Some More Basic Theology

Now this one Being who possesses all these attributes is Personal. But He is not simply Personal; He is Tri-Personal. Within the nature of this One all powerful Being are three distinct Persons: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that God is a Triune Being.

The second Person within the Being of God entered time and space. God the Son became a Man. Jesus, God the Son, possesses from all eternity the nature of God. He is equal to the Father in power, knowledge, self-existence, and holiness. In every way the Son is equal to the Father.

(Colossians 1:15 NKJV) “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation”

God the Son is by nature spirit, and therefore, without physical form. He is not limited by time and space. He is eternally the WORD of God. He never ceased to be everything that the Father is. But in the course of human history - at a particular place and time - He assumed a second nature. He became a Man. He did not become half Man and half God. He never lost a single attribute of Deity. While He never ceased to be 100% God, He became a real Man. He became a Man in every sense, only without sin.

From eternity He was one Person with one nature. At a particular moment in history He became one Person with two natures. He is the God-Man. He is not a mixture of the divine and the human. He is 100% God and 100% Man. He is the WORD become flesh.

Now tell me, doth this offend you?

Some Basic Theology

Given the necessity for basic theology and the lack of understanding among most Christians (including most pastors), I want to consider some things about God. I am not a trained theologian. I am not a pastor. I am an average Christian. I love my God and I want to know Him more. Contrary to current opinion in the Church, I do not believe you can know God apart from knowing about God. To the degree that one’s knowledge of God is shallow and/or erroneous; to that degree one’s fellowship with God is shallow (and/or erroneous).

(1 John 1:1 NKJV) 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life; 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us; 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

According to the Apostle John having fellowship with God is contingent on receiving the things that were manifested to and witnessed by the Apostles.

The Bible is the only authority for telling us what to believe about God. As I said above, I am not a trained theologian. I am a student of the Bible. If I am in error, I am open to correction. I am not qualified to produce a Systematic Theology, but I have decided to declare on this blog some basic things about our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let’s begin with the fact that God is infinite.

God is infinite in all of His attributes. This means that every quality God possesses He possesses it without limit. For example: God has power. How much power? He has limitless power. God has knowledge. How much knowledge? He has limitless knowledge.

We could go on and on with this exchange attribute after attribute. This format (and my skill) will not allow a full examination of the attributes of God. But let’s take it just a little further. The dimensions of time and space are the greatest limiting factors in creation. But God is infinite. God is eternal. Eternality is one of His attributes. Therefore, God is unlimited by time. God is everywhere present. Omnipresence is one of His attributes. Therefore, God is unlimited by space.

Saying God is eternal means more than that He has always existed. It means that He lives outside of time and sees the end from the beginning.

Let me illustrate this point. A book may contain events, people, places, and the passage of time, but when a man picks up the book he has all of that information in his hands. He can flip from page to page, from event to event. He can read about a particular person involved in a particular event, turn the page read a different passage, and then go back and read about that particular person and event again. History and the passage of time from beginning to end is like that book. God is like the man who holds the book in his hand, except God does not turn from page to page. He sees every person, place, thing, and event, in His eternal present tense. And God is not merely on the outside reading an authors words, He is the Author and He is in control.

(Isaiah 57:15 NKJV) For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy…

(Isaiah 46:9, 10 NKJV) “Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,”

When we say that God is omnipresent we do not mean that God is so large that He fills the universe, as if God were dispersed throughout the creation; a little bit here and a little bit there and a little bit everywhere. When we say that God is omnipresent we mean that God is present in His fullness at every point in the universe at all times. God is here with us in His completeness. At the same time God is as completely present everywhere else.

God is limited neither by time nor space because He is the uncreated pure Spirit.

(John 4:24 NKJV) God is Spirit, and those who worship Him, must worship in spirit and trust.

God does not possess shape or size. People have imagined a God made in the physical image of man; or worse yet, three physical beings with bodies like men. But this is not the God of the Bible.

There is only One Being who is by nature God. This One Being is Spirit, therefore, He is not a physical or special being. This Being is outside of the time-space continuum and is limited by neither time nor space. He is everywhere present in His fullness. He relates to every moment in time in His eternal present tense. He has infinite power. And He is totally separate from creation.

Now tell me, doth this offend you?

The Necessity of Basic Theology

Most churches today are filled with people who have little or no theological understanding. There has been a failure in many denominations and local churches to proclaim the great doctrines of the faith. Many Christian’s Christianity never goes beyond a list of does and don’ts, or a series of “how to’s” (how to: be financially successful, live a clean life, be a good husband, make friends and influence people…) So many people are left without a basic understanding of what the Bible is all about.

I am not calling for the accumulation of facts for the sake of knowing the facts. The doctrines taught in the Bible are all about our God and how He relates to this fallen creation. Knowing these facts without knowing God will not do you any good. But the Christian who does not “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18) will be weak and ineffective in the Christian life. It is necessary to know something about God to worship God. It is essential to know what God is like to effectively pray to God. It is impossible to tell others of a God we know nothing about. For Christians, then, theology is the most practical thing we can do.

Now tell me, doth this offend you?