In Christianity, we believe that there is only one God and that He exists as such in three Persons. This is known as the doctrine of the Trinity. Each person in the Trinity is separate from the others as a Person, but they each share the same divine essence or nature. The one God we worship is made up of the Father, the Son (Jesus the Christ), and the Holy Spirit. There are no other gods. Here are 10 things Christians believe about God the Father.
- God is eternal. God is the most perfect and intelligent Being. He exists outside of creation and acts within the created universe in time and history. God does not need creation in order to exist or be God, but all things (including our very lives) were brought into existence by Him. Therefore, in order for us to exist, God must exist. God has no beginning or end. We cannot fully comprehend Him, but we can know what He has revealed to us about Himself, His nature and His character.
- God is a spiritual Being (John 4:24). God is invisible and we cannot look upon the glory of God the Father. He is alive and though He is made of spirit, He has a nature and emotions that show Him to be a personal Being. God is not just a cosmic force.
- God is all-knowing (Proverbs 15:11). God knows all things actual and possible. He knows all things past, present and future. God’s knowledge never changes. His knowledge is perfect and, as a result, His Word is always true. God is perfectly wise.
- God is all-powerful. He can do anything He wills to do. His actions are always consistent with His character, and His character is good. God’s goodness is displayed by His mercy, grace and love.
- God does not change (James 1:17). This means that His actions are consistent with His will. God never does anything in opposition to His will. He does not contradict Himself. Additionally, God always remains rightly in control of His emotions. They do not get the best of Him the way our feelings sometimes get the best of us.
- God is perfectly holy (Isaiah 57:15). God is separate from all moral evil and sin. He cannot look upon sin with favour. He does not approve of sin. His holiness requires judgment. Our sin requires a sacrifice. Because God perfectly loves humanity, His love is the foundation for the decision to make the sacrifice Himself for our sins. We can only stand before God without facing His wrath, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God is just and righteous. He always does what is best for His creation. He is fair and He is always right.
- God is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). God is the only Being who is worthy of worship. No other created being or made-up being deserves to be honoured the way that God should be honoured. God protects that honour. His jealousy is not sinful. Rather, His jealousy causes Him to hate sin and love justice.
- God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have eternally existed together. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father. But they are all equally God. The Father is 100 per cent God, the Son is 100 per cent God, and the Spirit is 100 per cent God.
- All three members of the Trinity are present in everything that God does. God the Father always works by the Son, who works through the Holy Spirit. The Son desires to accomplish the will of the Father and the Spirit works through the Son to accomplish that will. For example, God the Father desired for humanity to find salvation. The Son willingly came to earth and took humanity upon Himself through the Holy Spirit. Then, He became our sacrifice on the cross, but after His death, was resurrected in the power of the Holy Spirit to show that the Father accepted the sacrifice of the Son. Now, God the Father, in His holiness, can look upon our lives covered in Christ’s blood without having to pour out His wrath on us.
- The Church has embraced belief in the Trinity since the earthly ministry of Christ. The term ‘Trinity’ was coined by an early church leader named Tertullian. But the ideas behind the term find root in the Old Testament implicitly and in the New Testament more specifically. Early church pastors describe the belief in the Trinity, and the first Christian Creed teaches that God is made up of the Father, Son, and Spirit. This belief has always been part of the teachings of the Church.
