November 19th Class Notes

Lesson 3: God

Review of Last Week’s Study: The Bible

1. General vs. Special Revelation
2. Inspiration
3. The Role of the Holy Spirit
4. Perspicacity (Faithfulness of the Text)
5. Inerrancy

Overview of this Week’s Study: God

1. The Trinity
2. Jesus Christ
3. Holy Spirit
4. Angelic Beings

The Trinity

We believe that there is one and only one true and living God, an infinite Spirit who is the Maker and Supreme Ruler of the universe. We believe the Scriptures reveal Him to be holy, sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, immutable, and full of love, justice, goodness, mercy, and truth. Although there is only one God, we believe that in the unity of the Godhead there are three eternal and coequal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe these members of the Trinity are the same in substance, having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections; but distinct in subsistence, and executing different but harmonious functions. (Mark 12:29; John 4:24; Matt. 3:16-17 and 28:19; II Cor. 13:14)

Unity

• “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Deut. 6:4
• “You believe that there is one God. “Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder.” James 2:19

Diversity

• Jesus is God (John 1; Col. 2:9; Titus 2:13, etc.)
• Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4)
• All three said to possess divine attributes of enternality, omnipresence, holiness, love, and omnipotence
• All three invoked in the Great Commission, as source of spiritual gifts, in prayers and benedictions, & at Jesus’ baptism

Unity in Relationship

• Old Testament hints (Gen. 1:26; Is. 6:8)
• “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30 (cf. 17:22)

Statement of the Mystery:
One substance (homoousios); three subsistences (hypostaseis)

Avoids errors of the extremes:

1. Modalism (sequential modes of God’s actualization)
2. Tri-theism (three gods)

Functional Differentiation:

	Father	Son	Holy Spirit
	(Source)	(Means)	(Continuing effect)
Creation	Spoke	Made	Sustains
Redemption	Plans	Provides	Applies
Relationship	Grace	Love	Fellowship

Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the pre-existent and eternal Son of God who became man in order to reveal God and redeem man. We believe He was supernaturally conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. In His person, we believe the Lord Jesus combined full and undiminished deity with true and perfect humanity to become the God-man. We believe Christ died on the cross as a substitute for sinful man, was buried, arose bodily from the tomb, ascended into heaven where He ministers on the behalf of saints, and someday will come again for His own. (John 1:18 and 8:58; Matt. 1:23; Col. 1:15-17; I Tim. 1:15 and 3:16)

Deity

• Explicit Scriptural attestations (John 1; Col. 2:9; Titus 2:13, etc.)
• Jesus’ theistic claims – Angels (Mat. 13:41); Forgiveness (Mark 2:5); Judgement (Mat. 25:31-46); Pre-Existence (John 8:58)
• Jesus accepts Thomas’ declaration (John 20:28)
• Jews saw His actions as claiming equality with God (e.g., John 5:18)

Scriptural problems with Deity

• “Firstborn of creation” (Col. 1:15)
• “Now this is eternal life that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3)
• “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28(b))
• “’Why do you call Me good?’ Jesus answered, “No one is good – except God alone.” (Mark 10:18)
• “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32)

Importance of Deity

1. Redemption
2. Reconciliation
3. We can know the Father

Importance of Humanity

1. Redemption
2. Understands humanity from the inside
3. Shows us true humanity
4. Model

• If salvation is to apply to man, then humanity
• If salvation is to apply to all men, then deity

Early Attempts to Reconcile

1. Adoptionism
2. Dynamic Incarnation (power of God in a human)
3. Kenoticism
4. Anhypostatic Christology (humanity as general)

[note: 1-3 emphasize humanity; 4 emphasizes deity]

Statement of the Mystery:
Fully God, fully man – without confusion, without division

Impeccability
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.”
Hebrews 4:15

Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, fully equal with God the Father and God the Son. Although He is of the exact same essence, we believe He is a personality distinct from the other members of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit, we believe, has an active ministry to the world in general which includes the restraining of evil, convicting of the unsaved, and bestowing of God's goodness on all mankind. We also believe He has a ministry to every Christian that consists of regenerating, sealing, indwelling, baptizing into the Body of Christ, and the giving of spiritual gifts. We believe some of these gifts such as apostleships and prophesying new revelation have completed their function and thus are not for the Body of Christ today. Nor do we believe that speaking in tongues or healing services are a part of Corporate worship. Other ministries to obedient Christians include filling, assuring, teaching, guiding, and comforting.

Gifts of the Spirit
Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, ability to distinguish spirits, various tongues, interpretation of tongues

Principles concerning Spiritual Gifts
A. 1 Cor 12:7; 14:5, 12 [For the edification of the body]
B. 1 Cor. 12:21-26 [All gifts are important]
C. 1 Cor. 12:11 [Spirit gives as He wills]

Angelic Beings
We believe that God created an order of spirit beings known as angels before the formation of the world for the purpose of worshipping and serving Him. We believe angels possess individual personalities and are intelligent, powerful, and inferior to God but superior to man. Lucifer, we believe, was one of the highest in rank of all the angelic beings in eternity past, but he sinned through pride and rebelled against God, thereby becoming Satan. We believe the Devil's proclaimed purpose is to oppose the plan of God and to promote his own evil program by deceiving and attacking men. In carrying out his work, we believe Satan is aided by other fallen angels known as demons or evil spirits. We believe these demons can influence, tempt, and control all men and even "possess" unbelievers. We believe there are unfallen angels, known as elect or holy angels, who carry out the Will of God by ministering to men.