Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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How many persons are in the one God?

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Question 6Question 6 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “How many persons are in the one God?”

The answer given is, “Three persons are in the one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, the same in substance and equal in power and glory.”

Let me start by admitting that one God in three persons is one of the more difficult things to begin to understand. J. I. Packer says this:

“The historic formulation of the Trinity (derived from the Latin word trinitas, meaning ‘threeness’) seeks to circumscribe and safeguard this mystery (not explain it; that is beyond us), and it confronts us with perhaps the most difficult thought that the human mind has ever been asked to handle. It is not easy, but it is true.”

We see a trinitarian formula in the Great Commission as given by Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20;

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (NASB)

As Packer said above, “it is not easy, but it is true.”

The importance of a proper understanding of the trinity is highlighted when we think of love as a characteristic of God. Love implies an other to love. God did not create humanity because without us, he would not have been able to demonstrate love. Love existed from eternity between the persons of the Godhead. In other words, God is not dependent upon us as his only object of love. We are not necessary for God to love.

Somehow, I find some measure of peace in this understanding. There is comfort in knowing that perfect love is found in God. I feel better knowing that my failures do not diminish God’s love.

Also, as Jesus prayed in John 17, the love and unity which is experienced among the members of the trinity can be experienced by us in some measure. Jesus prayed,

“Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.” (John 17:11b, NASB)

Is there more than one God?

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Question 5Question 5 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “Is there more than one God?”

The answer provided is, “There is only one, the living and true God.”

At their core, all belief systems are exclusive. Even those who pride themselves on inclusivity are exclusive of those who believe that truth is exclusive. In other words, those who preach tolerance are often intolerant of those who believe in objective truth.

Christianity believes (because the Bible declares) that there is only one God. And as we learned yesterday in Question 4, there are specific things to be believed about that one God as revealed in the Bible.

He is the living and true God, despite those who have proclaimed his death. As Ravi Zacharias has pointed out, God always seems to outlive his pall bearers.

Not only is he living, he is true.

In the Old Testament, the test for one who claimed to speak for God was whether the proclamation came true. Any prophet who prophesied an event that did not happen was to be cut off from the nation of Israel. Because God is true, he takes truth very seriously.

But when we look at the number of fulfilled prophecies contained in Scripture we see that God has a track record for truth. He, and he alone is the true God.

What is God?

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Question 4 - What is God?Question 4 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks,  “What is God?”

The answer given is, “God is a spirit, Whose being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth are infinite, eternal, and unchangeable.”

The first thing that jumps out at me in this answer is that God is a spirit who is infinite, eternal and unchangeable. These are what is called incommunicable attributes of God; they are attributes that cannot be shared with humanity. These are also attributes that cannot be fully understood by us.

God is infinite – without boundaries. God is eternal – he exists outside of time. God is unchangeable – he does not grow or diminish or change over time. We can only nibble at the edges of these concepts and cannot fully understand them.

The answer to Question 4 also lists some communicable attribute of God. These are aspects of God’s being that can be shared with his creatures. Because these are communicable, we are right to pursue wisdom, power (under the direction of the other attributes), holiness, justice, goodness and truth.

As we learned yesterday in Question 3 of the Catechism, our contemplation of this question must be informed by Scripture, which is the means of God revealing himself to us. Therefore, when we think of the communicable attributes that we should pursue, we need to consult the Bible to define those attributes and allow it to define how we should go about pursuing them.

For example, men have at various times defined holiness in various ways. Often, it is thought to result from strict adherence to a set of principles or rules of behavior. Any reading of the Gospels would provide ample evidence that the Bible does not define holiness this way.

The Pharisees were very good at creating and following rules. They held the Bible in high esteem and formulated many rules to guide themselves and others about how to avoid violating any of the commands of Scripture. They thought themselves holy as a result of their rule keeping and encouraged the people around them to think so also.

But Jesus, on many occasions, showed them that they missed the point. Holiness is not attained through rule keeping. Holiness is more about heart and attitude than about external action. Rule keeping cannot change my heart. Legalism always results in failure. That is the bad news.

The good news is that Jesus came to give us a new heart and a new motivation. Jesus paid the penalty for our failure so that we can experience true holiness.

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB)

How cool is it that God allows us, and empowers us, to take on some of his characteristics!

What does the Bible primarily teach?

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Question 3Question 3 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What does the Bible primarily teach?”

The answer given is, “The Bible primarily teaches what man must believe about God and what God requires of man.”

There are arguments that can be used to prove that the existence of God is probable. While these are helpful in bolstering our faith, they cannot tell us very much about who God is and what he is like.

To understand what we should believe about God, we need help, we need revelation, we need the Bible. Christians have been people of the book from the very beginning because they understood the Bible to be the very words of God.

As creatures, we also need to know what our creator expects from us. How are we to respond to him? What obligation do we owe him?

These are questions that the Bible clearly answers. In his book 18 Words, J. I. Packer writes this:

” . . . God discloses Himself to us by talking to us about Himself, and about ourselves as He sees us. He tells us of  His own past achievement, how He has created, judged, redeemed, raised up men to serve Him, and created a people for Himself. He tells us of His present work, now He orders and governs all things fo the fulfilling of His purposes. He tells us His future plans, sketching for us in mysterious but glowing terms the coming climax of history and the final destiny of His people. He tells us what He thinks about human life and the different ways in which men live it. He gives us directions, and counsel, and makes promises and announces warnings. He teaches us His own scale of values, detailing for us the things that He approves and the things that He hates. Thus, by talking, He reveals Himself. He discloses Himself by telling us about Himself. His revelation is personal just because it is propositional; for it is precisely by making true statements about Himself to us that God makes Himself known to us, and if He did not speak in this way we could never know Him at all.”

The very real question I have to ask myself is whether I am willing to submit to what God has revealed to me. Am I willing to acknowledge him as creator and sustainer? Am I willing to be obedient to how he has revealed I should act?

When I approach the Bible, I find that most of my intellectual problems with it are, at their core, volitional problems. In other words, I find that I want to remain in the position of judge and jury regarding what I am reading. My heart is at times unwilling to submit.

I am thankful that God has revealed himself to us through the Bible. For it is the Bible that tells us of the provision that God made to bring us back into relationship with him through Jesus Christ. Not only does God tell us how we ought to live, he provides us with the ability to do it.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6, NASB)

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