The Association of Messianic
Congregations was founded for the purpose of being an encouragement and
resource for Messianic Congregations, which includes promoting sound
doctrine within the body of Messiah. We therefore consider the study of
Scripture and the faithfulness of our doctrinal statement to Scripture to
be of great importance.
This study is the second in a series that will examine why we believe as
we do. It is our hope that you will seriously consider these studies and
allow the Lord to show you if, in fact, our beliefs are faithful to His
Word.
The second point of our doctrinal statement reads:
THE TRI-UNITY
We believe that God is one but has manifested Himself in three
separate and distinct Persons. Hence, we believe that God is a
Tri-unity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the creator of all
things. He is infinite and perfect, eternally existing in three
equal persons, each possessing the nature of deity, as well as the
characteristics of personality. He is Omnipresent, Omnipotent and
Omniscient. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 48:16; Matthew 28:19; John
6:27; Acts 5:3,4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:8)
(Full Statement:
www.messianicassociation.org/believe.htm) |
The tri-unity of God, especially in the
aspect of the diety of the Messiah, is a stumbling block for many Jewish
seekers. We will be addressing that in a future edition of The Shofar.
First, the basic nature of godhood must be established. We will do so by
addressing those attributes of God declared in the above statement.
An attribute of God is a characteristic or quality innate to His very
nature. His various attributes are not components of His nature; each
attribute describes His entire being.
1. INFINITY.
He is infinite. What is meant by infinity is that God is not excluded,
bounded in or limited in any way as to the existence of His presence by
any material thing, form of energy, soul, spirit, thought, emotion, place,
or any other thing or phenomenon in the supernatural or natural realm.
"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold,
the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less
this house which I have built" 1Kings 8:27
2. PERFECTION. He is perfect. There are various words in the Old and New
Covenants that are translated perfect, and they generally have the meaning
of being complete and without lack or defect. (What is meant by 'perfect'
when applied to believers is maturity.)
"Therefore be perfect, even as your Father in
Heaven is perfect" Matthew 5:48
3. ETERNITY. He is eternally existing. By eternity is meant the quality of
existing endlessly in regards to time without interruption or limitation
in the past, present and future.
"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever
You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to
everlasting You are God" Psalm 90:2
"The eternal God is thy dwelling-place, And
underneath are the everlasting arms" Deuteronomy 33:27
4. PERSONHOOD. He is eternally existing in three equal persons. God is not
a mere force though He exercises force; nor is He a pantheistic totality
and unity of all that exists: He is, indeed, distinct from His creation
and is a true Person: a triune Person - not a person of flesh and spirit
as you and I, but a Spirit Person (John 4:24).
It is commonly held that there are three essential attributes to
personhood, and God has them all:
1) INTELLECT: the ability to think, reason and plan.
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the
LORD" Isaiah 1:18
2) EMOTION: the ability to feel affectively with one's spirit.
"And the anger of the LORD was kindled against
Moses" Exodus 4:14
"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God"
Ephesians 4:30
3) WILL: the ability to choose a course of action.
"And God said, Let there be light: and there was
light" Genesis 1:3
I would add a fourth essential attribute to personhood:
4) SPIRITUALITY, whether actual or potential. By spirituality I mean the
ability to appreciate God and His works. Only God, holy angels and people
are spiritual in this sense (fallen angels have lost the potential to
appreciate God, having been confirmed in their unholiness), and only these
three possess the three aforementioned attributes of personhood. All
three, as well, and only these three, have the actual or potential ability
to appreciate God and His works. That God appreciates His work is
manifestly clear:
"And God saw everything that He had made, and
behold, it was very good" Genesis 1:31
"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath
put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he
shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the desire of the LORD
shall prosper in his hand" Isaiah 53:10
5. OMNIPRESENCE. He is omnipresent. Whereas infinity addresses the
location of God's presence in terms of limitations, omnipresence addresses
the location of God's presence in terms of extent. "God is everywhere
present with His whole being at all times" (Dr. Charles Ryrie, Basic
Theology [Chicago: Moody Press, 1981], p. 41).
"Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where
shall I flee from Your presence? If I go up into Heaven, You are there; if
I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the
morning and dwell in the furthest parts of the sea; even there shall Your
hand leads me, and Your right hand shall hold me" Psalm
139:7-10
6. OMNIPOTENCE. He is omnipotent. By omnipotence is meant that God is
infinitely powerful and able to do all things within the confines of His
nature.
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and
the earth" Genesis 1:1
"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you
killed and hanged on a tree" Act 5:30
Although God is powerful enough to create out of nothing and to resurrect,
He is impotent in regards to anything contrary to His nature. For example,
He cannot cease to be God (Deuteronomy 33:27); He cannot deny Himself (go
back on His word) (2 Timothy 2:13); He is impervious to sinful temptations
(James 1:13); He cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18).
7. OMNISCIENCE. He is omniscient. Omniscience means having and being fully
aware of all knowledge of all things actual and possible from the
infinitesimal to the infinite in every realm at all times.
"All His works are known to God from eternity"
Acts 15:18
Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all
written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was
none of them. Psalm 139:16
"Neither is there any creature that is not
manifest in His sight, but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of
Him with whom we have to do" Hebrews 4:13
(8.) CREATOR. God is the creator of all things. 'Creator' is not one of
God's attributes, but one of His titles. His creation of all things is an
activity made possible by His attributes. God is not identical with the
creation, but is distinct from it. There is the Creator and the created.
God is the Creator. God existed before all else, and then He created all
else.
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and
the earth" Genesis 1:1
"For through him God created everything in heaven
and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers,
lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him
and for him" Colossians 1:16
AFTERWORD. By no means should this list be considered
exhaustive: Many, O LORD, my God are the wonders
which you have done, and your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare
with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to
count. Psalm 40:5
*
* * * *
© Norman Manzon, 2006.
Norman Manzon is a Bible teacher
in Hawaii and may be reached at BibleStudyProject@hawaiiantel.net
More of his studies may be accessed at
www.BibleStudyProject.org.
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