Welcome to “Learning and Living the God-centered life”

Carmel Baptist Church

www.learningandlivingtheword.com
September 5, 2010
Point #1 - Methodology in the Doctrine of God

It is important for us to talk about the method in which we are

going to study the God of the Bible

Is there a way to approach from Scripture, as best as we can,

to get an accurate understanding of God?

And many theologians over the years have thought it helpful

to classify God into several different categories.

Let’s start with transcendence and immanence.

So what does transcendence mean?
This means God's distance and God's otherness, His being
apart from us, who God is in His majesty and greatness.

TRANSCENDENCE. A term describing the fact that God is

separated from man and above man. God is transcendent in that
He is holy and man is sinful; He is transcendent because He is
infinite and man is finite. God is “wholly other” than man.

So what is immanence?
This means God's nearness, intimate, close, compassionate,
kind, caring and protecting.

It is only when we are the people of God start to see God as

transcendent that it begins to magnify properly His mercy,
compassion and kindness
First and foremost we need to see the greatness of God
before we come to study and embrace the grace of God

It is important that we learn about the majesty of God

before we try to comprehend the mercy of God

Turn to Isaiah 57:15

For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever,
whose name is Holy,“I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to
revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the
contrite.
The first 3 lines give to us an indication of His
transcendence and then the last 3 lines talk about His
immanence which means near, close at hand, caring and
comforting.

That this God who is great and holy should come to dwell
with us is truly "Amazing Grace"

But for many today we have turned this into a presumption

(of course God would come to me because I am valuable)
because we have gotten away from how great this God is in
Himself.
Another example of this can be found in Isaiah 66:1-2

Isaiah 66:1 Thus says the LORD, Heaven is My throne and the
earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build
for Me? And where is a place that I may rest?

Isaiah 66:2 For My hand made all these things,Thus all these
things came into being,” declares the LORD. But to this one I
will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who
trembles at My word.

What are the answers to the rhetorical questions in Isaiah 66:1?

So what is the point?

Don't think Israel that I dwell in a Tabernacle or a Temple to
the degree that it contains Me. For My hand made all of these
things.

 The first part is to emphasize transcendence, how big,

awesome, great and majestic that God is.
 Then in verse 2 it says but to this one I will look and we
ought to ask why?

We live in an age of consumer mentality.

So what is the one thing that we as people have absolute rights

and entitlement for in relationship to our condition before God?
 Condemnation
 Judgment
 Hell
Our theology can make God the beggar when it is really us.
We make ourselves the giver and God the one who receives
from us.

This is what Tozer called idolatry.

A.W. Tozer quote - the belief about God among professing
evangelicals in the church today is so low that it equates to
idolatry. Which means we have a cultural view not Biblical.

We think we are entitled - self esteem and self actualized and I

am very important

And so when we hear that God loves us we ought to just sit,

think and marvel at that statement.
Because this is grace and it should amaze us but quite frankly it
doesn't. Because we are under the presumption of grace.
So when we come to Isaiah 66:2 and we read
"And to this one I will look”

We should ask ourselves, why would God look to us?

We can say something to this verse but it comes close to

being fully unanswerable.

So we can see that in these Bible verses we have a category

that God is other than us, God is distant from us, remote
and we have another category that lets us know that God is
involved in every moment of human life.
Our study in the Doctrine of God
Incommunicable and Communicable

Incommunicable means that these particular attributes of God

that are distinctively divine and we do not share in any part of
this attribute.

For example: Self existence and we do not share in any

measure this attribute. Because our existence is dependent and
contingent and derivative.

Communicable means attributes of God which He

communicates or shares in substance or in kind in some
portion with His creatures. There is in us a finite
representation of these particular attributes.
Communicable Attributes

For example:
God is love...this is a communicable attribute because
we are called to love

God is wise...we are called to be wise in our decisions

God is merciful...we are called to be merciful

Point #2 - Methodological Balance when we come to the
Doctrine of God

This means it is easy for us to emphasize one attribute of

God that another attribute is lessened to the degree that it
gets little or no attention.

Someone could emphasize the holiness, justice,

righteousness and the judgment of God that kindness,
mercy, forgiveness is hardly accounted for.

But really the problem in our particular culture today is

that we have taken an over emphasis to the immanence of
God which is God loves you to the limitation or exclusion
of the other attributes.
And what love is, becomes that defined by the culture and
not the Bible. Love is accepting, tolerant and never
judgmental.

In church history there has been tendencies to emphasize

one particular attribute to the exclusion of others. And in
the early church the skewing was toward the
transcendence of God which means His greatness,
holiness, separation.

So we need to have a balance presented where we don't

stress one at the expense of the other
When we study the doctrine of God we need to study the
transcendence of God which is the self sufficient God that is
independent, complete, full, rich and infinitely possessing of
every quality intrinsic to Himself.

This is the same God that has deemed it good and right to
create and relate to a creation that He does not need. God
was not an empty water trough who created the world so that
it could fill Him up.

But in creating overflows from who He is and then sustains

and for His people seeks to bring us His character in some
finite measure. And this then becomes what fills us up. So
we become holy even as He is holy.
In Summary:

Point #1 in the study of the doctrine of God

In order for us to see God correctly then we must be able to
see His transcendence and His immanence in balance. And
we must be able to do so in a way in which the one side
doesn't diminish or jeopardize the other side.

Point #2 in the study of the doctrine of God

We must start with the transcendence of God which means
starting with the God that is in Himself independent of
anything else and from there understand that He has created
this world and chosen to relate to this world.
There are 6 incommunicable attributes for us to study in the
doctrine of God.

1. Self Existence
This has been sometimes referred to as asceity and it means
that God has existence within Himself or it is God's nature to
exist.

God is not caused to exist as is everything else in the universe.

Everything else owes its existence to something else and that is
true both from a direct and indirect fashion.

For example: You own your existence in a direct fashion to

your parents but in and indirect fashion to many, many other
people in the line of your genealogy and of course ultimately to
God.
Point to anything in the universe and it's existence is a
derivative upon another but God's existence is intrinsic to
Himself. It is the very nature of God to exist.

When arguing for the existence of God this is the very thing
that drove Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109) to his ontological
argument.
He argued that there must be something whose existence is
beyond the pale of dependence and is not contingent on
anything else.

We believe in a transcendent God. This is what we call a

”necessary” belief. “If something exists,” so the argument
goes, “God must exist.” It is actually the best argument for
God that is out there. If something exists, we have to have an
adequate cause to explain it.
God did not create human beings to make up for some
deficiency in Himself
John 17:5 - Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself,
with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

John 17:24 - Father, I desire that they also, whom You have
given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My
glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the
foundation of the world.

Application - God did not need to create you or me

We can also study the self existence of God from Genesis.
Isn’t that the the point of Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.

So before the beginning there is God. Well before the

beginning of what? Well before the beginning of creation
there is God. The implication of that verse is that God has no
beginning and He exists eternally.
Eternity which is another attribute of God that we will look at
a bit later has to do with the mode of God's existence in
relation to time.

Self existence has to do with the fact of God's existence that is

independent, not contingent or necessary on anything else.
God has life in Himself and His existence is part of His very
nature.
It is indicated in the very name that God gave to Moses in
Exodus 3:14 when God said tell them that "I AM." And from
this we get the derivative from Yahweh which is Jehovah and
this is formed from the consonants of Yahweh and Adonai.

The term means I AM which is the being of God or His

existence.

And this has implications for the people of Israel in so far as

He is the God for them in their need and in their plight.

The term I AM means more than God's existence but it does

not mean less than that.
So the self existence of God means that God exists by virtue of His
very nature; he was never created and never came into being.
Nothing else in the universe has ever had this characteristic, or ever
will (necessary existence)

John 5:26 - “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He
gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;

Rev. 4:11
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
Psalm 90:2
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
2. Self Sufficiency

Definition: God possesses within Himself every quality in

infinite measure. So any quality you can think of like beauty,
power or truth God has that quality in that it constitutes His
very nature.

For example the goodness of God is intrinsic to God because

no one gave this to God, no one makes God good, no one
grant God to be good, it is His own by nature. And this is not
true of us is it?
Why is it that we have any quality that we have? The short
answer is that it has been given to us.

1 Corinthians 4:7 For who regards you as superior? What do

you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it,
why do you boast as if you had not received it?
Every moral quality that we have in whatever measure is a gift
of God to us. These we have because God has granted them to
us but these qualities are God's by His very nature and
existence. These are God's infinitely which means;
All power is God's
All holiness is God's
All knowledge is God's

This is something that we have spent a whole session on and in

doing so we looked at the following verses:
 Psalm 50
 Isaiah 40:12-17
 Acts 17:24-25
How much does God possess? Answer - everything
How much do we need to depend on God? Answer - for
everything

James 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is
from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom
there is no variation or shifting shadow.

So if every good and perfect gift comes from God then logically
who do we know possesses it?
Answer - God
God brings into being that which was not or that which did not
exist. He creates from nothing and brings something into
existence that was not there before. (The Latin phrase ex nihilo
means "out of nothing”)

These things that we are studying about the doctrine of God are
so important because they establish for us the very supremacy
of God.

Today in our culture we are hearing about a God who is much

more like us. It is as if God needs our help but I can assure you
that is not the God of the Bible.

We should marvel that the God of the Bible should deem to

care about us.
3. Infinity

You notice that this is a negative in that it means God is NOT

finite. So what does the word finitude mean? It means to be
bounded or limited. God is infinite in that He is not bound nor
does He have any limits.

We as the creature have limits. How many times have we said

to our children things like;
I am out of patience or you have worn me out.

But this is not true of God because His attributes are without
limit.
God is never out of grace, mercy, power and knowledge.
Don't confuse this with the self imposed limitations that God
chooses to put upon Himself.

For example:
God promises to Abraham that it will be through him that all the
nations will be blessed.
Does that diminish God's power because now He can't bless the
nations through some other person?
No, because once God has promised one thing then He must
deliver it. Therefore it rules out other things that might have
been the case, but once He says this then it means He can't do
that.

There can be and are self imposed limitation that God puts on
Himself but this does not effect the limitless of God's power.
Also there are things that on the surface appear as a limitation
of God but when you dig deeply into it you find they show how
unlimited God really is.

For example;
According to Scripture God cannot lie.
Titus 1:2- in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot
lie, promised long ages ago,

What does this mean, what is the point? This means that God is
unlimited in His nature as God for truth telling, honesty,
faithfulness and this means that God cannot break a promise.
We as human being can break promises. This shows our limit
in the ability to tell the truth.
We as human beings can die. This shows our limit in regard to
living.

But God can't die. And this shows His limitless.

So this means that God doesn't have the limitation but in fact
we do have the limitation.

Keep in mind that boundlessness and limitless have to do with

the qualities that are true of God.
The quality of truth assures us that God cannot lie
The quality of existence assures of that God cannot die
The quality of faithfulness assures of that God cannot break a
promise
Infinity is shown in Job 11:7-9
“Can you discover the depths of God?
Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
“They are high as the heavens, what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol, what can you know?
“Its measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.

Psalm 147:5
Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
His understanding is infinite. ( A Hebrew term for God's
knowledge that is without limit)
A self imposed limit is not a limitation in regard to the nature
of God.

For example:
If I say I will fight you with one hand behind my back then I
put a self imposed limitation on myself but it doesn't diminish
my real strength and power.

God makes a covenant with Abraham then it rules out other

things that God might have done so this is in essence a self
imposed limitation God places on Himself.
Second, it appears to be a limitation in the nature of God but is
not. Or that we can do things that God can not do.
For example; I can lie but God cannot lie. Someone might say
that we can tell the truth and we can lie and that gives us a
breadth that God doesn't have. But the problem with that kind
of thinking is not understanding what limitless really means.

God has the limitless quality of truth telling which means it can
never be limited or denied. And the limited or negative quality
of lying is not true of God but it is true of us.
4. Omnipresence
Theologians all the way back to the early church have wanted
to talk about God's omnipresence in two particular ways in
which God is not bound.
- God is not bound in relation to space (omnipresence)
- God is not bound in relation to time (eternity)

Omnipresence means that God is not limited in His existence by

space. Or God transcends all spatial boundaries and is present
everywhere at once.

2 Chronicles 2:6
“But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and
the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I
should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before
Him?
Jeremiah 23:23-24
“Am I a God who is near,” declares the LORD,
“And not a God far off?
“Can a man hide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?” declares the LORD.
“Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.

1Kings 8:27
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and
the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this
house which I have built!

Acts 7:48
“However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by
human hands; as the prophet says:
Omnipresence means that God is not limited in His existence
by space. Or God transcends all spatial boundaries and is
present everywhere at once.

Psalm 139:7-10
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me
God is everywhere present

In this Psalm this is meant as a comfort and an encouragement

because nowhere that you are called to go in ministry, business,
home or where ever you go then God is with you. And even if
you go to a place and you are alone, God is with you in that
place.

Also there is a sobering truth to this principle that in every

moment of private sinning God is with you in that moment
also.

In the Bible there is a theme that runs through Scripture that

would seem to undercut this particular doctrine.
For example:
When God says to His people "I will be with you"
Isaiah 43:1-5
But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who
formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have
called you by name; you are Mine!
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through
the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the
fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.
“For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I
have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.
“Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love
you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in
exchange for your life.
“Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the
east, And gather you from the west.
What is the point of "I will be with you" if we know that God
is omnipresent?
Because it is one thing to have the attribute and quite another to
have the expression of that attribute.

Isn't it different to talk about God's omnipresence which means

He is everywhere and God's manifest presence?

Manifest presence means that God is there in a focused,

deliberate and intentional way watching over not just seeing
what is there but attending to and caring for, providing for,
strengthening and enabling and protecting.

God is omnipresent but in the temple God's glory came and

dwelled.
Exodus 40:34
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the
LORD filled the tabernacle.

So is God in the temple or is God everywhere? And the answer

to that question is both.
But in different senses.

God is present with His people Israel as He dwells with them in

the Tabernacle. And this is different than God being with the
Babylonians and the Egyptians.

Don't confuse the teaching of God's omnipresence the fact that

He is everywhere with the manifest presence of God being with
His people specifically.
There is a wonderful theme that runs throughout Scripture in
which God tells His people from Genesis to Revelation that "I
will be with you.”

The church has always agreed upon the doctrine of the

omnipresence of God is the following way.

Theologians agree that before God created the world there

was no space. God then creates a spacial temporal world.
And so before the beginning of the world you would talk
about God in terms of a non spacial reality. God in Himself
doesn't occupy any space whether it be finite or infinite. God
is non spacial in His nature as God.
But when He creates the world He creates a spatial world He
then fills with His existence all that He creates. And He
occupies that which is foreign to His own nature.

However in relation to creation God is omnipresent. God fills

all of the creation that He has made.

The reason this is helpful to understand is because there is a

parallel thought here when it comes to understanding how we
see God and time.
Side note for further study

So how does the Bible speak about God?

The Bible often uses anthropomorphic language when

describing God to us and for us.

Anthropomorphic language is language that speaks of

God in human terms.
For example: in human terms
 God is called a bridegroom (Isaiah 61:10)
 a husband (Isaiah 54:5)
 a father (Deut. 32:6)
 a judge and king (Isaiah 33:22)
 a man of war (Exodus 15:3)
 a builder and maker (Hebrews 11:10)
 a shepherd (Psalm 23:1)
 a physician (Exodus 15:26)
For example in human actions:
 remembering (Genesis 8:1, Exodus 2:24)

 seeing (Genesis 1:10, 2 Chronicles 16:9)

 hearing (Exodus 2:24)

 smelling (Genesis 8:21)

 tasting (Psalm 11:4-5)

 sitting (Psalm 9:7)

 rising (Psalm 68:1)

 walking (Lev. 26:12)

 wiping away tears (Isaiah 25:8)

This is the end of session 2 on the Doctrine of God