Incommunicable Attributes: Impassibility/Pure Actuality

Lets recap where we’ve been before we move forward.

In our introduction we learned that because of the incomprehensibility of God all of our endeavors are an accommodated ectype of that knowledge and understanding that God alone possesses. Yet, this doesn’t make it less true or meaningful. It is from God so it’s true. And He has set the limits to what He reveals, so its sufficient and good for us.

This is our pilgrim theology. Our journey of faith seeking understanding. We take a humble approach.

The study of theology( especially the doctrine of God), is a doxological exercise. And contemplating God is an end in itself. Thinking, reading, and meditating about God’s immutability, for example, is an end itself.

We’ve learned that the Incommunicable attributes are those that have no similitude to the creatures such as those communicable attributes as love, wisdom, knowledge, etc.

The incommunicable attributes we’ve looked at are:

Oneness or Simplicity—God is not composed of parts. All that is in God is God. He is Love. He is Holy. He is Good. These perfections are not separate things in God. They are all the one God. His love is His goodness is His Justice, etc.

Closely connected to this is God’s spirituality.

“God is Spirit without body, parts, or passions.” ~2LCF 2:1

Last time I was here we looked at Immutability.

God does not change. He does not change in light of creatures.

We will see that there is a lot of carry over form Divine Immutability to Divine Impassibility. Immutability really assumes Impassibility and could be thought of as a subset of it.

Definition

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, ~2LCF 2:1

Renihan — “God does not experience emotional changes either from within or effected by his relationship to creation.”

Renihan starts his book with three helpful observations from the Scriptures as we enter this doctrine:

Some passages describe God in the language of human experience and emotion. Jonah 3:10 “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, so God relented concerning the evil which He had spoken He would bring upon them. And He did not bring it upon them.” Deuteronomy 9:7–8 ““Remember, do not forget how you provoked Yahweh your God to wrath in the wilderness; from the day that you went out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. “Even at Horeb you provoked Yahweh to wrath, and Yahweh was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you.”

Some passages deny those experiences and emotions are in God. James 1:17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” Malachi 3:6 ““For I, Yahweh, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.”

Other passages describe God in a way that makes it impossible for him to experience affections or passions. John 4:24 ““God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”” Exodus 3:14 “And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’””

How do we work these out?

Ontological passages take priority over passages that talk about the way God acts.

Think about 1 Samuel. God regrets that he made Saul king. What does he say one chapter later, we are told the Glory of Israel will not lie or regret. But why? Because God is not a man. When He is said to regret, it does not say, because He has emotion and affections like a human.

Now, here is the problem. Our brother Matt brought this up last SS. What is left over? What is the remainder of a passage stripped of human emotion. Is there anything left over. Yes, there is.

If David and I are at a High School basketball game, and one of the Tama players has just made his 3rd shot in a row. And I tap David on the shoulder and say, “He’s on fire!” what does that mean? Is David going to go grab a fire extinguisher? No. In basketball it communicates something. That player is shooting the ball really well.

We’re down stairs after SS and a handful of kids come running around the corner and Mrs. Turner puts her hands up crouches down and says, “hold your horses”. They know what she means. Owen might not…

The point we’re making is that figures of speech communicate something to us. And so with Scripture, God communicates meaningful things to us about himself, with physical features, human emotion and experience. But not in a 1 to 1 sort of way. It’s not equal but by way of analogy.

When we read these passages in Scripture. We do so understanding that we have to remove the baggage of human emotion and affection. Relenting, repenting, regretting all communicate that someone has stopped some type action. Relenting of disaster is the action God takes when human’s repent. And repenting and regretting of God are what happen when humans do not relent or repent of their sin. But they are not the same in God as they are in us. We change when those come about. God does not change, and He is not even confronted by these things in time and space because He is the eternal Creator. God decreed all of these created events before time. That he would create and destroy man, that He would raise up Saul, and bring him down, that Nianevah would repent and he would relent, etc.

Our human language cannot contain who and what God is. Scripture communicates true, but non-exhaustive, non-comprehensive things about God to us. This is what we call God accommodating himself to our capacities.

*P29 John Calvin, James Usher.

What Renihan does next is define the nature of man. In doing so he defines what affections and passions are. He does so with the help of a number of great authors.

2. Affections — Happen when we encounter something outside of us, evaluate, and then make a determination as to what we think about it. Generally we move toward that which we percieve is good and away from that which is evil.

*see list on botom of p38

*John Owen on 39 notice 3 things in Renihan’s statement on 39. Parts, dependance, changes.

3. Passions — Some see passions as synonomous with affections. Some considered passions in a looked at passions in more of a negative fashion. I would take the latter position. If I did not communicate it. To have an affection as a human being is a good thing. Passions however are not, at least as defined in the 16th,17th century by some. See paragraph on 41.

*Bottom of 41

4. Pure Act - God is pure act meaning no potential. No ability to be acted upon. An affection or passion are things you are overcome by. It cannot be so with God. He is His perfections always. There is no potential in God. He is Pure actuality. Love is an unchangeable perfection in Him rather than an affection He has for someone. Mercy is a perfection that is shown toward those who are helpless.

I hope from these definitions its clear to us that these cannot be in God.

Now if God does not have these things, then what does He have? He doesn’t have anything. God is his perfections as we’ve discussed.

Love in God is a perfection, while in us it is a passion or affection.

“His love and mercy are like himself, infinite, immutable, and eternal.” ~Edward Leigh

God is Just. When Scripture communicates to us the wrath and anger of God, it’s so we get the threat of His unchanging justice! His justice is like himself. The threat of judgement is as unchanging as himself.

To imagine a God of affections and passions is.

a. Acts 14:15 “and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, proclaiming the gospel to you 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.”

We are men like you. We have like affections, sins, we are subject to death. The living God is not like that. He suffers none of these things. He has created all things, sustains all things and has been longsuffering and patient with you in order that you might turn from your idols and serve Him.

2 Concluding application.

a. Do we want a God who has affections and passions? Do we need a God who has these things and can sympathize with us in them.

We do not.

What kind of God does David need in Psalm 3 when he pursued by His son surrounded by numerous enemies. Does he need a God who can suffer with him, alongside of him. No he doesn’t need a God who can suffer with him. He needs a God who can overcome his suffering. Who can answer him from his holy hill. A God who is sufficient to do so, the God who is not moved to passions, but who can move the passions and affections of his creatures. The God who can thwart Ahithophel’s by moving Absalom’s heart in mind to be detered from taking his counsel and seeking the counsel of Hushai. That’s the kind of God David needs. That’s the kind of God he has and trusts in at that time, and therefore he could have great confidence, hope and faith in time of distress.

Jeremiah 31:31 We need a God who will forgive our sins, give us a new heart , and give His Spirit without revoking them because of our sin.

I the Lord do not change, therefore you are not consumed Christian.

Lastly, we do have one who sympathizes with us. Tempted in every way we are except sin. Who knows it all. And not only is he our sympathizer but He is our Sustainer, Sanctifier, and Perfecter. Our Lord Jesus Christ lived for us, suffered for us, rose for us, ascended for us. And now sympathizes with a perfect sympathy. From that he intercedes for us in our weakness. And He will perfect us till the end. Will complete what He begun in us by His Spirit.

Amen.