GOD'S DECREES

 

GOD’S DECREES 

Westminster Shorter Catechism 7

Quest. What are the decrees of God?

Ans. The decrees of God are His eternal purpose, according to the counsel of His will, whereby, for His own glory, He hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.

Introduction

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Questions and answers 1-3 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism are introductory. Questions and answers 4-6 deal with what God is. And questions and answers 7 and 8 deal with what God has done. In Westminster Shorter Catechism 7 the decrees of God are His “purposes”, i.e., what God from all eternity has determined to do.

God’s Purpose

It’s a wonderful thing just to think about the decrees of God. For it gives the Christian a sense of peace and restful assurance. Think about it, God has an eternal purpose. For that’s what God’s decrees are, His eternal purpose. And if God has an eternal purpose, then everything that comes to pass must be acting according to that purpose. Therefore, what might perhaps look something like chaos to us is actually the outworking of God’s decrees.

Now, to be sure, we find it hard to get a handle on the bad things that happen. We have trouble understanding evil in God’s creation. We have a hard time understanding suffering, especially the suffering of men like Job. However, though we might find these things difficult to comprehend, we know that these things happen because God has decreed them. So, at the end of the day, the Christian puts his head on his fluffy pillow and goes to sleep knowing that God has everything under His sovereign control.

The Christian has the peace that transcends all understanding when he trusts in God entirely, like a little child trusting his dad. So, when you consider the decrees of God you are confronted with the fact that everything has purpose. You might put it like this: If God has foreordained whatever comes to pass, then what we see happening around us is God expressing His mind! Hence reality for us today is something that God thought about in eternity. As James says in Acts 15:18, “Known to God from eternity are all His works.”

Cornelius Van Til says it like this,

God is the creator of every fact. There are no brute facts. Thus God’s thought is placed back of every fact … It follows from this that there is purpose within the universe because the triune God has a purpose for the universe. Every purpose within the universe must, in the last analysis, be referred to God. Without this reference to God, no purpose within the universe has meaning…[1

Let me mention one of those lines again with emphasis: “There is purpose within the universe because the triune God has purpose for the universe.”

So, the thinking Christian is comforted by the knowledge that God gives all things purpose. But, not only that, but he is also brought comfort by the fact that the purpose for the universe and everything within the universe is God’s glory. The thinking Christian delights in the idea of God the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier is being glorified. He knows that Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

When the Christian, like David in Psalm 8, looks at God’s handiwork, even His creation, he just has to gush forth the words, “O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!” (Psa. 8:1 & 9). But isn’t it easier to glorify God when we look at His creation as a block, i.e., in its unity, than it is when we view it in its plurality?

When we think, “In the beginning the Triune God, He created the heavens and the earth” – when we think about it as a whole – we go ‘Wow!’ But then we start to get a bit bogged down in the seemingly infinite amount of particulars of the heavens and the earth. We start to lose it a bit when we focus on the many-ness aspect of the uni-verse, tending to forget about its one-ness, (it’s di-verse-ity as opposed to it uni-verse-ity). We tend to remember that God has a purpose for the universe. But we tend to forget that He also has a purpose within the universe.

You’ll remember last time when we looked at WSC Q&A 6, which deals with the Trinity, we saw among other things how the creation reflects the Oneness and the Many-ness of God. We used phrases to describe this reflection of God in His creation, such as Unity and Diversity. Well, I put it to you that the Christian, who seeks to be balanced in his thinking, should seek to keep a proper balance between the One and the Many principle in creation.

Because of our finite minds we find it easier to concentrate on the one-ness aspect of creation as opposed to its many-ness. This, no doubt, is for the simple reason that it’s easier for the finite mind to handle than the seeming infiniteness of the diversity in creation. To cut the long story short, thinking Christians tend not to worry too much about where the creation as a whole is going. We simply trust in God that He’ll take care of it. But, when it comes to what we see happening around us, well sometimes that’s a different story – especially if we’re right in the middle of it!

We begin to lose it when many things come upon us as one tangled mass. Or to use the common vernacular, When everything seems to go wrong for us all at once. I’m saying that we can handle things better one at a time than a million things at once. I believe this idea is encapsulated in the old adage, “The Devil is always in the detail.” It’s here, in the detail, in the particulars, that we may begin to lose our sense of purpose – which is to glorify God and enjoy Him. Instead of glorifying Him and enjoying Him we tend to forget about Him and start to worry.

Jesus brings God’s purpose down to a level to which we can easily relate when He says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31). So, we see that God has decreed from all eternity where and when a sparrow will fall to the ground. And from all eternity He has decreed how many hairs you will have on your head.

Look! God has had it all worked out since forever. You and I don’t even notice a hair falling out of our head… Hang on, I’ll start again, you and I don’t even notice when a sparrow dies. A wee bird dies in some dark forest somewhere in the middle of nowhere and God, as it were, thinks to Himself, “All things are going according to My plan.” How does God know it’s all going according to His plan? Well, it’s because He has decreed all things that happen from before the foundation of the world. All things – all things that come to pass have purpose, because all things work according to the counsel of God’s will.

So we see then that it is God who gives creation, and everything taking place in it, purpose, i.e., meaning. Remove God from the equation and you unlock the dead bolt of purpose and open the door to let in despair. So, thinking-Christians find a great deal of comfort in what the Bible teaches about what God has decreed or determined to do from all eternity. They know He’s working all things together for good, because He has decreed to do so. To quote the first couple of lines of an old hymn, God is working His purpose out, as year succeeds to year.[2]

God’s Program

If a person has a purpose for something, then he also must have a program. Funk and Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary says.

 

Program – 1. A performance or show, esp. one given at a scheduled time on TV or radio. 2. A printed announcement or schedule of events, esp. one for a theatrical performance. 3. Any prearranged, proposed, or desired plan or course of proceedings.

 

If we take any of those the Dictionary definitions of the word program we could apply it to God’s decrees. Take the first one: A performance or show, esp. one given at a scheduled time on TV or radio.

In the Westminster Shorter Catechism with Cartoons by Vic Lockman, one of his cartoon drawings for this Catechism (WSC 7) has a drawing of a movie

projector. Above the movie projector is written the word ETERNITY. The projector is projecting a picture of a little boy walking along with the sun in the sky, a fishing pole over his shoulder and a little dog at his heel. Written above the sun is the word TIME, and below the boy’s feet, the word HISTORY.[3]

So, the projector room is in eternity. Is the projector projecting onto the canvas of TIME? No, even time itself is being projected! And the movie we’re all watching is HISTORY. Vick Lockman, to help us understand what we’re looking at, quotes these three verses of Scripture: “All things were made by Him…” John 1:3; “I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass…” Isaiah 46:11; “I act and who can reverse it?” Isaiah 43:13 (NAS).

So, back to our dictionary definition: The performance or show we’re watching, i.e., history was scheduled by God in eternity to be shown in time.

And what about the second dictionary definition of the word “program”? A printed announcement or schedule of events, esp. one for a theatrical performance. How about we use what the Apostle John wrote about Jesus to illustrate this, “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31).

The Older Testament is the printed announcement that the Messiah, the Christ, was coming to lay down His life for His people and set up His kingdom throughout all the earth. The Gospels and the Book of Acts are the printed record of some of these events, i.e., Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension, the beginning of His kingdom Come. And the Epistles and so forth explain in great detail the meaning of these events, as well as announcing to us things still to come.

But to sum it up, Jesus began announcing His kingdom by saying: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:15). What is the Gospel, if it is not an announcement of something, even Good News? But when was the Gospel or the “Good News” formulated? Well, you’d have to say that the Gospel was prepared in the “newsroom”, the Good News Room, of eternity, wouldn’t you? For Revelation 13:8 speaks of “…the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

This “Lamb” is Jesus Christ who was slain in space and time over 2,000 years ago at Calvary. The Apostle Peter speaks of the same Lamb in these words, “…with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you…” (1 Pet. 1:19-20). Hang on to that, Jesus was foreordained before the foundation of the world to die for our sins.

Now, let’s hear the Catechism again: The decrees of God are His eternal purpose, according to the counsel of His will, whereby, for His own glory, He hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. So, the Bible then, is the printed announcement or schedule of events, for Christ’s performance on the world theatre.

And, what about our third dictionary definition of program? Any prearranged, proposed, or desired plan or course of proceedings. Did God in eternity arrange and propose a desired plan or course of proceedings? Well, He arranged for His Son, the Word, to become flesh. As Paul says to the Galatians, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman…” (Gal. 4:4). As the Apostle John says, “He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:2). And then, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory…” (John 1:14).

And why did the Word become flesh and give Himself as a Lamb to be slain? Well, among other things, it was to redeem a people chosen by the Father in eternity. As the Apostle Paul says to the Ephesians “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world… having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have the redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the richness of His grace … having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself…” (Eph. 1:4-9 contracted).

So, we see then that we, the redeemed, were chosen by God before the foundation of the world. We were predestined according to the good pleasure of His will for His own glory. We were redeemed through the shedding of Christ’s blood. And that God had purposed to make known to us the mystery of it all. This “making known” is of course the announcing of the Gospel.

The theologian Charles Hodge says it like this, “The Gospel … has definite meaning in the Scriptures. It means the announcement of the plan of salvation though Christ, and the offer of salvation to everyone who believes.”[4]

So, the Gospel then, is the announcement of God’s proposed and prearranged desired plan of salvation. The theologian Louis Berkhof puts it like this, “The Gospel is nothing but the revelation of the Covenant of Grace.”[5]

So, we see then, that the Gospel is not something God made up as He went along. It’s not as if God said, “I wish I’d known that that slippery serpent was going to deceive Eve! If only I had thought about it beforehand that Adam – and all Mankind in him – was going to rebel against Me!”

God decreed these things to happen. Whatever comes to pass comes to pass because God foreordained it. That’s what Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 7 is teaching us. Perhaps the verse that sums up all of this the best is Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

It’s God who’s working all things together for good. And it’s all for those who are “the called according to His purpose”. Therefore, God has a purpose from eternity. And we are the called according to that purpose, which comes to pass in space and time.

In this fascinating subject of God’s decrees, let us mention another couple of related things. God doesn’t announce all His decrees to us. The Scriptures are His revealed will. However, God also has a secret, i.e., what the theologians call God’s “Decretive Will.” “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29).

We don’t know His decretive will because we don’t know what’s going to happen moment from moment. If we knew we were going to crash the car we wouldn’t have driven it – that kind of thing. There are everyday events that are going to happen of which we have no knowledge, at least not until after they have happened. In simple terms, we only know God’s decretive or secret will after it has happened (but even then, we know only in part, not exhaustively!) God foreordains whatever comes to pass. Therefore, if you want to know His decretive will, wait till after it happens!

Conclusion

Our Catechism answer informs us that God has foreordained whatever comes to pass for His own glory. There’s a verse of Scripture in Numbers in which the Lord says, “But truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD…” (Num. 14:21). And Solomon says, “Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things! And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory” (Psa. 72:18-19). And Isaiah and Habakkuk both say, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”

The hymn writer Arthur Campbell Ainger has put this thought into verse: God is working His purpose out / As year succeeds to year; / God is working His purpose out, / And the time is drawing near--- / Nearer and nearer draws the time--- / The time that shall surely be, / When the earth shall be filled / With the glory of God, / As the waters cover the sea.

Much, much more could be said about God’s Decrees. We didn’t even really get into the doctrine of election! But, be encouraged, our God is working out His Eternal purpose. Everything is going according to His program.

“For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’” (Dan. 4:34b-35).

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[1] Greg L Bahnsen, Van Til’s Apologetic: Readings & Analysis, (Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, Phillipsburg, New Jersey, 1998), 357-8.

[2] Arthur Campbell Ainger, 1841- 1919.

[3] Vic Lockman, The Westminster Shorter Catechism with Cartoons, (Yreka, California, 1996)/

[4] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Reprint 1981), 550.

[5] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, (The Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh, Scotland, Reprint, 2000), 279.

THREE IN ONE & ONE IN THREE

 

Westminster Shorter Catechism 6

Quest. How many persons are there in the Godhead?

Ans. There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

Introduction

In his book “Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace” James Montgomery Boice asks,

How many in our day regularly think about God, even in evangelical churches? It is impossible to know what is going on in another person’s mind, of course. But judging by our actions, words, and church programs, I would suggest that not one in a hundred average churchgoers today actively thinks about God or stands in awe of Him as part of an average Sunday service. Our minds are on ourselves. And even when we focus on the sermon, it is usually the case that we are directed to think about our needs rather than about God – who He is, what He has done, and what He requires of us.[1]

 

In the following we shall focus our minds on God. We are going to look at who He is. Therefore, we’ll need to think about Him.

The Shema, i.e., “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one!” (Deut. 6:4), primarily expresses the fact that there is only one God, and Jehovah (YaHWeH) is that one God. However, as we shall see, this verse also very importantly expresses the oneness or unity of God.

The Trinity In Creation

Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 6 informs us that there are three Persons in the Godhead, which is to say that the three are one Godhead, or one God is three persons.

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Now, the question necessarily arises: How do we know this? Is it possible to know that God is three in one just by looking at His creation and ourselves? The answer to this is two-fold – one of those “yes and no” answers. Yes, man before the Fall could study himself and creation and see and know the Triune-ness of God. For man could clearly see that the Creator was and is Triune. But man after the Fall lost this knowledge, or to put it the way the Bible puts it, we “suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” Hence after the Fall man needs to be regenerated by the Creator in His role of Redemption.

Sin has blinded man to the knowledge of God inherent in himself and creation. Therefore, fallen Man now needs God’s Word-revelation to comprehend God’s Triune-ness. It’s with this verbal or written revelation of God that regenerate man again sees God’s Triune-ness in himself and in God’s creation, which is to say that the regenerate man “is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him…” (Col. 3:10).

God’s verbal or written revelation of Himself is redemptory, which is to say that God had His Word written with redemption in His mind. And by the power of the Holy Spirit working in the heart of fallen men, God’s redemptive Word reveals the knowledge of God to man.

Now, this need for God’s special revelation, i.e., Redemptive Revelation, is not because God’s reflective nature (including His Triune-ness) has somehow been removed from creation. Rather it’s because fallen man’s rebellious attitude toward God has blinded him. Fallen man cannot, or better, will not, or better yet, wills not to see God in himself and creation, which is to say that fallen man, unless renewed, refuses to acknowledge the reflection of the Triune God in man and creation. In other words, fallen man denies the very existence or “is-ness” of the only living and true God in whose image and likeness he was made. It’s the old ostrich burying his head in the sand. Fallen man thinks he has made God disappear simply because he’s closed his eyes to Him.

Now, the question is: Who is the only living and true God whose existence or “is-ness” man denies? What is the nature of the one only living and true God? What we’re essentially asking is: Who was the God Adam knew before the Fall? What was Man’s understanding of God before the Fall? Could Adam look at himself and know the nature of God? Could he study creation and know and understand the nature of God?

Well, listen to what Paul the Apostle in Romans 1:20 has to say about this, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” And Romans 1:20 says that we can even understand God’s eternal power and Godhead by the things that are made. Therefore, we must conclude that man before the Fall could see the triune-ness of God simply by looking at himself and creation. But more importantly so can Man after the Fall see the Triune-ness of God in man and His creation.

How can we say this? Well, it’s simple. Fallen Man is not rebelling against a figment of his imagination. Think about it, man is rebelling against the one living and true God. And who is this one living and true God? Well, it’s the God whose invisible attributes, even His eternal power and Godhead are clearly seen in the things He has made.

So, we are without excuse if we claim that we cannot understand the Triune nature of God by studying the things that He has made. Therefore, let it be clearly understood that fallen man is fleeing from the Trinity. He flees by simply closing his eyes to God and, like a tortoise, retreating into the darkness of himself (John 3:19)..

But the problem is that man was made in the image and likeness of God with the Law of God written on his heart, (e.g., Rom. 2:14-15). The Westminster Confession of Faith 4:2 states it like this: After God had made all other creatures, He created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls, endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, after His own image, having the Law of God written on their hearts… etc.

Man is not then fleeing from some God he knows nothing about. Rather, he, as Paul says in Romans 1:18, “suppress[es] the truth in unrighteousness.” Listen to what the Apostle says in Romans 1:18-19: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” So, if “what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” then it would be foolish to conclude that God is any other than the Triune God.

Do you see what I’m getting at? God has always been the Triune God, the Trinity, the three in one and one in three from all eternity. The Fall of Man didn’t change God because God is unchangeable in His Being. However, the Fall changed man even to the point of his denying the existence of the Triune God. He denies the Triune of God even though His invisible attributes stare him in the face at every turn.

For example, we see the Triune God’s invisible attributes, even His Triune-ness, manifested in space, time, and matter. In space there are the three dimensions of length, breadth, and height. In time there are the three dimensions of past, present, and future. And in matter there is solid, liquid, and steam, or land, water and air. We see God’s invisible attributes manifested in light, with its three primary colours. And when we look at man, we see the Trinity reflected in the husband, wife, and child.

The WSC Q&A 6 states that there are three Persons in the Godhead. Now, if God is three Persons in one Godhead, “Three in One”, this means that He is One while at the same time Many. So, one would expect to see the invisible attribute of God as “the One and the Many” manifested throughout everything God has made.

Reflecting the Triune God there is oneness and diversity of difference in snowflakes. For example, every single snowflake is apparently different to every other snowflake, yet all are snowflakes. Every leaf on an oak tree is, as we say, “the same only different” at the same time. Every fingerprint is a finger print, yet every fingerprint is unique – unity and diversity.

Whether you call it the “one and many” principle, or likeness and difference, or whether you call it unity in diversity, it all manifests the oneness and many-ness or likeness and difference or unity and diversity in the Godhead.

Man was made in the image and likeness of God. Mankind therefore is one and many at the same time. Poets, artists and philosophers and politicians have all wrestled with the one and many phenomenon in each of their respective spheres ever since the Fall of Man.

Some approach the problem with the view that unity is absolute, hence the rights of the individual have suffered in societies built on this philosophy. Then there are those in societies who recognize that we are all different and therefore don’t want any part of unity.

We see the same problem in labour relations where management and workers vie for supremacy over the other. But neither should be supreme because they both belong to the same body. And speaking of bodies, Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 speaks of this Unity and Diversity. Indeed, some Bibles have that heading at the top of the page. He says in 1 Corinthians 12:12, “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body.”

So, even in our own human bodies we carry around with us a reminder of who God is, i.e., the Triune One, Unity and Diversity, sameness and difference all at the same time.

But how do we know that God is indeed manifested in the things that are made? Would we know, for instance, that the Triune God is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost just by looking at the things that are made? Well, this is where the Scriptures come in.

The Trinity in Scripture

We would not know that God is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit unless He told us, which is to say that, for fallen Man to know this, God needs verbally to reveal it to us – hence the Scriptures.  We’ve already seen (when we looked at WSC Q&A 3) that the Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.

So, the Scriptures reveal the Triune God whose invisible attributes are manifested in the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So, the question is: Did Adam before the Fall know that God was the Triune God? Some people claim that the Trinity didn’t appear on the scene until the 4^th century.

The Nicene Creed in 325 was the first Creed that had a go at formulating a statement about the Triune nature of God. Others claim that the Trinity isn’t revealed in Scripture till the New Testament. They allege the Older Testament saints worshipped what they did not know, like the woman at the well! But, when God said, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exod. 20:3), He meant it! When He told His people not to worship idols, He meant it.

So, let me ask you: Is the god of the Muslims an idol? Is the god of the Unitarians a false god? Is the god the Jews worship a false god? Of course, these gods are all false gods! Muslims, Unitarians, and Jews all have one thing in common – they worship a Unitarian god, which is a non-god, a false god, which is to say that they are all non-Trinitarian monotheists.

Now let me ask you: In Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s day, would they have recognized this? If you could somehow transport a Muslim or Unitarian or one of today’s Jews back to the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, would their god very much resemble the God of the Patriarchs? Would Moses in his day have known that the god of the Muslims, Unitarians, and today’s Jews is an idol, i.e., a false god?  What would Moses say to a Muslim or a Unitarian or one of today’s Jews? He would say that their god is not his God because his God is a plurality of persons in one Godhead, whereas theirs is simply a single entity – which is a non-entity.

God, as you know, used Moses to write the first five Books of the Bible. But Moses might just have quoted them Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God [i.e., a plurality of Persons who is One] created [i.e., He, singular] created the heavens [which are dual or two] and the earth [which is singular].” Or if you will, Moses might paraphrase Scripture and say: “In the beginning the Triune God, He created a trinity of things, the two heavens and the one earth. The one earth was formless and void and darkness as over the face of the deep. And, as the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters, the Voice of God sounded, as His Voice or Word spoke.”

“So, you see my Muslim friend, and my Unitarian friend, and my modern Jewish friend, God created, as His Word spoke, and as His Spirit hovered. To be sure, this doesn’t conclusively prove my God is not the god of you three Unitarians. Nor does it conclusively prove that my God is the Trinitarian God. It does, however, prove right from the outset that, though the Creator God is a plurality of Persons, He at the same time is One God only. And if you, my three Unitarian friends care to carefully study what I, Moses, have written, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the first three verses of God’s Word revelation, you will see mentioned there God, His Voice or Word, and His Spirit.”

“And since the Hebrew word for God, (Elohiym) signifies a plurality of persons, and since I have been born of the Spirit of God, and since the verb “created” is singular, which is to say that the plurality of persons, He created, this immediately draws the reasoning mind to wonder if there is not some interaction taking place in the Godhead.”

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“And then when I see that His Spirit is hovering or brooding, and God’s voice or Word is heard. Then, because I’m a reasoning creature being renewed in knowledge, I’m drawn to conclude that the plurality of Persons (who is One), reveals Himself in at least three ways: a) As the Creator, or Father of all creation. b) As the Voice or Word through which creation comes into being. And c) As the Spirit who shapes and upholds all creation.”

“So, without straining the intellect over much, I, Moses, under the influence of God’s Spirit, see the rough form of the Father, His Word, and His Spirit. And when I look at what God has created, myself, and everything else He has made, I see His Triune-ness reflected. But when I consider what God said, as recorded in Genesis 1:26, I can do no other than believe that He is at the very least three Persons in One Godhead. Listen to what God has had recorded: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness’” (Gen. 1:26).

Now, to be sure, the Older Testament saints, even Moses didn’t have a copy of the Nicene Creed under their arm. And Moses didn’t have a carefully formulated and crafted proposition like Westminster Confession of Faith 2:3. But to suggest that he and the other Older Testament saints worshipped God while being ignorant of His Triune-ness is pushing it, to say the least.

No, the Older Testament saints knew Westminster Shorter Catechism 6 before it was formulated. They knew that there are thee persons in the Godhead. They knew because the Triune God, the only living and true God, revealed Himself to them by His Spirit through His Word revelation. Ah! you say, but did He reveal Himself as the Triune God? Well, I ask you, what other God is there? There is no other god apart from the only true and living God, i.e., the Trinity.

When a man is born of the Spirit of God, even a man in the Older Testament, he no longer seeks to suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness to follow the lie, which is to say that he accepts the revelation of God. He begins to see the reflection or image and likeness of God in himself. He begins to see and understand the invisible attributes of God in the things He has made. Regenerate man sees what Adam saw before the Fall. In a word, He can see the Triune-ness of God manifested in man and in creation.

Now, the Catechism speaks of God as three “persons”. These three Persons are the same in substance, power and glory. Simply put, the three Persons of the Godhead are equal, which is to say that they are each equally God. No person in the Godhead is more God than any other person in the Godhead. The Unity of the Godhead does not have supremacy over the Diversity of the Godhead. Nor does the Diversity have supremacy over the Unity. There is no hierarchy or subordination in the Godhead. Neither is the One subordinate to the Many or the Many to the One. The Triune God is in perfect harmony with Himself. This is made most clear in the baptismal formula given in Matthew 28:19b. “Baptizing them in the name [singular] of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

How can God’s name be singular when God is three Persons? Well, ask Matthew, ask Moses, ask anyone, ask yourself! What else can a man, with a reasoning mind, conclude except that God is Three in One and One in Three? And what else could a man with reasoning mind conclude but that the three Persons in the Godhead are equal in power and glory? If this were not the case, then how can the plurality of Persons in the Godhead share one and the same name?

Now, I just want to supply a few verses that help to distinguish the three Persons in the Godhead. I’ll start with the Older Testament. I’d like to compare Genesis 1:2 with Psalm 104:30 and Proverbs 8:22.

Genesis 1:2, “And the Spirit OF God was hovering.” And Psalm 104:30: “You send forth Your Spirit, they are created.” So, God the Father of creation sends forth THE Spirit, which at the same time is His Spirit. And then Proverbs 8:22, “The Lord possessed Me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old.” This of course, is referring to a person other than the Father and the Holy Spirit. A careful reading of the Proverbs 8:22ff., will show this other person to be the Son of the Father. For the Son is indeed the personification of the wisdom of God.

And then there are those passages that mention the Son by name. Perhaps Psalm 2 is the best known, “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are those who put their trust in Him” (Psa. 2:12). Thus the Older Testament reader is being urged by the Spirit to put his trust in the Son of God the Father.

Proverbs 30:4b asks the Older Testament reader the question, “Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, if you know?” Isaiah speaks of God as Father: “You, O LORD, are our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is Your name” (Isa. 63:16b). To be sure then, if the Older Testament saints had needed to, they could, very easily have formulated a Creed stating and defending the Triune nature of God.

The redemptive revelation of God’s Triune-ness is far clearer in the Newer Testament. We’ve already mentioned the baptismal formula of Matthew 28:19. But if you were also to study those passages dealing with Christ’s own baptism you’d see the Triune God. The Father was in heaven, the Son was on earth, and the Holy Spirit was between heaven and earth, (see e.g., Matt. 3:16-17; Mark 1:10-11; Luke 3:22; John 1:32-34).

There are many, many other places we could go to see the Trinity in the all the Scriptures. 1 John 5:7 would be the obvious place to go if its authenticity wasn’t so much disputed. But if I were anti-Trinitarian, if I were the Devil, I too would want rid of that verse! “For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; these three agree as one” (1 John 5:7).

That the compilers of the Westminster Shorter Catechism believed this verse to be authentic is proven by its inclusion as one of their so-called “proof-texts.” It does sum up the Doctrine of the Trinity very well, and it certainly doesn’t contradict Scripture.

Then there’s the benediction given by Paul in 2 Corinthians 13:14 with which I’ll close this chapter, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

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[1] James Montgomery Boice, Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace? Rediscovering the Doctrine that Shook the World, (Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 2001), 150.

NEIL'S AUDIO BOOKS

The wee robot and I have now managed to publish three books in audio form on Amazon.

The robot canny dae a Scottish accent! So, I Believe! The Apostles' Creed and Moral Injury: Towards a Theology are in Aussie accents, and the From the Wine Box, though mostly set in Scotland, is in American. (Try getting the robot to pronounce Auchencarroch or even Arrochar!)

I'm not sure why they seem only to be available for purchase in the USA. Hopefully, Australia and everywhere else will soon be able to join in...

My The Covenant: Simple yet Profound, which is a bit lengthier than those already mentioned (100,000+ words), is now also out on Audible!

I’m sure as the technology grows, they’ll record me reading a couple of sentences, and ta-ra! you’ll all be able to hear my dulcet tones instead of the present C-3PO!

Amazon.com: Neil Cullan McKinlay: books, biography, latest update

VALE GERALD NORDSKOG

 

Vale Gerald Nordskog - June 21st, 1938 - April 9th, 2025

I was saddened to hear that Jerry has left us. But happy to know that he is safe in the hand of Jesus and secure in the Father’s hand, out of which no one can snatch him (John 10:28), not even death (Rom. 8:38-39). He can now see His Lord’s face in Glory above!

“Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”

Jerry gave me my first break as an author when Nordskog Publishing Inc. published my From Mason to Minister: Through the Lattice book back in 2011. And then also published my Jefferson’s Tears book in 2018.

Gail, Dorothy,  Jerry

Jerry was very generous to me. He would kindly send me many books, those written by other Nordskog authors, many gems, which books I devoured with great interest, books that helped me to grow in the Christian faith.

Jerry, with his delightful wife Gail, had flown in from Los Angeles. Dorothy and I had jetted down from Brisbane for the weekend and to meet with them. Mr and Mrs Nordskog treated Dorothy and me to a wonderful evening meal in the penthouse restaurant of the Shangri-La, overlooking the famous Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. What a spectacular view, especially at night! As the waiter stood there, we all got Dorothy to sample the wine to see if it was to our liking! It was St Patrick’s Day, 2019, but there was not a Guinness to be seen, so I had to settle for a glass of fancy wine instead to wash down my juicy steak! What an enjoyable night, meeting and chatting with one of my heroes in the faith.

Jerry sought to be used by the Spirit to advance Christ’s Kingdom on earth. It said on their website,

“Nordskog Publishing is committed to finding and publishing meaty, tasty, and easily digestible books on Christian theology, American and Church history, and Christ-honoring true stories of men and women of great faith. Our authors seek to illuminate God’s Word and God’s Laws, applying these precepts and truths to all areas of life and living.”

Jerry worked hard in the Lord’s vineyard, multiplying the talents His Lord had given him. What great joy he would have experienced upon his passing as his Lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant … Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

Well done Jerry! You were an example to us all. We’ll miss you down here. Till we meet again.   

IT MAY HAPPEN

 

It May Happen

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Jesus says, ‘Blessed are meek, for they shall inherit the earth’ (Matt. 5:5, cf. Psa. 37:9-11). Not happy with the idea that those belonging to Jesus are being given the entire earth, some think that this verse refers only to the postage stamp sized ‘Land of Canaan’, the ‘Promised Land.’ They do the same with the Flood in Noah’s day. ‘Surely the Flood did not cover the whole earth? Therefore, it must’ve been only local!’ And so, Noah is made to look stupid! Instead of simply climbing to higher ground to escape a little flood, he spent years building an ark to accommodate his family and all the animals God would send him. 

And what of those who are of the faith of Abraham, the father of our faith? (Rom. 4:16), the ones of whom Paul writes, ‘Therefore know that only those who are faith are sons of Abraham’ (Gal. 3:9). Therefore, the ‘meek’ that shall inherit the earth are those who are of the same faith as our father Abraham.

What will be the extent of the land believers will inherit? Will it be larger than that supposedly inundated in Noah’s day or that which had been conquered in Solomon’s day? Well, what exactly was the promise made to Abraham and his seed, i.e., believers in Christ? Paul tells us, ‘For the promise that he would be heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law…’ (Rom. 4:13). Is there a difference between the promise of the earth and the promise of the world? Not to Abraham! He knew that the Old Testament ‘Land of Promise’ was merely a token of the whole world, the ‘new heaven and earth’ (Rev. 21:1-4, cf. Isa. 65:17). ‘By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God’ (Heb. 11:9-10). 

So, where was Abraham, the father of the faithful, i.e., those who are meek towards God, looking? His eyes, as are the eyes of all believers, were ‘looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God’ (Heb. 12:2). So, we see that any promise God made to Abraham is fulfilled in and by Jesus Christ. ‘For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us’ (2 Cor. 1:20). And what did God give to Jesus after He ascended bodily to sit at the right hand of the throne of God? A small piece of real estate in the Middle East? God the Father said to Him, ‘Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession’ (Psa. 2:6). The ‘ends of the earth’, the ‘world’, the same as that which Abraham and all whose faith is in Christ will inherit.

Image from Web

But, what’s the point? Doesn’t Peter say that it’s all going to disappear in the end, that ‘both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up’? (2 Pet. 3:10b). Properly understood, as the Flood ‘purged’ all the ends of the earth in Noah’s day, so the ‘Fire’ refers to the future purging our inheritance in Christ of all evil. ‘But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death’ (Rev. 21:8). 

Since Scripture says that Christ is returning bodily to this Earth (Acts. 1:11), shouldn’t you make sure that you are right with God through His Son Jesus Christ? Christians do this by repenting and believing in His gospel, as did Abraham (Gal. 3:8-9).