- Joined
- Jul 13, 2015
- Messages
- 19,198
- Location
- Western Australia
- Gender
- Male
- Religious Affiliation
- Catholic
- Political Affiliation
- Moderate
- Marital Status
- Single
- Acceptance of the Trinity & Nicene Creed
- Yes
Who is God?
I believe in God ...
who is the God in whom we believe?
God is the Father almighty. What comes first in the creed is God's fatherhood, not his might. I believe in God the Father almighty. Why does the creed say the Father? Is it telling us about the most holy Trinity? Yes, in part. It is also telling us about that which is most fundamental about God. He is Father. Eternally Father of the Lord (Logos) and in time Father of creation. Why is this such a fundamental and essential attribute of God in the creed? Because the faithful must know it, take it into their hearts, live with it, trust it, believe it, live it as the truth from which all our hope and comfort comes. It is the Father who sends the Son to save his people from their sins. The Father could not save the faithful by sacrificing a bull, nor a lamb, nor an angel, nor anything in all creation except one of his own sons. There is no arbitrary will here, no absolute sovereign who could have saved the world by sacrificing an animal or an angel. There was no way God the Father could redeem by means of a Law. No way that a creative word (a fiat) could achieve this end. Only by sending his own Son could the Father redeem human kind. Thus creation exists not by a mere act of God's will. Not by a sovereign command alone. But by a will directed by his infinite knowledge of his creation and his purposes for creation as the Father who loves it. Theology starts with God the Father almighty because if it were to start with Almighty God then it would not be true to holy scripture. It is not the sovereignty of the Almighty that motivates Christian theology. It is the love of God the Father almighty that does.
I believe in God ...
who is the God in whom we believe?
God is the Father almighty. What comes first in the creed is God's fatherhood, not his might. I believe in God the Father almighty. Why does the creed say the Father? Is it telling us about the most holy Trinity? Yes, in part. It is also telling us about that which is most fundamental about God. He is Father. Eternally Father of the Lord (Logos) and in time Father of creation. Why is this such a fundamental and essential attribute of God in the creed? Because the faithful must know it, take it into their hearts, live with it, trust it, believe it, live it as the truth from which all our hope and comfort comes. It is the Father who sends the Son to save his people from their sins. The Father could not save the faithful by sacrificing a bull, nor a lamb, nor an angel, nor anything in all creation except one of his own sons. There is no arbitrary will here, no absolute sovereign who could have saved the world by sacrificing an animal or an angel. There was no way God the Father could redeem by means of a Law. No way that a creative word (a fiat) could achieve this end. Only by sending his own Son could the Father redeem human kind. Thus creation exists not by a mere act of God's will. Not by a sovereign command alone. But by a will directed by his infinite knowledge of his creation and his purposes for creation as the Father who loves it. Theology starts with God the Father almighty because if it were to start with Almighty God then it would not be true to holy scripture. It is not the sovereignty of the Almighty that motivates Christian theology. It is the love of God the Father almighty that does.