God Is Not Lonely

    According to St. Paul, God created everything for Himself (Rom. 11:36; Col. 1:16; Heb. 2:10), but God did not create man because He was lonely. God is three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He has never been a lonely God. He has never lived in isolation. Indeed, God is love (I John 4:8) and love cannot exist in isolation. Without someone else to love, there is no love. Love must have an origin and an object in order to exist.
    All three Persons of the Holy Trinity have always existed. Each Person is eternal, without beginning. Each Person loves the other two Persons of the Godhead unconditionally and self-sacrificially. Their love for each other is constant and eternal.
    Out of love, They created more objects of love in addition to Themselves. They created the angels (Job 38:7; Neh. 9:6), the animals (Gen. 1:20-25), and later man (Gen. 1:26-28). The God who has always been love and has never been lonely created more to love.
    This God of love "fills all things in all" (Eph. 1:23).  God permeates His creation without ever becoming His creation. He is everywhere present but everything is not Him.
    So then, we need to understand that God grants us our existence not out of necessity, but out of love. (Wisdom 11:24)

Three Persons — One God

There are places in the Old Testament where God speaks of Himself in the plural. Two such places are found in Genesis.

And God said, Let Us make man according to Our image and likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the flying creatures of heaven, and over the cattle and all the earth, and over all the reptiles that creep on the Earth. (Gen. 1:26, LXX)

And God said, Behold, Adam is become as one of Us, to know good and evil, and now lest at any time he stretch forth his hand, and take of the Tree of Life and eat, and so he shall live forever. (Gen. 3:23, LXX)

God calls Himself the Father in the Old Testament.

Do ye thus recompense the Lord? Is the people thus foolish and unwise? Did not He Himself thy Father purchase thee, and make thee, and form thee? (Deut. 32:6, LXX)

And now, O Lord, thou art our Father, and we are clay, all of us the work of Thine hands. (Isaiah 64:8, LXX)

O Lord, Father and Governor of all my whole life, leave me not to their counsels, and let me not fall by them. (Ecclesiasticus 23:1)

They invoked the Almighty Lord, and ceaselessly besought with tears their merciful God and Father, Ruler of all, Lord of every power, to overthrow the evil purpose which was gone out against them, and to deliver them by extraordinary manifestation from that death which was in store for them. (III Macc. 5:7,8)

The Father has no origin and no beginning. He begot the Son and exhaled the Holy Spirit. (St. John 1:14; 15:26; Psalm 32:6, LXX) He is the Fountainhead of the Holy Trinity.

In the New Testament, Jesus spoke of Himself as being God.

I and My Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from My Father; for which of those works do ye stone Me? The Jews answered Him, saying, For a good work we stone Thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that Thou, being a Man, makest Thyself God. (St. John 10:30-33)

He told one of His disciples that those who see Him see the Father.

Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? (St. John 14:8,9)

He spoke of Himself and the Father as coming to make their abodes with people (that is, in their hearts).

Judas saith unto Him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. (St. John 14:22,23)

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He was begotten of the Father.

And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. (St. John 1:14)

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (St. John 3:16)

He is called the only begotten Son of the Father because He is the only one the Father has begotten. In Proverbs, Wisdom says:

He established Me before time was in the beginning, before He made the Earth: even before He made the depths; before the fountains of water came forth: before the mountains were settled, and before all hills, He begets Me. (Prov. 8:23-25, LXX)

Here, Wisdom claims to be begotten of God. St. Paul called Jesus Christ the Wisdom of God. (I Cor. 1:24) This passage in Proverbs is talking about the only begotten Son of God. In the Second Psalm, it says:

The Lord said to Me, Thou art My Son, to-day have I begotten Thee. (Psalm 2:7, LXX)

Here, God claims to have a Son that He has begotten. This passage is actually a prophecy of the incarnation of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary, but, nevertheless, it does indicate that God has a Son.

In the Old Testament, the Son of God is often called the Word (Greek, Logos) of the Lord.

And the Word (Greek, Logos) of the Lord came to Jezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river of Chobar; and the hand of the Lord was upon me. (Ezek. 1:3, LXX)

And after the seven days the Word (Greek, Logos) of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man. (Ezek. 3:16, LXX)

In St. John's Gospel, it says:

In the beginning was the Word (Greek, Logos), and the Word (Greek, Logos) was with God, and the Word (Greek, Logos) was God. The same was in the beginning with God. (St. John 1:1,2)

Later in this same chapter of this Gospel, it says:

And the Word (Greek, Logos) was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (St. John 1:14)

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. He is the Word of God that was made flesh and dwelt among us. He is the Word of the Lord that came to the prophets and spoke to them. He is the Wisdom of God. He is the incarnate Word of God. He is God.

In the 44th Psalm it says:

Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of Thy kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: therefore God, Thy God, has anointed Thee with the oil of gladness beyond Thy fellows. (Psalm 44:6,7, LXX)

St. Paul quoted this in Hebrews:

But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. (Heb. 1:8)

Here, the Son is called God and in the 44th Psalm it says God has a God. This means that the Son who is God came in eternity past from the Father who also is God. However, the Son was not created. He was begotten. Although the Son has an origin, He does not have a beginning. In the Nicene Creed that was adopted at the First Ecumenical Council in 325 A.D., it says:

And whosoever shall say that there was a time when the Son of God was not, or that before He was begotten He was not, or that He was made of things that were not, or that He is of a different substance or essence [from the Father] or that He is a creature, or subject to change or conversion — all that so say, the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes them. (vol. 14, p. 3, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

The Son of God and the Father are one (St. John 10:30) because they are of the same essence and are the same God.

In his Epistle to Titus, St. Paul called Jesus Christ "the great God and our Saviour."

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13)

In Genesis, it says:

And the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heaven. (Gen. 19:24, LXX)

There are two Lords mentioned in this Genesis passage. One rained fire and brimstone from the other Lord. However, in Deuteronomy it says:

Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord. (Deut. 6:4, LXX)

There are two Persons but one Lord.

These two Persons are not the only ones who are God. There is also a third Person — the Holy Spirit. St. Peter called the Holy Spirit God. He told Ananias that he had lied to the Holy Spirit.

But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?" (Acts 5:1-3, NKJV)

Then, he told him that when he lied to the Holy Spirit he lied to God.

While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:4, NKJV)

So then, St. Peter, who was one of Jesus Christ's closest disciples believed that the Holy Spirit is God. St. Paul also believed that the Holy Spirit is God.

Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known My ways. So I sware in My wrath, They shall not enter into My rest.) (Heb. 3:7-11)

The Psalm that St. Paul quoted from is the 94th Psalm. It says:

Come, let us worship and fall down before Him; and weep before the Lord that made us. For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, according to the day of irritation in the wilderness: where your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My works. Forty years was I grieved with this generation, and said, They do always err in their heart, and they have not known My ways. So I sware in My wrath, They shall not enter into My rest. (Psalm 94:6-11, LXX)

From the context of this Psalm we can see that the words that St. Paul quoted are the words of God (who is also called Lord). From the context of the passage in Hebrews, we see that St. Paul attributed these words to the Holy Ghost (another term for the Holy Spirit). So, St. Paul believed that the Holy Spirit is God.

In another place in his Epistle to the Hebrews, St. Paul called the Holy Spirit "the eternal Spirit." (Heb. 9:14) In Genesis it says:

In the beginning God made the Heaven and the Earth. But the Earth was unsightly and unfurnished, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water. (Gen. 1:1,2, LXX)

Here, the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit is mentioned, but is never said to be created. There is only One who is uncreated and that is God. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God. In the 32nd Psalm it says:

By the Word (Greek, Logos) of the Lord the Heavens were established; and all the host of them by the Breath (Greek, Pneuma, Spirit) of His mouth. (Psalm 32:6, LXX)

The Holy Spirit was involved in the creation of the hosts of Heaven, the angels. The angels are ministering spirits. (Heb. 1:13,14) In Job it says:

The Divine Spirit is that which formed me, and the Breath of the Almighty that which teaches me. (Job 33:4, LXX)

The Holy Spirit created us. In Zechariah, it says:

The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel; saith the Lord, that stretches out the sky, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. (Zech. 12:1, LXX)

So, it is the Lord who forms the spirit of man within him and the Holy Spirit who has created our spirits is this Lord. The Holy Spirit, therefore, is God.

Although the Holy Spirit is a spirit, we should not think that He is created, nor should we think that the substance of which He consists is the same substance that our spirits are made of. The substance of which He consists is not the same substance that angels are made of either.

The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. (St. John 15:26) He has the same essence as the Father. The Holy Spirit, like the Son, has an origin, but He has no beginning. In the Gospel according to St. John, it is recorded that Jesus Christ said:

All things that the Father hath are Mine. (St. John 16:15)

For this reason, the Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of the Father" (St. Matt. 10:20; Rom. 8:11) and the "the Spirit of the Son" (Gal. 4:6) or "the Spirit of Christ." (Rom. 8:9) The Holy Spirit belongs to the Father and to the Son.

However, the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son. It does say that He proceeds from the Father. (St. John 15:26)

In the sixth verse of the 32nd Psalm all three Persons of the Holy Trinity are mentioned.

By the Word (Greek, Logos) of the Lord the Heavens were established; and all the host of them by the Breath (Greek, Pneuma, Spirit) of His mouth. (Psalm 32:6, LXX)

The Son who is called "the Word of the Lord" in this verse is mentioned. The Holy Spirit who is called "the Breath (or Spirit) of His mouth" is mentioned. The Father who is called "the Lord" is mentioned. The words, "His mouth," in this verse refer to the Father's mouth. Notice that there is no mention made of the Son's mouth. Notice also that the Holy Spirit is called "the Breath (or Spirit) of His mouth" and not "the Breath or Spirit of Their mouths." The Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father, but belongs to both the Father and the Son.

In the First Epistle of John, it says:

For there are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (I John 5:7)

All three Persons of the Godhead are one, because they have the same essence. Some people in modern times think that this verse in the First Epistle of John is a fourth century gloss — a passage that was mistakenly added into the text of this epistle by a scribe in the fourth century while he was copying it by hand. However, it was in St. Cyprian of Carthage's Bible. He was born in 200 A.D. and martyred in 258 A.D.

The Lord says, “I and the Father are one” (St. John 10:30); and again it is written of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, “And these three are one.” (I John 5:7) (Treatises of Cyprian, Treatise I: On the Unity of the Church, written by St. Cyprian of Carthage, 200-258 A.D., vol. 5, p. 423, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

There is also some speculation that this verse was in Tertullian's copy of the First Epistle of John. Tertullian lived in the second century and he wrote:

Thus the connection of the Father in the Son, and of the Son in the Paraclete, produces three coherent Persons, who are yet distinct One from Another. These Three are, one essence, not one Person, as it is said, “I and My Father are One” (St. John 10:30), in respect of unity of substance not singularity of number. (Against Praxeas, chapter 25, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 621, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

This is the Orthodox Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Three distinct Persons who have the same essence and are one and the same God, but not one and the same Person.

The distinction of these Persons is clearly seen at the Baptism of Jesus Christ.

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered Him. And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: and lo a voice from Heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (St. Matt. 3:13-17)

There are three Persons mentioned in this passage from St. Matthew's Gospel: the Father who spoke from Heaven, the Son who was baptized by St. John the Baptist, and the Holy Spirit who descended in the form of a dove. The Father is not the Son, nor is He the Holy Spirit. The Son is not the Father, nor is He the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the Son, nor is He the Father.

Although the doctrine of the Trinity can be found in the Old Testament, it was not until Jesus Christ was baptized that it became evident that God is three distinct Persons. In the Troparion for Holy Theophany, it says:

When You, O Lord were baptized in the Jordan
The worship of the Trinity was made manifest
For the voice of the Father bore witness to You
And called You His beloved Son.
And the Spirit, in the form of a dove,
Confirmed the truthfulness of His word.
O Christ, our God, You have revealed Yourself
And have enlightened the world, glory to You!

For those who want to have a relationship with God, it is important that they understand that God is three distinct Persons. To have a relationship with the one and only true God one must have a relationship with each of these three Persons of the Holy Trinity.

In the Orthodox Church there are prayers that we pray to each of the three Persons of the Trinity. A very common one that we pray to the Father is the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father, who art in the Heavens, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For Thine is the the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

A very common prayer that we pray to the Son is called the Jesus Prayer.

O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Another very common prayer we pray to the Son is this one.

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

To the Holy Spirit, we often pray this prayer.

O Heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who art in all places and fillest all things, Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life, come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

We also have prayers that we pray to all three Persons of the Trinity. One such prayer is this one.

O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, cleanse us from our sins. O Master, pardon our transgressions. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy Name's sake.

Another important thing to know about the Holy Trinity is that we need all three Persons of the Trinity and it is impossible for anyone to know one Person of the Trinity without knowing the other two Persons of the Trinity. This is why worshipping a unipersonal god is not such a good idea.

Jesus said:

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. (St. John 14:6)

He also said:

All things are delivered unto Me of My Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. (St. Matt. 11:27)

It is through the Son that we go to the Father. It is the Son who reveals the Father to us. Jesus Christ also said:

No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (St. John 6:44)

In order for us to go to the Son the Father must draw us to Him. In the next verse Jesus tells us how the Father draws us to Him.

It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto Me. (St. John 6:45)

Whenever we are being taught the Gospel and the things about the Kingdom of God, the Father is drawing us to the Son.

In the fifteenth chapter of this Gospel, Jesus tells us:

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me: (St. John 15:26)

It is the Holy Spirit that testifies of (or bears witness to) the Son. St. Paul said:

Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. (I Cor. 12:3)

Without the Holy Spirit we cannot acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The Son, on the other hand, sends us the Holy Spirit from the Father. (St. John 15:26; St. Luke 24:49)

Whenever we think of these three Persons of the Holy Trinity, we must not think that each of them occupies only one place at a time. Each Person of the Godhead is God and God is in all places at all times. All of this language about the Son sending us the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Father drawing us to the Son is language that is being used in the Sacred Scriptures to help us understand God with our frail human minds. Likewise, when we say that the Father begot the Son and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, we are using language that God has chosen to help us understand Him with our limited intellects.

What then is Procession? Do you tell me what is the Unbegottenness of the Father, and I will explain to you the physiology of the Generation of the Son and the Procession of the Spirit, and we shall both of us be frenzy-stricken for prying into the mystery of God. And who are we to do these things, we who cannot even see what lies at our feet, or number the sand of the sea, or the drops of rain, or the days of Eternity (Ecclesiasticus 1:2), much less enter into the Depths of God, and supply an account of that Nature which is so unspeakable and transcending all words? (Oration XXXII: The Fifth Theological Oration: On the Holy Spirit, paragraph 8, by St. Gregory the Theologian, 325-391 A.D., vol. 7, p. 320, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

As for those who worship a unipersonal god, St. John the Theologian said these things about the Son in his First Epistle:

Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. (I John 2:23)

Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in Him, and he in God. (I John 4:15)

He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (I John 5:10-12)

So, it is important that we acknowledge the Son. Otherwise, we will not have the Father. It is also important that we confess that Jesus is the Son of God. Otherwise, God will not dwell in us and we will not abide in God. We must believe on the Son of God. If we do not, we make God a liar. Anyone who does not have the Son does not have the Father.

St. Paul said:

Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. (Rom. 8:9)

We must have the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we do not belong to Christ. If we do not belong to Christ, then we do not even belong to the Father because Jesus said in His High Priestly Prayer to the Father:

And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them. (St. John 17:10)

In order to have a relationship with the one and only true God, we must have a relationship with all three Persons of the Godhead. We must acknowledge the Deity of each of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity. To refuse to acknowledge the Deity of each Person of the Trinity is to refuse to acknowledge God as God.

I have quoted from two individuals who wrote some books that make up our New Testament. Both of them were raised by their parents to be devout Jews. In the Law of Moses, something the Jews held in high esteem, it expressly says:

And the Lord spoke all these words, saying: I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods beside Me. (Exodus 20:1-3, LXX)

These two Jews, St. John the Theologian and St. Paul the Apostle, became zealous and devout followers of Jesus Christ. They believed that Jesus is God and that the Holy Spirit is God, but they worshipped only one God. They did not believe that they were disobeying the divine command I cited in Exodus when they acknowledged the Deity of the Son and the Holy Spirit.

To those wishing to have a relationship with God, I would have to tell them that they should pray to all three Persons of the Holy Trinity and worship each Person of the Godhead as God. Also, they need to obey the commandments of God. Jesus said:

He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. (St. John 14:21)

and:

If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings: and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me. (St. John 14:23,24)

Those who are busy keeping God's commandments are the ones to whom God reveals Himself. For this reason, St. John says:

He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (I John 2:4)

By living our lives in obedience to God as much as we can, we continue to participate in the divine energies, which are God. Those who pray to God, but are indifferent to obeying God, really have no relationship with Him at all.

Steve

Bibliography

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Unknowable but Knowable

The divine essence is unknowable. St. John of Damascus wrote:

It is plain, then, that there is a God. But what He is in His essence and nature is absolutely incomprehensible and unknowable. (An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book I, chapter 4, by St. John of Damascus, 645-750 A.D., vol. 9, part 2, p. 3, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

Yet, despite the unknowability of God's essence, it is still possible to know God. God Himself wants us to know Him.

For I will have mercy rather than sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than whole-burnt-offerings. (Hosea 6:7, LXX; Hosea 6:6, Hebrew)

In Proverbs and in Jeremiah, the possibility of knowing God is affirmed as an absolute certainty.

For if thou shalt call to wisdom, and utter thy voice for understanding; and if thou shalt seek it as silver, and search diligently for it as for treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. (Prov. 2:3-5, LXX)

And they shall not at all teach every one his fellow citizen, and every one his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them: for I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins I will remember no more. (Jer. 38:34, LXX; Jer. 31:34, Hebrew)

So then, it is possible to know God, but it is impossible to know the essence of God.

Whenever we speak of God, we speak of God's essence and His energies. Although we can never know the essence of God, we can know the energies of God. The essence of God and the energies of God are God.

We do not dissect God into parts, however, as a biologist would do with a frog. We do not separate God's essence from His energies. For one thing, we cannot do that. It is an impossible task. We, however, are able to know the energies of God.

Some examples of God's energies are love, wisdom, understanding, power, truth, mercy, justice, and wrath.

St. Maximus the Confessor said that we know God by participation. God is love. (I John 4:8,16) When we love others, we participate in God's love and know God.

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. (I John 4:7,8)

It is possible to know God's love. St. John wrote:

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. (I John 4:16)

St. Paul said that "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." (Rom. 5:5)

God is wisdom. St. Paul called Christ "the Wisdom of God." (I Cor. 1:24) Jesus Christ claimed to be God.

I and My Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from My Father; for which of those works do ye stone Me? The Jews answered Him, saying, For a good work we stone Thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that Thou, being a Man, makest Thyself God. (St. John 10:30-33)

So then, the Wisdom of God claims to be God and the Wisdom of God is God. God is Wisdom. St. James wrote:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:5)

To obtain wisdom from God is to obtain God. Those who have God's wisdom participate in one of God's energies. The same holds true for understanding. In the passage previously quoted from Proverbs, it said that those who seek for wisdom and understanding like searching for silver "understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." (Prov. 2:3-5, LXX)

St. Paul also called Christ "the Power of God" (I Cor. 1:24) and, as we have already seen, Christ claims to be God. So, the Power of God is God and God is Power. The Holy Prophet Jeremiah wrote:

The Lord made the Earth by His power, preparing the world by His wisdom, by His understanding He stretched out the heaven. (Jer. 28:15, LXX; Jer. 51:15, Hebrew)

Tertullian quoted this verse in his writings.

Do not be willing so to cover God with flattery, as to contend that He produced by His mere appearance and simple approach so many vast substances, instead of rather forming them by His own energies. For this is proved by Jeremiah when he says, “God hath made the earth by His power, He hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by His understanding.” (Jer. 28:15, LXX; Jer. 51:15, Hebrew) These are the energies by the stress of which He made this universe. (Against Hermogenes, chapter XLV, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 502, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

Tertullian called God's power, wisdom, and understanding His energies. Clement of Alexandria wrote:

For if we have as our teacher Him that filled the universe with His holy energies in creation, salvation, beneficence, legislation, prophecy, teaching, we have the Teacher from whom all instruction comes. (Exhortation to the Heathen, chapter 11, by Clement of Alexandria, 153-217 A.D., vol. 2, p. 203, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

In the Wisdom of Solomon, it says:

For Thou lovest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which Thou hast made: for never wouldest Thou have made any thing, if Thou hadst hated it. (Wisd. 11:24)

God created everything in love. Love is an energy of God. God's love was involved in creation. In the Psalms it says: "Thy mercy, O Lord, endures for ever." (Psalm 137:8, LXX) Jesus said that God is merciful. (St. Luke 6:36) God has always been merciful and always will be merciful. King David called God "my Mercy." (Psalm 58:17, LXX; 143:2, LXX) God is mercy. Mercy is God. In I Esdras, it says that Truth is all-powerful and eternal.

As for the Truth, it endureth, and is always strong; it liveth and conquereth for evermore. (I Esdras 4:38)

Great is Truth, and mighty above all things. (I Esdras 4:41)

Jesus Christ, who is God, claimed to be the Truth.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. (St. John 14:6)

St. Peter called the Holy Spirit God.

But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? “While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:1-4, NKJV)

St. John said that the Holy Spirit is Truth.

And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. (I John 5:6)

So then, God is Truth. In the Psalms it says:

For Thy mercy is great above the heavens, and Thy truth reaches to the clouds. (Psalm 107:4, LXX)

It also says:

For the Lord is good, His mercy is for ever; and His truth endures to generation and generation. (Psalm 99:5, LXX)

Truth and mercy are eternal. They are uncreated. They are God's energies. When we are merciful to others, we participate in God's mercy and behave like His children.

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. (St. Luke 6:35,36)

When we find truth and cling to it and practice it, we participate in God's energies, too. God's wrath is also one of His energies. It is intended to deter us from sin so that we will stay on the path to eternal life. Whenever we experience God's wrath, we should repent and try to live a life pleasing to God.

We can see God's energies in His creation.

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. (Psalm 18:1, LXX)

Surely vain are all men by nature, who are ignorant of God, and could not out of the good things that are seen know Him that is: neither by considering the works did they acknowledge the Workmaster; but deemed either fire, or wind, or the swift air, or the circle of the stars, or the violent water, or the lights of heaven, to be the gods which govern the world. With whose beauty if they being delighted took them to be gods; let them know how much better the Lord of them is: for the First Author of Beauty hath created them. But if they were astonished at their power and virtue, let them understand by them, how much mightier He is that made them. For by the greatness and beauty of the creatures proportionably the Maker of them is seen. (Wisd. 13:1-5)

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.  For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. (Rom. 1:19,20)

Through beholding the energies of God and participating in them we can know God.

I have mentioned some things about Jesus Christ being God and the Holy Spirit being God in this blog. I have also pointed out in a previous blog that there is only one God. We Christians do not worship three Gods. We worship one God who is three distinct Persons. We call the three Persons who are God the Holy Trinity. It is important that one understand some things about the Holy Trinity if one desires to know God. I will say more about the Holy Trinity in future blogs.

Steve

Bibliography

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

What is God Made Of?

The last time I checked there were 112 chemical elements known to man. These elements join together to form molecules of new substances. Everything that we see is made of some substance. Boards are made of wood. Plates are made of porcelain. Curtains are made of cloth. Spoons and forks are made of stainless steel. Tires are made of rubber. The question, then, arises: What is God made of?

The answer to this question is for one thing God is not made. He is uncreated. He created everything out of nothing. That is what we learn from the Second Book of Maccabees.

I beseech thee, my son, look upon the Heaven and the Earth, and all that is therein, and consider that God made them of things that were not; and so was mankind made likewise. (II Macc. 7:28)

In the 89th Psalm it says:

Before the mountains existed, and before the Earth and the world were formed, even from age to age, Thou art. (Psalm 89:2, LXX)

In Isaiah it says:

Who has wrought and done these things? He has called it who called it from the generations of old; I God, the first and to all futurity, I AM. (Isaiah 41:4, LXX)

and:

Hear Me, O Jacob, and Israel whom I call; I am the first, and I endure for ever. (Isaiah 48:12, LXX)

In this book, God calls Himself "the eternal God."

And now, hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard? The eternal God, the God that formed the ends of the Earth, shall not hunger, nor be weary, and there is no searching of His understanding. (Isaiah 40:28, LXX)

In Job it says:

Behold, the Mighty One is great, and we shall not know Him: the number of His years is even infinite. (Job 36:26, LXX)

God has no beginning. Therefore, He is uncreated. He is eternal and endures for ever. Therefore, He will always exist.

Since God created everything out of "things that were not," we should not think that He created things out of Himself. Everything that exists has substance, but nothing that God created has the same substance that God has. God is of an entirely different substance than all that He created. It is an eternal substance that "endures for ever" because God is eternal.

In the Gospel according to St. John, it says: "No man hath seen God at any time." (St. John 1:18) Whatever the substance is of which God consists is invisible to the human eye. Actually, it is an unknown substance. It does not consist of any of the 112 known chemical elements. They were made by God of "things that were not." No one knows what is the substance of which God consists. The divine essence or substance is unknowable. Indeed, no one will ever find out what it is.

Steve

Defining God

Having established the limits of the Canon of Holy Scripture, we are now ready to see what the record of God's revelation of Himself to man says about God. There are positive assertions about God in Holy Scripture and there are negative assertions about God in it. Whenever we define God in terms of who He is, we are using cataphatic theology. When we define God in terms of what He is not, we are using apophatic theology.

There are many positive assertions about God in Holy Scripture. God is a spirit. (St. John 4:24) God is holy. (Lev. 20:26) God is love. (I John 4:8,16) God is truth. (I Esdras 4:41; St. John 1:1; 8:58; 10:30-33; 14:6-9) God is just. (Job 34:17, LXX; St. John 10:30-33; Acts 3:14; I John 1:9) God is righteous. (Psalm 10:7, LXX) God is merciful. (St. Luke 6:36) God is kind. (Titus 3:4) God is meek. (St. Matt. 11:29; St. John 10:30-33) God is good. (St. Mark 10:18) God is wisdom. (I Cor. 1:24; St. John 10:30-33) God is all-knowing. (Dan. 1:42, LXX; Susannah 42, Protestant Apocrypha) God is all-powerful. (Job 10:13, LXX; 42:2, LXX; St. Mark 10:27; I Esdras 4:35,38; St. John 14:6-9) God is omnipresent. (Psalm 138:7-12, LXX) God is the Creator. (II Macc. 7:28; St. John 1:1-4; Gen. 1)

There are also many negative assertions about God. God is not a liar. (Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18) God is not fully comprehensible. (Rom. 11:33) God is not a creature. (Acts 17:29; Wisdom 13:1-5; II Macc. 7:28; St. John 1:1-4; Gen. 1) God is not visible. (St. John 1:18; I Tim. 6:16)

There are some people who have written books on systematic theology. Systematic theologians try to systematically analyze and explain God. What a biologist does to a frog, they try to do with God. They try to break Him down into parts and analyze how God works and thinks.

The Orthodox Church has no such thing as a systematic theology. God is the Creator. He creates entire galaxies. Actually, He is responsible for creating billions of them. Each galaxy contains billions of stars with several planets revolving around them. The universe is vast. It is so vast that we cannot even begin to map it out in its entirety. If we cannot map out the entire universe that God has created out of nothing (II Macc. 7:28), then how can we map out the mind of God? We cannot do that! God is far bigger than we are. "His ways are past finding out." (Rom. 11:33) So, "who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him?" (I Cor. 2:16) "The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." (I Cor. 2:11) Systematic theologians are wasting their time trying to do the impossible — that is, explain God in minute detail!

In the Orthodox Church, we have a dogmatic theology and a mystical theology, but we do not have any such thing as a systematic theology. There is much about God than remains a mystery. What we know for a fact to be true about God is classified as a dogma of the Church. Those dogmas we believe.

Steve

God Among Us

In the Old Testament Scriptures, there are many recorded instances wherein God has revealed Himself to man. In the first chapter of Genesis, God gave the first man and the first woman a commandment. He told them:

Increase and multiply, and fill the Earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the seas and flying creatures of heaven, and all the cattle and all the Earth, and all the reptiles that creep on the Earth. (Gen. 1:28, LXX)

He also told them:

Behold I have given to you every seed-bearing herb sowing seed which is upon all the Earth, and every tree which has in itself the fruit of seed that is sown, to you it shall be for food. And to all the wild beasts of the Earth, and to all the flying creatures of heaven, and to every reptile creeping on the Earth, which has in itself the breath of life, even every green plant for food. (Gen. 1:29,30, LXX)

and:

Of every tree which is in the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil — of it ye shall not eat, but in whatsoever day ye eat of it, ye shall surely die. (Gen. 2:16,17, LXX)

God was communicating with man from the very moment that He created him. The very first commandments of God had to do with procreation, vocation, and food. God told man to procreate and fill the Earth with his offspring. He said to "multiply." He wanted man's offspring to procreate as well. He told him to subdue the Earth and have dominion over it. He wanted man to govern the planet we live on and rule over all of the wildlife that is on it. He told man that he may eat every herb and from all of the trees except one -- the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

After man chose the path of disobedience and became an outcast from the Garden of Eden, God continued to communicate with man. It is said that Enoch, who is of the seventh generation from the first man, walked with God and God took him. (Gen. 5:22-24)

God revealed Himself to Noah. (Gen. 6:9-21) He told him to build an ark and take two of each species of unclean animals and seven of each species of clean animals on board the ark with him. (Gen. 6:14; 7:2,3) God appeared to Abraham. (Gen. 12:7) He appeared to Moses. (Ex. 3:2-22) He revealed Himself to many different individuals in many ways.

In Baruch, it says:

This is our God, and there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of Him. He hath found out all the way of knowledge, and hath given it unto Jacob His servant, and to Israel His beloved. Afterward did He shew Himself upon Earth, and conversed with men. (Baruch 3:35-37)

This is a prophecy about God living among men and conversing with them. The prophet described this prophecy in the past tense although it was not fulfilled until many hundred years later.

The fulfillment of this prophecy has already occurred over two thousand years ago. God entered into History as a Man. He retained His Divinity, but also partook of our humanity. God walked among us. The history of God walking among us is documented in four books called the Gospels. There are only four that Orthodox Christians recognize as being authoritative and trustworthy: the Gospels according to Sts. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

In St. John's Gospel it says:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. (St. John 1:1-4)

and:

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (St. John 1:14)

God was made flesh and dwelt among us. In future blogs, I will talk more about God and His revelation of Himself to us.

Steve

God and Creation

There are various opinions about God and the universe. Some believe that the universe is God. This view is called pantheism. Others say that God created everything, set everything in motion, and distanced Himself from all of His creation by not interacting with it. That view is called deism. Others say that God created everything and is involved in His creation. That is the view of the monotheists.

If the view of the pantheists is correct, then everything is God and all of nature should be worshiped as God. Treating anything with contempt, then, would be a sacrilegious act, deserving divine judgment. Each individual, according to this view, would deserve to be worshiped as part of the Divine Entity. Any evil deeds done by anyone would, then, be part of the divine will.

The monotheists, on the other hand, regard all of nature as something separate from God. The view held by most monotheists is that God created everything out of nothing. This doctrine can be found expressly stated in the Second Book of Maccabees.

I beseech thee, my son, look upon the heaven and the Earth, and all that is therein, and consider that God made them of things that were not; and so was mankind made likewise. (II Macc. 7:28)

The Second Book of Maccabees is included in the Christian Canon of Holy Scripture by the Council of Carthage (419 A.D.) in its 24th Canon and by the 85th Canon of the Canons of the Holy Apostles. The Quinisext Council (692 A.D.), an extension of the Fifth and Sixth Ecumenical Councils of the Church, adopted these canons in its Second Canon.*

God, according to most monotheists, brought everything from non-existence into existence.

If the view of the deists is correct, then there is no divine intervention in the affairs of men. God just simply watches what happens and does not attempt to influence our actions in any way.

Monotheists disagree with this view of the deists respecting God and His creation. God, according to them, takes enough interest in His creation to interact with it and try to influence it for good.**

Most monotheists believe that God reveals Himself to people in various ways. They believe there is a collection of Sacred Writings that contain God's revelation to man. For the Jews, this is the Old Testament as approved by the Council of Jamnia in 100 A.D. For Muslims, this is the Koran. For Christians, it is the Old and New Testaments. There is a difference of opinion among Christians as to which books make up the Old Testament canon. Protestants adopt the same books that were approved by the Jewish Council of Jamnia in 100 A.D. Roman Catholics go by the decision of the Council of Trent (1545-1564). For Orthodox Christians, the Canon of the Old Testament consists of all of the books found in the Septuagint and approved by the Quinisext Council (692 A.D.) in its Second Canon. It accepted the various canons of certain bishops, the Canons of the Holy Apostles, the canons of the Council of Carthage (419 A.D.), and the canons of some other regional councils of the Church. Among Christians, the Orthodox have the largest collection of books in their Old Testament.

The evidence for God's interaction with men is found in various recorded miracles in the Sacred Writings of Christians. There are also various events in history that have been attributed to divine intervention. Many of these events are recorded in the lives of the Saints.

As for the Orthodox Christian view regarding God and His creation, Orthodox say that God transcends time and space, but He is immanent. God can be known, but not fully known. Nature provides us with proof of His existence. In the Wisdom of Solomon, it says:

Surely vain are all men by nature, who are ignorant of God, and could not out of the good things that are seen know Him that is: neither by considering the works did they acknowledge the Workmaster; but deemed either fire, or wind, or the swift air, or the circle of the stars, or the violent water, or the lights of heaven, to be the gods which govern the world. With whose beauty if they being delighted took them to be gods; let them know how much better the Lord of them is: for the First Author of beauty hath created them. But if they were astonished at their power and virtue, let them understand by them, how much mightier He is that made them. For by the greatness and beauty of the creatures proportionably the Maker of them is seen. (Wisd. 13:1-5)

The Wisdom of Solomon is one of the Five Books of Solomon approved as canonical Scripture by the Council of Carthage (419 A.D.) in its 24th Canon. The canons of this regional council were adopted by the Quinisext Council (692 A.D.) in its Second Canon.***

God can be seen in the greatness and beauty of His creation. This same doctrine is taught in the 18th Psalm:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day to day utters speech, and night to night proclaims knowledge. There are no speeches or words, in which their voices are not heard. Their voice is gone out into all the Earth, and their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 18:1-4, LXX; Psalm 19:1-4, Hebrew)

It is also found in St. Paul's writings:

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. (Rom. 1:19-20)

God reveals His power, glory, and beauty to us through the things that He has created. There is evidence of His intelligence and wisdom in the multitude of creatures and things that make up the created order. In the 103rd Psalm it says:

How great are Thy works, O Lord! In wisdom hast Thou wrought them all. (Psalm 103:24, LXX; Psalm 104:24, Hebrew)

So then, to sum up what has been said, God created everything out of nothing. The created universe is not God, but it reveals to us the glory, power, wisdom, and beauty of God. God transcends His creation, but He still interacts with it. There are records of His interactions with the created universe in the Sacred Writings of Christians and in the lives of the Saints.

Steve

* See Canons of the Holy Apostles, Canon 85, vol. 7, p. 505, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Canon XXIV of the Council of Carthage, 419 A.D., vol. 14, pp. 453-454, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, and Canon II of the Quinisext Council, 692 A.D., vol. 14, p. 361, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series.

** God loves His creation.

For Thou lovest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which Thou hast made: for never wouldest Thou have made any thing, if Thou hadst hated it. (Wisd. 11:24)

If God loves all that He made, then He is not just an indifferent onlooker. He takes an active interest in what happens in the lives of His creatures. So, it is reasonable to say that He interacts with His creation that He created and loves. God can and does perform miracles.

*** See Canon XXIV of the Council of Carthage, 419 A.D., vol. 14, pp. 453-454, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, and Canon II of the Quinisext Council, 692 A.D., vol. 14, p. 361, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series. Blessed Augustine, a bishop within the North African jurisdiction of which Carthage was a part, said that the Five Books of Solomon are: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus), and the Wisdom of Solomon. Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon are classified with the other three books that, according to tradition, were actually written by King Solomon, not because they were written by Solomon, but because they have "a certain resemblance of style." See On Christian Doctrine, Book II, chapter 8, by Blessed Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D., vol. 2, pp. 538-539, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series.

Bibliography

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

How Many Gods are There?

I remember watching the Science Fiction television series, Battlestar Galactica. It was about an advanced human civilization that was in a prolonged war with a race of robots called Cylons. The humans had a polytheistic religion. They worshiped the Lords of Kobol. In their conversations with each other, they often spoke of "the gods" and not God. Unlike the humans in this Science Fiction show, most advanced Earth cultures are monotheistic and not polytheistic. Monotheists say that there is only one God.

There are three major monotheistic religions in the world today: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Christians and Jews often cite the Old Testament passage in Deuteronomy to prove that there is only one God.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deut. 6:4,5)

There are passages in the New Testament that also teach that there is only one God.

But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him. (I Cor. 8:6)

Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. (Gal. 3:20)

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. (James 2:19)

These passages are considered to be authoritative to Christians, since they come from their Sacred Scriptures. In the Koran, it says:

This is a clear message for mankind in order that they may be warned thereby, and that they may know that He is only One God, and that men of understanding may take heed. (Koran 14:52, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran, p. 190)

Muslims believe that this is authoritative because they believe the Koran is a divine revelation of God.

Although Jews, Christians, and Muslims may disagree on the subject of what constitutes the Sacred Scriptures for man to read, learn, and understand, they all agree in saying that there is only one true God.

In the Third Book of Maccabees, God is called the Supreme God.

But the Jews, at their last gasp, since the time had run out, stretched their hands toward heaven and with most tearful supplication and mournful dirges implored the supreme God to help them again at once. (III Macc. 5:25, RSV)

The Canons of the Holy Apostles called the Third Book of Maccabees "holy and venerable." (Canons of the Holy Apostles, Canon 85, vol. 7, p. 505, Ante-Nicene Fathers) The Quinisext Council (692 A.D.), an extension of the Fifth and Sixth Ecumenical Councils of the Church, accepted the Canons of the Holy Apostles in its Second Canon. (See vol. 14, p. 361, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series.) So, this holy and venerable book of the ancient Christians calls God "the supreme God."

Lactantius wrote:

Who can doubt that he would be a most powerful king who should have the government of the whole world? And not without reason, since all things which everywhere exist would belong to him, since all resources from all quarters would be centred in him alone. But if more than one divide the government of the world, undoubtedly each will have less power and strength, since every one must confine himself within his prescribed portion. In the same manner also, if there are more gods than one, they will be of less weight, others having in themselves the same power. But the nature of excellence admits of greater perfection in him in whom the whole is, than in him in whom there is only a small part of the whole. But God, if He is perfect, as He ought to be, cannot but be one, because He is perfect, so that all things may be in Him. Therefore the excellences and powers of the gods must necessarily be weaker, because so much will be wanting to each as shall be in the others; and so the more there are, so much the less powerful will they be. Why should I mention that this highest power and divine energy is altogether incapable of division? For whatever is capable of division must of necessity be liable to destruction also. But if destruction is far removed from God, because He is incorruptible and eternal, it follows that the divine power is incapable of division. Therefore God is one, if that which admits of so great power can be nothing else. (The Divine Institutes, Book I, chapter 3, by Lactantius, 260-330 A.D., vol. 7, pp. 11-12, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

So then, if there are more gods than one, then each god would have less power than what would be the case if there is only one God. Each god would have to divide the power and authority among themselves.

Ancient Christians had a saying: "God is not, if He is not one."* To say that there is not one God is to say that there is no Supreme God. The nature of God Himself is to be supreme. If He has to share his power and authority with other gods, then He cannot be supreme. Therefore, He cannot be God, but only one of the gods.

Since there is only one God who is supreme, we should pray only to that one God -- and not to any other so-called "deity.".

Steve

* But the Christian verity has distinctly declared this principle, “God is not, if He is not one;” because we more properly believe that that has no existence which is not as it ought to be. In order, however, that you may know that God is one, ask what God is, and you will find Him to be not otherwise than one. (Five Books Against Marcion, Book I, chapter 3, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 273, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

Bibliography

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

The Meaning of the Glorious Koran, translated by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall, New American Library, 1633 Broadway, New York, New York 10019, copyright under the Berne Convention

Is There a God?

I remember back in my college days I had a professor that apparently did not believe in the existence of God. Whenever a student in the class would make a comment in class and use the word, "God," he would ask, "Whose god?" I think that he believed that God was a part of a person's imagination and not a real entity.

I had another professor in college that taught a course on the New Testament. On the very first day of class, he told everyone in the class, "God is just as real to me as you are."

I think that I share the same convictions about the existence of God that my New Testament professor did. For me, God is real. There really is a God that I can talk to and who hears my prayers.

There are various philosophical arguments for the existence of God. One such argument is called the cosmological argument. This argument states that since every event is caused by something else, there must have been Someone who caused the first event. The One who caused the first event is God. Then, there is Immanuel Kant's moral argument. He said that since there is a universal moral code inherent in all people, there must be an External Lawgiver. That Lawgiver is God. Another argument is the teleological argument. It says that since there is order and arrangement in the universe, there must be some Intelligent Being who is responsible for that order and arrangement. That Intelligent Being who is the fountainhead of order in the universe and is responsible for it is God. The ontological argument is another argument for the existence of God. Anselm of Canterbury used it to prove His existence. He said that since there are different degrees of perfection in nature, there must be Absolute Perfection. That which has absolute perfection is God.

Another argument that I learned while I was involved in an Evangelical Christian group during my college days is the incomplete knowledge argument. What a member of this group of Christians would do whenever he or she encountered someone who denied the existence of God was to ask that person if he or she knew all the knowledge that was in the universe. Of course, no one does. So, the atheist would have to answer no. Then the Evangelical Christian would ask, "Is it possible that somewhere within all of that knowledge that you do not know there is a God?" To any thinking person the answer would have to be yes. So now, the atheist is no longer an atheist, but an agnostic.

There are probably other philosophical arguments for the existence of God, but no one can discover God through philosophical reasoning. The only way to really know God is through personal encounter with Him.

Let us use an example here to illustrate a truth. There is a person named Nick who lives on such and such a street in such and such a place in Georgia. (I do not want to use actual examples. I just want to illustrate an idea.) I know this person, Nick, and have talked to him. He is very real to me. There are people who live in Minnesota who have never met Nick and they do not know that he actually does exist. They may even doubt that he actually does exist or say that he does not exist at all. Does their failure to know Nick negate his existence? No! Of course, not!

The same holds true for God. Someone might doubt the existence of God. They might even think that He does not exist at all, but that does not mean that He does not exist. It just simply means that they do not know Him.

The first step in getting to know God is to pray to Him. One must start treating Him as a Reality that can be known and not just merely the proof of some philosophical reasoning. St. James said:

Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. (St. James 4:8)

The second step is to try to find out how He wants you to live your life and start trying to live the way He wants you to. St. John said:

And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him. (I John 2:3,4)

So, for someone who does not know for certain that there is a God, but would like to meet Him, I would say, "Try talking to Him on a daily basis and try finding out what kind of a life it is that pleases Him. Then, try as much as possible to live the kind of life He wants you to live." These are the very first steps in building a relationship with God.

I will write more on this subject of knowing God in some later blogs.

Steve