Triune God Midterm Dolezal

divine incomprehensibility

knowledge of God cannot be contained by the mind of the creature

How does 1 Kings 8:27 establish the incomprehensibility of God? (notes 2, p. 2 [I.C.1])

Not even heaven and the highest heaven can contain God

In what two senses do we say God is incomprehensible? (notes 2, p. 2 [I.D.1-2])

1) God cannot be grasped in his entirety

2) God's manner of existence is not a one-to-one concept

1. In reference to our understanding of God, what is the difference between "comprehending" and "knowing"? (notes 2)

(comprehend = around object)

(know = a piece of the whole grasped)

We can know of God, but can never fully comprehend Him

Fill in the missing word from this statement by Herman Bavinck: "If we cannot speak of God ________________, then we cannot speak of him at all." (notes 2, p. 3 [II.B.1])

analogically

If God is unknowable in himself, where is it that he makes something of himself known to us? (notes 2, p. 3 [II.B.2])

analogical knowledge (positive = infinite and distinct)(negative = cannot ascribe a predicate)

Implanted Knowledge: implanted in man by his creation in the image of God
Acquired Knowledge: Through inquiry, reflection, and cntemplation

Who names God? Why? (notes 3, p. 1 [I.B.1-3])

Himself:

1) He does not need a name to know Himself

2) His names are for our benefit

3) God reveals Himself since we cannot know Him as He knows Himself

What means does God use in condescending to reveal himself to creatures? (notes 3, p. 2 [II.A])

language and imagery of creation

What is Archetypal knowledge? (notes 3, p. 3 [II.C.1])

God's self-consciousness

What is Ectypal knowledge? (notes 3, p. 3 [II.C.2])

Human knowledge of God derived from his revelation

What are the three ways of expressing God's attributes? (notes 3)

1. Way of negation or removal

2. Way of eminence

3. Way of Causality

What is the meaning of the term "aseity"? (notes 4, p. 1 [Part 1: I.A])

God is "of himself" or "from himself

What is the meaning of God's independence? (notes 4, p. 1 [Part 1: I.B])

Does not need nor receive anything from outside himself

Does God's aseity mean that he is self-caused? Why or why not? (notes 4, p. 3 [Part 1: IV.A-B])

No

(eternity to eternity; being not becoming; He does not lack)

The meaning of God's infinity (notes 4, p. 5 [Part 2: I.A])

without limits, unbounded

What is the meaning of divine simplicity? (notes 5, p. 1 [I.A-C])

Not composed of parts

All that is in God is God

Existence = Essence

How do God's independence and aseity support the doctrine of divine simplicity? (notes 5, p. 2 [II.C.3])

that he cannot be the consequent or result of some principle(s) of actuality really distinct from his own essence

(All that is in God must be God and this means God is simple)

How does the doctrine of creation ex nihilo support the doctrine of divine simplicity? (notes 5)

requires that God himself is purely actual.

If he were not purely actual in his being he would require a mover in order to exist and operate

According to those who hold to God's simplicity, why can he not be composed of parts? (notes 5, pp. 3-4 [III.C, D, E])

1) would be subject to the parts (would require some explanation and account for the divine nature more basic and fundamental than the divine nature itself)

2) would require a composer

3) suggests he is self-made, thus preceding his own completeness of being

How does divine simplicity support the truth that God is utterly reliable and dependable? (notes 5, p. 8 [VI.G])

God does not depend on anything other than Himself

What is the meaning of God's immutability? (notes 6, p. 1 [Part 1: I, first paragraph])

God cannot change

(not improved nor diminished)

What are two biblical passages that support the doctrine of divine immutability? (notes 6, p. 1 [Part 1: II.I-K])

Malachi 3:6 “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed”

1 Timothy 1:17 & 6:16
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen”
“who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.”

How does the fact of God's perfection support the belief that he is immutable? (notes 6, p. 2 [Part 1: III.C])

He is already perfect so any change would be diminishing

1. How would an adherent to divine immutability respond to the charge that immutability renders God uninvolved with the world and somewhat static and lifeless? (notes 6)

Gods care and provision for his creatures

• Acts 14:17

  • He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons

• Acts 17:25

  • Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

• For in him we live and move and have our being.’^[a] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.

Definition of divine impassibility (notes 6, p. 5 [Part 2: I.A])

God does not experience inner emotional changes of state

Impassibility is an entailment of what other doctrine? (notes 6, p. 5 [Part 2: I.D & II.A])

Divine Immutability

How do those holding to God's impassibility account for the reality of his love, compassion, and hatred for sin while at the same time confessing that he is without "passions"? (notes 6, p. 8 [Part 2: IV.C.1-4]) (note the definition of "passion" in notes 6, p. 5 [Part 2: I.B])

1) God's perfect and pure actuality = essence = existence

2) God is not in flux between inner emotional states

3) God's love cannot be made greater or diminished

(passion = "suffer," "submit," "undergo")

What is meant by God's omnipresence? (notes 7, p. 1 [Part 1: I.A])

God if fully present to every place and yet is confined by none

What does Jeremiah 23:23-24 say with respect to God's omnipresence? (notes 7, p. 1 [Part 1: II.C])

1) He is near

2) He sees man

3) He fill the heavens and the earth

1. List two of the ways in which Mastricht says God is not coextensive with space. (notes 7, p. 2)

1. infinite, cannot be restricted to any finite place

2. independent, cannot be bound to one place by anyone

3. a most simple act, thus cannot be in potency of arriving at any place in which he is not present

4.immutable, cannot be transferred from one place to another

5. omnipotent, thus can work everywhere

1. How does Boethius define God's eternity? (notes 7) (hint: this will probably be a short-answer question)

"the whole, simultaneous, and perfect possession of boundless life"

How do passages such as Jude 25, Titus 1:2, and 2 Timothy 1:9 support the notion that God is not a temporal being? In other words, what does each of these affirm about God with regard to time? (notes 7, p. 5 [Part 2: II.A.7]) (hint: the word "before" is key)

written in and for finite understanding, but transcends time and cannot be measured by it

affirm that God exists before all ages or before time began, showing that He is not bound by time but exists eternally outside of it. The repeated use of “before” highlights that God’s nature, promises, and purposes were established prior to the existence of time itself.

Give two additional doctrinal arguments for understanding God as atemporal (i.e., non-temporal). (notes 7, pp. 5-6 [Part 2: III.A-F])

1) Time requires change

2) Time is founded on God's eternity

Definition of divine knowledge (notes 8, p. 1 [I])

God knows Himself and all things possible and actual in one simple, eternal act

In God's self-knowledge, or "natural knowledge," what does he know? (notes 8, p. 2 [III.C])

Both Himself and all things that can imitate His being and be produced by his power

According to God's "free knowledge" what does he know? (notes 8, p. 2 [III.C])

Only those things that He has freely willed to bring into existence

According to the Westminster Confession (2.2) God’s “knowledge is ________, __________, and ____________ upon the creature; so as nothing is to him contingent or uncertain.” (notes 8)

1. infinite

2. infallible

3. independent

Meaning of divine foreknowledge (notes 9, p. 1 [Part 1: I])

His knowledge does not follow from things outside of Himself

According to Bavinck and the class notes, what is the problem with Middle Knowledge? (notes 9, p. 3 [Part 1: IV.C])

God is dependent on creation's free will for knowledge

Meaning of divine goodness (notes 10, p. 1 [I.A])

Perfection of His nature in which:

1) He is worthy of his own self-love and self-satisfaction

2) His is the only proper object of man's ultimate desire and satisfaction

God's goodness and his perfect self-satisfaction (notes 10)

God is perfectly satisfied with himself and at rest in himself. There is nothing perfective of his being that he must acquire outside of himself

What does Psalm 16:2, 5-6 indicate about God's goodness for us? (notes 10, p. 3 [III.B])

He is the good above all other goods we seek

Meaning of divine holiness (notes 11, p. 1 [I.A])

Absolute purity by which He is set apart from all things common and corrupt

Definition of divine righteousness (notes 11, p. 4 [I.A])

the standard of what is right against violations of holiness

Definition of the divine will (notes 12, p. 1 [I])

Singular act of God in which He:

1) delights in Himself as his own good and goal

2)freely chooses bring about and order creation towards that same goal

Briefly explain what is meant by God's "self-will"? (notes 12, p. 1 [II.B])

the perfect enjoyment and rest that God has in himself

Is God's self-will an efficacious will? Why or why not? (notes 12, p. 2 [II.C])

No, God does not cause Himself to become

Besides himself, what else does God will? (notes 12, p. 3 [III.A])

everything: creatures and events

What is God's end in willing creatures? How does this relate to the end of his self-will? (notes 12, p. 3 [III.B])

enjoyment of His own glory

What is meant by the decretive will of God and preceptive will of God? How do these differ? (notes 12, p. 6 [V.A.1-2])

decrative: rule of God's external acts

preceptive: rule of our actions

What does Turretin say the power of God is? (notes 13, p. 1) (your answer should closely approximate Turretin's statement)

is nothing other than the divine essences itself productive outwardly

What are two things Scripture says are impossible for God? (notes 13, p. 2 [III.A.1-6])

1) God cannot lie

2) God cannot change

Why would such impossibilities not count as proof against his omnipotence? (notes 13, p. 2 [III.B])

He can do whatever is in His holy nature

Summarize in 4 to 6 sentences Thomas Aquinas's argument from motion for God's existence as both the Unmoved Mover and as purely actual in being. (notes 2, p. 5 [Excursus 1, first way]; notes 4, p. 2 [III.A.1-2])