, that the framers of the London Baptist Confession were eager to identify themselves with the true God profiled in Chapter Two of the Confession. Here we find a confession of God as Triune, in keeping with the formulations of the Nicene Creed. God is presented so as to prepare the reader to embrace His sovereignty exercised over all creation as will be described in chapter four. Here is much food for meditation. People today need to be introduced to the one true, and living God. Christians today need to think deeply about their God. Preachers need, like Isaiah to Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” (Isaiah 40:9)
1. The Lord our God is but one only living and true God; whose subsistence is in and of Himself, infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but Himself; a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite, most holy, most wise, 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.
It is generally the case throughout the Confession that the doctrine being confessed is summarily expressed in the first paragraph of each chapter. The ensuing paragraphs are then further elaborations, qualifications, and specific applications of the truth stated in the first paragraph. Consequently, the first paragraph demands our most detailed analysis, whereas the following paragraphs can be studied to identify their particular contribution to the doctrine being confessed. In this the second chapter, the first paragraph presents an overview of the orthodox doctrine of God. The second paragraph describes Godâs relationships to His creatures. The third paragraph confesses that God is Triune: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
I. The Attributes of God (Paragraph #1)
A. The Singularity of God: The Lord our God is but one only living and true God.
1. one only: There are not many gods. There is only one God and the Lord is that one God. Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! (Deut 6:4); Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me (Isa 46:9); For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5). Against those who are polytheists and those who misinterpret the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity, we assert with the opening words of Scripture: In the beginning God! We confess one God, the Creator of heavens and earth, the redeeming Lord of grace.
2. living: Scripture often portrays the idols of the pagans as âdeadâ (cf. Ps 115). In contrast, our God is the âliving Godâ. For who is there of all flesh, who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? (Deut 5:26). Our deepest needs and desires will not be satisfied with dead idols. Our yearnings are for the living God! My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God? (Ps 42:2) My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. (Ps 84:2) When Paul and Barnabas encountered those who believed in many gods, they were resolved to preach the gospel to them. Essential to the gospel is the declaration of the one true and living God. We preach the gospel to you in order that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them. (Acts 14:15)
3. true: There is another living one who stands behind polytheism: Satan. He is called the god of this world (cf. 2 Cor 4:4) who works to blind men to the reality of the one, living and true God: the Lord. Because men misdirect their reverence to Satan rather than to God, Satan is this worldâs false god. Satan is âlivingâ, but has merely created life. He is not the living God! He is âoneâ in the sense that there are not many Satans, although he employs many demons. He also speaks, but whenever he speaks, he utters lies! He is the father of lies! (Jn 8:44) Conversely, the Lord is the true God. But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. (Jer 10:10a) We encounter those who believe in many gods and they assert that their gods are alive. But they are false gods! Vain idols made my men, fashioned by the lies and deceits of Satan! Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. (1 Cor 8:4-6) The one, living and true God alone is able to save! Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me. Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:21b,22)
B. The Independence of God: whose subsistence is in and of Himself, infinite in being and perfection; The Confession consciously aligns itself with historical articulations of orthodox theology. A study of the early history of the church shows how various controversies arose over the nature of the Trinity and the deity of Jesus Christ. In the crucible of controversy, the church formulated theological and doctrinal perspectives and vocabulary to express Scriptural truth and to fend off heresy with precise theological terms.
This phrase of the Confession speaks of the unique being of the transcendent God. The word âsubsistenceâ refers to the being or existence of God. There are but two orders of being: the being of the Creator and the being of the created. God is. He exists with complete self- sufficiency and is dependent upon nothing for His life. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself. (Jn 5:26) God relies upon nothing outside of Himself to live. In Him we live and move and exist (or have our being) (Acts 17:28). Our being is dependent upon the being of God. We cannot exist if God does not exist. But God exists independently of all His creatures. God IS. What God is, He is without limit and without defect. He is perfect being; absolute reality. There is nothing unreal about God!
When God gave Moses His name in Exodus 3:14, He introduced Himself as I AM WHO I AM. The Hebrew letters of this name, YHWH, form the background to the name âYahwehâ – a name so venerated under the Old Covenant that it was seen to be irreverent even to utter it! This name is intimately related to the Hebrew word âto beâ. God is the existing One. What is, is defined in terms of the God who is. He is what He is and is defined only in terms of Himself. This assertion of His being lies at the root of all His attributes. Godâs personal, self-existence qualifies everything that He is: His attributes; His decrees; and His works. All that God is and does is accomplished with transcendent self-sufficiency. He relies upon none other to live. He takes counsel from none. He performs all His holy will independently and for His own glory which is the object of His perfect delight. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. (Rom 11:36)
When Paul confronted the idolatrous paganism of the Stoics and Epicureans, he proclaimed the self-sufficient, independent God who is in and of Himself. The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things (Acts 17:24,25).
C. The Incomprehensibility of God: whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but Himself. God alone knows Himself and comprehends His own divine being. Man, the creature, cannot fathom God. He cannot discover God. He cannot posit an hypothesis about God and try to contain Him to perform a scientific experiment on God. If fact, Scripture tells us that left to himself, man would not see fit to acknowledge God (Rom 1:28).
If we are to know God, it will be because God is pleased to reveal Himself to us. At that time Jesus answered and said, âI praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight.â All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. (Matthew 11:25-27)
Even in the light of revelation, we cannot âcomprehendâ God. To comprehend speaks of being able to contain all of God in our thoughts; to leave nothing of God unknown. The revelation of God in Scripture is true and reliable, but not exhaustive. In the act of revealing Himself, there yet remains that which He does not disclose. He declares His goodness to Moses, but covers him with His hand and prevents His face from being seen (Ex 33:18-34:8). He reveals Himself fully and finally in the person of His Son, who often spoke in parables, hiding Kingdom truths even as they were revealed (cf. Mt. 13:10-17). When we gaze upon Jesus, we see God, yet deity is covered in the form of a bondservant in the likeness of men (cf. Col 1:19; 2:9; Phil 2:5-11). The presence and triumph of the Kingdom is likewise âincomprehensibleâ in the sense that it is not seen in itâs entirety – not yet. What we see is the dynamic of the cross worked out in the life of the Messiah and His disciples, and as we look at the seed which is buried in the earth, the tree which is sure to grow is, at present, unseen, incomprehensible, and known only to faith. It is because God is incomprehensible that the righteous man lives by faith, that we walk by faith and not by sight, that without faith it is impossible to please Him for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hab 2:4; 2 Cor 5:7; Heb 11:6). Even in the perfection of a redeemed heaven and earth in glory, even with resurrected and glorified bodies and minds purged of sin and death, even then – we will never comprehend the infinite, perfect, self-existing God! Yes, we will know Him sinlessly and, in that sense, perfectly, but never extensively! Ps 145:3 Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable. Rom 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
D. The Spirituality of God: a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; The concern of this descriptive phrase is to further distinguish God from men and from the created realm. Godâs being is immaterial, non-corporeal. Jesus informs us that God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (Jn 4:24) Godâs spirituality means that God is distinct from the material realm of this created universe. As such He is invisible. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen (1 Tim 1:17) God cannot be captured, contained and scientifically examined as though He were some ingredient to be discovered in the universe. No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (Jn 1:18) This God who is Spirit can alone reveal Himself in visible ways, which He has done in the incarnation of the second person of the Trinity. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. (Col 1:15) Only God can make an image of Himself. He has done this in creation, making man in His image, in the incarnation of His Son, and in the sanctification of His people in Christ. But we men are prohibited from making an image of God, precisely because He is Spirit and invisible. Before the second issuing of the Ten Commandments, Moses warned the people along the lines of the Second Commandment. He reminded them that when God gave them the Law at Sinai, no one saw Him, but only heard Him. Then the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form – only a voice. (Deut 4:12) No one has seen God and therefore no one can fashion an image of Him which is derived from any created thing. So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, lest you act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, lest you act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth. (Deut 4:15-18)
When the Confession says that God is âwithout body, part, or passionsâ, it is refuting the common pagan practice of making god in manâs image. The ancient gods of the Greeks and Romans were notorious for their âpassionsâ. These supposed divine beings were yet motivated by human, and often immoral desires. Likewise, the deities of animism and Hinduism are given to âpassionsâ and motives which are, in fact, ungodly! Yet, do we not read of the eyes of God, and the ears of God, and the hand of God? Alexander Hodge comments: âWhen the Scriptures, in condescension to our weakness, express the fact that God hears by saying that He has an ear, or that He exerts power by attributing to Him a hand, they evidently speak metaphorically, because in the case of men spiritual faculties are exercised through bodily organs.â In other words, Scripture accommodates our understanding by speaking of Godâs spiritual attributes using what are call âanthropomorphismsâ: using human characteristics to describe the actions of God. He is said to hear our prayers with His âearâ, to see our conduct with His âeyesâ, and to move in history with the power of His âhandâ, but this is merely a descriptive way to describe the actions of the invisible God who is Spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions.
The final part of this phrase, âwho only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach untoâ, is an incorporation of Scriptural language into the Confession. He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. (1 Tim 6:15,16)
E. The Infinity of God: who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute. The infinity of God is considered from several vantage points. Again, what is being stressed is the fact that God is the Creator. His being and life is transcendent and not conditioned by the limitations of creaturliness.
1. immutable. God is unchangeable. His essential deity is constant. He does not grow into more of a God than He was previously. For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. (Mal 3:6) God is not fickle, acting one way one day and another way the next. In both His being and His acting, as revealed in Jesus Christ, (He) is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever. (Heb 13:8) He is the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow. (Jms 1:17)
2. immense. Godâs infinity is here considered in relation to space. We would speak of this truth as Godâs âomnipresenceâ. He is both greater than space while He fills all space. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain Thee, how much less this house which I have built! (1 Kgs 8:27) âAm I a God who is near,” declares the Lord, “And not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places, So I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord. (Jer 23:23) There is no place where God is not present. There is no place where God is not present in the fullness of His deity. It is not as though part of God is present in one place and another part of God is present in another place. God is fully present in every place at every moment. Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Thy hand will lead me, and Thy right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,” even the darkness is not dark to Thee, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to Thee. (Ps 139:7-12)
3. eternal. Here Godâs infinity is seen in relation to time. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen, and Amen. (Ps 41:13 ) Before the mountains were born, or Thou didst give birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God. (Ps 90:2 ) This is perhaps one of the most difficult considerations of God for us because we are so conditioned by the time limitations of our finitude. Everything in our experience has a beginning and an end. I remember discussing Godâs infinity with my five year old son. I told him that God had no beginning but He has always existed. My son sat for a few moments in silence trying to grasp the concept of a Being with no beginning. Then he shook his head and said, âDaddy, that makes my head hurt!â The very thought of Godâs timelessness takes us to the limits of our conceptions and when we try to peer beyond our finitude, we collapse in failure. God is the eternal âI AMâ. He is not in the process of becoming, He IS. As with space, He both transcends and fills time. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Tim 1:17)
4. incomprehensible. We have already considered this aspect of God. It is again repeated here to emphasize that God is infinitely more than we can conceive. For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’. (Isa 46:9,10) When He calls sinners to repent and promises pardon, He declares, For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. âFor as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.â (Isa 55:8,9)
5. almighty. Here is Godâs infinity compared to whatever we can conceive as powerful or strong. Think of the force of a monsoon, or the destruction of a tidal wave. Think of the eruption of a volcano, or the violence of an earthquake. Think of the devastation of an atomic bomb. Think of the collision of asteroids or the eruptions on the surface of the sun. Let your mind lift itself to consider the movements of galaxies and the mechanisms by which the entire universe is held together! Our God is stronger! He is God Almighty! Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty? They are high as the heavens, what can you do? Deeper than Sheol, what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. (Job 11:7)
6. every way infinite. The Confession does not want us to conceive of any way in which God is not infinite. In all of His attributes, He is the infinite, limitless God.
7. most holy. Notice the use of the word âmostâ in this and the next three descriptions. âMostâ is an attempt to speak of the ultimacy and supremacy of God. If He is the âmostâ, then there is none âmoreâ. The God to whom Abraham tithed is God Most High (Gen 14:18-22) God is often called God Most High in Scripture. What a comfort to us as His people to know that He, in all His supremacy, is our God ! I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me. (Ps 57:2) God is here said to be âMost Highâ in His holiness. The holiness of God has to do with both His being transcendent and exalted above His creation, and His being morally pure and righteous in His character and conduct. The holiness of God is the repeated theme of heavenly worship. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isa 6:3) And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” (Rev 4:8) Holiness is again, an all-inclusive attribute of God. In every facet of His being and works, God is holy.
8. most wise. The wisdom of God is demonstrated in both creation and redemption. Prov 8 personifies Godâs wisdom by which He created all things. Wisdom is truth accurately applied in the most practical manner for the accomplishment of the highest good. Creation is a display of the wisdom of God. The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and the firmament is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. (Ps 19:1,2) But it is in the gospel that the wisdom of God is most revealed. Here is a wisdom unto salvation which could never be concocted in the mind of men (cf. 1 Cor 1:20-24 Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.) Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col 2:2,3) Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! (Rom 11:33); to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen. (Rom 16:27)
9. most free. The freedom of God concerns His transcendence and the liberty of His sovereign will. But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. (Ps 115:3) Without constraint or compulsion, God acts in the delightful freedom of being God. He is pleased to be Himself. This freedom to do as He pleases lies at the heart of His gracious purposes to save His people. Paul in Eph 1, emphasizes that God has been merciful to us in Christ Jesus essentially because He wants to be merciful! He is free to be merciful and it pleases Him to be just that! In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed upon us in the Beloved. (Eph 1:5,6)
10. most absolute. The Confession is not Scripture. We need to remember that. It is a document written with an eye on Scripture so as to âconfessâ, say the same thing as, the Scripture. But it also has an eye to those outside of the church, to speak to them concerning the things we believe the Scripture teaches us to believe. Therefore, we will find places in the confession where the terms and concerns of the world are addressed. Here we find a word, âabsoluteâ, which is not derived from Scripture but from interacting with menâs philosophical attempts to come to terms with ultimate concerns. âThe Absoluteâ is a phrase used throughout the history of philosophical discussions of God, often without the benefit of the revelation of the Scripture. Here, the Confession takes this commonly used philosophical term and says, in effect, âGod is more than unconverted idolatrous men can conceive Him to be. He is not mere âabsoluteâ, a mere man-made abstract phrase. He is more than âabsoluteâ! He is âmost absoluteâ!â
F. The Sovereignty of God: working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory. The sovereignty of God describes the ultimate authority, rule, government, and unassailable prerogatives exercised by the God who cannot be called into account by anyone! When men even express an accusing charge against God, Scripture responds, On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, âWhy did you make me like this,â will it? (Rom 9:20) Perhaps one of the reasons why the doctrine of the sovereignty of God has met up with opposition in every generation, is because it strikes at the heart of human pride, which lies at the root of our sin. All our concepts of âfairnessâ and âequalityâ must be submitted to our theology. The true and living God is the sovereign God. Whatever is âfairâ and âequalâ will not be in conflict with His perfect and impeccable character and wisdom. Let us learn humility first and foremost. Only then, can we hope to learn of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:5-8)
1. working all things: Here we see the extent to which God exercises His sovereignty – in all things. The movements of armies and the flight of birds are all sovereignly directed by God. My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure; calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it. (Isa 46:10b,11) There is not a sparrow which falls to the ground which is not in accordance with the Fatherâs will, nor is there a hair that grows on your head that isnât meant to be there! (cf. Mt 10:29,30) Godâs sovereignty works all things. It is an amazingly comforting truth to the child of God. Every snow flake falls on the precise spot determined by God. Every grain of sand is shaped and situated exactly where God designed it to be. His sovereignty is exercised even in the actions of men, who are created as free moral agents. Even though men act in the full exercise of their free will, Godâs sovereignty is not diminished but accomplished. The good and the evil, the pleasurable and the painful, the delightful and the disappointing – the Lord God Almighty works in all things to accomplish His sovereign will. Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth? (Lam 3:37,38) If you sense an argument rising within you to refute this Biblical assertion, it is due to your native, and sinful, inability to comprehend God. The next verses in Lamentations speak to that very issue: Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins? Let us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the Lord. (Lam 3:39,40) The humble child of God does not argue with the sovereignty of God, but delights to know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28) We know that Godâs purpose is to conform us to Christ that we might share in His glory!
2. according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will: Here we learn that Godâs sovereignty is exercised according to His wisdom. Chapter 3 of the Confession deals with âGodâs Decreeâ and more will be said concerning His wisdom there. Here we see that Godâs determinations by which God rules the universe are unchangeable. God does not alter His purposes. Yes, we read of God ârepentingâ and removing previously threatened judgment because men responded to His call to repent. That anthropomorphic language informs us that God actually engages men in real history. We understand that even these âcontingenciesâ are determined in His âimmutable and most righteous willâ. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation. (Ps 33:11) Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the Lord, it will stand. (Prov 19:21)
3. for His own glory: It is sobering yet liberating to realize that the ultimate end of all things is not âmeâ, but God. Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Thy name give glory because of Thy lovingkindness, because of Thy truth. (Ps 115:1) âGloryâ has to do with the fame and reputation of God. His glory is displayed in His works and the most glorious work of God is His redeeming work which will bring his people and this fallen cosmos into the glory of the new heavens and the new earth. For I consider that the suffering of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Rom 8:18) That the writers of the Confession have the glory of Godâs saving grace in view is evident from the fact that this entire phrase is derived from Eph 1:8b-12 In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
G. The Love of God: most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin: Once again, the words of the Confession are derived from Scripture. Moses has requested a sight of Godâs glory, having now been assured that the Lord would continue with the Israelites in spite of the Golden Calf incident. The Lord condescended to show Moses His goodness. (Ex 33:18,19) We then read of the events of the next day. Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.â (Ex 34:6,7) The substance of this revelation of God to Moses is referred to in this and the final clause of this Confessional paragraph.
1. most loving: Again notice the superlative âmostâ. There is none who is more loving than God for God is love. (1 Jn 4:8) The love of God is a thing sadly misunderstood. God is love. His very essence in the actions and relations of the Triune Godhead, constitute love. In all He is and does, He is love – even, as He tells Moses, in the execution of His retributive justice! We must not approach this God with our own preconceived notions of what love is and then demand that He meet our expectations. No. He defines Himself and He defines what is love. The love of God is what is revealed by the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father (Jn 1:18). Only the incarnate Logos, the Son, the second person of the Trinity can reveal the inner heart of the God who is Love. The love of God is essentially defined by the relationship enjoyed between the first and second persons of the Godhead whose love is revealed and communicated to us by the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. The love of God is known by those who are savingly joined to Christ and are loved in Him with the love the Father has for the Son! In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him. (Jn 14:20,21) The love of God has a specific locus: the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:39) The love of God is demonstrated in the specific acts of redemption accomplished by Jesus in behalf of His people. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 Jn 4:10) The love of God fills up the covenant promises of God which have been the possession of the people of God throughout the ages. The love of God is what motivates God to save sinners in the exercise of His sovereign grace and mercy. (cf. Eph 1:3ff) It was love for the world that moved God to send His only begotten Son (Jn 3:16). When men look upon Christ illuminated by the gospel, they see the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind (Tit 3:4), and they are called by the gospel to believe in Christ, to repent of their idolatry and sin, and, in union with Christ, to receive the love of God!
2. gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth: The grace, mercy, patience, goodness and veracity of God is testified to in every demonstration of Godâs dealings with men. These attributes of God are especially revealed against the background of menâs sin. If we gain a proper view of our sin, the gracious patience of God is an astounding marvel, especially when we come to see Him in His essential holiness!
a. gracious: The famous benediction of Moses is a prayer for the bestowal of Godâs grace. The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace. (Num 6:25) Godâs graciousness is what is often sought in the Psalms for our God who answers prayer is the gracious God. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, and be gracious to me and answer me. (Ps 27:7) This is the character of our God: He responds with kindness and compassion to the cry of the needy!
b. merciful: Godâs mercy is His response to the cry of the penitent sinner. Jesus describes one such sinner in Luke 18:13, But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘ God, be merciful to me, the sinner! This cry for mercy was the testimony that the tax-gatherer refused to rely upon his own merit, but cast himself upon the mercy of God. Jesus says that men, not the arrogant Pharisee, went home justified. Ascertaining the mercy of God in Christ is at the heart of saving faith. But Thou, O Lord, art a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. (Ps 86:15) For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. (Heb 8:12) We who have received His mercy as sinners, must ourselves reflect that mercy to others in their sin. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Lk 6:36)
c. long-suffering: This Old English term means to be slow to get angry; to be patient. It actually describes the Greek word for patience quite well, which means âelongated passion’. Patience is not indifference. It is a passionate concern which is yet willing to wait and postpone the execution of just punishment. If we ask why it is that God puts up with so much sin and rebellion, the answer is because He is giving men time to repent. Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Rom 2:4) The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Pt 3:9 ) Consider how you have tried the patience of God and yet, has He not often withheld the punishment which you know your sins deserve?
d. abundant in goodness and truth: The goodness of God has been questioned and slandered by Satan since the dawn of history. We must refuse to even entertain the thought that God is not essentially good. Often the question is asked how there can be such extensive suffering in the world and God yet be good. If, it is said, God is good and there is so much suffering, then we must conclude that God is not powerful enough to do anything about the suffering and we end up with a benevolent, but impotent, deity. Such questions are ill-founded. What is overlooked is the fact that God created everything to be good (Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31) The goodness which is argued against by the presence of suffering, is not the goodness of God, but the goodness of His creation. The reason why we do not enjoy the goodness of creation, is not because God is not good, but because men are sinners. The problem is not a flaw in the character of God, the problem is the Fall of man through sin into death! The subjection of creation to futility and corruption (Rom 8:20,21) is due to the sin of the first Adam. It is the good God, who through the obedience of the last Adam, has redeemed this world of suffering and is bringing His sons to that new creation in which there is no tears, crying, pain, or death, where there shall no longer be any curse. (Rev 21:4; 22:3) It characteristic of sinful men to blame God for manâs sin. Suffering is found in the world, not because God is not good, but because man is not good! And it is not good not to recognize that God is good!
3. forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin: The warrant for forgiveness does not originate in man but in God. Forgiveness is not something men extract from a reluctant God who is more inclined to wrath than mercy. Forgiveness is characteristic of God and an act in which He delights. If Thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared. (Ps 130:3,4 ) Who is a God like Thee, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. (Mic 7:18,19) âIniquity, transgression, and sinâ are the terms for sin found in Ex 34:7. Together these words shed light upon the extent to which we are depraved sinners. âTransgressionâ is perhaps the strongest word. It conveys the idea of active rebellion against authority. When Godâs Law is broken, it is said to be transgressed, that violated by an act of rebellion. God, the merciful and gracious One, will forgive transgression! âIniquityâ means twisted, crooked. This term delves a bit deeper into the heart of the sinner. not only are our acts sinful in transgressing the Law, but our motives are also twisted and wickedly distorted. Our sin is not simply measured at the level of our external acts, but is rooted in the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. God, the merciful and gracious One, will forgive iniquity! Then there is the word âsinâ. This word means to miss the mark, to fall short. This is a very humbling thing because here we learn that even when we are doing what we think is our very best, we yet fall short and miss the mark of the glory of God! But God, the merciful and gracious One, will forgive sin! Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. (Ps 51:1,2) The gospel of Jesus Christ declares good news to sinners! It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. (1 Tim 1:15)
H. The Justice of God: 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. The justice of God is an aspect of Godâs character that many would prefer to ignore or even deny. Having just surveyed something of the love of god, we must never try to pit Godâs love against His justice. In fact, the love of God is just. There is never any conflict in God among His attributes. They all qualify one another in unity. It is of the essence of Godâs goodness that He execute justice. Were God not to act justly, He would be neither good nor loving.
1. the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him: The justice of God is presented as a positive encouragement for us to seek Him. This phrase is derived from Heb 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. The encouragement is that those who seek God will find Him. He is not going to stand aloof from any who truly seek Him. I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ to a nation which did not call on My name. (Isa 65:1) In America we have a childrenâs game called âHide and Seekâ. One child covers his eyes and counts to one hundred while the others disperse and conceal themselves. Then the seeker goes off to locate the hiders who then attempt to make their way to a designated spot before the seeker can touch them. If anyone is seeking God, He will expose Himself, as it were, and permit Himself to be found! If you seek Him, He will justly reward you and be found by you. But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. (Deut 4:29) I love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me. (Provs 8:17) Notice the word âdiligentâ. The great grief of our day is the pervasive lethargy and disregard for the things of God. The pervasive ignorance of God is not due to God being hard to find, but due to men hardly concerned to seek Him.
2. and withal most just and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty: âWithalâ, still – while being totally loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, good, true and forgiving – God is just. Again, note the word âmostâ: there is none more just than He. In the execution of His judgments there are none who can reprimand or fault Him. While David sought for mercy, he nevertheless owed him nothing but the justice he deserved. Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, and blameless when Thou dost judge. (Ps 51:4 ) Even though I am found guilty, God is yet just. God is Judge. The prerogative of judging the world is inherent in Godâs activity as Creator. Throughout the creation week, God periodically pauses and judges the creation to declare that âit was goodâ. The modern aversion to the truth of creation stems not so much from manâs inability to posit God as Creator, as his refusal to acknowledge God as Judge. Men can tolerate the idea of a miraculous origin of all things. What they cannot tolerate is having to give an account of themselves to their Creator.
a. just: Amidst the demand for fairness and equality, in a world where lies and injustice prevails, we testify of the God who is just. The essence of âjudgmentâ is the ability to distinguish between the innocent and the guilty. The essence of âjusticeâ is the righteous sentence upon each: the rewarding of the righteous and the punishing of the guilty. God is just in that He rightly distinguishes the good from the bad and deals with each accordingly. Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly? (Gen 18:25)
b. terrible in His judgments: Were it not for the fact that we preach the gospel of Christ, we could not consider the execution of Godâs judgments without overwhelming despair. The Confession says the judgments of God are âterribleâ. The word speaks of absolute fright and horror. Those who have experienced the judgments of God described in Scripture are described in ways that frightening ways. Manâs courage and strength is quickly depleted in the face of Godâs judgment. Before them the people are in anguish; all faces turn pale. (Joel 2:6) Think of those alive at the time of Noahâs flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Egyptian plagues and other Biblical accounts of God bringing men into judgment. The Biblical descriptions of the Final Judgment and hell are overwhelming!
c. hating all sin: To understand Godâs hatred of sin require that we be convinced of His essential holiness, goodness, and love. God cannot respond to sin in any other way than hatred. He cannot compromise His own holy character by viewing sin with less than a vehement indignation. The hatred of God is said to be expressly directed towards idolatry. His jealousy and hatred are aroused whenever men worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator. You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the Lord hates they have done for their gods. (Deut 12:31) Neither shall you set up for yourself a sacred pillar which the Lord your God hates. (Deut 16:22) Often we read of things that are an âabominationâ to the Lord. He has strong moral indignation against sexual sin, and human injustice – anything which is opposed to His holiness. There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers. (Prov 6:16-19)
d. and who will by no means clear the guilty: One of the most frustrating facts of human jurisprudence the world over is its susceptibility to error and even corruption. When our Lord returns, He will judge with equity and truth. But with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. (Isa 11:4) What a comfort for the distraught conscience to realize that before God, no one is getting away with anything!
Again, it is only in view of the gospel of Godâs grace that we can even express such things. It is only because Jesus has assumed the legal guilt for us and paid the legal punishment for our sins that we can consider the fact of impending judgment and not be totally undone! He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor 5:21) The believerâs sin must be punished. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus the sinless One, assumes the responsibility for our sin in the courtroom of God and pays the penalty of its punishment by His own sacrificial death. But death could have no binding claim upon our sinless Savior! He rose triumphant and is exalted to the throne of God! There He is the vindicated Priest of the New Covenant in His blood. There He is exonerated as ânot guiltyâ. The grace of God is announced to reconcile sinners to Himself in Christ. All who simply trust in Christ Jesus receive the legal benefits of His death and resurrection. Their sin is satisfactorily punished in Christâs death and they are given His own righteous standing of ânot-guiltyâ before God the Judge! There are but two places where the wrath of God against sin is satisfied: the cross of Christ of the eternal punishment of hell. We as sinners, must go to one of those two places. Today is the day of salvation, the time in which the mercy of God in Jesus Christ is being proclaimed to all men everywhere. God hates sin and His terrible judgments are certain! But now is the acceptable time of grace. God is still being patient! His mercy and pardoning grace is proclaimed for all who will believe in the demonstration of His love for sinners seen in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord; for although Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and Thou dost comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. (Isa 12:1,2)
2. God having all life, glory goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself, is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which He hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them; He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things, and He hath most sovereign dominion over all creatures, to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever Himself pleaseth; in His sight all things are open and manifest, His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to Him contingent or uncertain; He is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands; to Him is due from angels and men, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience, as creatures they owe unto the Creator, and whatever He is further pleased to require of them.
II. The Creator God in Relation to His Creatures (Paragraph #2)
A. The Creator’s Relationship to His Creatures
1. God’s Self-Existent Independence from His Creatures: God having all life, glory goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself, is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which He hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them;
The Confession here reiterates the truth stated in the first paragraph concerning the independence of God. Note the addition of the word âblessedâ. We often use this word without thinking what it really means. It basically means âhappyâ. In other words, God is more than happy to be God. He takes pleasure in Himself and the execution of His holy will. The thing that most delights God is the demonstration of His mercy in the glorious gospel of the blessed God. (1 Tim 1:11) He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. (1 Tim 6:15)
The Confession emphasizes the fact that God lives totally independent of any thing and is fully sufficient in and of Himself. What is being underscored here is the morality of the second commandment: You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. (Exodus 20:3-5a) Creation is scanned: heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth, and there is no object worthy of our worship. Only the Lord our God is to be worshipped and served.
The Bible informs us that God is jealous of His own glory and will not share it with any. I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images. (Isa 42:8) We ought not to attribute divine glory to any creature or anything created. To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? (Isa 40:18) âTo whom then will you liken Me That I should be his equal?” says the Holy One. (Isa 40:25) The people of God see no equals, no rivals. Who is like Thee among the gods, O LORD? Who is like Thee, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? (Ex 15:11) In Creation and Redemption, men will come to know that Thou alone, whose name is the Lord, art the Most High over all the earth. (Ps 83:18)
2. God’s Sovereign Dominion Over His Creatures: He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things, and He hath most sovereign dominion over all creatures, to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever Himself pleaseth;
As âfountain of all beingâ, God is said to be the source, or origin of all that is. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. (Jn 1:3) The language of Rom 11:36 is used – For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. God stands at the beginning, the middle, and the end of all that is.
The Confession again asserts the sovereign rule of God over all creation. It is only by the will of God that creation exists. Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created. (Rev 4:11) The liberty of God to exercise His sovereign prerogatives is a lesson many men are reluctant to learn. King Nebuchadnezzar was one such man. He ruled over the most magnificent of all the ancient kingdoms: Babylon. Although he received divine communications in his dreams as interpreted by Daniel, he yet became proud and thought of himself in terms which only God deserves. Godâs patience ran out and judgment was pronounced. He would be humbled and made to live like a beast until he learned that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whomever His wishes. (Dan 4:25) At the end of seven years, Nebuchadnezzar testifies. But at the end of that period I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What hast Thou done?’ (Dan 4:34,35) It is amazing the extent to which God will be gracious to teach arrogant sinners humility before His sovereignty!
3. God’s Absolute Knowledge of His Creatures: in His sight all things are open and manifest, His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to Him contingent or uncertain;
Again the language of Scripture is employed: And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. (Heb 4:13) Our every thought, our deepest urges, our most private desires are all transparent and obvious to God. Men say they yearn to be understood. If only they could find that psychiatrist, that psychologist, that therapist, who could really see into the inside and analyze their problems. O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me. Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, and art intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all. Thou hast enclosed me behind and before, And laid Thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it. (Ps 139:1-6) The internal actions of our heart and mind work like a search light to God. When we do not want a fellow man to know of us, we contain our thoughts to ourselves in silence. But our thoughts are exposed before the eye of God who sees into the veins and capillaries of our every design. The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the innermost parts of his being. (Prov 20:27) When Scripture informs us that we will be judged according to our works (Rom 2:6), those works include our inner thoughts and intentions. God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. (Rom 2:16) Everything which is hidden will be brought to light. I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds. (Jer 17:10)
The Confession would remind us that God sees differently than we do. For us, the future is a spectrum of possibilities connected to contingencies. We think that we would do one thing and before we make the attempt, things change and we do something entirely different. God does not act subject to contingencies. For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’. (Isa 46:9,10) From Godâs vantage point, there is no such thing as âchanceâ.
B. The Creature’s Relationship to the Creator
1. His Creatures Stand Before the Transcendent and Holy God: He is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands;
What we see of God from our vantage point is always characterized by His holiness. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. (1 Jn 1:5b) In all that God determines – He is holy. In all that God does – he is holy. The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His deeds. (Ps 145:17) In all that God requires of us – He is holy. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. (Rom 7:12)
2. His Creatures Owe God Reverent Worship: to Him is due from angels and men, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience, as creatures they owe unto the Creator, and whatever He is further pleased to require of them.
The Scripture makes it clear that all creatures are obligated to reverence God as God on the basis of who God is to us as our Creator. Paulâs indictment of man in Romans 1 is that man is an idolater. Man has been given sufficient revelation by God simply to obligate his worship of God by His having created all things: because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Rom 1:19,20)
Universal, cosmic worship of Christ Jesus is the goal of creationâs existence. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:9-11) The three realms of creation which themselves have no object worthy of worship, contain nothing but worshippers of our Lord Jesus Christ. The worship of the risen Christ is the present activity of the citizens of heaven and of His church on earth. Let each of us turn our gaze upon the glorified Savior and join in the heavenly praise! “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ” To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” (Rev 5:12-13)
III. The Triune God in Relation to Himself
3. In this divine and infinite Being there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word or Son, and Holy Spirit, of one substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided; the Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son; all infinite, without beginning, therefore but one God, who is not to be divided in nature and being, but distinguished by several peculiar relative properties and relations; which doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God, and comfortable dependence on Him.
A. The Doctrine of the Trinity Stated:
1. The Unity of the Three Divine Persons: In this divine and infinite Being there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word or Son, and Holy Spirit, of one substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided: The Confession incorporates the terms which have been employed over the centuries in the theological discourse of the Church. In confessing the nature of the ‘divine and infinite being ‘ of God, the Confession uses the language of the Nicene Creed (325 AD). The term ‘subsistence’ means ‘being’, ‘existence’. The earlier Westminster Confession of Faith uses the word ‘Persons’ at this point. The term is to understood in distinction from the tow synonyms ‘substance’ and ‘essence’. By ‘subsistence’, the Confession is referring to the Persons of the Godhead. By ‘substance’ and ‘essence’, the Confession is referring to the inherent deity of the Triune God. What is being confessed is the profound revelation of the Trinity: there is but one God, who exists in three persons, each of whom have distinguishing personal properties.
The Confession then lists certain attributes of deity and univocally applies them to each of the three divine Persons. “Substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole divine essence”. These attributes are universally recognized as the ‘Godness of God’. Paul informs us that deity, power and eternality is what is revealed of God by His act of creation. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Rom 1:20) These fundamental attributes of deity are possessed by each of the three Persons in their entirety. We are not to think that the Father has part of one attribute and the Son another, or that one Person has more or less of the essential ‘divine and infinite Being’ than another Person. Each has ‘the whole divine essence’ in the integrity of their respective Persons. God, as Triune, is ‘of one substance, power, and eternity’. The Father is fully God. The Son is fully God. The Holy Spirit is fully God. They are not parts of God which when combined add up to ‘God’. The fullness of deity is equally characteristic of each divine Person. Although the following texts speak of the incarnate Son, the truth of the fullness of deity is explicitly stated. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him. For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form. (Col 1:19; 2:9)
There are those who falsely criticize Christians as worshipping a different God than the Lord revealed in the Old Testament. Much of this criticism is due to a false understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity caused from the fact that the Trinity is a revelation granted in conjunction with God’s saving activity. In other words, those who are not saved by God will not confess God as Triune. This is not to say that everyone who confesses God to be Triune is necessarily saved, but all who are saved know God revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is in the accomplishment and application of New Covenant salvation that the Trinity was revealed to men. New Covenant salvation is planned by the Father, accomplished by the Son, and applied by the Spirit. It is in the activity of God’s saving grace that He discloses his Triune nature.
Although the word ‘Trinity’ is not an explicitly Biblical term, it is an example of a truth which is “necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture”. (London Baptist Confession, chapter 1, paragraph 6. The Westminster Confession adds “or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture” at this point.) That God is Triune is derived from His saving activities. His Tri-unity is seen, for example, at Jesus’ baptism: And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” (Mt 3:16,17) That New Covenant Christianity confesses the Trinity is seen in the ‘Great Commission’ given to us by Our Lord. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19). Notice, there are three Persons identified but one name, that is one God in three Persons. Paul profiles the Trinity in his benediction of 2 Cor 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.
It is characteristic of the relationship between the New and the Old Testaments that “the New is concealed in the Old and the Old is revealed in the New.” (Augustine) In the light of the more complete revelation of God in the New Testament, we are, in fact able to recognize indicators of God’s tri-unity in the Old Testament.
We are introduced in Gen. 1 to the Creator God, whose Spirit hovers over the surface of the deep and whose Word is employed to bring into being all that has been brought into being. We gaze upon a mystery as we contemplate the Trinity. There is nothing in the created order that we can point to and say, “There! The Trinity is like that!” The only created being which in some meager manner reflects the Triune God , is the man and the woman he created in His image. Their original ‘one flesh’ plurality in unity is a testimony to the Triune God who created them in His image. (Gn 1:26 Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. v27 – And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them) Note the plurals which are employed by the singular God to make a singular image which is yet plural as male and female. We find the plural used in God’s first person speech again in Gen. 11:5-7 as He determines to scrutinize those building the Tower of Babel. On other occasions we are introduced to “The Angel of the Lord” who is both sent from God and yet acknowledged to be God. In Ex 23:20ff this Angel is given to guide the Israelites and they are warned not to sin against Him for He will not pardon their sin! Now who can pardon sin except God? There is also a recognition of the activity of the Spirit in the Old Testament. Cf. Psalm 51:11 Do not cast me away from Thy presence, And do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me. There are places in the Psalms and Prophets where the reader is brought into the holy ground of eavesdropping up a conversation between the Persons in the Godhead! Cf. Ps 2; 110; Isa 49:1ff, and elsewhere! It is amazing to think that as we read of Jesus often in prayer, we are seeing God converse with God! A consideration of Jn 17, for example, should cause us to tremble with awe as Moses did before the burning bush! What privilege we have in New Covenant grace to be given audience to the conversation of the Godhead!
The doctrine of the Trinity forms the backdrop for our later study (Chapter 8) of the Person of Jesus Christ. But we here see enough to agree with Paul and assert the Bible’s monotheism over against the pagan’s polytheism – and that by asserting the truth of the Trinity!
For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. (1 Cor 8:5,6)
2. The Distinctions of the Three Divine Persons: the Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son: The relationship among the divine persons of the Godhead is a mystery which the Confession is careful to describe with explicit Biblical language. The Father is described in relation to the Son and the Spirit negatively: “neither begotten nor proceeding”. “Begotten” is a relational description of the Son, and “proceeding” is a relational description of the Spirit.
The Son is said to be the only begotten (cf. Jn 1:14,18; 3:16,18; 1 Jn 4:9). This is NOT a description referring to the virgin birth. Rather it is a term which sheds light upon the nature of the Trinity. In the eternal Godhead, the second Person, the Son is said to be the only begotten God (Jn 1:18). This term describes the Son’s relationship to the Father as it is eternally in the very being of the Triune God. It is this only begotten Son who is sent by the Father to take to Himself the form of a bondservant, being made in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man (Phil 2:7,8). He was the only begotten before He was sent. This language of birthing (begotten) is descriptive of the Son’s relationship to the Father, not of the Son’s incarnation. Were it speaking of the incarnation, we would end up with Jesus being the Son of the Spirit, for the inception of life in Mary’s virgin womb was not the express work of the Father, but of the Spirit (Lk 1:35). To interpret only begotten as referring to the virgin birth and the incarnation is to wreck havoc on the doctrine of the Trinity!
The Spirit is said to be ‘proceeding from the Father and the Son’. When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me. (Jn 15:26) This ‘procession’ of the Spirit is inherent in the Godhead and revealed in the specifically New Covenant bestowal of the Holy Spirit. The relationship of the Spirit to the Father and the Son is described with the word ‘proceeding’. The Westminster Confession reads “eternally proceeding” at this point. We are to think of the eternal love mutually communicated between the Father and the Son and the Spirit proceeds from that love, communicating life! This proceeding Spirit is whom Jesus promises to send to His disciples upon His ascension to the throne of God. He fulfilled His promise on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2, and continually ever since as the Spirit mysteriously works to regenerate and illuminate sinners in keeping with the sovereign purposes of the God who is Love.
The Father is, as noted before, described negatively: not ‘begotten nor proceeding’. Here is the Confession’s attempt to distinguish the Persons of the Godhead with Biblically derived concepts. Again, we look upon mystery and we must content ourselves to view God within the limits of His self-disclosure. We need to be warned by history against the temptation to speculate about God’s Tri-unity in unbiblical ways. We cannot succumb to the ancient heresy of Sabellianism which sees God as one Person revealed in three modes. Often this distortion is illustrated by water which can be found in the form of steam, liquid, or ice. No, God is one God in three Persons. Nor can we succumb to the ancient heresy of Arianism, still promoted by Jehovah Witnesses, that views Jesus as less than fully divine and the Spirit as an impersonal force of some kind. In the salvation revealed in the New Covenant, we see the one, true and living God reveal Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each Person of the Godhead functioning in relation to the other to accomplish the salvation of God’s people. Each equally divine, yet, in order to save us from our sins, the Father in love plans our salvation in union with the Son’s work of atonement in our behalf and the Spirit brings this living love to us to the eternal praise of triune grace!
B. The Doctrine of the Trinity Described: all infinite, without beginning, therefore but one God, who is not to be divided in nature and being, but distinguished by several peculiar relative properties and relations: These words may appear repetitive of what was said earlier in this paragraph. It is likely that the authors of the Confession were attempting to be sensitive to the previous creedal expressions of the doctrine of the Trinity articulated in the Nicene Creed (325 AD). They were also no doubt aware of the contributions of John Calvin, in alignment with Augustine and Athanasius, who asserted the integrity of the deity of the Son. Remember that it was in view of the revelation of the deity of the Son that the people of God were taught, in New Covenant light, regarding the nature of the Trinity. This phrase in the Confession has reference to a theological discussion concerning what is called ‘Subordinationism’. There are three kinds of ‘subordination’ considered in this discussion.
First, there is what is called “economic subordination”. This describes how the three Persons function in relation to one another in the accomplishment of divine activities. This subordinationism is legitimate as we see God revealed in creation and redemption. In creation, the Father acts by means of the Son/Word according to the living power of the Spirit. So too we see an ‘economy’, a functional arrangement of redemptive tasks said to be assumed by each of the three Persons in which the Son does the will of the Father and the Spirit takes of the things of the Son and communicates them to us. There is a functional hierarchy in the performance of revelatory and redemptive acts.
Second, there is what is called “hypostatic subordinationism”. ‘Hypostasis’ is the theological term which transliterates the Greek word from which we get the word ‘person’. In other words, at this point in the discussion, we are asking about the relation between the Persons within the Godhead and whether there is an hierarchical order to the inter-Trinitarian being of God. We need to be cautious as we move into a consideration of the being of God, for our view of God is dependent upon a recognition of His acts, not an analysis of His being per se. Some assert that this second kind of subordinationism is legitimate since it is implied in the very words used in Scripture to identify the Persons of the Godhead. They would say ‘Father’ conveys a certain hierarchical superiority to ‘Son’ by very definition of the terms themselves. Others would hesitate and contend that the word ‘only begotten’ does not speak of a birthing process, but simply means, ‘one and only’, or ‘one of a kind’, or ‘unique’. (Cf. Lk 7:12; 8:42; 9:38. It is evident that the question concerns whether John uses ‘mongenes’ in the same way as Luke does.) They also remind us that being ‘Son’ was interpreted by the Pharisees as a claim to equality with the Father, not subordination (cf. Jn 5:18). They caution against arguing from the functional subordination revealed by the works of God to an ontological subordination inherent in the being of God. Those more comfortable with this ‘hypostatic subordination’ would point to Jn 1:1,2 as revealing something of the being, ontology, of God. There we see the Word in intimate face to face communion with ‘the God’: two persons who are both attributed as ‘God’, but it is understood that ‘the Word’ is in subordinate relation to ‘the God’ as the divine speech of God. Both are God as to their essence, but one is ‘the Word’ and the other ‘the God’ as to their persons, (hypostases). This second type of subordinationism is legitimate only to the extent that we do not envision any division of divine essence: “one God, who is not to be divided in nature and being”.
The third kind of subordinationism must be rejected because is does posit a division in the divine essence of the Trinity. This is called ‘essential subordinationism’. This results is viewing the Son and the Spirit as lesser gods whose essential deity is derived from the Father. This view veers too close to Sabellianism. We must agree with the Confession’s attempt to promote the integrity of the deity of each of the three Persons so as to confess that they are, in Calvin’s words, ‘autotheos’: “God in Himself”. The Son is not a derived deity, nor is the Spirit. Each Person in the Godhead is essentially God and possesses the full range of divine attributes which are elaborated in paragraphs one and two of this the second chapter of the Confession. Calvin speaks as follows: “Christ with respect to Himself is called God; with respect to the Father, Son. Again, the Father with respect to Himself is called God; with respect to the Son, Father. In so far as He is called Father with respect to the Son, He is not the Son; in so far as He is called the Son with respect to the Father, He is not the Father; in so fas as He is called both Father with respect to Himself, and Son with respect to Himself, He is the same God.” (Institutes, I.xiii.19)
Calvin’s observations brings us to the last portion of this citation from the Confession: “but distinguished by several peculiar relative properties and personal relations”. Note the words ‘relative’ and ‘relations’. The differentiation of the Persons of the Trinity is discerned only as those Persons are viewed in relation to one another. In and of themselves, as distinct divine Persons, they are each fully and essentially God. It is only in the light of New Covenant saving grace that we are able to distinguish the three Persons of the Godhead. We confess, however, that their distinctions do not diminish their respective deity. It is because the Word became flesh and dwelt among us that we have received this New Covenant redemptive explanation of the God whom no man has seen (Jn 1:14,18).
C. The Doctrine of the Trinity Applied: which doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God, and comfortable dependence on Him. The nature of the Triune God who is, in Himself, love, is the basis of our fellowship with Him. It is the unique task of the Holy Spirit to communicate the things of Christ to us. He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and disclose to you what is to come. (Jn 16:14) We are united to Christ by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (Rom 8:9) By the Spirit, we are brought to experience the loving fellowship that Christ Himself enjoys with the Father! If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him. (Jn 14:23) By the Spirit, Christ discloses Himself to us and envelops us with Trinitarian Love so that we are loved with the love the Father has for the Son! I have made Thy name known to them, and will make it known; that the love wherewith Thou didst love Me may be in them, and I in them. (Jn 17:26)
Our communion with God is conditioned by the work of the Trinity: for through Him (that is, Christ) we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. (Eph 2:18) New Covenant worship is Trinitarian: through Christ, in the Spirit, to the Father. This is the true worship the Father is seeking (cf. Jn 4:23,24; Phil 3:3). In our communion with God, we are thoroughly dependent upon the Triune God. Let us learn more of Him and seek to glorify and enjoy Him. Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord. (Jer 9:23,24) You shall love the Lord you God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. (Mt 22:37,38)
All rights reserved.