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Article of the Month
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The Doctrine of God
By Patriarch John Williams

It is necessary that Christians be taught sound Bible doctrine and that all doctrine be tested by the full context of the infallible Word of God.  Doctrines received, believed and practiced determines a person's character, behavior and destiny.

The scriptures give us the revelation of the eternal God, existing in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; distinguishable but indivisible in essence; co-eternal, co-existent, co-equal in nature, attributes, power and glory.  There is  but one eternal Godhead, who is one undivided and indivisible essence; and in this one essence there are three eternal distinctions, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

I. The fact of the Existence of God:
The Bible does not attempt to prove the existence of God; it simply declares it. The writers of Scripture accepted His existence as a settled fact.  The opening line of the Bible simply reads. "In the beginning GOD..." Genesis 1:1

The Cosmological Argument: The Greek word "Cosmos" means "World".  The cosmological argument looks at the world and then argues from the law of cause and effect.  The existence of an effect indicates the question "how did it come to be?"  Something or someone must have caused it to come into existence.  Man knows of anything in His world that had no cause behind its existence.  Thus he must recognize that there is a cause behind the world itself and the universe around it.

The Moral Argument: Man is a moral being.  He posses an inner sense of right and wrong as well as a sense of responsibility to adhere to what is right and avoid the wrong.  The Bible labels this conscience, and views it as being God-given.

II. Nature of God

The Christian believes that unless God takes the initiative and reveals himself to man.  Man will stumble in darkness of his insufficient reason (Ephesians 4:17;18, Mathew 11:27). Man's wisdom is foolishness when it comes to knowing God (I Corinthians 1:19-21). However the Christian also believes that God has revealed himself in this scriptures.  Man must accept this self-revelation or else he will not be able to know God.  We must relay on the Bible's description of God.  The Bible gives us four basic definitions or descriptions of God in his own eternal and essential nature and being.

A. God is Spirit (John 4:24)

B. God is Light (I John 1:5)

C. God is Love (I John 4:17)

D. God is a Consuming Fire (Hebrews 12:29)

III. The Attributes of God

Attributes are the characteristics or qualities belonging to a person.  Thus when we speak of the attributes of God we mean those characteristics or qualities that belong to God as God, that make God who and what he is.  The attributes of God fall into two main groupings.  Essential and Moral

A. Essential Attributes
    i. God is Eternal
    ii. God is Self-Existent
    iii. God is immutable
    iv. God is Omnipotent
    v. God is Omniscient
    vi. God is Omnipresent

B. Moral Attributes
     i. Perfect Holiness : The perfect Holiness of God speaks of absolute purity.  He cannot sin or tolerate sin. His is sinless perfection.  Holiness is God's inward character and as such it is underived.  He is perfectly holy in all He thinks, says, and does.  Holiness is the ability to live consistent with the nature of life. 
 

     ii. Perfect Righteousness: Righteousness and justice are synonymous.  Righteousness is holiness is action against sin.  The holiness of God demands that sin be judged and the sinner punished.  Such punishment is the righteousness and justice of God in action. (Romans 2: 8-9, Thessalonians 1:8). The righteousness of God is His holiness dealing justly with His creatures.  This justice is seen in both punishment and reward. 
 

     iii. Perfect Love: Love is the heart of God's nature.  God not only has love but God is love.  The love of God is the perfection of affection God has which moves Him to give Himself to His creatures continually.  Love itself is a triunity: there must be the lover, the loved and the love.  In the Godhead, love finds its perfect expression in the triunity of the Father (lover), the Son (loved) and the Holy Spirit (Love).  The Grace is the underserved, unearned and unmerited favor of God bestowed upon the sinful men.  Mercy is the pity of God upon the miserable condition of the sinner because of sin. 

IV. Illustration of the Godhead:
A. Light (Genesis 1:1-5)
Light is one-unity
Light is manifested in three major colors golden, yellow, scarlet red and heavily blue

B. Water
Water is one-unity
Water is manifested in three forms - water, ice and stream

C. Sun
There is one sun relative to Earth - one major ruling light
There is one sun manifests threefold power - Light, Power and Energy

D. Space
Space is a whole - unity, one
Space has three dimensions - breadth, length and depth

E. Matter
Matter or substance is one
Matter is also threefold - energy, motion and phenomenon

F. Eternity
Eternity is one - timelessness
Eternity is also threefold - time past, time present and time future

G. Triangle
A Triangle is one complete object unity
A Triangle is also a three-sided object

Take away any one side and the triangle is destroyed.

I.  Man
Man is one a united or whole person
Man is threefold or a tripartite being spirit, soul and body; two invisible parts, and one visible. The visible reveals the invisible.

Man being a triune being, having spirit, soul and body, has threefold consciousness means knowing of oneself. 
Spirit is the God conscious part of man which contacts the spirit realm.  Soul is the self conscious parto f man which contacts the inner realm.

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