Who is God?
Who is God?
“Is there a GOD?”
Logically, there are only 2 possible answers: There is a GOD or There isn’t.
The bible says there is only one God:
Deuteronomy 6:4: “The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Isaiah 44:6: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no God”.
Deuteronomy 4:35: “the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him”
1 Corinthians 8:4: “there is no God but one”.
1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God”
Essential Doctrine of the Trinity
We all know that the distinct molecular structure “H2O” can exist as a solid (ice), a liquid (water) or a gas (steam). Also, we know that an electron can exist as a particle or as a wave length. So we recognize that real material things can exist in multi phases. So it is with the concept of the Trinity.
“Father,” “Son,” “Holy Spirit” are not simply names designating modalities of the divine being, for they are really distinct from one another. The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire. Fourth Lateran Council (1215): “Each of the persons is that supreme reality, the divine substance, essence or nature.”
God as the Father
The role of the Father, is a role of title. Jesus acknowledges this positional role as the primary Godhead. Jesus speaks to the Father, follows direction from the Father, makes requests to the Father and subjugates Himself to the Father. God the Father is the position of title and is portrayed (in part) as:
Infinite – He is Self-Existing, Without Origin
God is infinite, without beginning or end. Nothing created Him, nor was He born. He exists independently from all else and nothing exists without Him.
Righteous – He is holy (there is no evil in Him)
Chief among His attributes is absolute righteousness.
Darkness exists in the absence of light. When light is shown, then the darkness fades away. Likewise, in the absence of God – then righteousness is removed, and behavior results from the natural man’s desires.
In the world, morality is determined by societal standards and thus are mutable. The standards and punishments change within the societal determinants and trends. God, on the other hand has a constant righteousness and the standard never changes.
Omnipotent – He Is All Powerful
Creation of everything is by the power of His will. The ability to create something from “will” alone is why God is “all powerful.” No other being is capable of that. While a creative or powerful being may be able to use ideas and materials to “form” objects, from matter that already exists – the ability to create the fundamental particles, fundamental physical principles and “life” is beyond their capability.
Augustine of Hippo writes in his book “The City of God”:
“For He is called omnipotent on account of His doing what He wills…”
In saying that God is omnipotent, we are not saying that He can do anything. The pseudological question “If God is all powerful, then can He create a rock to heavy for Him to lift?” is an example of faulty logic. God is omnipotent in exercising His will over His creation.
The logic of the question is sophistry (the use of fallacious – based on a mistaken belief – arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving).
Immutable – He Never Changes
The fact that God never changes, means that what He says – will never change or be influenced by external factors.
Omniscient – He Is All-Knowing
The absolute knowledge of all things is the cornerstone of wisdom and justice. Accountability demands partiality. God knowing all thoughts, intent, abilities and conditions establishes a basis for growth, forgiveness, mercy, and discipline.
Eternal
God was not born or created or came into existence because of some other force or matter. He is a Spirit without beginning or end.
God as Jesus “the Christ”
“… Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.” – Philippians 2
This is one of the most significant statements in the scriptures. Scripture tells us that Jesus was present from the beginning. He existed in a role which was to become the “sacrificial lamb”. In order to do this, He had to become a man. Mary was a virgin and chosen by God to become the mother of Jesus. She was made to be with child apart from human relations, thus Jesus was conceived without “sin.”
Born as a man – in the Image of God (righteous and just) who knew no sin and lived His life in faith with total obedience to God’s will and upon fulfilling the requirements of the Law – took upon Himself the sin of man – allowed Himself to be sacrificed – as the penalty of the law demanded – in order for God to put to death our “sinful” spirit making way for the Holy Spirit to come and reconcile us to God.
God as the “Holy Spirit”
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity. He is not merely a force or feeling, but God Himself, who is present and active in the lives of believers.
The Holy Spirit works within us to
guide, teach, comfort, convict, and transform us. He helps us understand God’s Word, gives us strength to live according to God’s will, and produces spiritual fruit in our lives such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and self-control.
When someone places their faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells within them. He reminds us that we belong to God and helps us grow in our relationship with Him. In simple terms,
the Holy Spirit is God’s presence with us, working in us and through us to make us more like Christ.
The scriptures do not teach that there are multiple gods.
“Sons of God” …
The term “god” conjures an image in the mind of modern man as a deities with power and authority. Pantheons of the Romans, Greeks, Norse, Egyptian, Hindu, Marvel Universe etc. If polytheism were true, then they would not be gods. They would just be another species within evolution.
Elohim can refer to “gods” or to God. The biblical usage distinguishes between the singular and plural forms:
Elohim (Hebrew:
The plural form, is a Hebrew word meaning “gods.” It should be realized, however, that the use of the word in ancient Hebrew would be more a title or grouping – than a being. This plural “Eloheim” represents a class of beings without corporeal bodies (eg spirits.)
Elohim, when meaning the God of Israel, is mostly grammatically singular, and is commonly translated as “God”.
The existence of other spiritual beings does not imply multiple gods
Examples:
“God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. … I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Psalm 82:1, 6–7
vs
“ In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth. …” Genesis 1
Major Meanings and Definitions
The Supreme Being (Capital “God”): In monotheistic religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, God refers to the single, all-powerful creator and ruler of the universe.
A spirit (Lowercase “god”): In polytheistic belief systems, a god is one of multiple supernatural entities associated with specific forces, places, or aspects of life (such as a god of war or the sea).
The “US” in Genesis 1
Similarly, the reference to “Us” is often misconstrued to mean there are multiple gods.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness … Genesis 1:26
If you transliterate the Hebrew text, there is no direct use of the words “Us” or “Our.” So, why are they added to the translation. In the grammatical structure of Hebrew, the plurality comes from the verbs and subjects.In this case, we have God speaking in the 1st person common plural cohortative for the verb. This reading is reinforced when we consider the pronominal suffix “our” appended to the word “image”, once again indicating a 1st person common plural subject.
All three words (“make,” “image,” and “likeness” ) are plural forms of the root words. The traditional view is that it refers to the “Trinity” as God is speaking as the 3 aspects of God’s essence.
Another view, proposes the idea of a “Council” of angels, which God includes as a partnership in His works.
The indication is that God (as a plural entity) created as an individual. Plural language in the divine deliberation → singular language in the actual creation. The creation itself is attributed to one God and the image is described as the image of God.
(I am going to quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church 2nd edition – because it does a fine job of exegesis of scripture and church tradition.)
238 Many religions invoke God as “Father.” The deity is often considered the “father of gods and of men.” In Israel, God is called “Father” inasmuch as he is Creator of the world.59
Even more, God is Father because of the covenant and the gift of the law to Israel, “his first-born son.”60
God is also called the Father of the king of Israel. (2443)
239 By calling God “Father,” the language of faith indicates two main things: that God is the first origin of everything and transcendent authority; and that he is at the same time goodness and loving care for all his children.
251 In order to articulate the dogma of the Trinity, the Church had to develop its own terminology with the help of certain notions of philosophical origin: “substance,” “person” or “hypo-stasis,” “relation,” and so on. In doing this, she did not submit the faith to human wisdom, but gave a new and unprecedented meaning to these terms, which from then on would be used to signify an ineffable mystery, “infinitely beyond all that we can humanly understand.”82
(170)
252 The Church uses (I) the term “substance” (rendered also at times by “essence” or “nature”) to designate the divine being in its unity, (II) the term “person” or “hypo-stasis” to designate the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the real distinction among them, and (III) the term “relation” to designate the fact that their distinction lies in the relationship of each to the others.
The dogma of the Holy Trinity
253 The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the “con-substantial Trinity.”83
The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: “The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e., by nature one God.”84
In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215): “Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature.”85 (2789 , 590)
254
The divine persons are really distinct from one another.
“ God is one but not solitary.” 86
“Father,” “Son,” “Holy Spirit” are not simply names designating modalities of the divine being, for they are really distinct from one another: “He is not the Father who is the Son, nor is the Son he who is the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit he who is the Father or the Son.” 87
They are distinct from one another in their relations of origin: “It is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds.” 88
The divine Unity is Triune. (468,689)
255 The divine persons are relative to one another. Because it does not divide the divine unity, the real distinction of the persons from one another resides solely in the relationships which relate them to one another: “In the relational names of the persons the Father is related to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to both. While they are called three persons in view of their relations, we believe in one nature or substance.”89 Indeed “everything (in them) is one where there is no opposition of relationship.”90 “Because of that unity the Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Son is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Son.”91 (240)