God is omniscient
God is omniscient
God is omniscient - all knowing (CP Ac 2:23; 15:18; Ro 11:33). God sees and knows everything, past, present and future (CP Gen 6:5; Job 23:10; Psa 34:15-16; 90:8; 139:1-6; 147:5; Pr 15:3, 11; Isa 46:9-10; Mt 6:4, 8; 1Pe 3:12). God's knowledge is absolute (CP 1Sam 2:3; 16:17; 1Ki 8:39; Job 37:16; Psa 44:21; Pr 16:2; 21:2; 24:12; Ro 2:11-16; 1Cor 3:11-15; 2Cor 5:10). Omniscience is the power of knowing the thoughts and intents of every heart. In 1Cor 3:11-15 and 2Cor 5:10 we learn that in a coming day every Christian in heaven will stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ to give an account of themselves to God for everything they have ever done in the course of their Christian life, whether it be good or bad. God will reveal their every thought, their every word, their every deed, their secret acts, their character, their motives, their attitude, their works, their ministry - God knows them all (CP Ecc 12:14; Ro 14:10-13; 1Cor 4:5; 2Cor 5:10).
God is triune - three-in-one. Scriptures teach that there are three distinct and separate co-equal and co-eternal members of the Godhead - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (CP Mt 3:16-17; Mk 1:9-11; Lu 3:21-22; Jn 1:29-34). Here we see clearly represented in scripture the three distinct and separate co-equal members of the Godhead. God the Father is represented by the voice in heaven, God the Son is Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit is represented by the dove. This teaching of a triune God or three-in-one Godhead is called the Doctrine of the Trinity. It is a core truth of the Christian faith and is central to an understanding of Biblical revelation and the message of the gospel. It should be stressed here that although there is a plurality of persons in the Godhead, they all function as one (CP 1Cor 12:4-6; 2Cor 13:14; Eph 2:17-18; 4:4-6; 2Th 2:13-14 with 1Jn 5:6-7). One in 1Jn 5:6-7 means one in unity, not in number (CP Jn 17:5, 21-24). This oneness, while clearly emphasising the plurality of persons in the Godhead, is plainly expressed in the baptismal formula Jesus gave to the church before being taken up to heaven (CP Mt 28:19). Name here is singular, proving the oneness in unity of all three members of the Godhead it includes, although each one individually is God. The Father is God (CP Jn 4:21-24; Ro 1:7; 1Cor 8:6). The Son is God (CP Isa 7:14 and 9:6 with Mt 1:23; Jn 1:1-2; 20:26-28; 1Cor 15:45-47; Php 2:5-8; 1Ti 3:16; Tit 2:13-14; He 1:8; 1Jn 5:20). The Holy Spirit is God (CP Isa 6:8-11 with Ac 28:25-28; 5:3-4; 1Cor 2:10-12; 3:16; 2Cor 3:17-18; He 9:14).
Clearly those scriptures all establish the Doctrine of the Trinity. Although the word Trinity is not found in scripture, it is not crucial to sound Christian doctrine that the word defining it is not scriptural. What is crucial is that the doctrine itself stresses its authority in scripture. This the Doctrine of the Trinity does perfectly. In fact the New Testament church was founded on this teaching (CP Ac 2:32-33; 1Pe 1:2). The Doctrine of the Trinity is not a new revelation found only in the New Testament. It is a progressive revelation which underlies the whole teaching of scripture from the very first verse in the Bible (CP Gen 1:1). The very first verse in the Bible indicates that a plurality of persons exist in the Godhead because God is the Hebrew word Elohim, which is a plural noun. Its significance becomes more evident as we read further (CP Gen 1:26; 3:22; 11:6-7; Isa 6:8). These plural pronouns also stress a plurality of persons in the Godhead (CP Also Jn 14:23). Elohim is used over two thousand seven hundred times in the Old Testament, proving that many times that there is more than one person in the Godhead.
Many professing Christians however reject the Doctrine of the Trinity and deny the Deity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit both, so we need to look at some of the scriptures they use to promote their cause to see exactly what they teach (CP De 6:4; Isa 44:6-8; 45:21-22; Hos 13:4; Mk 12:29; 1Cor 8:6; Eph 4:6; Jas 2:19). The emphasis on all those scriptures is that God is one. Those who deny the Trinity and the deity of both Jesus and the Holy Spirit believe that because a singular noun - one - has been used here with the word God, that it means there is only one member in the Godhead - God the Father. They have conveniently ignored all the other scriptures that prove Jesus and the Holy Spirit are co-equal with the Father in the Godhead. Here again one means one in unity, not in number, because the word God is still a plural noun. God is merely contrasting Himself with idols in the Old Testament scriptures, and He is still the same God in the New Testament (CP De 6:14-15; Isa 44:9-11; 46:1-4; Hos 13:1-3). If there is a plurality of persons in the Godhead in the Old Testament, so too there is a plurality of persons in the Godhead in the New Testament, as scriptures clearly show (for a more detailed study on the subject see author's study on Jesus - eternally God in his book, Advanced Studies in the Christian Faith (Volume 1) and his comments on Mt 1:18-21, Lu 1:35(B); Jn 1:1, 5:16-23, 12:41, Ac 13:33, 20:28, Php 2:5-8, Col 2:9, 1Ti 3:16, He 1:5, 5:5, 1Jn 5:6-9, Rev 1:8 in his book, A Question and Answer Study on the New Testament)).
God is immutable - unchangeable (CP Nu 23:19; Psa 102:27; 119:89; Mal 3:6; Ro 11:29; 2Ti 2:13; He 6:17-18; 13:8; Jas 1:17; 1Jn 1:5). God is unchanging in His eternal plan of salvation toward His creation. When Moses asked Him His name, God replied, "I AM THAT I AM" (CP Ex 3:14). The literal meaning of what God says here is "I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE". He is the God who is, and will be the same as He has always been in the past … "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob …" (CP Ex 3:15; 6:3). God is the same today as He always has been: "this is my name forever, by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation" (NIV) - the God of salvation. The unchanging God of salvation though will repent of judgement when His call to obedience is affirmatively responded to (CP Jonah 1:1-3; 3:1-10). When God's terms for salvation are not met it is not failure or change with God, but with man (CP Ro 3:4). The unchanging God of salvation is revealed under the New Covenant in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (CP Jn 1:1, 18). In the New Testament Christ is the immutable God who comes to seek and save the lost (CP Mk 10:45; Lu 19:10). Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever (CP He 1:12; 13:8: Jas 1:17).
God is self-existent - has life in Himself. Is eternal - has no beginning or end. He has always been, and always will be (CP Gen 21:33; Ex 3:14-15; Psa 90:2; 102:24-27; 145:13; Isa 43:10; 44:6; 57:15; Rev 1:4). Here we see that God is an eternal being. He has always existed (CP Mic 5:2; Jn 1:4; 5:26; 1Ti 1:17; He 1:8; Rev 1:8; 22:13). Although the Bible does not attempt to prove God's reality, there is undeniable proof outside of scripture for all to see (CP Psa 19:1-6). The heavens declare God's glory to all who are on earth. Declare here means to recount, inscribe as a writer. The immensity of the universe tells of the greatness of its creator. The firmament - the stretched out expanse of the sky - shows His handiwork. Shows means to stand boldly out. Manifest, certify. Handiwork illustrates God's great power (CP V1 with Psa 8:1, 3; 75:1; 90:2; 111:6). Days utter speech. Utter here means gush forth, pour out. Nights show knowledge. Show means to declare, indicate. There is nowhere in the universe where the testimony of the heavens and the firmament for their creator, God, has not been heard (CP Psa 19:2-4A with Ro 1:20). Simply by looking up to heaven man can know there is a God and can perceive His eternal power. Paul used Psa 19:4A to show that the Jews had heard the word of truth, but having heard it, rejected it, which resulted in the gospel being given to the Gentiles (CP V4A with Ro 10:16-18). The sun is also a testimony to its creator, God. It traverses the heavens from one end to the other daily, and nothing is hidden from its heat. It enjoys universal exposure, reaching into every corner and crevice of the earth (CP Psa 19:4-6).
The heavens with their countless galaxies of stars. The firmament with its vast expanses of sky. The sun determining the day, the moon determining the night. The order of nature determining the seasons : summer, autumn, winter, spring; the tides ebbing and flowing, all conforming to their allotted times. The trees, the grass, the flowers. The bees that pollinate the flowers, the birds, and so much more, are all unceasing testimonies to a creator God, and unequivocally confirm His existence. Sadly though, the ungodly see His handiwork, but reject God Himself. They are without excuse (P Ro 1:18-20).