Today we’ll tackle the biggest question of all: who is God? We’ll take a journey through scripture together to discover what God is like, stopping at key moments to consider what this or that interaction tells us about him.
theology: one’s understanding of God
Ontology vs. Functionality
ontology: understanding something based on what it is (it’s essence)tendency to define God based on what he is (omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent)perfect being theology: reasons from perfection to generate characteristics that God must have independent from what he reveals about himself in the biblebible tends to define God based on what he’s done and his relationship w/ peopleCreator desiring trusting relationships
creationAdam and EveLimited participant in human affairs
in time, with us, not aloof (we’ll get to predestination later)Cain and Ablewarns Caindoes not force him or prevent himLamechHeartbroken exception maker
NephilimGen 6Noah’s floodPreemptive preventer
Babelthe God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob
the call (Gen 12.1-4)Yahweh is going to be Abraham’s Godhe’ll have his backbless those who blesscurse those who cursehe’s just looking for someone to believe him, to trust him, to do what he saysthree tests of trustleave your landcircumcise yourself and all your menthe Akedah (binding of Isaac)with Abraham and Sarah we find the opposite of Adam and Evebelieved God’s promisesleft their native land to be with God in promised landtrusted God to perform the impossibleover time grew more faithfuldied trusting Godby the end of all of this, God irreversibly yoke’s himself to this family through covenantscovenant faithfulness and chesedhenceforth, God’s dealings w/ Abraham affect how he PRIMARILY refers to himselfI am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and JacobPowerful liberator and god-mocker
burning bushhow does God introduce himself to Moses?the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacobthe namePharaoh’s question (Ex 5.1)10 plagues as God telling Egypt and the world who he is vis-à-vis the Egyptian godshe is the God above all other godsPassover meal memorializes the historical event of God liberating Israelthis is how God intends to imprint faith on each generation (festivals)Exclusive moralist
ten commandments begin w/ several statements of exclusivitysingular pronouns!whenever anyone ever uses a pronoun for God in the bible it is singular: he, him, his, you (sg.)basic moral code8 attributes of God
Exodus 34.6-76 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
chesed (חֶסֶד)
John Goldingay: “It is sometimes described as covenant love, though in the OT it rarely appears in the company of the word “covenant.” It is used in two connections: when someone makes an act of commitment for which there is no reason in terms of prior relatio