Theology Proper

God's being is utterly necessary, eternal, and independent of all creation. He alone possesses existence in and of Himself, requiring no cause or sustainer beyond His own infinite nature. God's existence is the foundation of all reality and the first truth upon which all knowledge rests.

The essence of God is pure spirit, infinite in being and perfection, wholly other than His creation. He subsists in three distinct persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who are co-equal and co-eternal in the one undivided divine essence. This unity of essence with distinction of persons is the incomprehensible mystery of the Holy Trinity.

God is absolutely simple, not composed of parts, accidents, or potentiality, but is pure actuality. His attributes are not additions to His being but are His very essence viewed from different aspects. God's simplicity ensures His absolute immutability and establishes the metaphysical foundation for His sovereignty over all things.

An infinite qualitative chasm separates the uncreated Creator from all created things. God alone is self-existent and eternal; all creation depends absolutely upon His sustaining power. This ontological distinction grounds the creature's duty of worship and submission to the sovereign Lord.

God possesses life, being, and all perfections in Himself alone, deriving nothing from any external source. He is the uncaused cause, the unmoved mover, the self-sufficient ground of all existence. This divine aseity renders all creation utterly dependent while God remains eternally independent.

God is absolutely unchangeable in His being, perfections, purposes, and promises. He admits of no increase or decrease, no improvement or deterioration, no succession of states. Divine immutability provides the unshakable foundation for the believer's assurance and the certainty of God's eternal decree.

God exists in the eternal now, transcending all temporal succession and duration. He is without beginning or end, encompassing all time in His timeless present. The eternal God inhabits eternity while sovereignly ordaining and governing all temporal events.

God's being infinitely transcends all spatial limitations and categories while simultaneously being wholly present at every point in space. He fills heaven and earth with His presence, yet the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. This divine immensity establishes both God's transcendence and His immanent presence with His people.

God is infinite in all His perfections, unlimited and boundless in every attribute of His divine nature. His infinity transcends all creaturely comprehension and sets Him infinitely above all finite beings. Before the infinite God, all creation is as nothing and vanity.

God possesses perfect, comprehensive, and exhaustive knowledge of all things actual and possible, past, present, and future. His knowledge is immediate, intuitive, and simultaneous rather than discursive or successive. Divine omniscience extends to all events, including the free choices of moral agents, which He has eternally decreed.

Divine wisdom is the perfect application of God's infinite knowledge to accomplish His eternal purposes in the most excellent manner. God's wisdom ordains all things for His glory and the good of His elect. The wisdom of God infinitely surpasses human understanding and often appears as foolishness to the natural man.

God's foreknowledge is not mere prescience of future events but is grounded in His eternal decree and sovereign determination of all things. He foreknows because He has foreordained; His knowledge and His will are united in the eternal counsel of His purpose. This foreknowledge ensures the salvation of the elect.

The Molinist notion of middle knowledge is rejected in favor of the view that God's knowledge is grounded solely in His eternal decree. There is no knowledge in God dependent upon creaturely choices existing logically prior to His decree. All divine knowledge flows from God's sovereign will, preserving the absolute priority of grace.

God's holiness is His absolute moral perfection and infinite separation from all sin and moral evil. He is the thrice-holy One before whom the seraphim veil their faces. Divine holiness is the foundational attribute that governs God's dealings with sinful humanity and demands propitiation through the blood of Christ.

God's righteousness is His eternal conformity to the moral perfection of His own nature and His just governance of all creation according to that standard. He is the righteous Judge who will by no means clear the guilty, yet who justifies the ungodly through faith in Christ's propitiatory sacrifice. Divine righteousness demands satisfaction for sin.

God is the supreme and infinite good, the fountain of all created goodness, and the final end of all things. His goodness extends to all His works in common grace, yet is supremely manifested to the elect in saving grace. The goodness of God leads sinners to repentance and establishes His people in perpetual thanksgiving.

God's love is the eternal, free, and sovereign disposition of His will toward the objects of His affection. His love for the elect is unchangeable, unconditional, and rooted in His eternal decree of election. Divine love is supremely demonstrated in the gift of His Son as a propitiation for sin.

Grace is God's free, unmerited favor toward the utterly undeserving, flowing from His sovereign good pleasure alone. It is the fountain of election, redemption, and glorification, bestowed without regard to any foreseen merit or cooperation in the creature. Salvation is of grace alone from beginning to end.

God's mercy is His tender compassion toward the miserable, withholding deserved punishment and bestowing undeserved blessing. Divine mercy moved God to save a people from the ruin of sin, providing redemption through the blood of Christ. The mercy of God endures forever toward His covenant people.

God possesses infinite power to accomplish all His sovereign will, being limited only by His own perfect nature. He can do all things consistent with His wisdom, holiness, and truth. Divine omnipotence ensures the certain accomplishment of all His eternal purposes and the effectual application of redemption to the elect.

God's sovereignty is His absolute, universal, and eternal dominion over all creation, executing His will in heaven and earth without hindrance or limitation. He reigns supreme over all events, ordaining whatsoever comes to pass for His own glory. The sovereignty of God is the believer's refuge and the foundation of all assurance.

God acts according to the counsel of His own will, under no external constraint or obligation to any creature. His freedom is not arbitrary caprice but is the exercise of His will in perfect accord with His nature. Divine freedom establishes that creation and redemption flow from God's gracious good pleasure alone.

God's providence is His continuous, sovereign governance of all creation, directing all events to their appointed end. He upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events by His most wise and holy decree. Providence extends to all things great and small, encompassing the free choices of moral agents.

From all eternity, God by the most wise and holy counsel of His will freely and unchangeably ordained whatsoever comes to pass. This decree is singular, comprehensive, and all-encompassing, yet it neither destroys the liberty of second causes nor establishes God as the author of sin. The decree renders all things certain while maintaining the reality of creaturely agency.

Predestination is God's eternal purpose according to the counsel of His will, whereby He has chosen some persons to everlasting life and passed by others. This divine predestination is wholly unconditional, not based on any foreseen faith or works, but flowing solely from God's sovereign good pleasure. It is the eternal foundation of the believer's assurance.

Election is God's eternal, unconditional, and particular choice of specific persons to salvation through Jesus Christ. The elect are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, not because of anything in themselves, but according to the mere good pleasure of God's will. This election is unto holiness as well as unto glory.

Reprobation is God's eternal decree to pass by some persons with the operations of His special grace, leaving them in their sin and ordaining them to dishonor and wrath for their sin. This decree displays God's justice and power as election displays His mercy and grace. God is neither unjust in reprobation nor the author of sin, for all deserved damnation.

Jehovah is the covenant name of God, signifying His self-existence, eternality, and immutability. This most holy name reveals God as the I AM, the unchangeable One who keeps covenant with His people. Jehovah is the redemptive name by which God makes Himself known to His elect in grace.

Elohim is the plural form designating God as the mighty Creator and supreme object of worship. This name emphasizes God's transcendent power and majesty as the sovereign ruler over all creation. The plurality in unity foreshadows the doctrine of the Trinity revealed in the New Testament.

Adonai signifies God as sovereign Lord and Master, emphasizing His absolute ownership and authority over all creation. This name expresses the creature's duty of submission and obedience to the supreme Ruler. To confess Adonai is to acknowledge God's rightful claim to total lordship over every area of life.

El Shaddai reveals God as the Almighty, the all-sufficient One who nourishes and blesses His people. This name emphasizes God's power to fulfill His covenant promises and His abundant provision for His children. El Shaddai is the God who is more than enough for all the needs of His elect.

I AM is the eternal name of self-existence and absolute being, revealing God as the unchangeable and eternally present One. Christ's appropriation of this divine name establishes His deity and equality with the Father. The I AM is the eternal God who was, is, and is to come.