Today I turned in my Confession of on the Doctrine of God. It is for my Systematic Theology 1 class and will be used for my future ordination. It is theological in substance, but not in language as much as possible. Though I’ve already turned it in, I’d appreciate comments and thoughts.

Prolegomena

A proper understanding of God holds His Transcendence and Immanence in a balanced tension, not emphasizing one over the other. God is both over and above creation and intimately involved with it, an understanding of which has great bearing on how we articulate each aspect of the Doctrine of God.

christianity, doctrine of god, god, theology, doctrine

Creator-God Over And Above Creation

I believe in one God, the Almighty Creator of all that has ever existed on Earth and in Heaven, both material and spiritual. As Creator, God stands over and above the creation; the creation has its origin in God and it is dependent on and separate from Him. (Gen 1:1-2; Rev. 4:11)

I believe God is properly understood as three Persons and one Essence; God is the Father, the Son (Word), and the Spirit, and unified through a mutual indwelling, interpenetrating dance that centers on one Divine Character. As such, God is a community of self-giving lovers who know, will, and act with and in each other in accordance with this Divine Character. (John 14:6-11; 15:26)

I believe, as the Creator of all that exists, God is entirely from Himself and depends on no one or thing for His existence. Because God is entirely independent and exits in an eternal interpenetrating dance, He needs nothing, including all of His creation. (Ps. 90:2; 1 Cor. 8:6)

I believe God is a single complex Being who is not divided into parts. As such, God is fully independent, thoroughly anchored in the Oneness of the Trinity, and His perfections and characteristics are a part of His nature, rather than qualities He simply possesses. (Deut. 6:4; Ps. 85:10)

I believe God’s character is stable and unchanging. But while the essence of God does not change, His actions do; God does change His mind and responds to Humans dynamically, because He is hyper-relational and interacts with the world out of that relationality. (Gen. 20:16-29; Jonah 4:2)

I believe God stands above and beyond Time, while also experiencing it along with His Creation. Though God never had a beginning nor will He have an end, He does move through the sequence of Time with Humans and is intimately involved with it. (Ps. 90:1-2; Rev. 1:8)

I believe God knows all of the possible outcomes of future Time, while not entirely knowing how the exact sequence of Time will unfold. Because He created Humans as free creatures who can freely choose from a range of possible actions, God does not know exactly what those Free Creatures will choose. But though Humans can choose different options, thus shaping the sequence of Time, God still knows how that sequence could unfold and is endlessly resourceful to accomplish His ultimate will in the face of those endless choices. (Ex. 15:1-6)

I believe God must do what is morally and logically necessary, cannot do what is morally and logically impossible, and is capable of doing everything else. Furthermore, God is fully capable of carrying through to completion the plans He established before the foundation of the world. While God fully participates in Creation’s Story and is affected by the choices of humans, He also stands above and beyond It and actively accomplishes His holy will. (Job 42:2; Ps. 18)

I believe that because God created Space, He is free to enter our Space and relate to His creatures who live in Space-Time. Likewise, there is not space where the followers of Yahweh can be separated from Him. Wherever humans are, His is and humans are in His presence. (Ps 139:1-2, 17-18; Jer. 23:23-24)

Fall-God’s Relationship To Evil In Creation

I believe, since God created Humans on purpose to be in relationship with Himself, He created them with the freedom to choose Him and His Way or not. This potential for rejection allowed for sin and the presence of absolute evil, which impacts nature and the moral actions of humans. So while God did not create evil or sin, He allowed for the possibility, and still does. (Gen. 1-3)

I do not believe God decrees nor does He desire evil and sin. God did not intend for sin to be a part of creation, but because sin is the result of a rejection of the Way of the Creator, it was a potential possibility, not an intended component of God’s Reality.

Redeemer-God Intimately Involved With Creation

I believe the fullest expression of the nature, character, and desires of God is found in the person of Jesus Christ who is Emmanuel, the God-with-us God. In Him, we see a hyper-relational, intimate God who fully participates in the sequence of Time; through Jesus Christ God is intimately involved with His creation as Redeemer. (Col. 1:15-20)

I believe one way in which God relates to Humanity is love. As the God-with-us God Jesus Christ, He relates to Humanity as a Lover. The Cross was the ultimate expression of God’s Love, and the message of the Cross communicates God’s posture of love towards Humans. (1 Jn. 4:7-16)

I believe God also relates to Humanity in holiness. While He is hyper-relational and relates to Humanity in love, God is holy and above and outside of Them. Because God is holy, He demands that humans be holy as He is holy; God designed humans to choose Him and His holy Way and so He relates to Creation in Holiness and demands humans do the same. (Lev. 11:44; 1 Pet. 1:15-16)

I believe God’s Holiness includes wrath. God always stands as judge over Humanity for their sinful choices. At the Cross God did judge the sins of the world through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and poured out His wrath upon him; at the End of the Age God will judge the sinful choices of each Human and render due judgement and issue just punishment. (Matt. 25:31-46)

I believe, despite God’s wrath against sin, He is merciful towards all Humans. God does not desire that any should be outside of relationship with Himself nor perish forever. In sending His Son Jesus Christ as Redeemer for all Humanity, God communicated His furious love and mercy for all Humankind. (John 3:16-18; 2 Pet. 3:8-9)

Doxology

Thanks be to God forever, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.