Why We Believe
2. Is There a God? If so, What is He Like? (Page 2)
2. Is There a God? If so, What is He Like? (Page 2)
So far in our discussion, I have attempted to demonstrate, through natural theology, the existence of God. However, natural theology can only give us evidence for a philosophical God. We need to go to the Bible to flesh out God and know about His person and character. To do this I will start with the assumption that the biblical record is reliable. How do we know it is reliable? I have attempted to give the evidence for that in my previous discussion on the Resurrection of Jesus and the article on Textual Criticism.
In the Old Testament we have testimony that God is at least a Plurality. To find out more on the Plurality or Trinity of God in the Old Testament go to The Trinity of God in the Old Testament.
The Triunity of God in the New Testament
God as Father: The opening verses of Paul’s epistles demonstrate God as a Father.
God as Son: In John 1:1, 14 the Word was with (separate person) God and the Word was God (cf. Hebrews 1:3, 6, 8).8
“The writer of the book of Hebrews clearly intended to portray Christ as YHWH (the tetragrammaton or Jehovah), or he never would have used such explicit language as `the image imprinted by His Substance,’and as Isaiah 7:14 clearly states the Messiah was to be Immanuel, literally `God with us.’”9
Paul in Colossians 2:9 uses the phrase 'in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily' (katoikei pan to plērõma tēs theoētos sõmatikõs) and in Philippians 2:5-11 en morphē theou (v. 5) the form of God takes morphēn doulou (v. 7) the form of a slave. Then compare with Isaiah 45:22-23 and there can be no doubt.
God as the Holy Spirit: Acts 13:2 passage demonstrates the Holy Spirit as a person. How many “impersonal forces” speak to you? If they speak, then they are not impersonal! Hebrews 9:8 (ou pneumatos tou hagiou) shows that the use of the article indicates personality. Acts 5:3,4 demonstrates the Holy Spirit as synonymous with God. Also, in Hebrews 9:14 the Spirit is declared to be eternal.10
The definition of being is "existence" or "the nature or essence of a person" (Oxford Dictionary). If we would call a being supreme, or God, this God, would necessarily be the greatest of all beings and have all the characteristics that make a being such as consciousness or love. This being must be perfect. Love is a character of human beings. Human beings know how to care for other beings and take risks for the objects loved. If human beings are able to love and be loved, then God must also have this characteristic being the example of perfection in love. God must be perfect; therefore, He must be a perfectly loving being.
If we understand love either in the noun form as a description of an action, or the action verb itself, we understand that perfect love must have an object as it is the very nature of love to give oneself away. Love, by its nature reaches out for another rather than centering on the self. Self-centeredness, or narcissism, no one conceives as perfect love!
We know that God demonstrates His perfect love to his objects of creation in giving Himself away (John 3:16). However, who did God love BEFORE creation? He cannot love Himself (as a solitary being) as that would be imperfect love or narcissism. Therefore, to be perfect in love it is logically necessary that God consist of a minimum of two persons. If God is a singular person as unitarians, Jehovah witnesses and Islamists claim, then he cannot be perfect and cannot be God!11
So where does that leave us. We are left with the three-person Godhead loving from eternity past to eternity future. Jesus, the same yesterday, today and forever invites us to share in the midst of this lovefest “surrounded by his glory” 1 John 1:2-3.
