Baptist Catichism Q8-9

Introduction

Last time we contemplated how God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Now we come to contemplate the fact that this God is one and there is no other and how how this one God is one in essence and three in persons. We will start with question 8.

Body

Question 8

A. Question and Answer

Q. 8. Are there many gods?

A. 8. There is only one, the living and true God. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Jeremiah 10:10)

B. Exposition

I. There is only one God.

God’s works and Word are clear that there is only one God. There can only be one who made all things, sustains all things, and govern all things. There is only one beginning, and end of all that exists. Moses writes, “Here O Israel, The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Also, Yahweh demands exclusive worship because He alone is God (Deuteronomy 5:6-10).

Moreover, Isaiah records, “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts, ‘I am the first and I am the last, besides me, there is no God’” (Isaiah 44:6). Idols and false gods are nothing and can do nothing (Isaiah 41:21-29; Psalm 115:4-8; 135:15-17). Jesus clearly agrees when He is asked what the greatest commandment is. He answers, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:29-30).

This one God is the living God. He has life in Himself and gives life to all other things outside of Himself. As Jeremiah writes, “But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation” (Jeremiah 10:10).

C. Uses

I. Marvel at God’s awesome and absolute oneness.

II. Worship God alone.

Now lets move to question 9.

Question 9

A. Question and Answer

Q. 9.How many persons are there in the Godhead?

A. 9. There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, the same in essence, equal in power and glory. (2 Corinthians 13:14; Matthew 28:19)

B. Exposition

I. There are three persons in the Godhead

a. The Father is God.

The Father as the first member of the Trinity is distinguished from the Son on many occasions (John 1:4, 18; 5:17-26; 8:54; 14:12, 13; Psalm 2:7-9; 40:6-9; Isa 53:10).

The Father is portrayed as the source of God’s works in creation, providence, and redemption (1 Cor 8:6; Eph 1:3-6).

He works through the mediation of the Son and the execution of the Holy Spirit. The Father eternally sends, generates, or begets the Son, and the Spirit eternally proceeds or is spiriated from Him and the Son. The Father is God, and so is the Son.

b. The Son is God.

John’s prologue declares the reality that God the Son is both God and yet, distinct from the Father.

The Word is said to be God and yet with God (Jn 1:1), and then John declares this Word is the One who became flesh and dwelt among us as the only begotten Son from the Father (Jn 1:14). The Word was in the beginning and, therefore, before it (Jn 1:1a, 2). It is through Christ that all that exists came (Jn 1:3; Col 1:16).

Jesus elsewhere equates Himself with the “I am” that Moses encountered in the burning bush, which is how His audience interpreted His words (John 8:57-58).

Thomas calls the resurrected Jesus “Lord and God” (Jn 20:28).

Also, Jesus accepts the worship without reservation (Matt 28:17).

As for His distinction from the Father, Jesus prayed, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (Jn 17:5 ESV). Only individual persons can share glory and give glory to another. He does not pray to His own person to give Himself the glory that His person has. God the Son is God. He is not the Father.

Jesus likewise distinguishes himself from the Spirit whom He and the Father send (Jn 14:15-31). God the Father and God the Son are God, yet they are distinguished from one another in how they relate to each other and the world.

The last member of the Trinity also is God and distinct from the Father and the Son.

c. The Holy Spirit is God.

Luke records the events of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. Peter asserts in this passage that Ananias and Sapphira have lied to the Holy Spirit (v. 3) and, in doing so, they lied to God (v. 4). This passage is a clear demonstration of the Spirit’s personality—He can be lied to—and His divinity—lying to Him is lying to God.

There are several scriptural indications of the divinity and personality of the Spirit:

He is identified with the divine title (Ex 31:3; Ac 5:3-4; 1 Cor 3:16; 2 Pet 1:21)

He is ascribed divine attributes

Divine Immensity: Ps 139:7-10; Is 40:13-14;

Divine Wisdom: 1 Cor 2:10-11

He is credited with divine works

Creation: Gen 1:2; Job 26:13; 33:4; Ps 104:30

Salvation: Jn 3:5-6; Tit 3:5; Rom 8:11

He is included with the other members of the Trinity

God the Father and Son: Matt 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Matthew 3:16-17

God the Son: Rom 9:1

II. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the same in essence.

The one divine essence is possessed entirely and indivisibly by each person. An essence of a thing is what makes it what is as apart from something else. Essence = what something is. Person = who something is.

For example, you and me are separate and distinct manifestations of the human essence. We all are rational animals. We all are not dogs.

When we move to talk and think about God we find one who’s single essence is divine, yet that one indivisible essence is shared by three persons.

When we speak of us in this room we have a multiplicity of the same whats and a multiplicity of different persons.

When we speak of the one God who is three persons, we speak of one what possessed by three whos, who differ not in essence but in their personal relations with each other. The Father is unbegotten. The Son is begotten from the Father. The Spirit is spirited from the Father and Son.

Put differently, we affirm that

1. The Father possesses all that is required for Him to be God.

2. The Son possesses all that is required for Him to be God.

3. The Spirit possesses all that is required for Him to be God.

4. The Father is not the Son or the Spirit.

5. The Son is not the Father or the Spirit.

6. The Spirit is not the Father or the Son.

7. There is only one God.

III. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are equal in power and glory.

This proposition logically follows from the one above. To be divine is to have power and glory. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equally divine (they are the same in essence). Therefore, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal in power and glory.

C. Uses

I. Worship God as Trinity.

II. Understand all of God’s acts as Triune acts.

III. Realize that through union with Christ you have communion with the Triune God.

Conclusion

Q. 8. Are there many gods?

A. 8. There is only one, the living and true God. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Jeremiah 10:10)

Q. 9.How many persons are there in the Godhead?

A. 9. There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, the same in essence, equal in power and glory. (2 Corinthians 13:14; Matthew 28:19)

The God who is a Spirit infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth is the one and living God who is three persons: the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are the same in essence and equal in power and glory. To commune with this Triune and living God, you must be united by faith to God the Son incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ. A part from Him you will remain in darkness and condemnation. With Him you will know God and partake of His goodness forever.