SURVEY OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE
by Andrew Corbett

THE NATURE OF GOD

"And he (Moses) said, Please, show me your glory"
Exodus 33:18
What do you think God is like? If the Bible could be defined simply, it might possibly be described as a book about God. In every book and chapter of the Bible, the nature of God is in some way revealed. It would be a supremely foolish thought to think that we finite creatures could even begin to fully understand the infinite creator. In our study of Christian Doctrine, you will observe that the study depends on us examining scattered Scripture passages and piecing them together to form the Bible's overall message. Therefore, to get the most out of the Bible involves effort and research.

1. What does the Lord say to do in Isaiah 34:16?

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2. What do the Scriptures do? (Jn. 5:39)

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THE ESSENCE OF GOD

Note what the following references tell us about God:

3. God is ________________________________________________ (Jn. 4:24)

4. Col. 1:15; Rom. 1:20 ____________________________________________

5. Joshua 3:10 __________________________________________________

6. God has a _________________________________________ (Exodus 20:2)

Because God's essence is not the same as ours, we can not define Him in terms of size or material substance. Jesus said that a spirit did not have flesh and bones (Lk. 24:39). Therefore, to try and propose a form for God is preposterous and is what the Bible calls idolatry. God is very grieved when people attempt to portray an image of Him (Deut. 4:15-19).

How is it that the Bible describes God as invisible, yet says that men have seen Him and fought with Him (Gen. 32:30)? Henry Thiessen, in his book - Lectures in Systematic Theology, says "When one sees himself in a mirror, he in a sense sees himself; yet, in another sense, he does not literally see himself. So men saw the reflection of God's glory, but they did not see his essence." Other scholars interpret statements like John 1:18 to mean that no-one has ever fully perceived the Father. Although men have from time to time seen varying degrees of God and His glory, no-one has ever seen to the point of fully understanding the glory , nature and character of God. For this reason it is reasonable for God to say that He could talk to Moses face to face (Nu. 12:8) and yet for Moses to be included in the summary of John 1:18, that no-one has ever seen God.

God is not an inanimate object. He is alive. Closely linked with this repetitive statement about God is the fact that God has a personality. Only a personality can talk with personal pronouns and express such a varied range of feelings.

THE UNITY OF GOD

7. What do the following Scriptures tell us about God?

a) Deut. 4:35

b) 1Kings 8:60

c) Isaiah 45:5

d) Mark 12:29-32

e) John 17:3

f) 1 Cor. 8:4-6

g) 1 Tim. 2:5

There is only one God. The Bible is consistent in its declaration of this truth. Some religions present a 'polytheistic' (many gods) concept about God. This is not the revelation of the Bible. To suggest that there is two or more infinite beings is foolish in the light of the Scriptures. The God who created and rules the universe is the only God there is. As Christians, we do not serve three Gods, but one God. He is undivided and indivisible. He is numerically one, although unity is not a unit.

The unity of God was especially emphasised in the Old Testament. No doubt Satan knew the true nature of God during his time in heaven. Perhaps armed with this knowledge he set about to corrupt the true presentation of the tri-une God by the idolatrous promotion of 'tri-theistic' idols. (The Canaanites worshiped a trinity of gods - 'El' = the father figure; 'Baal' = the son; 'Asherah' = the mother figure, associated with fertility.)

This form of Paganism could have been developed around the time of Nimrod (Gen. 11). Legend has it that he proclaimed himself the 'supreme' being and his mother, whom he apparently committed incest with to produce a son, became the 'goddess' while the son became the third member of this tri-idolatrous mix. Researchers have surmised that there also arose a religious system around these false deities which continued to appear through the ages despite God's judgment upon Nimrod (see Gen. 11:8).

THE TRI-UNE NATURE OF GOD

The revelation of God throughout the Scripture is a progressive one. Slowly, and over a long period of time, the Creator revealed more and more of His nature and personality. A lot of what we know about God is actually implied in Scripture rather than being directly stated. The aspect of His tri-une nature is one such example.

8. What does Genesis 1:26 imply about God?

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9. Who actually did the creating of the universe?

a) Gen. 1:1

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b) Col. 1:16

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c) Job. 33:4

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In the third century AD. Arius began teaching that there has only been one eternal being. This logically followed with the teaching that Christ could not have been eternal, and was therefore a created being. Although Arius was refuted successfully by the young Athanasius, some people chose to accept his teachings. Today those who hold to the teaching of Arius include "Russellists", commonly known as "Jehovah's Witnesses".

Earlier this century a doctrine about the nature of God developed called the 'Jesus only' doctrine. This reached a height of popularity in the 1950's mainly among Pentecostals. The basic idea of this doctrine was that God manifested Himself in the Old Testament as the Father - Lord. In the gospels He manifested Himself as Jesus, while in the New Testament age He is revealing Himself as the Holy Spirit. Closely associated with this doctrine is the belief that the Name - 'Lord-Jesus-Christ' actually endorses this doctrine.

10. What were the disciples commanded to baptise people in? (Apart from water!) Matt. 28:19-

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11. What did the disciples actually baptise in?

Acts 2:38

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Acts 10:48

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Some people explain the apparent lack of obedience to the Great Commission injunction to baptise in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit by rationalising that the 'Lord Jesus Christ', can be equated directly to Matthew 28:19. There could be some merit to this, but I can find no reference in Scripture to the early disciples actually using this formula.

PICTURES OF THE TRIUNE NATURE OF GOD

In the Book of Revelation, there are many intriguing uses of symbolism. It is generally accepted that the recurring use of the number seven is one of the most significant things about the book. This number represents perfect completion, God's ultimate approval. Revelation 5:6 describes Christ as having seven horns and seven eyes. Symbolically this means that He is omnipotent and omniscient (All-powerful and All-knowing). In ascribing these divine attributes to Christ, the Scripture also says that the Seven Spirits of God have these attributes too. In chapters four and five, the central focal point is the very throne of God. Consistency would demand that the expression 'the Seven Spirits/lamps of God' equates to what the Book in other places calls the Spirit, that is, the Holy Spirit. So, the picture is given in Revelation chapters four and five, is that the Father is on the throne, the Spirit is immediately before the throne, while the Son is in their midst. In Isaiah 11:2 the Holy Spirit is described as having a sevenfold nature- 1) the Spirit of the Lord , 2) The Spirit of Wisdom, 3) Understanding, 4) The Spirit of Counsel, 5) Might, 6) The Spirit of Knowledge and 7) The fear of the Lord.

12. At the baptism of Christ, what picture is given that confirms the tri-une nature of God?

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13. Who is talking in Isaiah 48:16?

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14. According to Genesis 18:1, who appeared to Abraham?

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15. When Abraham lifted his head, how many men appeared?

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16. Who does Paul mention in 2 Corinthians 13:14?

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17. How could Ephesians 2:18 be used to justify the revelation of a trinity?

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THE UNITY OF GOD

God is not a three sided object that appears differently to people depending on how they look at Him. Some have tried to explain the mysterious nature of the tri-une God by saying that just as one man can be a brother, son, and father at the same time, so God is actually a Father, a Son, and a Spirit. This idea would have Jesus seem like He was in a fantasy realm every time He prayed to His Father. If He was actually the Father masquerading as the Son, He certainly went out of His way to give a different impression than that to His followers.

It was Augustine who successfully used the argument that if God was love, then He has always loved someone/thing - even before the creation of absolutely anything. This leads to the only possible conclusion available: that God was experiencing love within Himself, the Godhead. The love that each member of the Trinity has for each other is not humanly comprehensible. Out of that love for each other all creation then proceeded, for which the Godhead could express His love to created beings.

Amen.

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