Notes from The Summary of Christian Doctrine by Louis Berkhof Pps. 27-30
Questions for Research and Review before reading this Summary and after.
- In what sense is God knowable and in what sense is He unknowable?
- What is the difference between inborn and acquired knowledge?
- Is it possible to define God? How would you describe Him?
- What is involved in God's Spirituality?
- What do we mean when we speak of God as a personality?
- What proof have we for the Personality of God?
- What do we mean when we speak of the Infinity of God?
- How are the being of God and His Perfections related?
1. The Knowledge of God
Without being able to fully comprehend all that God is and does, we can have a real and true knowledge of God because GOD HAS REVEALED HIMSELF TO MANKIND.
An Innate Knowledge of God.
Firstly man has an inborn or innate knowledge of God. This is not merely because we were born in the Image of God. Genesis 1:26. This Means that in normal circumstances a certain knowledge of God naturally develops in man which is very general in nature.
An Acquired Knowledge of God.
This is acquired from God's general revelation from the universe Romans 1:19-20 and from His Special Revelation through dreams or visions or conviction of the Holy Spirit John 14:26 This does come through the pursuit both consciously and persistently to Know God. Paul cried, “ O, that I might know Him, and the Power of His Resurrection, and the Fellowship of His sufferings.”Are you pursuing God with all you heart soul mind and strength.
2. The Knowledge of God through Special Revelation.
While it is not possible to define God, we can give a general description of His Being. He is pure Spirit with infinite Perfections
God is Pure Spirit.
The Bible has no definition of God but we have a clear description of Him in the Words of Jesus to the Samaritan Woman at the well. John 4:21 Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you shall neither worship the Father in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem.
Joh 4:22 You worship what you do not know, we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him.
Joh 4:24 God is a spirit, and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.
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| Jesus speaks of God the Pure Spirit to the Woman at the Well Jn 4 |
Barnes says, “This is the second reason why men should worship him in spirit and in truth. By this is meant that God is without a body; that he is not material or composed of parts; that he is invisible, in every place, pure and holy. This is one of the first truths of religion, and one of the sublimest ever presented to the mind of man. Almost all nations have had some idea of God as gross or material, but the Bible declares that he is a pure spirit. As he is such a spirit, he dwells not in temples made with hands Act_7:48, neither is worshipped with men’s hands as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things, Act_17:25. A pure, a holy, a spiritual worship, therefore, is such as he seeks - the offering of the soul rather than the formal offering of the body - the homage of the heart rather than that of the lips.”
b. God is Personal
The Fact that God is pure spirit also involves His personality. He is an intelligent and moral Being. Many may deny the personality of God and think that he is just some impersonal force. The God of the Bible is a personal God; a God with Whom we can have a conversation and One who enters into our very circumstances and helps us in our weakness.
Gen 6:5 And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:6 And Jehovah repented [changed His Mind] that He had made man on the earth, and He was angry to His heart.
Gen 6:7 And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth, both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air. For I repent that I have made them.
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| God was angry but Noah found favour in the eyes of the LORD. |
The LORD is my Shepherd
Psa 23:1 A Psalm of David. Jehovah is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
Psa 23:2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
Psa 23:3 He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Psa 23:5 You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah forever.
YOU CAN TRUST HIM. HE UNDERSTANDS YOUR SITUATION AND WILL MEET YOUR NEED. CRY OUT TO HIM IN FAITH.
He has Revealed Himself as a Person in Our Lord Jesus Christ.
c. God is a God who is Infinitely Perfect.
Hod is distinguished from all His creatures by His Infinite Perfections. His being and His person are free from all imperfections and limitations. He is not only boundless and limitless but His perfections stand out above all. There is none like Thee O LORD in moral perfection and Glorious Beauty.
Isa 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died I then saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.
Isa 6:2 Above it stood the seraphims; each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
Isa 6:3 And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of Hosts; the whole earth full of His glory.
Isa 6:4 And the doorposts moved at the voice of the one who cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Isa 6:5 Then I said, Woe is me! For I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of Hosts.
Isa 6:6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, snatched with tongs from the altar.
Isa 6:7 And he laid it on my mouth and said, Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.
Isa 6:8 And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me!
The Children of Israel sang of the greatness of Yahweh [the LORD] after they had crossed the red Sea on dry ground.
| They sag with timbrels and danced at the RED SEA CROSSING |
Exo 15:1 Then the sons of Moses and Israel sang this song to Jehovah, and spoke, saying, I will sing to Jehovah, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider He has thrown into the sea.
Exo 15:2 Jehovah is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will glorify Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him.
Exo 15:3 Jehovah is a Man of war; Jehovah is His name.
Exo 15:4 Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea; his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
Exo 15:5 The depths have covered them; they sank into the bottom like a stone.
Exo 15:6 Your right hand, O Jehovah, has become glorious in power. Your right hand, O Jehovah, has dashed the enemy in pieces.
Exo 15:7 And in the greatness of Your excellency You have overthrown them that rose up against You. You sent forth Your wrath, consuming them like stubble.
Exo 15:8 And with the blast of Your nostrils the waters were gathered together; the floods stood upright like a heap; the depths were curdled in the heart of the sea.
Exo 15:9 The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them, I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
Exo 15:10 You blew with Your wind; the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Exo 15:11 Who is like You, O Jehovah, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Exo 15:12 You stretched out Your right hand, the earth swallowed them.
Exo 15:13 You in Your mercy have led forth the people which You have redeemed. You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation.
God is not a little struggling, suffering, hurting god of mans imagination who can share with man in His strugglings. He is the Might Wonder Worker the Creator God of Genesis 1-2
Scriptures to memorize.
- That God can be known. 1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has given us an understanding so that we may know Him who is true. And we are in Him that is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and the everlasting life.
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
- That Gods is a Spirit. John 4:24 God is a spirit, and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.
1Ti 6:15 For He in His own time will reveal who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
1Ti 6:16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in light which cannot be approached, whom no one of men have seen, nor can see; to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.
- That God is Personal Mal 2:10 Is there not one Father to us all? Has not one God created us?
John 14:9b He who has seen Me has seen the Father. And how do you say, Show us the Father?
d. That God is Infinite in Perfections. Exo 15:11 Who is like You, O Jehovah, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
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