bgamers900/questgpt huggingface dataset:
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: What does it mean that God is good?
Answer: Jesus declared, “No one is good—except God alone” (Luke 18:19). First John 1:5 tells us that “God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.” To say that God is good means that God always acts in accordance to what is right, true, and good. Goodness is part of God’s nature, and He cannot contradict His nature. Holiness and righteousness are part of God’s nature; He cannot do anything that is unholy or unrighteous. God is the standard of all that is good.The fact that God is good means that He has no evil in Him, His intentions and motivations are always good, He always does what is right, and the outcome of His plan is always good (see Genesis 50:20). There is nothing unpleasant, evil, or dark in Him. The Bible teaches that God’s goodness extends from His nature to everything that He does (Psalm 119:68). “The LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5).Everything that God made was originally good: “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31; cf. 1 Timothy 4:4). God’s goodness is showcased in the Law He gave to Israel; the Law is holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12). “Every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). God can create only what is good, because He is fully good.God did not create evil (Habakkuk 1:13; 1 John 1:5). Rather, evil is the absence of goodness; it is whatever God is not. Because of His goodness, God abhors sin and will judge it some day (Romans 2:5). It is never the will of our good God for us to sin: “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone” (James 1:13).God’s goodness should lead to thankfulness on our part: “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1; cf. 1 Chronicles 16:34; Psalm 118:1; 136). However, people do not naturally want to follow or thank God. Instead, “people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). In the Old Testament, the Israelites repeatedly rejected God’s good Law, forgot His goodness toward them, and were unfaithful to Him: “They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them” (Psalm 78:11).Ultimately, God’s goodness is seen in His plan to redeem us from sin. The gospel is “good news.” In His goodness, God sent His Son to become the perfect and blameless sacrifice so we could be forgiven of our sins. God does not want “anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), and it is “the goodness of God [that] leadeth thee to repentance” (Romans 2:4, KJV).There is only One who is fully and truly good—God. This good God invites us to seek him and to “taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him” (Psalm 34:8).
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: Is God logical?
Answer: There are two ways to interpret this question. One is to ask whether or not belief in God or the idea of God is logical. The other is to ask if God Himself is a logical being. The answer to both is, “Yes, God is logical,” for similar reasons.It’s logical to believe in God because the existence of God provides consistent answers to many of the more important philosophical questions asked by human beings. For instance, we know that there cannot be an infinite amount of past time; it is illogical to claim we are currently at the “end” of an infinite string of moments. Therefore, there had to be some beginning moment. Therefore, there has to be something, some cause, that is itself non-caused. Logically, this is God.Another reason belief in God is logical is that the universe appears to be carefully crafted to allow life. Not only that, but this arrangement allows for the kind of life that is complex enough to be self-aware. Ultimately, there are only two explanations for this: some kind of God or random luck. And punting to “luck” has never been a very logical answer.The fact that human beings think of “logic” at all also supports the idea of God as a rational belief. If God does not exist, then there is no intelligence, purpose, or meaning in anything. Intelligence, purpose, and meaning are simply illusions created by physics and chemistry. However, if there is no God, it would also mean our reason, intellect, and learning are mere illusions of physics. Lacking God, there is no logic. There is no reason to think our thoughts are meaningful or that they actually reflect reality. Our thoughts may be good for survival or simply the results of randomness, but they can’t be relied on as true. In short, the only way to believe that there is such a thing as logic is for one to believe in some kind of God.Another key point is that those who believe in the laws of logic are confident in something objective, eternal, and non-material. Any objection that God is immaterial, eternal, or objective would be hypocritical coming from someone who puts stock in the laws of logic.We also know that God Himself is logical, based on His words and His actions. First and foremost, God acts in a logical way: He plans, communicates, discusses, and acts. God even speaks of “reasoning” with human beings (Isaiah 1:18). He distinguishes between truth and falsehood, a core aspect of basic logic (John 7:18). God does not always act in ways human beings would prefer, but this does not mean His actions are “illogical.”Also, the fact that there are certain things God “cannot” do, such as lie or change, is evidence of His logical nature. A truly perfect being, by definition, cannot change or he ceases to be perfect. This means God cannot contradict His own nature, or else He would be breaking the laws of logic.Of course, all of these ideas involving God and logic could be explored in much more detail, but that would require more space than is available here.
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: Could God create a rock so heavy He could not lift it?
Answer: This question is frequently asked by skeptics of God, the Bible, Christianity, etc. If God can create a rock that He cannot lift, then God is not omnipotent. If God cannot create a rock so heavy that He cannot lift it, then God is not omnipotent. According to this argument, omnipotence is self-contradictory. Therefore, God cannot be omnipotent. So, the question, could God create a rock so heavy He could not lift it? The quick answer is “No.” But the explanation is far more important to understand than the answer...This question is based on a popular misunderstanding about the definitions of words like “almighty” or “omnipotent.” These terms do not mean that God can do anything. Rather, they describe the amount of God’s power. Power is the ability to effect change - to make something happen. God (being unlimited) has unlimited power, and the Bible affirms this (Job 11:7-11, 37:23; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Revelation 4:8; etc.). Therefore, God can do whatever is possible to be done. God cannot, however, do that which is actually impossible. This is because true impossibility is not based on the amount of power one has, it is based on what is really possible. The truly impossible is not made possible by adding more power. Therefore, unless context indicates otherwise (e.g. Matthew 19:26 where man’s ability is being shown in contrast to God’s), impossibility means the same thing whether or not God is involved.So, the first part of the question is based on a false idea—that God being almighty means that He can do anything. In fact, the Bible itself lists things God cannot do - like lie or deny Himself (Hebrews 6:18; 2 Timothy 2:13; Titus 1:2). The reason He cannot do these things is because of His nature and the nature of reality itself. God cannot do what is not actually possible to be done, like creating a two-sided triangle, or a married bachelor. Just because words can be strung together this way does not make the impossible possible—these things are contradictions, they are truly impossible in reality. Now, what about this rock? A rock would have to be infinitely large to defeat an infinite amount of lifting power. But an infinite rock is a contradiction since material objects cannot be infinite. Only God is infinite. There cannot be two infinites. So the question is actually asking if God can make a contradiction—which He cannot.
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: Is there anything God cannot do?
Answer: On a clear night, look up at the stars in the sky. Genesis 1 records that God made all of them! Imagine the power in just one star! But it is not just about raw power. There is intelligence and design packed in our universe down to the smallest DNA strand, down to the smallest subatomic particle. God’s power and wisdom are beyond our comprehension. That is why the LORD said to Abraham in Genesis 18:14, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” That is why the LORD said to Moses when Moses questioned how God could possibly supply meat to several million Israelites in the wilderness, “Is the LORD’s arm too short?” (Numbers 11:23). That is why Jonathan told his armor bearer that the LORD didn’t need a lot of soldiers to get a victory (1 Samuel 14:6).Jeremiah 32:17 states, “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee” (KJV). Even in the spiritual realm, those who seem the farthest from salvation are not impossible for Him to reach (Mark 10:25-27). And as great as His power is, His love and mercy are just as great—even to the point of His willingness to send His own Son to die on the cross of Calvary to pay the penalty for a sinful mankind. He did this so that He, in complete justice, could forgive those who will turn away from self-reliance and sin to reliance upon Christ and His finished work. As parents, it would be far worse to see our children endure torment than go through it ourselves, and yet that is just what God the Father did. John 3:16 declares God’s great love: “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” (KJV). This love was not just for the “good” people (there are none), but for us—a fallen, sinful, unlovely, rebellious people (Romans 3:10-23)—and yet He chose to shower us with His love (Romans 5:6-10) when we didn’t deserve it.The only thing that God cannot do is act contrary to His own character and nature. For example, Titus 1:2 states that He cannot lie. Because He is holy (Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:16), He cannot sin. Because He is just, He cannot merely overlook sin. Because Christ paid the penalty for sin, He is now able to forgive those who put their faith in Christ (Isaiah 53:1-12; Romans 3:26).Truly our God is an awesome God—unchanging, eternal, unlimited in power, in majesty, in knowledge, in wisdom, in love, in mercy, and in holiness. But we are very much like the Israelites who, even after seeing God display His power and love repeatedly, doubted both His love and power as they came face to face with each new trial in their lives (e.g., Numbers 13—14). May God help us to honor Him with dependence and trust in Him through the next “crisis” we face, for He is a “very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1, ESV).
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: What is the immanence of God?
Answer: God’s immanence refers to His presence within His creation. (It is not to be confused with imminence, which refers to the timing of Jesus’ return to earth.) A belief in God’s immanence holds that God is present in all of creation, while remaining distinct from it. In other words, there is no place where God is not. His sovereign control extends everywhere simultaneously.Pantheism and deism twist many people’s view of how God relates to His creation. Pantheists believe that everything is God or is a part of God, making Him equal with His creation and unable to act upon it. Deists hold that God is distinct from His creation but deny that He plays an active role in it. Contrary to these and other false views of God, the Bible says that God is both different from His creation and actively upholding it.Transcendence (God exists outside of space and time) and immanence (God is present within space and time) are both attributes of God. He is both “nearby” and “far away,” according to Jeremiah 23:23. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). That is God’s transcendence. “In him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). That is God’s immanence.God’s omnipresence is closely related to His immanence, and Psalm 139:1-10 describes it in beautiful detail. In the New Testament, Paul declares that God “Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else” and “in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:25, 28). God guides, governs, and provides for His creation, even though He is so far above it (Ephesians 1:11; 4:6).The immanence of God is also supported in the story of the Bible as a whole. The very existence of God’s Word in written form testifies to God’s interest and action in His world. Israel’s survival throughout biblical history and Jesus’ Incarnation bear powerful witness that God is present and involved. He is literally “sustaining all things by His powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3). He is Immanuel, “God with us”; He is immanent.
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: If God is omnipresent, does that mean God is in hell?
Answer: God’s omnipresence is one of His essential attributes. His justice is also essential, and, therefore, it is necessary for Him to punish sinners who do not trust in Jesus for salvation. Thus, we have a God who is referred to as everywhere present yet who maintains a place called hell, described as a place where people are removed from His presence (see Matthew 25:41). Three passages are particularly important to this discussion. First is Psalm 139:7–12, in which David says, "Where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!" Sheol is simply a transliteration of a Hebrew noun that means “the grave” or “the place of the dead.” Sheol is a broad term and is not synonymous with hell, the word commonly used to refer to the eternal place of punishment. Second Thessalonians 1:7–9 says that those who do not know God “will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (emphasis added). Yet Revelation 14:10 says that any who worship the antichrist "will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb" (emphasis added). These two verses are by far the most confusing on this topic because of their apparent contradiction. Even so, there is a rather simple explanation found in the original Greek. In Revelation 14:10, "presence" is a literal translation of the Greek enopion, which means "in the presence of, before." This is a spatial word, suggesting proximity and literal, measurable distances. In contrast, the word translated "presence" in 2 Thessalonians is prosopon, which most commonly refers to a person’s face or outward appearance. Paul in 2 Thessalonians appears to have taken this verbiage directly from Isaiah 2:10 as found in the Septuagint. There are other references to God and His people being "separated," even on earth. Jesus’ cry of agony on the cross is one example (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). Theologian Dr. Louis Berkhof teaches that Paul refers to "a total absence of the favor of God" (, GLH Publishing, V.A.2, 1938). This description of hell would present a more exact opposite to heaven. Heaven provides blessing and wholeness not through being closer spatially to God, but by being in complete fellowship with Him. Hell is associated with a complete lack of blessing due to the severing of any fellowship with God.Ultimately, it appears that God is indeed "present" in hell, or hell is in His presence, depending on how one looks at it. God is and will forever be omnipresent. He will forever know what is happening in hell. However, this fact does not mean that the souls imprisoned there will have a relationship with God or any communication with Him.
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: How old is God?
Answer: Age is a number that represents a span from beginning to end. In order to determine age, there must be a beginning. Human beings count age, beginning with our birthdays. The moment a baby is born, we start counting. It has been seven days since he was born, we say, so he is one week old. Two months old. Four years old. The time of a person’s lifespan always begins at the date of his or her birth.God did not have a beginning; therefore, we cannot assign Him an age. He is outside of time, so the question “how old is God?” is a non sequitur. God created time as part of this universe to mark the passing of seasons and years for us (Genesis 1:14; Psalm 104:19). But He is not subject to time. In the New Testament, He describes Himself as “the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 1:8, 11; 22:13). Alpha is the beginning letter of the Greek alphabet, and omega is the last. In the Old Testament, the Lord describes Himself as “the first and the last” (Isaiah 44:6). God is saying that He is always present at all times. There is no past or future with God. Everything is as though it were occurring right now. That’s hard for us to comprehend since we are so bound by time.When God identified Himself to Moses for the first time, He said that His name was “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). From those Hebrew words, we extract the more familiar name for God: YAHWEH. By saying that His name was “I AM,” God was teaching Moses that He was incomparable to any other. He is above, beyond, and all-encompassing. Time cannot confine or define God. In revealing His name, God made a statement of His own self-sufficiency, self-existence, and immediate presence.God always has been and always will be. He has no beginning and will have no end. Asking “How old is God?” is an example of a category mistake—imputing a quality to something that properly belongs only to things of another category. Other category mistakes are evident in questions such as “How long has this gravel been dead?” (it was never alive) and “What does the color orange sound like?” (colors are not sensed audibly). The question “How old is God?” assumes that God should be categorized as having age, but He is timeless and does not belong in the same category as things subject to time.Jesus had a physical birth on earth around the year 5 BC, but that was simply the incarnation of the eternal Son of God, who exists outside of time. The Lord existed before His physical incarnation. In fact, the Bible says the earth was created by Him and through Him (Colossians 1:16; John 1:1–3). Before Abraham was born, Jesus said, “I am” (John 8:58).In short, God does not have an age. He is timeless. He is eternal (Genesis 21:33). He holds the universe together, and without Him nothing would exist (John 1:3). If God had an age, that would mean He had a beginning and there was a time when there was no God, and such a thing is impossible. Because God has always been, we can trust that He will always be and the future is secure for those who put their trust in Him (Psalm 9:10; Proverbs 30:5).
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: Does God know the future?
Answer: The Bible is always completely accurate, including its prophetic content. Consider, for instance, the prophecy that Christ would be born in Bethlehem of Judea, as foretold in Micah 5:2. Micah gave his prophecy around 700 B.C. Where was Christ born seven centuries later? In Bethlehem of Judea (Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 2:1-12).Peter Stoner, in Science Speaks, has shown that coincidence in prophetic Scripture is ruled out by the science of probability. Taking just eight prophecies concerning Christ, Stoner found that the chance that any one man might have fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 10 to the 17th power. That would be 1 chance in 100,000,000,000,000,000. Of course, Jesus fulfilled many more than eight prophecies! There is no doubt that Bible is totally accurate in foretelling the future.Since He can foretell the future, God certainly knows the future. Isaiah recorded these words about God: “Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:9-10). God is the only One who can stand at the beginning and accurately declare the end.God is omniscient; He knows everything actual and possible. God is also eternal (Psalm 90:2). As the eternal, omniscient God, He has lived our yesterdays, our todays, and our tomorrows, the past, present, and future. God is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End (Revelation 21:6).There are still prophecies in the Bible that await fulfillment. Because God knows the future, we can count on all the prophecies to eventually be fulfilled. Events are taking place in God’s calendar according to His plan. We know who holds the future—the one true, personal, eternal, and all-knowing God of the Bible.
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: What was God doing before He created the universe?
Answer: Our finite minds find it hard to comprehend that before the universe was created, God existed alone. We know from John 1:1 that Jesus also existed: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The preincarnate Christ was intimately united with the Father, so as to partake of His glory and to be appropriately called God. He has Himself explained it in John 17:5: “And now Father, glorify Me with Yourself with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”We also know that the Holy Spirit was present before we were created. Genesis 1:2 describes the Spirit “hovering over the face” of the dark and formless earth. So, before time even existed, God existed in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Trinity existed in perfect harmony and flawlessness, having all they needed in one another. David said in Psalms 16:11 that "joy and pleasures forever more" are in the presence of God. That means to be in the presence of God carries with it an overwhelming sense of joy, fulfillment, and pleasure. Before creation, God felt complete joy and fulfillment as He perfectly beheld and communed with Himself. God has and always will experience complete joy because He has complete and perfect knowledge of Himself.So before He created the universe, God experienced absolute satisfaction in Himself. God dwelt joyfully alone in eternity as the Trinity. These three were together in fellowship with one another from all eternity. They loved each other. We know at some point they discussed the redemption of mankind (Ephesians 1:4-5; 2 Timothy 1:9; John 17:24), but everything else lies in mystery.
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: Why does God refer to Himself in the plural in Genesis 1:26 and 3:22?
Answer: Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’” Genesis 3:22 states, “And the LORD God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us.’” There are other passages in the Old Testament in which God refers to Himself using plural constructions. It is also interesting to note that Elohim, one of the primary titles of God in the Old Testament (occurring over 2,500 times), is in the plural form.Some people have used these verses to hypothesize that there are more than one God. However, we can rule out polytheism (belief in multiple gods), because that would contradict countless other Scriptures that tell us that God is one and that there is only one God. Three times in Isaiah 45 alone, God states, “I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me” (vv. 5, 6, 18).A second possible explanation for God’s referring to Himself in the plural is that God was including the angels in His statement. In saying “us” and “our,” God was speaking of all the heavenly host, Himself included. However, the Bible nowhere states that angels have the same “image” or “likeness” as God (see Genesis 1:26). That description is given to humanity alone.Since the Bible, and the New Testament especially, presents God as a Trinity (three Persons but only one God), Genesis 1:26 and 3:22 can only represent a conversation within the Trinity. God the Father is having a “conversation” with God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament hints at the plurality of God, and the New Testament clarifies this plurality with the doctrine of the Trinity. Obviously, there is no way we can fully understand how this works, but God has given us enough information to know that He does exist in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: What is the Godhead?
Answer: The term Godhead is found three times in the King James Version: Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20; and Colossians 2:9. In each of the three verses, a slightly different Greek word is used, but the definition of each is the same: “deity” or “divine nature.” The word Godhead is used to refer to God’s essential nature. We’ll take a look at each of these passages and what they mean.In Acts 17, Paul is speaking on Mars Hill to the philosophers of Athens. As he argues against idolatry, Paul says, “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device” (Acts 17:29, KJV). Here, the word Godhead is the translation of the Greek theion, a word used by the Greeks to denote “God” in general, with no reference to a particular deity. Paul, speaking to Greeks, used the term in reference to the only true God.In Romans 1, Paul begins to make the case that all humanity stands guilty before God. In verse 20 he says, “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” (KJV). Here, Godhead is theiotés. Paul’s argument is that all of creation virtually shouts the existence of God; we can “clearly” see God’s eternal power, as well as His “Godhead” in what He has made. “The heavens declare the glory of God; / the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1). The natural world makes manifest the divine nature of God.Colossians 2:9 is one of the clearest statements of the deity of Christ anywhere in the Bible: “In him [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” The word for “Godhead” here is theotés. According to this verse, Jesus Christ is God Incarnate. He embodies all (“the fulness”) of God (translated “the Deity” in the NIV). This truth aligns perfectly with Colossians 1:19, “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [Christ].”Because the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ, Jesus could rightly claim that He and the Father are “one” (John 10:30). Because the fullness of God’s divine essence is present in the Son of God, Jesus could say to Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).In summary, the Godhead is the essence of the Divine Being; the Godhead is the one and only Deity. Jesus, the incarnate Godhead, entered our world and showed us exactly who God is: “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18; cf. Hebrews 1:3).
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: Who is God the Father?
Answer: God the Father. God the Son. God the Holy Spirit. One God existing in three eternal Persons. The full truth of the Trinity is beyond our reach intellectually, but we accept it by faith because it is taught in the Bible.According to the Bible, there is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:6). And this God eternally exists in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:21–22; 2 Corinthians 13:14). Each Person of the Trinity is coequal and coeternal—no One is inferior to another (John 1:1–2). They are of the same essence and share the same nature. As the Athanasian Creed words it, “In this Trinity, no one is before or after, greater or less than the other; but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal; and so we must worship the Trinity in unity and the one God in three persons.“With that foundation, we can look at who God the Father is.God the Father is the first Person of the Trinity and serves as its functional head. He is an infinite, personal Spirit (John 4:24) and has been identified as “Father” from eternity past, both to His Son (John 3:16–17) and to His chosen people (Exodus 4:22–23; 1 Corinthians 1:3). God the Father is neither male nor female, but He is referred to in Scripture with masculine pronouns. This portrays His parental closeness to His people as well as His authoritative role as God. Some passages in Scripture describe God the Father using feminine imagery, displaying His tender care and concern for His people (Isaiah 66:13; Matthew 23:37).Even though God the Father is not superior in essence or being to the Son or the Spirit, He does serve as the functional head of the Trinity. God the Father is the one who directs the will of both God the Son and God the Spirit, both of whom voluntarily submit to Him on a functional level to accomplish the will of God (John 14:24–26, 20:21). God the Son is eternally begotten by God the Father and is sent from Him alone (John 17) while God the Spirit proceeds from God the Father through the Son (John 15:26).As the functional head of the Trinity, God the Father can be understood as the author of all acts of God. God the Father is the one who created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1-2), and He did this through God the Son by the power of God the Spirit (Genesis 1:1–2; Colossians 1:16). He is the source for all other divine acts including election, calling, salvation, sanctification, glorification, and more. Romans 11:36 says, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (ESV).Through His life and ministry, Jesus regularly taught His followers who God the Father is and what He’s like. The Gospel narratives, then, give us the clearest picture of who God the Father is. We are told that God is a Father who deeply loves His children (John 16:27); that He is to be prayed to (Matthew 6:6); that He is the source of salvation for all who come through Jesus (John 14:6); and that He has a will to be sought after (John 6:38).
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: What does it mean that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity?
Answer: All the members of the Trinity are coexistent, co-eternal, and co-equal. God eternally exists in three Persons who are in complete unity. One God but three Persons. God has revealed Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.In Matthew 28:19, as part of the Great Commission, Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is often called the third Person of the Trinity because, in this “Trinitarian formula,” He is listed third.The Spirit is also the third Person of the Trinity because, in the progress of revelation, He was the third to be revealed as an individual Person. In Genesis 1:2 the Spirit of God is hovering over the waters at creation. Later, the Spirit of the Lord would come upon a person (Samson, for instance, in Judges 13—16) to accomplish a specific task. However, these references would have been understood as “the power of God” rather than a specific personality who is God.It is not until Jesus is on earth that we begin to understand the Trinity. The Father (the first Person) sent the Son (the second Person). However, the Son said that, when He left the world, He would send a third Person who was God—the Holy Spirit (John 14:16–17; 16:12–15). From Jesus’ words, it is clear that the Holy Spirit is not just the impersonal power of God but God Himself—a third Person who was not previously revealed. The Spirit is God, but He is neither the Father nor the Son. He is a third individual—a third Person.When Christians use the terms first, second, and third in relation to the Persons of the Trinity, they are not suggesting that different Persons of the Trinity are more importance than others. Each Person is equally significant. In the words of the Athanasian Creed, written, as we think, by Athanasius, an archbishop of Alexandria in the fourth century AD, “We worship one God in trinity and the Trinity in unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the divine being. For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Spirit is still another. But the deity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory, coeternal in majesty. . . . And in this Trinity, no one is before or after, greater or less than the other; but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal; and so we must worship the Trinity in unity and the one God in three persons.”As God exists, all three Persons are co-equal. However, as God has revealed Himself to us and as He interacts with us, each Person of the Trinity has taken on certain roles. The Spirit directs attention to the Son (John 16:14), and the Son directs attention to the Father (John 14:13). In this sense, also, the Holy Spirit is third.
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: What does it mean that Jesus, the Son, is the second Person of the Trinity?
Answer: The Trinity is one God in three Persons. The Bible teaches three coexistent, co-eternal Persons who comprise the one God. Jesus is referred to as the second Person in the Trinity, because in the “Trinitarian formula” used in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19, Jesus, the Son, is mentioned second: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”Using the terms first, second, and third in relation to the Persons of the Trinity does not mean there are different levels of importance among those Persons. The Athanasian Creed, an early summary of Christian doctrine on the subjects of the Trinity and the deity and humanity of Christ, states that “we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity”; also, we are careful to distinguish the three Persons while not dividing their nature and substance. As the creed says, “There is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal. . . . In the Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another, but all three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal.”The Son is not inferior to the Father, but the Son did submit to the Father’s will. Jesus is called the second Person of the Trinity because He was the one who, although coexistent and co-eternal with the Father, voluntarily submitted Himself to take on human nature. In His meek and humble human existence, the Son lived in total obedience to God the Father. Philippians 2:6–8 puts it this way: “[Christ Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” The Son is “second” in priority in the “economic Trinity”—that is, the Trinity as God has revealed Himself to us and interacts with us as human beings.Through His obedience as the Son, Jesus purchased our salvation and has now been exalted to the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 1:3).
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: What does it mean that the Father is the first Person of the Trinity?
Answer: The word Trinity is not used in the New Testament, but Christians believe that this term best describes God, who eternally exists as three distinct Persons. He has revealed Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (see Galatians 4:6). We often speak of the Trinity as the first Person, the Father; the second Person, the Son; and the third Person, the Spirit.In no way do the terms first, second, and third, applied to the Persons of the Trinity, suggest levels of importance or significance. The wording of the Athanasian Creed was careful to maintain the equality of the Persons of the godhead: “We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal. . . . In the Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another, but all three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal.”While each Person of the Trinity is co-eternal and co-equal with the others ontologically, when the members of the Trinity relate to people, they do so in a specific hierarchy. That is, each Person of the Trinity plays a specific role. In the New Testament, when the term God is used, it most often refers to God the Father.The Father is the “first Person of the Trinity” because in the “Trinitarian formula” found in Matthew 28:19, the Father is presented first: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The simple word order of the formula might be enough to explain the Father’s position as “first.” However, there is more that contributes to the Father’s being the first Person of the Trinity.The Father is also called “first” because He has first priority within the economic Trinity. This would be similar to how a human father is considered the head of a household. The Father sent Jesus into the world (John 6:57), and Jesus came in obedience to the Father and lived on earth in submission to the Father. “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19). It is the Father who raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:32) and raised Him to the right hand of power, and it is the Father who will be glorified in the drama of redemption (Philippians 2:9–11).So, the Father is the first Person of the Trinity because He is listed first and also, within the economic Trinity, He holds the place of leadership, like the father of a household.
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: What is the economic Trinity?
Answer: The Trinity is one of the most complex concepts in the Bible and nigh inexplicable. We know that God is One (Deuteronomy 6:4), and we know that He exists in Three Persons (Matthew 28:19). It is a paradox, but that is the reality of who God is. Theologians early on in Christian history developed terms and definitions that parse out various aspects of the Trinity. The term “economic Trinity” is one of these.The term “economic” in “economic Trinity” comes from the Greek word oikonomia, which means, literally, “household management.” The “economy” of a household includes the assigning of roles or jobs within the family. The economy of a home is related to its efficiency. To be clear, oikonomia is never used in reference to the Trinity in Scripture. We refer to the “economic Trinity” when we discuss the unique relationships among the Three Persons of the Trinity.The economic Trinity is often discussed in conjunction with the “ontological Trinity,” a term that refers to the co-equal nature of the Persons of the Trinity. The term “economic Trinity” focuses on what God does; “ontological Trinity” focuses on who God is. Taken together, these two terms present the paradox of the Trinity: the Father, Son, and Spirit share one nature, but they are different Persons and have different roles. The Trinity is both united and distinct.That there are distinctions among the three Persons of the Trinity is clear from Scripture. For example, each Person has a slightly different role in the salvation of mankind. Our salvation is based on the Father’s power and love (John 3:16; 10:29), the Son’s death and resurrection (1 John 2:2; Ephesians 2:6), and the Spirit’s regeneration and seal (Ephesians 4:30; Titus 3:5). The different tasks the Father, Son, and Spirit perform help inform our understanding of the economic Trinity.There is also a voluntary subordination among the Trinity, in that the Father “sent” the Son (John 6:57), the Father and the Son “send” the Spirit (John 15:26), and the Spirit will “speak only what he hears” (John 16:13). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are ontologically equal, but they are economically distinct. That is, they have different roles, and those roles involve relationships that can best be described as superordinate and subordinate.The perfect relationships within the Trinity are difficult to understand, yet they are what all humanity is drawn toward. Perfect love and perfect fellowship exist within the economic Trinity. In His love God draws us into fellowship with Himself. Praise Him for “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 13:14).Below is the best symbol for the Trinity we are aware of (click to expand):
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: What is the ontological Trinity / immanent Trinity?
Answer: In their discussion of the Trinity, theologians have developed a number of terms to help explain, as precisely as possible, what God is like. When someone speaks of the “ontological Trinity,” also known as the “immanent Trinity,” it is in reference to the nature of God.Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being. The “ontological Trinity” refers to the being or nature of each member of the Trinity. In nature, essence, and attributes, each Person of the Trinity is equal. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share the same divine nature and thus comprise an ontological Trinity. The teaching of the ontological Trinity says that all three Persons of the Godhead are equal in power, glory, wisdom, etc.The ontological Trinity is also sometimes called the “essential Trinity.” It is often mentioned in conjunction with the economic Trinity, a term that focuses on the relationships within the Trinity and each Person’s role in creation and salvation. The term ontological Trinity focuses on who God is; the term economic Trinity focuses on what God does.The ontological Trinity is basic Christian doctrine and is foundational to all Christian belief. John 10:30 says that Jesus and the Father are one, by which it is meant that they are of one nature. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus tells us to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” clearly equating the three Persons of the Godhead.Below is the best symbol for the Trinity we are aware of (click to expand):
Topic: The Nature of God
Question: How can there be subordination / hierarchy in the Trinity?
Answer: It may sound strange to speak of subordination within the Trinity. After all, Jesus and the Father are “one” (John 10:30). Subordination makes us think of a lower rank or a subservient position. To understand how there can be subordination in the Trinity, it is important to understand that there are different types of subordination. The biblical or orthodox view of the triune nature of God acknowledges an economic subordination in the Trinity but denies the heretical view of an ontological subordination.What does this mean? Simply that all three Persons of the Godhead are equal in nature. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit all have the same divine nature and divine attributes. Contrary to the teaching of many cults, there is no ontological subordination (no difference in the nature of the three Persons of the Godhead). This means that the Trinity is not comprised of greater and lesser gods; rather, there is one God existing eternally in three co-equal Persons.What the Bible does teach is an economic (or relational) subordination within the Trinity. The three Persons of the triune Godhead voluntarily submit to each other respecting the roles They perform in creation and salvation. So, the Father sent the Son into the world (1 John 4:10). These roles are never reversed in Scripture: the Son never sends the Father. Likewise, the Holy Spirit is sent by Jesus and “proceeds from the Father” to testify of Christ (John 14:26; 15:26). And Jesus perfectly submitted His will to the Father’s (Luke 22:42; Hebrews 10:7).Economic or relational subordination is simply a term to describe the relationship that exists among God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Essentially, economic subordination within the Trinity refers to what God does while ontological subordination refers to who God is.Biblically, all three Persons of the Trinity have the same essence, nature, and glory, but each One has different roles or activities when it comes to how God relates to the world. For example, our salvation is based on the Father’s power and love (John 3:16; 10:29), the Son’s death and resurrection (1 John 2:2; Ephesians 2:6), and the Spirit’s regeneration and seal (Ephesians 4:30; Titus 3:5). The different tasks that we see the Father, Son, and Spirit perform are the result of the eternal relationship that exists among the Persons of the Trinity.The issue of subordination within the Trinity is nuanced, and the distinction between ontological and economic subordination is fine indeed. Theologians within Christian orthodoxy continue to debate the limits of subordination and its relation to the Incarnation of Christ. Such discussions are profitable as we study the Scriptures and think through the truth about the nature of God.