1. Christian Doctrine
Resources: Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem & A Theology for the Church, ed. Daniel Akin

2. God

3. God: God Exists The Bible simply assumes God exists.
The Bible begins with God creating.
Does not feel the need to explain the possible reality of God existing or not.
Genesis 1:1- In the beginning Gd created…
Scripture tells us that everyone has a deep inner sense of God existing.
Many bury this or ignore it.
Romans 1:25- For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator.
“The Bible is much more concerned about those who may believe all the right things about God but whose pride and preoccupation crowd out any “room for God” in their daily lives. (Ps. 10:4)” (Akin, 179)

4. God: God Exists
“Every created thing gives evidence of God and his Character. But human beings -created in the image of God- give the most evidence of God’s existence and character.”
Romans 1:20- For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
We share in being made in the image of God.
Nothing else has been created this way.

5. Much we do not know
There is much that we do not know nor will ever know about God.
For He is infinite and we are not.
He dwells in unapproachable light. (1 Tim. 6:16)
His greatness “no one can fathom.” (Ps. 145: 3)
His knowledge is too wonderful for us, too lofty for us to attain. (Ps. 139:6)
“To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to?” (Isaiah 40:18)
He is irreducible to the world’s categories. (Akin, 180)

6. God We can never fully understand God
Psalm 145:3- Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable.
Psalm 147:5- Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite.
Psalm 139:6- Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
This means there is always more for us to learn about God.

7. What does the Bible say?
Some have argued from nature to God, but it is best to start with Scripture.
Spurgeon Quote:
The old saying is “go from Nature up to Nature’s God.” But it is hard work going up hill. The best thing is to go from Nature’s God down to Nature; and, if you once get to Nature’s God and believe him, it is surprising how easy it is to hear music in the waves, and songs in the wild whisperings of the winds and to see God everywhere.

8. The names of God
God having a name means that He is a personal and not distant from us.
Elohim- God as Creator, Blesses, Judge (Gen. 1:1,22,26,28; 2:3; 31:53)
El- The strong and mighty one. Rarely occurs by itself.
El Shaddai- God Almighty or All Sufficient.
El Roy- The God who sees all (Gen 16:13).
El Olam- everlasting God (Gen. 21:33)
Yahweh- the most common designation for God, some six thousand times.
Was held very sacred after the Babylonian Captivity, Jews would not even say His name.
Form of the Hebrew word, “to be.”
“I AM WHO I AM.”

9. God: The Lord of History
The Living God in Contrast to Dead Idols.
Psalm 115 and 135 reveal idols as puppets of man.
The acting God in contrast to Blind Fate
Acts in the history of Israel
Deut. 31:3-6- “The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land… Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Acts among the nations.
Daniel 2:21- He “changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them.”
Acts in nature.
Jonah
Battles in Judges

10. We can know the truths that God has revealed in the Bible.
God: God is Knowable
We can know the truths that God has revealed in the Bible.
In fact all that the Bible tells us of God is true.
God is love. 1 John 4:8
…for God is Love.
God is light. 1 John 1:5
… God is Light
God is Spirit. John 4:24
God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
God is righteous. Romans 3:26

11. God: God is Knowable We can know him personally.
In fact this is the only way we can be saved.
John 17:3
Also we can know God himself not merely facts about him.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
Our joy comes from knowing God, not our material possessions.
1 John 5:20
We have been given understanding to know him.

12. Incommunicable vs. Communicable
God: God’s attributes
Incommunicable vs. Communicable
Incommunicable simply means attributes of God that He has not shared with us.
Communicable are those attributes that God has shared with us.
There are some things God has revealed to us about himself and others that he has not.
Even among the communicable attributes we do not have a full understanding of them nor fully partake in them.

13. God: God is Independent (Incommunicable)
God does not need us or any other creation.
He was not lonely or in need of others.
God always was.
He was not created.
He needs nothing to sustain him.
Acts 17: The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.
Stark contrast to mankind.We are dependent on him.
Even in our dependence on God he still gave us worth and significance.
He allows us to bring joy to him.

14. God: God is Unchangeable (Incommunicable)
God’s unchangeable nature:
His being
Psalm 102:25-27
Malachi 3:6- For I, the Lord, do not change…
Purposes
Psalm 33:11- The counsel of the Lord stands for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Promises
Numbers 23:19- God is not a man, that he should lie, or son of man, that he should repent, Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

15. God: God is Unchangeable (Incommunicable)
God’s unchanging nature is complete opposite of us.
We change daily.
Are there ever times in the Bible God changes?
Destruction of Nineveh
Repent No destruction or No Repentance Destruction
Individual situation
His Attitude changed because they changed.
He saw their repentance and did not destroy them.

16. God: God is Eternal (Incommunicable)
He has no beginning or end.
Psalm 90:2- Before the mountains were born, Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
He has always existed.
Because He is eternal His timetable is different from ours.
He sees all time past, present, future at once.
He also experiences them all at once.
2 Peter 3:8- With the Lord one day is a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

17. God: God is Omnipresent (Incommunicable)
God is omnipresent- He is everywhere and has no space or size dimensions.
Psalm 139:7-10
“God is not a boundless bulk filling all space, but by his divine agency he is available in the fullness of his power to sustain, order, govern, and guide everything that is, wherever it is.” (Akin, 234)
God is everywhere working His plan of history out.
He punishes
He keeps the world functioning properly.
Saving men and women.

18. God: God is Spirit (Communicable)
“God exists in such a way that his being is not made of any matter. He has no parts, no size, and no dimensions. He is unable to be perceived by our bodily senses.”
John4:24- God is spirit…
We too have a spirit.
Another way we relate to God.

19. God: God is Invisible (Communicable)
Because God is spirit, God is also invisible.
John 1:18- No on has ever seen God
1 Timothy 6:16- who (God) alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see.
God at times has made himself visible through created things. However this is not God’s total essence.
This is communicable because we truly cannot see him.

20. God: God is Omniscience (all knowing) (Communicable)
God knows everything!
1 John 3:20- For God is greater than our heart and knows all things.
He fully knows himself and all that is actual or potential.
His knowledge never changes or grows.
He is never surprised.
Nothing is hidden from him.
This is communicated to us because we too can have some of this knowledge and wisdom.

21. God: God is Wise He is all wise.
“Basically he always chooses the best possible goals and the best possible means to meet these goals.”
He never has regrets.
God gives a portion of this wisdom to us.
James 1:5- But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
God will never fully give us all his wisdom.
It is far to great for us to handle.
Romans 11:33- Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

22. God: God is Truthful (Communicable)
Jeremiah 10:10- But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King.
“All his knowledge and all his words are both true and the final standard of truth.”
Job 37:16- Do you know about the layers of the thick clouds, The wonders of one perfect in knowledge.
If some statement or thought goes against what the Bible clearly teaches it is a false statement.

23. God: God is Good (Communicable)
God is the final standard of good.
Luke 18:19- No one is good but God alone.
All he does and has ever done is good.
He is also the source of goodness.
James 1:7
His goodness is often seen toward us in his mercy and grace.
Mercy- not getting the punishment we deserve
Grace- Getting something we do not deserve.
Exodus 34:6
Psalm 103:8

24. God: God is Love (Communicable)
1 John 4:7-11
God eternally gives of himself to the benefit of others.
Loved us so much he gave his Son.
Romans 5:8- But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Because we have God’s love we are commanded to show that love to others.
Matthew 22:37-39

25. God: God is Holy (Communicable)
God is a Holy God
This means “he is separated from sin and devoted to seeking his own honor.”
Psalm 71:22- I will also praise You with a harp, Even Your truth, O my God; To You I will sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 6:3- And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.
Because God is holy we are to try and imitate this.
Leviticus 19:2- "Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy

26. God: God is Righteous and Just (Communicable)
Deuteronomy 32:4- The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.
“God always acts in accordance to what is right.”
God is a Judge that always gives the proper judgment.
Because God is righteous and just he must treat us as we deserve.
So he must punish those against him.
However he shows righteousness by giving people the opportunity to see forgiveness through Jesus.

27. God: God is Jealous (Communicable)
Exodus 20:5- for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.
God seeks to protect his own honor.
He will not allow something else to take this honor.
All worship is due to God alone.
It is not wrong for him to seek this because he rightfully deserves this.

28. God: God is Wrathful toward Sin (Communicable)
God HATES sin!
His wrath burns hot against sin.
This wrath will consume those who oppose Christ and continue in their sin.
John 3:36- He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God rests upon him.
Romans 1:18- For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men.
If God was not troubled by sin he would not be worthy of our praise.
As Christians we should no longer fear the wrath of God.
The wrath of God is lifted off us when we become believers.
1 Thessalonians 1:10- [Jesus] who delivers us from the wrath to come.
We should praise his punishment on sin.
Proves to us of the purity of God.
Should not praise in the demise of others, but we should pray for them to come to repentance.

29. God: God is Wrathful toward Sin (Communicable)
As Christians we should no longer fear the wrath of God.
The wrath of God is lifted of us when we become believers.
1 Thessalonians 1:10- [Jesus] who delivers us from the wrath to come.
We should also be thankful of God’s patience in not bringing His wrath yet.
Allows more to come to him
We too were once under the wrath of God

30. God: God is Wrathful toward Sin (cont.)
You are either safe or not from this wrath of God.
If you are a believer you have nothing to fear.
The blood of Jesus has taken God’s wrath off of you.
If you are not a believer the wrath of God should be greatly feared.
They fully have the wrath of God on them.

31. God: God Accomplishes what He Wills (Communicable)
God’s will is the ultimate reason for everything that happens.
The death of Christ.
Acts 4: For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur
Take comfort in knowing that God is in control.

32. God: God is Omnipotent (Communicable)
God is all powerful.
“He is able to do all of his holy will. There are no limits on what he decides to do.
Genesis 18:14- Is anything too hard for the Lord?
Jeremiah 32:17- Nothing is too hard for you [God].
Matthew 19:26- With God all things are possible.
There are things he cannot do.
He cannot lie (Titus 1:2)
He cannot be tempted with evil. (James 1:13)
He cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)
He cannot do that which goes against his character.

33. God: God is Perfect (Communicable)
“God fully posses all excellent qualities and lacks no part of any qualities that would be desirable for him.”
Matthew 5:48- You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

34. How can we trust God if we do not know everything about him?
Can we truly trust God?
How can we trust God if we do not know everything about him?
How can I trust a God with so much evil happening?
Must have faith in those things that we can not understand fully.
Hebrews 1:11- Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.