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The Nature of God (Part 1)

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Manage episode 285374080 series 2814796
Вміст надано Karl Deenick. Весь вміст подкастів, включаючи епізоди, графіку та описи подкастів, завантажується та надається безпосередньо компанією Karl Deenick або його партнером по платформі подкастів. Якщо ви вважаєте, що хтось використовує ваш захищений авторським правом твір без вашого дозволу, ви можете виконати процедуру, описану тут https://uk.player.fm/legal.

Transcript
(the following transcript may contain errors)

Episode Intro

You and I know what it’s like to be a human being. We know that we can only ever be in one place at the one time. We know that one day we’re born without us even having any say in it. And then another day we’ll die.

But what about God? What’s he like?

That’s what we’re thinking about in this episode of Thinking Theology.

Last time we began looking at the doctrine of God. In this episode we’re beginning to think about the nature of God. What are the attributes of God in his very being?

Podcast Intro

Hi. My name is Karl Deenick. I’m a pastor, theologian, writer, and Bible college lecturer. Welcome to Thinking Theology, a podcast where we think about theology, the Bible and the Christian life, not just for the sake of it, but so we can love God more, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

What Can We Say About the Nature of God?

What can really say about the nature of God?

Throughout the history of the church people have grappled with that very question. It’s a problematic topic in some ways, because as Zophar says to Job,

“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? (Job 11:7 NIV)

Zophar is, of course, right. By definition it’s impossible for us as humans to probe the limits of who God is and what it’s like to be God.

As the theologian, Louis Berkhof writes,

The Being of God is characterized by a depth, a fullness, a variety, and a glory far beyond our comprehension….[1]

But to say that we can’t understand God completely is not to say that we can’t understand anything about God at all.

As Paul says in Romans 1, even creation tells us something about God’s eternal power and glory. But the place where we come to know accurately about God is in the Bible. In the Bible God has revealed to us insights into who he is and what he is like.[2]

The knowledge that the Bible gives us is partial, but it is nevertheless true.

So, too, as Luther pointed out, the knowledge that we have of God does not describe so much what he is, but it describes the qualities or the characteristics of God. That is, we can say something about what he is like but we can’t really describe his essential being.[3]

There are lots of attributes that people have used to describe God.

One famous list comes from the 8th century theologian, John of Damascus.[4] Or Jono of Damascus as I like to call him. He described God as,

uncreate[d], unbegotten, imperishable and immortal, everlasting, infinite, uncircumscribed, boundless, of infinite power, simple, uncompound, incorporeal, without flux, passionless, unchangeable, unalterable, unseen[5]

So, too, theologians have often organised them in different ways.

In this and the next few episodes we’re going to consider them under the headings of the nature of God and the character of God. The nature of God refers to the “non-moral” attributes of God and relate more to the being of God. While the character of God refers to the “moral” attributes of God and describe more what he is like to relate to in personal terms.

The attributes I describe here follow closely the list given by the theologian John Feinberg in his book on the doctrine of God, No One Like Him. That book would be a good place to go if you want to dig into these more deeply. Feinberg lists 11 non-moral attributes of God and 9 moral attributes of God. We’ll look at the moral attributes of God this time and next time. And then we’ll consider the character of God in a couple of episodes time.

The 11 non-moral attributes of God that he lists are: aseity (or self-existence), infinity, immensity and omnipresence, eternity, immutability, omnipotence, sovereignty, omniscience, wisdom, unity and simplicity.

Self-existence

First, is what theologians often call “aseity” but a more helpful term is self-existence. Self-existence refers to the idea that God depends on no one else for his existence.

In the last episode we saw that God just is. As Jesus says in John 5, he has life in himself. He says,

For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. (John 5:26 NIV)

So too, Paul says in Acts 17,

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. (Acts 17:24–25 NIV)

Everything is dependent on God. And God is dependent on nothing.

Eternity

The next attribute is eternity. God is eternal. He has always existed and will always exist. There was never a time when he didn’t exist.

There are lots of passages that speak about that.

For example, Psalm 90 says,

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:2 NIV)

Or Psalm 93,

Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity. (Psalm 93:2 NIV)

Or Psalm 102,

In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end. (Psalm 102:25–27 NIV)

Habakkuk 1:12 says,

Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. (Habakkuk 1:12 NIV)

In Revelation 1 we read,

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8 NIV)

In Hebrews 7 it describes Jesus saying,

Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life…he remains a priest forever. (Hebrews 7:3 NIV)

Or again in chapter 13,

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8 NIV)

So, too, God’s characteristics are described as enduring forever. For example, Psalm 111:3 says,

Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. (Psalm 111:3 NIV)

Psalm 103,

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children… (Psalm 103:17 NIV)

The eternity of God is also bound up with the name that he gives to Moses: “I am”. He always was and always will be. As Jesus says to the religious leaders,

“Very truly I tell you…before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58 NIV)

Jesus is not just saying that he existed before Abraham. He’s saying that, as God, he has always been: he just is.

In thinking about the eternity of God, one question that arises is whether God is eternal simply in the sense that he has always been and will always be, or whether he is eternal in the sense that he is outside time. That is, is his eternity temporal or atemporal eternity.

In tr...

  continue reading

31 епізодів

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Manage episode 285374080 series 2814796
Вміст надано Karl Deenick. Весь вміст подкастів, включаючи епізоди, графіку та описи подкастів, завантажується та надається безпосередньо компанією Karl Deenick або його партнером по платформі подкастів. Якщо ви вважаєте, що хтось використовує ваш захищений авторським правом твір без вашого дозволу, ви можете виконати процедуру, описану тут https://uk.player.fm/legal.

Transcript
(the following transcript may contain errors)

Episode Intro

You and I know what it’s like to be a human being. We know that we can only ever be in one place at the one time. We know that one day we’re born without us even having any say in it. And then another day we’ll die.

But what about God? What’s he like?

That’s what we’re thinking about in this episode of Thinking Theology.

Last time we began looking at the doctrine of God. In this episode we’re beginning to think about the nature of God. What are the attributes of God in his very being?

Podcast Intro

Hi. My name is Karl Deenick. I’m a pastor, theologian, writer, and Bible college lecturer. Welcome to Thinking Theology, a podcast where we think about theology, the Bible and the Christian life, not just for the sake of it, but so we can love God more, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

What Can We Say About the Nature of God?

What can really say about the nature of God?

Throughout the history of the church people have grappled with that very question. It’s a problematic topic in some ways, because as Zophar says to Job,

“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? (Job 11:7 NIV)

Zophar is, of course, right. By definition it’s impossible for us as humans to probe the limits of who God is and what it’s like to be God.

As the theologian, Louis Berkhof writes,

The Being of God is characterized by a depth, a fullness, a variety, and a glory far beyond our comprehension….[1]

But to say that we can’t understand God completely is not to say that we can’t understand anything about God at all.

As Paul says in Romans 1, even creation tells us something about God’s eternal power and glory. But the place where we come to know accurately about God is in the Bible. In the Bible God has revealed to us insights into who he is and what he is like.[2]

The knowledge that the Bible gives us is partial, but it is nevertheless true.

So, too, as Luther pointed out, the knowledge that we have of God does not describe so much what he is, but it describes the qualities or the characteristics of God. That is, we can say something about what he is like but we can’t really describe his essential being.[3]

There are lots of attributes that people have used to describe God.

One famous list comes from the 8th century theologian, John of Damascus.[4] Or Jono of Damascus as I like to call him. He described God as,

uncreate[d], unbegotten, imperishable and immortal, everlasting, infinite, uncircumscribed, boundless, of infinite power, simple, uncompound, incorporeal, without flux, passionless, unchangeable, unalterable, unseen[5]

So, too, theologians have often organised them in different ways.

In this and the next few episodes we’re going to consider them under the headings of the nature of God and the character of God. The nature of God refers to the “non-moral” attributes of God and relate more to the being of God. While the character of God refers to the “moral” attributes of God and describe more what he is like to relate to in personal terms.

The attributes I describe here follow closely the list given by the theologian John Feinberg in his book on the doctrine of God, No One Like Him. That book would be a good place to go if you want to dig into these more deeply. Feinberg lists 11 non-moral attributes of God and 9 moral attributes of God. We’ll look at the moral attributes of God this time and next time. And then we’ll consider the character of God in a couple of episodes time.

The 11 non-moral attributes of God that he lists are: aseity (or self-existence), infinity, immensity and omnipresence, eternity, immutability, omnipotence, sovereignty, omniscience, wisdom, unity and simplicity.

Self-existence

First, is what theologians often call “aseity” but a more helpful term is self-existence. Self-existence refers to the idea that God depends on no one else for his existence.

In the last episode we saw that God just is. As Jesus says in John 5, he has life in himself. He says,

For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. (John 5:26 NIV)

So too, Paul says in Acts 17,

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. (Acts 17:24–25 NIV)

Everything is dependent on God. And God is dependent on nothing.

Eternity

The next attribute is eternity. God is eternal. He has always existed and will always exist. There was never a time when he didn’t exist.

There are lots of passages that speak about that.

For example, Psalm 90 says,

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:2 NIV)

Or Psalm 93,

Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity. (Psalm 93:2 NIV)

Or Psalm 102,

In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end. (Psalm 102:25–27 NIV)

Habakkuk 1:12 says,

Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. (Habakkuk 1:12 NIV)

In Revelation 1 we read,

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8 NIV)

In Hebrews 7 it describes Jesus saying,

Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life…he remains a priest forever. (Hebrews 7:3 NIV)

Or again in chapter 13,

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8 NIV)

So, too, God’s characteristics are described as enduring forever. For example, Psalm 111:3 says,

Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. (Psalm 111:3 NIV)

Psalm 103,

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children… (Psalm 103:17 NIV)

The eternity of God is also bound up with the name that he gives to Moses: “I am”. He always was and always will be. As Jesus says to the religious leaders,

“Very truly I tell you…before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58 NIV)

Jesus is not just saying that he existed before Abraham. He’s saying that, as God, he has always been: he just is.

In thinking about the eternity of God, one question that arises is whether God is eternal simply in the sense that he has always been and will always be, or whether he is eternal in the sense that he is outside time. That is, is his eternity temporal or atemporal eternity.

In tr...

  continue reading

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