Condensed Theology

A Primer in Systematic Theology

 Theology Proper:
The Doctrine of God
What does the Bible teach about
God?
 Where We’re Going
• Ten lectures covering four subjects:
– The existence of God
– The attributes of God
– God as Trinity
– God’s works of creation & providence
The Attributes of God

What Is God Like?

General Categories of the
Attributes
 General Categories
1. Communicable 2. Incommunicable
– The communicable – The incommunicable
attributes of God are attributes of God are
those characteristics those characteristics
of God that are of God that are
peculiar to him but peculiar to him but
which he shares with which he does not
humanity share with humanity
 The Incommunicable
Attributes of God
Qualities of God Peculiar to
Himself that He Does Not Share
with Us
Omniscience

God is all-knowing
 Omniscience
• God always knows all things, and always
has and always will know all things.
Direct Biblical Assertions of
the Omniscience of God
 Direct Assertions of God’s
Omniscience
• Job 37:16: Do you know about the layers of the
thick clouds, The wonders of one perfect in
knowledge [i.e., the Lord].
• Job 28:24: For He looks to the ends of the earth
And sees everything under the heavens.
• Heb 4:13: And there is no creature hidden from
His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to
the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
 Direct Assertions of God’s
Omniscience
• Isa 40:13-14, 27-28: Who has directed the Spirit of
the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed Him?
With whom did He consult and who gave Him
understanding? And who taught Him in the path of
justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him
of the way of understanding? 27 Why do you say, O
Jacob, and assert, O Israel, "My way is hidden from
the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the
notice of my God "? Do you not know? Have you not
heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator
of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or
tired. His understanding is inscrutable.
 Direct Assertions of God’s
Omniscience
• Ps 94:9-11: He who planted the ear, does
He not hear? He who formed the eye,
does He not see? He who chastens the
nations, will He not rebuke, Even He who
teaches man knowledge? The LORD
knows the thoughts of man, That they are
a mere breath.
 Direct Assertions of God’s
Omniscience
• Rom 11:33-36: Oh, the depth of the riches both
of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable are His judgments and
unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN
THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME
HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST
GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK
TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him
and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory
forever. Amen.
Indirect Biblical Assertions of
the Omniscience of God
 Indirect Assertions of God’s
Omniscience
• 1 Sam 16:7: But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do
not look at his appearance or at the height of his
stature, because I have rejected him; for God
sees not as man sees, for man looks at the
outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the
heart.”
• 2 Chr 16:9: For the eyes of the LORD move to
and fro throughout the earth that He may
strongly support those whose heart is completely
His.
 Indirect Assertions of God’s
Omniscience
• Prov 15:3: The eyes of the LORD are in every
place, Watching the evil and the good.
• 1 John 3:20: …in whatever our heart condemns
us; for God is greater than our heart and knows
all things.
• Heb 4:12: For the word of God is living and
active and sharper than any two-edged sword,
and piercing as far as the division of soul and
spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to
judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
 Indirect Assertions of God’s
Omniscience
• Ps 139:1-4, 15-16: O LORD, You have searched
me and known me. You know when I sit down and
when I rise up; You understand my thought from
afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And
are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even
before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O
LORD, You know it all. 15 My frame was not hidden
from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully
wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have
seen my unformed substance; And in Your book
were all written The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
 Implications of the
Omniscience of God
Implications of God’s Omniscience
1. God has always been and always will be
aware at all times of everything past,
present, and future
2. God’s knowledge of himself and his
creation is utterly exhaustive
3. God’s knowledge is eternally intuited;
that is, he has never learned, nor can he
learn anything
4. God knows all possibilities
 Omniscience Implication 1:
Knowledge of Past, Present, Future
• Isa 44:7-8: Who is like Me? Let him proclaim
and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in
order, From the time that I established the
ancient nation. And let them declare to them the
things that are coming And the events that are
going to take place. Do not tremble and do not
be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to
you and declared it? And you are My witnesses.
Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any
other Rock? I know of none.
 Omniscience Implication 1:
Knowledge of Past, Present, Future
• God’s knowledge of the future is what sets
him apart from all the other so-called gods
– Isa 42:8: I am the LORD, that is My name; I
will not give My glory to another, Nor My
praise to graven images. Behold, the former
things have come to pass, Now I declare new
things; Before they spring forth I proclaim
them to you.
 Omniscience Implication 1:
Knowledge of Past, Present, Future
• Isa 41:22-23, 25-27: Let them bring forth and declare to us
what is going to take place; As for the former events, declare
what they were, That we may consider them and know their
outcome. Or announce to us what is coming; Declare the
things that are going to come afterward, That we may know
that you are gods; Indeed, do good or evil, that we may
anxiously look about us and fear together. 25 I have aroused
one from the north, and he has come; From the rising of the
sun he will call on My name; And he will come upon rulers as
upon mortar, Even as the potter treads clay. Who has
declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or
from former times, that we may say, "He is right!"? Surely
there was no one who declared, Surely there was no one who
proclaimed, Surely there was no one who heard your words.
Formerly I said to Zion, “Behold, here they are.” And to
Jerusalem, “I will give a messenger of good news.”
 Omniscience Implication 1:
Knowledge of Past, Present, Future
• Isa 45:21: Declare and set forth your
case; Indeed, let them consult together.
Who has announced this from of old? Who
has long since declared it? Is it not I, the
LORD? And there is no other God besides
Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There
is none except Me.
 Omniscience Implication 1:
Knowledge of Past, Present, Future
• Isa 48:3-7: I declared the former things long ago And
they went forth from My mouth, and I proclaimed them.
Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. Because I
know that you are obstinate, And your neck is an iron
sinew And your forehead bronze, Therefore I declared
them to you long ago, Before they took place I
proclaimed them to you, So that you would not say, “My
idol has done them, And my graven image and my
molten image have commanded them.” You have heard;
look at all this. And you, will you not declare it? I
proclaim to you new things from this time, Even hidden
things which you have not known. They are created now
and not long ago; And before today you have not heard
them, So that you will not say, “Behold, I knew them.”
 Omniscience Implication 2:
Exhaustive Knowledge
• God’s self-awareness is exhaustive
– 1 Cor 2:10: For to us God revealed them
through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all
things, even the depths of God. For who
among men knows the thoughts of a man
except the spirit of the man which is in him?
Even so the thoughts of God no one knows
except the Spirit of God.
 Omniscience Implication 2:
Exhaustive Knowledge
• God’s creation-awareness is exhaustive
– Ps 147:4: He counts the number of the stars;
He gives names to all of them.
– Luke 12:6: Are not five sparrows sold for two
cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before
God.
– Matt 10:29-30: Are not two sparrows sold for
a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the
ground apart from your Father. But the very
hairs of your head are all numbered.
 Omniscience Implication 3:
Eternally Intuited Knowledge
• Isa 40:13: Who has directed the Spirit of
the LORD, Or as His counselor has
informed Him? With whom did He consult
and who gave Him understanding? And
who taught Him in the path of justice and
taught Him knowledge And informed Him
of the way of understanding?
 Omniscience Implication 4:
Knowledge of All Possibilities
• 1 Sam 23:11-13: “Will the men of Keilah
surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come
down just as Your servant has heard? O LORD
God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.” And the
LORD said, “He will come down.” Then David
said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and
my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD
said, “They will surrender you.” Then David and
his men, about six hundred, arose and departed
from Keilah, and they went wherever they could
go. When it was told Saul that David had
escaped from Keilah, he gave up the pursuit.
 Omniscience Implication 4:
Knowledge of All Possibilities
• Matt 11:21, 23: Woe to you, Chorazin!
Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles
had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which
occurred in you, they would have repented
long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 23 And
you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to
heaven, will you? You will descend to
Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in
Sodom which occurred in you, it would
have remained to this day.
 Omniscience
• God always knows all things, and always
has and always will know all things.
Omnipotence

God Is All-Powerful
 Omnipotence
• God is able to do all things according to
his own will
Direct Biblical Assertions of
the Omnipotence of God
 Direct Assertions of God’s
Omnipotence
• The rhetorical question, “Is anything too
difficult for the Lord?” is meant to assert
that God is all-powerful
– Gen 18:14: Is anything too difficult for the
LORD? At the appointed time I will return to
you, at this time next year, and Sarah will
have a son.
– Jer 32:27: Behold, I am the LORD, the God of
all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?
 Direct Assertions of God’s
Omnipotence
• Jer 32:17: Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You
have made the heavens and the earth by
Your great power and by Your
outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult
for You.
• Luke 1:34, 37: Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be, since I am a
virgin?”….“For nothing will be impossible
with God.”
 Direct Assertions of God’s
Omnipotence
• 2 Cor 6:18: "And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to
Me," Says the Lord Almighty.
• Rev 1:8: "I am the Alpha and the Omega,"
says the Lord God, "who is and who was
and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Indirect Assertions of the
Omnipotence of God
 Indirect Assertions of God’s
Omnipotence
• Eph 3:20-21: Now to Him who is able to
do far more abundantly beyond all that we
ask or think, according to the power that
works within us, to Him be the glory in the
church and in Christ Jesus to all
generations forever and ever. Amen.
 Indirect Assertions of God’s
Omnipotence
• The Bible implies God’s omnipotence
through its effects
– In creation: For since the creation of the world
His invisible attributes, His eternal power and
divine nature, have been clearly seen, being
understood through what has been made, so
that they are without excuse (Rom 1:20).
 Indirect Assertions of God’s
Omnipotence
• The Bible implies God’s omnipotence
through its effects
– In providence: And He is the radiance of His
glory and the exact representation of His
nature, and upholds all things by the word of
His power. When He had made purification of
sins, He sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high (Heb 1:3).
 Indirect Assertions of God’s
Omnipotence
• The Bible implies God’s omnipotence through its
effects
– In redemption
– For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power
of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the
Jew first and also to the Greek (Rom 1:16)
– …and what is the surpassing greatness of His power
toward us who believe. These are in accordance with
the working of the strength of His might which He
brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the
dead and seated Him at His right hand in the
heavenly places (Eph 1:19-20).
Limitations of the Doctrine of
the Omnipotence of God
Limitations of the Doctrine of God’s
Omnipotence
• Though the Lord has the power to do
whatever it takes power to perform, he is
limited in the performance of certain acts
by his own character and nature
– He cannot deny himself: If we are faithless,
He remains faithful, for He cannot deny
Himself (2 Tim 2:13).
– He cannot lie: …in the hope of eternal life,
which God, who cannot lie, promised long
ages ago (Titus 1:2).
Limitations of the Doctrine of God’s
Omnipotence
• Though the Lord has the power to do
whatever it takes power to perform, he is
limited in the performance of certain acts
by his own character and nature
– He cannot break promises: For as many as
are the promises of God, in Him they are yes;
therefore also through Him is our Amen to the
glory of God through us (2 Cor 1:20).
Limitations of the Doctrine of God’s
Omnipotence
• Though the Lord has the power to do
whatever it takes power to perform, he is
limited in the performance of certain acts
by his own character and nature
– He cannot change: God is not a man, that He
should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should
repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or
has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
(Num 23:19).
Limitations of the Doctrine of God’s
Omnipotence
• Though the Lord has the power to do
whatever it takes power to perform, he is
limited in the performance of certain acts
by his own character and nature
– He cannot be tempted by or tempt with sin:
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am
being tempted by God”; for God cannot be
tempted by evil, and He Himself does not
tempt anyone (Jas 1:13).
Limitations of the Doctrine of God’s
Omnipotence
• Though the Lord has the power to do
whatever it takes power to perform, he is
limited in the performance of certain acts
by his own character and nature
– He cannot exhaust his power: He can do
more than he has done.
– See especially Job 26:5-14.
 Implications of the
Omnipotence of God
Implications of God’s Omnipotence
1. God is not subject to another’s dominion,
authority, power, or control
2. God’s power cannot increase or diminish
 Omnipotence Implication 1:
Absolute Sovereignty
• Deut 10:17: For the LORD your God is the God
of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the
mighty, and the awesome God who does not
show partiality nor take a bribe.
• 1 Tim 6:15-16: …He who is the blessed and
only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of
lords, who alone possesses immortality and
dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man
has seen or can see. To Him be honor and
eternal dominion! Amen.
 Omnipotence Implication 1:
Absolute Sovereignty
• Rev 17:14: These will wage war against
the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome
them, because He is Lord of lords and
King of kings, and those who are with Him
are the called and chosen and faithful.
• Rev 19:16: And on His robe and on His
thigh He has a name written, “KING OF
KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
 Omnipotence Implication 2:
Infinite Power
• God’s power cannot increase or diminish
– 1 Tim 6:15-16: …He who is the blessed and
only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of
lords, 16 who alone possesses immortality
and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no
man has seen or can see. To Him be honor
and eternal dominion! Amen.
 Omnipotence
• God is able to do all things according to
his own will
 Conclusion
• For purposes of teaching, we have
divided the attributes of God into two
categories: communicable and
incommunicable
• This lecture addressed two of God’s
incommunicable attributes: His
omniscience and his omnipotence.
 Conclusion
• God’s omniscience refers to his quality of
being all-knowing.
• God’s omnipotence refers to his quality of
being all-powerful