1. Session 8: WCF Chapter II
Of God, and of the
Holy Trinity,
Section 1

2. CHAPTER II - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity
1. There is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions; immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him; and withal, most just, and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.

3. Ch. II, § 1, Prooftext (1) One Only Deuteronomy 6:4
1 Corinthians 8:4, 6
Galatians 3:20
Living and True
1 Thessalonians 1:9
Jeremiah 10:10
Infinite in Being and Perfection
Job 11:7-9
Job 26:14
Psalm 139:6
Most Pure Spirit
John 4:24
Invisible
1 Timothy 1:17
John 1:18
Without Body or Parts
Deuteronomy 4:15-16
Luke 24:39

4. Ch. II, § 1, Prooftext (2) Without Passions Acts 14:11, 15 Immutable
James 1:17
Malachi 3:6
Immense
1 Kings 8:27
Jeremiah 23:23-24
Eternal
Psalm 90:2
1 Timothy 1:17
Incomprehensible
Psalm 145:3
Romans 11:34
Almighty
Genesis 17:1
Revelation 4:8

5. Ch. II, § 1, Prooftext (3) Most Wise Romans 16:27 Most Holy Isaiah 6:3
Revelation 4:8
Most Free
Psalm 115:3
Isaiah 14:24
Most Absolute
Isaiah 45:5-6
Exodus 3:14
Working All Things According to the Counsel of His Own Immutable and Most Righteous Will
Ephesians 1:11
Working All Things for His Own Glory
Proverbs 16:4
Romans 11:36
Revelation 4:11

6. Ch. II, § 1, Prooftext (4) Most Loving 1 John 4:8 1 John 4:16
Gracious, Merciful, Long-suffering, Abundant in Goodness and Truth, Forgiving Iniquity, Transgression, and Sin
Exodus 34:6-7
The Rewarder of Them That Diligently Seek Him
Hebrews 11:6
Most Just, and Terrible in His Judgments
Nehemiah 9:32-33
Hebrews 10:28-31
Hating All Sin
Romans 1:18
Psalm 5:5-6
Psalm 11:5
Who Will by No Means Clear the Guilty
Exodus 34:7a
Nahum 1:2-3, 6

7. Incommunicable vs. Incommunicable
Attributes of God
Incommunicable attributes – those that are true of God alone and are in no way shared with his creatures; his absolute attributes.
Communicable attributes – those that may to a degree be characteristic of his creatures; especially his moral attributes.

8. CHAPTER II - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity
1. There is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions; immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him; and withal, most just, and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.

9. Is the List of Ch. II, § 1, Complete?
What words would you add?
The Neo-Orthodox view is that God defies verbal description. Might you agree in this case?

10. Controversyies
of the Week!

11. Inconsistent?
How can God be without passions, yet loving and hating?

12. “without …passions” – human emotions
“without …passions” – human emotions. But God is frequently described in the Bible as having some emotions analogous to human ones.
R.L. Dabney identifies these as “active principles” in God, which “must not be conceived as emotions, in the sense of ebbing and flowing accesses of feeling….They lack that agitation and rush, that change from cold to hot, and hot to cold, which constitute the characteristics of passion in us. They are, in God …a fixed, peaceful, unchangeable calm….”

13. Inconsistent?
How can God be most pure spirit and without body or parts, yet immense?

14. “immense”- Omnipresent
“immense”- Omnipresent. God is present at all times in every point of space with his whole being. He is not “partly present” in your house.

15. Inconsistent?
How can God be most holy, most just, and terrible in His judgments, yet gracious?

16. Inconsistent?
How can God be one who hates sin and will by no means clear the guilty, yet be forgiving of iniquity, transgression, and sin?

17. Inconsistent?
How can God be most free and most absolute, yet infinite in being and eternal?

18. Inconsistent?
How God be incomprehensible, yet you can know Him?

19. “incomprehensible” – God can be truly known, but not completely or exhaustively.

20. Personal
Personal
Focus
Focus

21. How do God’s attributes affect your worship of Him?