THE DOCTRINE OF GOD

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THE COVENANT GOD

CreationGOD

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THE COVENANT GODand the Non-Christian Dilemma

The inevitabilityOf One CircleThinking

Or:Humanize God

Either: Divinize Man

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THE COVENANT GOD• Transcendent• Distant• Creator-creature

Distinction• Man is image of

GOD• In Adam, covenant

keeper becomes covenant breaker

• Personal• Immanent• Creator-creature

Relationship• Man is IMAGE of

God• In Christ, the

covenant breaker becomes again the covenant keeper

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THE COVENANT GOD• Theology and Children of the

Covenant– The Nature of Scripture as

Covenant Book– Our Theistic Presupposition

• Theology and “Covenant Logic”– Philosophical Problems– The Nature of doctrine as “living

truth” not merely cognitive propositions

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THE COVENANT GOD• The Basic Doctrinal Affirmation of

Scripture is the Being of God• God is “being”; other beings “come

to be”• Scripture:

– Heb. 11:6– John 8:58– Psalm 10:4, 14:1, 53:1

• Scripture “uses the language of God’s being, the personal God of the Covenant”

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ARGUMENTS: EXISTENCE OF GOD

Cosmological Teleological Ontological

Moral Universal Consent

GOD

Block-HouseMethodology:Theistic Proofs

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ARGUMENTS: EXISTENCE OF GOD

AUTHORITY OF THE WORD

Moral

Universal Consent

Teleological

Ontological

A REFORMEDAPPROACH PROOFS ARE

CONFIRMATORY

Cosmological

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KNOWING GOD• In Theology proper, we employ the same

methodology we use in Theology in general– Our approach is Covenantal– We are in relationship with God and we proceed to

reflect on that relationship• As covenant partners, we begin with the

Biblical affirmation of God- that is our a-priori• All our knowledge of God is the result of his

free self-disclosure• We do not begin with any philosophical a-priori• Finitum non capax infiniti

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THE TRIUNE GOD• The Doctrine of the Trinity is not

“biblical” as are other doctrines, such as justification

• Its primary support does not lie in “Trinitarian passages,” though they are important

• The doctrine is the result, rather, of considering how Scripture speaks of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

• Thus- it is necessary to account for the biblical language of unity and diversity– Avoiding Modalism– Avoiding Tritheism

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THE TRIUNE GOD IN THE BIBLE

•THERE IS ONE GOD•THE FATHER, SON, AND

HOLY SPIRIT EACH IS GOD•THE FATHER, SON, AND

HOLY SPIRIT EACH IS A DISTINCT PERSON

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THERE IS ONE GOD• Deuteronomy 4:35,39,

“The Lord is God, beside him there is no other”

• Deuteronomy 6:4, “the Lord is one”

• Isaiah 44:6, “apart from me there is no God”; 45:21,24

• John 17:3, “the only true God”

• I Timothy 2:5, “one God”

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THE FATHER IS GOD• Malachi 2:10, “Have we not all one

Father? Did not one God create us?”• Matthew 6:1-9, “your Father in heaven”• John 1:14,18, “who came from the

Father”• Romans 1:7, 15:6, “Grace and peace . . .

from God our Father”• I Corinthians 15:24, “hands over the

kingdom to God the Father”• Hebrews 1:1-6, “I will be his Father”

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THE SON IS GOD• Isaiah 9:6, “He will be called . . . Mighty God”• Micah 5:2, “whose origins are from of old, from

ancient times”• John 1:1,18, “and the Word was God”• John 20:28, “My Lord and My God”• Romans 9:5, “Christ, who is God over all”• Titus 2:13, “great God and Savior, Jesus

Christ”• Hebrews 1:8, “your throne, O God, will last

forever”• I John 5:20, “He (Jesus Christ) is the true God

and eternal life”

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THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD• Genesis 1:2, “Spirit of God hovered over

the waters”• Judges 3:10, “the Spirit of the Lord came

upon him”• Isaiah 63:10, “they rebelled and grieved

his Holy Spirit”• Romans 8:9, “the Spirit of God lives in

you”• Ephesians 4:30, “do not grieve the Holy

Spirit of God”

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THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD

• Hebrews 9:14, “Christ, who through the eternal Spirit”

• Psalm 139:7, “where can I go from your Spirit”

• I Corinthians 2:10, “God has revealed it to us by his Spirit”

• I Corinthians 12:4-6, “same Spirit . . . Lord . . . God”

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RELATIONSHIPS

• The Father is God, is not the Son, is not the Holy Spirit

• The Son is God, is not the Father, is not the Holy Spirit

• The Holy Spirit is God, is not the Father, is not the Son

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RELATIONSHIPS• The Father is not begotten neither

proceeds from any, but from eternity begets the Son and together with the Son from eternity breathes forth the Holy Spirit.

• The Son is eternally begotten of the Father and proceeds from none, but with the Father eternally breathes forth the Holy Spirit.

• The Holy Spirit is not begotten, but eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son.

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FATHER, SON, HOLY SPIRIT EACH IS A DISTINCT PERSON• Matthew 1:20,21, announcement to Joseph • Matthew 3:16, baptism; 17:5,

Transfiguration• Matthew 28:19, Great Commission• John 3:34, the one whom God sent . . . for

God gives the Spirit• John 15:26, when the counselor comes

whom I will send to you from the Father; cf. 16:5ff

• John 20:21,22, Father sent me; receive Spirit

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FATHER, SON, HOLY SPIRIT EACH IS A DISTINCT PERSON• Acts 1:9, 2:4, Ascension-Pentecost• Romans 8:14-17, Spirit testifies we

are God’s children . . . heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ

• I Corinthians 12:3, by Spirit, say Jesus is Lord

• Hebrews 9:14, blood of Christ offered to God by eternal Spirit

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• Eternal Generation refers to the relationship between the Father and the Son

• It affirms a necessary relation- not an act of God’s free will

• It is an eternal and spiritual relation, which had no beginning, no division of parts, and is continual and ongoing

• This affirmation is only in reference to the person of the Son (theos ek theou); as to his deity, he is autotheos (God himself)

ETERNAL GENERATION

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ETERNAL GENERATION• We must affirm that the Son, as God,

is his own source of divinity, • The communication from the Father to

the Son is an eternal communication of personal subsistence which we call generation or filiation.

• As to the mode of this generation, Scripture offers no clues and we should avoid any temptation to speculate.

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ETERNAL PROCESSION• Eternal Procession refers to the

relationship between the Father/the Son and the Holy Spirit

• It affirms a necessary relation- not an act of God’s free will

• It is an eternal and spiritual relation, which had no beginning, no division of parts, and is continual and ongoing

• This affirmation is only in reference to the person of the Holy Spirit; as to his deity, he is autotheos

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ETERNAL PROCESSION: “Filioque”• Latin, “and from the Son”• In the Eastern Church, the formula says that the

Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son- there is a fear of subordinating the Spirit to the Son

• In the Western Church, the formula says that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son- there is a greater fear of subordinating the Son to the Father

• This is countered by affirming the coordinate activity of Father and Son in breathing out the Spirit

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THE TRIUNE GOD

Not a Biblical construct, but a theological construct that isnecessary to account for all the data. Truly, a Mystery!