Section 2 Notes

Introduction

The story of the shorter Catechism question 4

The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) The Westminster Shorter Catechism

4. What is God?

God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

General thoughts

This is a very worshipful section of scripture. If you were to spend some time over the next week just taking each section and reading through the scripture at the bottom and looking at the character and nature of God, you’d find just how awe inspiring and uplifting our God is.

2:1

A none stop litnany of all the things that Gpd posses. Some of the triats he shares, so are his alone. He is equally Just and Loving

2:2

Goodness, Wisdom, and Power repeated in this section as well. - These connect this reformational thoughts of the Puritans to their Medieval predecessors.

2:3

While this doctrine of one in three is the teaching of scripture and so we must confess it.

Confessing the Faith: The 1689 Baptist Confession for the 21st Century II. God and the Holy Trinity

These three have the same substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole divine essence without this essence being divided.

strong declariation because they want to be clear that Baptists are part of historic Christianity, not trinity denieers as they has occasionally been accused. This strong Language was common among puritans whom they were coming out of and wanted to be asscotaed with, not the Annabaptist traditions or some quaker traditions.

Confessing the Faith: The 1689 Baptist Confession for the 21st Century II. God and the Holy Trinity

The Father is not derived from anyone, neither begotten nor proceeding. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father.29 The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.30 All three are infinite and without beginning and are therefore only one God, who is not to be divided in nature and being. Yet these three are distinguished by several distinctive characteristics and personal relations.

The estblish a relation to the Nicene creed