Systematic Theology Part 2A

PART II (Continued)— THE DOCTRINE OF GOD (THEOLOGY PROPER)

Questions:

What does God’s name “I AM” reveal about His nature?

(Exodus 3:14)

Answer: It reveals his Aseity. He draws life from Himself. HE simply is. I AM represents a state of eternal being. He defines himself by Himself. “I am who I Am” I AM he eternally is. which means he is eternal and immutable.

How does God’s holiness redefine how we approach Him?

(Isaiah 6:1–5)

Answer: We approach him with a more worshipful sprit and reverence.

What does it mean that God is Spirit, and how does that shape worship?

(John 4:24)

Answer: It commands that we must seek a level of worship far beyond just the surface and the physical

How do God’s attributes (love, justice, mercy) work together without contradiction?

They are all part of who He is. Like a diamond that shines light from different angles (See page 39). (Read top page)

(Psalm 89:14)

5. What is the danger of creating a version of God based on preference rather than Scripture?

Answer: We would essentially walk in self-righteousness falling to a lesser standard of a lesser God imagined by a lesser creation.

6. How can we hold both the transcendence and nearness of God in tension?

(Isaiah 57:15)

Answer: God is separate and transcendent from creation. He chooses to be involved with HIs creation

God is consistent. P 37 . Some have had a problem with the God of the Bible. They have tried to dissect the God of the New Testament and the God of the Old.

Thomas Jefferson created a private work called. “The life and morals of Jesus of Nazareth”. It is also known as the Jefferson Bible. It omited miracles, supernatural events and Jesus’ Divinity. Jefferson was a Deist. The Deist prioritized human reason and opposed supernatural revelation. Deism supposes God start the world in motion and then moved away from it. He is like a “Divine Clockmaker”

Food for Thought: In what ways have we—like Thomas Jefferson—subtly edited God to fit our comfort level, removing aspects of His nature (power, judgment, supernatural work) that challenge our worldview?

Food for Thought:

Deism presents God as a distant “Divine Clockmaker.” In contrast, Scripture presents an involved, present God. Which view do our daily lives actually reflect—and what does that reveal about our functional theology?

Attributes of God

I. Incommunicable Attributes.

Omnipotence

Omnipotence = All Powerful. He possesses all power. He will use that power consistently with his nature. God is not only all powerful. He is glorified in His power. He uses his power as the engine to accomplish his will.

Psalm 62:11 NKJV

God has spoken once, Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God.

Romans 1:4 NKJV

and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

1 Corinthians 2:4 NKJV

And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

Psalm 147:5 NKJV

Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.

Ephesians 3:8–13 NKJV

8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Food for Thought:

If God is omnipotent but always acts consistently with His nature, how should that shape our expectations of what God will—and will not—do in our lives?

Omnipresence

Omnipresence = God’s essence is everywhere all the time. God exists in every corner of creation. God’s presence is infinite. It can be described as having immensity and Infinitude

Psalm 139:7–12 NKJV

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; 12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

1 Kings 8:26–27 NKJV

26 And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David my father. 27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!

Food for thought:

How does believing that God is omnipresent (fully present everywhere at all times) change the way we approach private decisions, hidden struggles, or moments of isolation?

Omniscience

Omniscience = God knows all things. He is the source of all knowledge. He knows what is actual and possibility. God does not learn or forget.

Psalm 139:1–4 NKJV

1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. 3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.

Food for Thought:

If God is omniscient and already knows every thought, motive, and word before we speak, what does genuine honesty in prayer actually look like?

Immutability = His nature is unchangeable. His purpose is sure and never altered.

Hebrews 13:8 NKJV

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

James 1:17 NKJV

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Malachi 3:6 NKJV

6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.

Hebrews 12:17

Food For Thought: If God is truly unchanging (immutability), what does that reveal about the tension people feel between the “God of the Old Testament” and the “God of the New Testament”? Is the difference in God—or in our interpretation?

Food for Thought:

If God’s power, presence, knowledge, and nature are all perfect and unchanging, why do we still struggle to fully trust Him—and what does that expose about our understanding of His character?