Master 255: Christian Doctrine Series, Part 4

Doctrine of God, part 2 (supplement).

Here is the outline of my treatment of the doctrine of God. Most of these segments can be found in Master 243: Christian Doctrine Series, Part 1. Here I've included an extended list of the names of God, some passages to consider in connection with loving God, a short treatment of the nature and works of God the Father, in particular, and a heading for a section on the worship of God.

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The Doctrine of God

Outline

I. Introduction
II. Attunement: Exodus 3-4
III. Arguments for the Existence of God
IV. God's Attributes
A. God's transcendence and autonomy
B. God's immanence and relationship
C. Other attributes
D. The names of God
V. The love of God
VI. The Holy Trinity
A. God, the Father
VII. The Proper Response: Worship

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... D. The names of God

'In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.' (Genesis 1:1. 430)

'And she [Hagar] called the name of the YHWH who spoke to her, "El Roi (Thou art a God who sees)"; for she said, "Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?"' (Genesis 16:13. 410 & 7210)

'Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the YHWH appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am El Shaddai (God Almighty); walk before Me, and be blameless."' (Genesis 17:1-20. 410 & 7706)

'And Abraham called the name of that place YHWH Jireh (The Lord Will Provide) as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the YHWH it will be provided."' (Genesis 22:14. 3608 & 7200)

'And he [Melchizedek] blessed him [Abram] and said, "Blessed be Abram of El Elyon (God Most High), possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be El Elyon, who has delivered your enemies into your hand."' (Exodus 14:19-20. 410 & 5945. Isaiah 14:13-14)

'And Moses built an altar, and named it YHWH Nissi (The Lord is My Banner); and he said, "YHWH has sworn; YHWH will have war against Amalek from generation to generation."' (Exodus 17:15)

'And YHWH spoke to Moses saying, "But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'You shall surely observe My Sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am YHWH Maccaddeshcem (the Lord who sanctifies you).'"' (Exodus 31:13. 3608 & 6942)

'Then Gideon built an altar there to the YHWH and named it YHWH Shalom (the Lord is peace). To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.' (Judges 6:24)

'The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. YHWH Sabaoth (The God of hosts) is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.' (Psalm 46:6-7. See also 1 Samuel 1)

YHWH Raah (the Lord is My Shepherd): Psalm 23:1.

'Do you not know? Have you not heard? El Olam (The Everlasting God), YHWH, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.' (Isaiah 41:28. 410 & 5769. Isaiah 40:28)

' "Behold, the days are coming," declares YHWH, "When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do ustice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, 'YHWH Tsidkenu (The Lord our Righteousness).'"' (Jeremiah 23:6. 3608 & 6664)

' "For YHWH is going to destroy Babylon, and He will make her loud noise vanish from her. And their waves will roar like many waters; the tumult of their voices sounds forth. For the destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon, and her mighty men will be catured, their bows are shattered; for Jehovah El Gmolah (The Lord is a God of Recompense)."' (Jeremiah 51:56)

' " 'Now I will shortly pour out My wrath on you, and spend My anger against you, judge you according to your ways, and bring on you all your abominations. And My eye will show no pity, nor will I spare. I will repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst; then you will know that I, YHWH, do the smiting.'"' (YHWH Nakeh, The Lord Who Smites. Ezekiel 7:9)

YHWH Shammah (The Lord Who is Present or The Lord is There): Ezekiel 48:35.

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... V. The Love of God

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hill and mountains call,
God's love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam's race--
The saints' and angels' song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Frederick M. Lehman

Psalm 136.

' "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."' (John 3:16)

'But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.' (Romans 5:8)

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... A. God the Father

God the Father, is first and foremost the eternal Father of the eternally one and only-begotten Son. We must be clear that the 'fatherhood' of God is not an idea that is based on or derived from human forms or analogies. Before there was a church, before there was a nation of Israel, and before any created thing existed, God the Father was and is with His Son and with the Holy Spirit. The clearest revelation of God as Father, then, comes in the Incarnation. There we most clearly what God the Father is like because we see how He relates to His only-begotten Son.

It is also the case that God the Father acts in a 'fatherly' way in all that He does and especially toward all of His creation. So, in Acts 17:29, the Apostle Paul reminds the Athenians that, in God, "we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His offspring.'" Certainly, then, there is a sense in which God is the father of all humanity and all created things. But beyond this, God also revealed Himself as father to the nation of Israel. (Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 32:6; Isaiah 63:15-16; 64:8; John 9:41) He established a special covenant relationship with that group of people and, in that way, gave a more complete picture (albeit still imperfect) of what God's fatherhood consists in. The most complete revelation of God's fatherhood, in the Incarnation, coincides with His invitation to us to enter into His family. So God invites all of us to know Him as our own Father. So the Apostle Paul writes,

"But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son in our hearts, crying "Abba! Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God." (Galatians 4:4-7. See also 3:26.)

Here are a few particular places where the works of the Father are highlighted.

A. In creation.

'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.' (Genesis 1:1-3)

'By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host.' (Psalm 33:6)

'For He [the Father] delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And He [the Son] is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him [the Son] all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him.' (Colossians 1:16)

B. In election.

'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

'who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

'just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.

'[who, in love,] predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.' (Ephesians 1:3-6)

C. In begetting and sending Christ.

' "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."' (John 3:16)

'Jesus therefore said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."' (John 20:21)

D. In sending the Holy Spirit

' "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you."' (John 14:16-17)

E. In disciplining His children (Hebrews 12:4-17)

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... VII. The Proper Response: Worship

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God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.