LBCF 2:1-2 - Of God and the Godhead
LBCF • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 20 viewsNotes
Transcript
Handout
Statement Within The Confession
Statement Within The Confession
1. The Lord our God is but one only living and true God; whose subsistence is in and of himself, infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but himself; a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will for his own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek him, and withal most just and terrible in his judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.
2. God, having all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself, is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which he hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting his own glory in, by, unto, and upon them; he is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things, and he hath most sovereign dominion over all creatures, to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever himself pleaseth; in his sight all things are open and manifest, his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to him contingent or uncertain; he is most holy in all his counsels, in all his works, and in all his commands; to him is due from angels and men, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience, as creatures they owe unto the Creator, and whatever he is further pleased to require of them.
minor differences are underlines
major differences are bolded
Differences Between the Confessions
Differences Between the Confessions
The Westminster Confession states the Following
The London Baptist Confession states the following
We would not disagree with the WCF statements but the LBCF seems to focus more on the “otherness” of God and that we cannot fully grasp God; we really see this in the statements:
whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but himself
which no man can approach unto
every way infinite
The final sentence is not a major difference, in my opinion: that God requires of man worship, service and obedience is agreed by the two confessions.
The LBCF seems to be more open-ended by its statement, whatever he is further pleased to require of them.
Without Passions
Without Passions
This is a statement of divine impassability, and we must hold to an immutable God for God says He is the Lord, He changes not.
There are two views of God’s immutability:
Classical View: God does not experience emotional changes either from within or effected by his relationship to creation. He is not changed from within or without; he remains unchanged and unchanging both prior and subsequent to creation.
Modified Classical View: God … displays a full array of emotions which are subject to change according to his sovereign will … God undergoes change in relation to the created order, just not involuntarily … while God expresses an array of divine emotions, he is affirmed to be in some sense impassible.”
So one view believes God does not change and the other is that He changes because He wills it to be so.
Within the Classical View are two variations - these speak to the person of the Father and the Holy Spirit, not the Son as He bodily rose from the dead:
All references to God, the Father, having emotions are anthropomorphisms: they are putting God into human terms so that we can understand God but this view holds that God, the Father, is unaffected by emotions because He has none; however, the Son does possess emotions as a man, but without sinful display of such. Pastor Boeshaar holds to this view.
The other view is that God, the Father, has emotions but they do not affect Him for He is sovereign and not passive. As a result, God has emotions but they do not change His will or person.
We must understand that Passion comes from the word passive; God is never passive (acted upon), He is always the Actor (acting upon) in all history.
The word patior means to suffer. While the Father has not suffered this cannot be said of the Son.
As time progressed, passion came to speak of a controlling emotion and this is closer to our understanding.
The Scripture is clear on the doctrine of immutability (see Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Malachi 3:6; James 1:17) and the logic regarding impassibility should be clear: if God is unchangeable, then He is impassible.
“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”
“For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
So the question is if God can be influenced or changed by emotions.
One says God has no emotions says this question is impossible for how could a person without emotions be affected by emotions. This is Biblical.
Another who says though God has emotions but He is not passive, therefore He is unchanged. This is also Biblical
The modified classical view says God does change, but only because He wills it so. I struggle with this one to be Biblical in light of the verses we read.
What Does This Teach Us?
What Does This Teach Us?
There is but one living and true God
There is but one living and true God
Scripture References: 1 Cor 8:4,6; Deut 6:4
The Lord our God is but one only living and true God
Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.
yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
The Confession says, The Lord our God is but one only living and true God
This is speaking to God being the only living and true God, but it also speaks that we do not worship three gods.
Hodge, This affirmation includes two propositions: (a.) There is but one God. (b.) This one God is an absolute unit, incapable of division.
Think back to past preaching on the Trinity: what are those three truths we MUST hold to?
God is one, God is three, all three are equal
This equality and unity is attacked by false religions, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, and denies John 10:30.
I and My Father are one.”
This God is a free personal Spirit, without bodily parts or passions
This God is a free personal Spirit, without bodily parts or passions
Scripture References: Jer 10:10; Isa 48:12; Exo 3:14; John 4:24; 1 Tim 1:17; Deut 4:15-16
Whose subsistence is in and of himself, infinite in be-ing and perfection; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but himself; a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto;
But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.
“Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last.
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
“Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female,
God is completely other from man - God is a personal Spirit distinct from the world.
Hodge says,
By spirit we mean the subject to which the attributes of intelligence, feeling and will belong as active properties. Where these unite there is distinct personality. The argument from design proves that the great first cause to whom the system of the universe is to be referred possesses both intelligence, benevolence and will in selecting ends, and in choosing and adapting means to effect those ends. Therefore he is a personal spirit. The argument from the sense of moral accountability innate in all men proves that we are subject to a supreme Lawgiver, exterior and superior to the persons he governs, one who takes knowledge of us, and will hold us to a strict personal account. Therefore he is a personal spirit distinct from—though intimately associated with—the subjects he governs.
We must hold that our God is infinite and possessing absolute perfections which are of His essence, such as wholeness, unchangeableness, unity, omnipresence, etc.
He possesses all absolute perfections in and of himself
He possesses all absolute perfections in and of himself
Scripture References: Mal 3:6; 1 Kings 8:27; Jer 23:23; Psa 90:2; Gen 17:1; Isa 6:3; Psa 115:3; Isa 46:10; Pro 16:4; Rom 11:36
who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will for his own glory;
Firstly, These are attributes of God unique to Himself - they are absolutely true of God and only God.
Secondly, these are attributes that do not relate to man - they are absolute perfections of God
“For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!
“Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord, “And not a God afar off?
Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.
And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.
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,’
The Lord has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
God is infinite in His being
God is infinite in His being
He exists under no limitation of time or space.
He is eternal and fills all immensity.
Scripture states Him to be infinite, eternal, and omnipresent in his being; infinite, eternal, omnipresent in his wisdom, in his power, in his justice, etc.
When God is said to be infinite in his knowledge or his power, we mean that he knows all things, and that he can effect all that he wills, without any limit.
When we say that he is infinite in his truth, or his justice, or his goodness, we mean that he possesses these properties in absolute perfection.
God’s Immensity
God’s Immensity
When we attribute this perfection to God, we mean that His essence is not limited by space.
Hodge, This cannot be effected through multiplication of his essence, since he is ever one and indivisible; nor through its extension or diffusion, like ether, through the interplanetary spaces, because it is pure spirit. The Spirit of God, like the spirit of a man, must be an absolute unit, without extension or dimensions. Therefore, the entire indivisible Godhead must, in the totality of his being, be simultaneously present every moment of time at every point of space.
He is immense without limitation from eternity.
He has always been omnipresent, in His essence and in all the properties thereof, ever since the creation, to every atom and element of which it consists.
Although God is essentially equally omnipresent to all creatures at all times, yet, as He manifested himself at different times and places to His creation, so he is said to be uniquely present to them under such conditions.
God was present to Moses in the burning bush. Ex. 3:2–6.
Christ promises to be in the midst of two or three met together in his name. Matt 18:20.
God’s eternality
God’s eternality
By affirming that God is eternal, we mean that His duration has no limit and that his existence in infinite duration is absolutely perfect.
He has no beginning, He has no end, and in His existence there can be no succession of thoughts, feelings or purposes.
There can be no increase to His knowledge, no change in His purposes.
The past and the future must be as immediately and as immutably present with Him as the present. This is what is meant by He is alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.
His existence is an ever-abiding, all-embracing present, which is always contemporaneous with the ever-flowing times of His creatures.
Hodge, His knowledge, which never can change, eternally recognizes His creatures and their actions in their several places in time, and His actions upon His creatures pass from him at the precise moments predetermined in His unchanging purpose.
He is Unchangeable
He is Unchangeable
In his knowledge, his feelings, his purposes, and hence in his engagements to his creatures, he is the same yesterday, to-day and for ever (Ps. 33:11).
The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.
He possesses all knowledge and all power
He possesses all knowledge and all power
He possesses all relative perfections with respect to his creatures
He possesses all relative perfections with respect to his creatures
Exo 34:6-7; Heb 11:6; Neh 9:32-33; Psa 5:5-6; Exo 34:7; Nah 1:2-3
most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek him, and withal most just and terrible in his judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.
These are attributes of God where He relates towards mankind.
And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
“Now therefore, our God, The great, the mighty, and awesome God, Who keeps covenant and mercy: Do not let all the trouble seem small before You That has come upon us, Our kings and our princes, Our priests and our prophets, Our fathers and on all Your people, From the days of the kings of Assyria until this day. However You are just in all that has befallen us; For You have dealt faithfully, But we have done wickedly.
The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; The Lord avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies; The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet.
God is perfectly good
God is perfectly good
He is not alternately merciful and just, nor partially merciful and partially just, but eternally and perfectly merciful and just.
Both are right; both are equally and spontaneously in his nature, and both are perfectly and freely harmonized by the infinite wisdom of that nature.
He possesses benevolence, love, mercy and grace without boundary or constraint.
God is perfectly just
God is perfectly just
God is always right in His judgments.
God’s actions towards sin and the sinner are always just and perfect; there is no occasion where He was unjust.
He is self-existent and absolutely independent, the sole support, proprietor and sovereign disposer of all his creatures
He is self-existent and absolutely independent, the sole support, proprietor and sovereign disposer of all his creatures
Scripture References: John 5:26; Psa 148:13; Psa 119:68; Job 22:2-3; Rom 11:34-36; Dan 4:25,34-35; Heb 4:13; Eze 11:5; Act 15:18; Psa 145:17; Rev 5:12-14
God, having all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself, is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which he hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting his own glory in, by, unto, and upon them; he is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things, and he hath most sovereign dominion over all creatures, to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever himself pleaseth; in his sight all things are open and manifest, his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to him contingent or uncertain; he is most holy in all his counsels, in ball his works, and in all his commands; to him is due from angels and men, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience, as creatures they owe unto the Creator, and whatever he is further pleased to require of them.
For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,
Let them praise the name of the Lord, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven.
You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes.
“Can a man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?
“For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?” “Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?” For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.
And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, “What have You done?”
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me, “Speak! ‘Thus says the Lord: “Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.
“Known to God from eternity are all His works.
The Lord is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works.
saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.
God is self-existent and absolutely independent, the sole support, proprietor and sovereign disposer of His creatures.
Since God is eternal and the Creator out of nothing of all things that exist besides Himself, it follows
That his own being must have the cause of its existence in itself—that is, that he is self-existent;
that he is absolutely independent in his being, purposes and actions of all other beings;
and that all other beings of right belong to him, and in fact are absolutely dependent upon him in their being, and subject to him in their actions and destinies.
The sovereignty of God is His absolute right to govern and dispose of the work of His own hands according to his own good pleasure.
Hodge, The grounds of his sovereignty are:
His infinite superiority.
His absolute ownership of all things as created by him.
The perpetual and absolute dependence of all things upon him for being, and of all intelligent creatures for blessedness.
Consider Dan. 4:25, 35; Rev. 4:11.
They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.
All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, “What have You done?”
“You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”