Of God, and of the Holy Trinity

March 19^th, 2025

Let me set the context with an Copilot (AI) generated summary:

Chapter 2.1 of the Westminster Confession of Faith delves into the nature and being of God, offering a profound understanding of the divine essence. It begins by affirming that there is only one living and true God, characterized by infinite perfections. This singular Deity is described as a pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, and most wise. He alone possesses immortality, dwelling in light that no one can approach; He is unchangeable, possessing pure and boundless life, glory, goodness, and truth.

The passage further highlights God’s self-sufficiency. It states that God is independent and does not rely on any creature for any part of His existence. Instead, He is the fountain of all being, the one upon whom all creatures depend. God’s knowledge is described as infinite, infallible, and independent from creation; nothing is contingent or uncertain to Him. He is completely holy in all His counsels, works, and commands, and to Him all creatures owe the highest reverence, service, and obedience.

What strikes me about “theology proper,” the study of the things of God, is for a God who wants to be known, one who reveals Himself personally through Jesus. For a God who engages creation redemptively so that we might know Him, what strikes me is how unknowable He really is. WCF and reformed doctrine speak with such transcendent terms because God is the most, is the absolute and is unchanging. Not only is He spirit, unseen, pure, and therefore very different from us visible, fleshly beings. The fact that in God’s immensity and otherness we can also have a union with Him, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is really amazing albeit a mystical miracle.

It’s interesting to reflect on our differences, what we are not as humans: not perfect, not holy, not self-sustaining, and what we are in comparison; we are limited, derived, and dependent beings. At our best, this comparison can draw us to worship, giving Him due praise; it’s certainly a source of adoration. However, I could see some faithful believers struggling with the transcendent, unknowable reality of the being of unapproachable light.

Finally, the confession touches on the attributes of God in relation to His moral excellence. It portrays God as most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. However, He is also just and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin and who will by no means clear the guilty. This perfect balance of justice and mercy forms the foundation of God’s interaction with humanity and the moral order of the universe.

I think holding two characteristics of God together is key for some deeper understanding and appreciation of the clarity of theology proper. I’ve commented on God’s utter perfection and otherness making Him so unapproachable – which He is. Yet, He is also perfectly gracious and merciful. The bridge that brings transcendence and intimacy together is the Cross, which allows Him to be approachable and unapproachable through His sacrificial grace. One way I’ve grown in my faith is the practice of corporate confession of sin and then the assurance of pardon. During our worship service, we corporately look to the perfect, beautiful, and holy character of God, which quickens our hearts to how far we fall short, a genuine conviction of sin. Never are we left alone in our sin, the next movement then is a corporate assurance of pardon based on the redemptive work of God in Jesus on the cross.

Point to ponder. In RC Sproul’s Truths We Confess, he writes: “John Calvin used the formula finitum non capax infinitum, ‘the finite cannot contain (or grasp) the infinite.’ A finite mind cannot attain an exhaustive, comprehensive understanding of the infinite, for we lack any reference by which to grasp it.”[i] I couldn’t agree more. We are like ants trying to understand the human towering above us, but it is also true that God became flesh and dwelt among us – He moved close to be known (Jn 1:14). What is your default reference when thinking of God? Is He more transcendent, holy, radiating with unapproachable light, or more intimate, close like Mary at Jesus’ feet? Why might you gravitate to one over the other?

---

[i] Sproul, R.C.. Truths We Confess: A Systematic Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith (p. 40). (Function). Kindle Edition.