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Dogmatic Theology — Topic 3

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Dogmatic Theology — Topic 3

Trinitology

God in Himself

All-good

The Lord is said to be compassionate, merciful, longsuffering and plenteous in mercy ([Ps. 103:8](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms- Chapter-103/#:~:text=The%20LORD%20is%20merciful%20and%20gracious%2C%20slow%20to%20anger%2C%20and%20plenteous%20in%20mercy.)). God is love (1 Jn. 4:16). He is lovingly concerned over the life and needs of each creature, no matter how small and, it might seem to us, insignificant. But it is to man that God reveals a particular goodness. “God is like a mother bird who, having seen her baby fall out of the nest, flies down herself to raise it up, and when she sees it in danger of being devoured by a serpent, with a pitiful cry she flies around it and all the other baby birds, not capable of being indifferent to the loss of a single one of them (quoted from Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Greeks, chap. 10). St. John the Evangelist states very clearly the limitless degree of God’s love for man, the crown of His creation: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son (to be crucified for the sins of man), that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life(Jn. 3: 16).

All-righteous

Righteousness in its general usage has two meanings: holiness, and justice.

Holiness consists not only in the absence of evil or sin: holiness is the presence of higher spiritual values, joined to purity from sin. God is the only being holy by nature. Men can attain to holiness only in God, not by nature, but by participation, by struggle and prayer, as St. Cyril of Jerusalem said. In the Scripture we read that the angels who surround the throne of God ceaselessly declare the holiness of God, crying out to each other, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory (Is. 6:3). The Psalms constantly speak of the Holiness of God (Ps. 33:21; 47:8; [98:1-2](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms- Chapter-98/#::text=(A%20Psalm.)%20O,of%20the%20heathen.); [99:5, 9](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms- Chapter-99/#::text=Exalt%20ye%20the%20LORD%20our%20God%2C%20and%20worship%20at%20his%20footstool%3B%20for%20he%20is%20holy.); 103:1; 105:3; 106:47; 145:17).

The justice of God is the other aspect of God’s all-righteousness; He shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness (Ps. 9:8). The Lord will render to every man according to his deeds, for there is no respect of persons with God ([Rom. 2:6, 11](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Romans- Chapter-2/#:~:text=Who%20will%20render%20to%20every%20man%20according%20to%20his%20deeds%3A)).

The justice of God does not stand in opposition to His Divine Love. God’s justice is always mercy, and His mercy is justice, according to the Psalmist: Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other(Ps. 85:10).

The holiness and justice of God are closely bound to each other. God calls everyone to eternal life in Him, in His Kingdom, meaning in His Holiness. But into the kingdom of God nothing unclean can enter. The Lord cleanses us by His chastisements, by Providential acts which forewarn and correct for the sake of His love towards His creation. Every person must undergo the judgment of Justice, a judgment which for us is terrible. Yet, how can one enter into the kingdom of holiness and light, and how would he feel there, being unclean, dark, and not having in himself any seeds of holiness or any kind of positive spiritual or moral value?

Apophatic Properties of God

Apophatic properties (ἀποφατικός - negative) are properties derived by negating in the Divine Being the deficiencies and limitations inherent in finite created beings.

1) Self-existence (infiniteness).

This property denies God’s possession of an origin or cause for His existence. This means that God does not arise from anything else and does not depend on any other being, but has the cause and necessary conditions of His existence in Himself. That is, God is the cause of Himself (cf. [Is. 43:10](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Isaiah- Chapter-43/#::text=Ye%20are%20my%20witnesses%2C%20saith%20the%20LORD%2C%20and%20my%20servant%20whom%20I%20have%20chosen%3A%20that%20ye%20may%20know%20and%20believe%20me%2C%20and%20understand%20that%20I%20am%20he%3A%20before%20me%20there%20was%20no%20God%20formed%2C%20neither%20shall%20there%20be%20after%20me.); 44:6; Jn. 5:26; [Acts 17:25](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Acts- Chapter-17/#::text=Neither%20is%20worshipped%20with%20men%27s%20hands%2C%20as%20though%20he%20needed%20any%20thing%2C%20seeing%20he%20giveth%20to%20all%20life%2C%20and%20breath%2C%20and%20all%20things%3B)).

As a rule the Fathers refer to [Exodus 3:13-14](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Exodus- Chapter-3/#:~:text=And%20Moses%20said%20unto%20God%2C%20Behold,AM%20hath%20sent%20me%20unto%20you.) regarding God’s unoriginateness. St. Gregory the Theologian interprets this appellation as follows. He writes that God calls Himself by this name, speaking to Moses on the mountain, because He concentrates in Himself all- sufficient existence, which has neither beginning nor end.

2) Immutability.

This property rejects the possibility of continuous changes in the Divine Nature, which is a sign of relative imperfection. Essentially, immutability as a property is a consequence of God’s self-sufficiency (cf. Num. 23:19; Mal. 3:6; James 1:17).

Sometimes one is tempted to think of God as some static, frozen absolute, some immovable crystal. St. Maximus the Confessor spoke of the life of the Triune Godhead as an eternal movement of love. Therefore, when we speak of the immutability of God, we cannot, of course, visualize what this is. Through this term we want to express the idea that God, through the manifestation of Himself in life, loses nothing of what He has and acquires nothing of what He has not, neither diminishes nor decreases, nor is perfected or increased in His being.

The birth of the Son and the descent of the Spirit do not contradict this characteristic because they are pre-eternal phenomena. Nor does the incarnation of the Son of God contradict this because 1) it does not concern the nature of the Trinity, but only the second person of the Trinity; 2) the definition of the 4th Ecumenical Council states that the two natures in Christ exist “unconfusedly and unchangeably.” The creation of the world also does not constitute or bring about a change to or in the Godhead, being that it was fulfilled according to the eternal plan of God. St. John Damascene writes, “the outward process (action of God) produces no change in His being.”

3) Eternity.

This property affirms God’s independence from the condition of time, i.e. God is not constrained by the condition of time as a form of changeable being. Concepts such as “before,” “after,” “now,” and the like do not apply to God, since all the temporal changes associated with these concepts do not exist in or for God (cf. Deut. 32:40; Ps. 55:19; Is. 40:28; 48:12; Jer. 10:10).

4) Immeasurability (omnipresence).

These two properties, which are very close in meaning, deny God’s dependence on space as a form of existence of changeable being (cf. [Ps. 138:7-10](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms- Chapter-139/#:~:text=Whither%20shall%20I,shall%20hold%20me.); Jer. 23:24). God is omnipresent, not so that He is in different parts of the world in different parts of His essence: as St. John Damascene says, “You must know that God has no parts, but is everywhere and all in all, not in some particular place, being separated like bodies, but all in all, and all above all.”

Cataphatic properties – affirmation

St. John Damascene says: “what we say of God affirmatively shows us not His nature, but that which pertains to His nature” (i.e. His actions). In accordance with the attributes of God Holy Scripture forms names for these attributes, and with these names the Church expresses her experience of the knowledge of God.

There are two groups of cataphatic properties. The first group of names refers to God’s eternal powers and actions, such as Love, Light, Glory, Goodness, etc. The second group of names describes God’s relationship to the world and man, for example, Creator, Lord, Savior, Provider, Judge, etc.

God is Spirit and anthropomorphisms in Scripture

![](https://st-takla.org/Gallery/var/albums/Bible/Illustrations/Bible-its- Story/Bible-Story-09/www-St-Takla-org—nicodemus-seeks- Christ.jpg?m=1419425501)God has no bodily or material nature; He is said to be “a Spirit” (cf. Jn. 4:24; 2 Cor. 3:17). Yet God’s spirituality is perfect and infinitely higher than the spirituality of angelic beings and man’s soul. The spirituality of created beings is only an “image” of the spiritual nature of God.

However, there are many passages in Holy Scripture that use bodily imagery when speaking about God: God sleeps, awakens, becomes angry, walks, is upborne by the Angelic Hosts, etc. etc. Such symbolic expressions are used because outside of human experience man cannot speak or think about the Godhead; i.e. he cannot contemplate God without using likenesses, images and symbols which correspond to human nature. St. John Damascene writes that God’s eyes and sight indicate His power of overseeing all things and His knowledge of everything. His ears and hearing show His readiness to receive man’s prayers and condescend to his destitute state. His hands are the expression of the effectual nature of His energy, “for it is with our own hands that we accomplish our most useful and valuable work…Simply put, all the statements made about God that imply a body have some hidden meaning and teach us what is above us by means of something familiar to ourselves.”[1]

[1] St. John Damascene. An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith. Bk. I. Ch. 11, Concerning what is affirmed about God as though He had body.

  • The Truth of the Existence of God
    • Properties of God
    • Apophatic Properties of God
    • Cataphatic properties – affirmation
    • All-good
    • Omniscient
    • All-righteous
    • Omnipotent and omnipresent
    • Self-sufficing to Himself and All-blessed
    • God is Spirit and anthropomorphisms in Scripture

Omnipotent and omnipresent

Omnipotent

He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast(Ps. 32:9). God is the Creator and Provider of all creation. God is unconstrained and limitless in His capability to do good. If God tolerates evil and evil people in the world, this is not because He cannot annihilate evil, but because he has given freedom to spiritual beings and directs them so that they might freely reject evil and turn to good. With regards to questions of what God is “incapable” of doing, it must be understood that the omnipotence of God is extended to everything which is pleasing to His thought, His goodness and His will. The idea of Divine omnipotence and God Himself is absurd outside of the context of what is good and goodness.

Omnipresent

God is not limited by space, but fills everything. “O Heavenly King…Who art everywhere and fillest all things.” When we say that He is everywhere present, we do not mean that a part of Him or some emanation of Him is present, but rather God Himself in His fullness and simplicity. He is in no way confused or combined with anything. St. John Damascene writes, “The Divinity penetrates everything without being mingled with anything, but nothing can penetrate Him.” St. Athanasius of Alexandria writes the following regarding the Divine omnipresence: “God dwells in everything according to His goodness and power, but outside everything according to His own nature.” It should be noted, however, that although we know that God is present everywhere and in everything, the very manner of this presence cannot be understood by the powers of the human mind. St. John Chrysostom says, “That God is present everywhere we know, but how, we do not understand, because we can understand only a sensuous presence, and it is not given to us to understand fully the Nature of God.”

Holy Scripture and Church tradition speak of the existence of particular places in which God is present in a special way. This does not mean, of course, that God is in that particular place any more than in another place, it simply means that in certain places it is easier for a person to experience the presence of God. Scripture tells us that such places of this special presence of the Divine are: the heavens (e.g. Ps. 115:16; what the heavens are is a separate question), the temple (e.g. 1 Kings 9:3). The Book of Kings has in mind the temple of the Old Testament, the Temple of Solomon, but this can also be fully applied to Christian churches in which the sacraments are administered and, above all, the sacrament of the Eucharist. Man is also call a temple (2 Cor. 6:16), who can become, in the apostle’s expression, the temple of the Holy Spirit. There may also be other places of special divine presence, so-called “holy places.”

Omniscient

God’s knowledge is not limited by space or time, nor is there separation in Him between knowledge and the faculty of knowing or reasoning, as there is in man (cf. [Heb. 4:13](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Hebrews- Chapter-4/#::text=Neither%20is%20there%20any%20creature%20that%20is%20not%20manifest%20in%20his%20sight%3A%20but%20all%20things%20are%20naked%20and%20opened%20unto%20the%20eyes%20of%20him%20with%20whom%20we%20have%20to%20do.); [Ps. 139:16](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms- Chapter-139/#::text=Thine%20eyes%20did%20see%20my%20substance%2C%20yet%20being%20unperfect%3B%20and%20in%20thy%20book%20all%20my%20members%20were%20written%2C%20which%20in%20continuance%20were%20fashioned%2C%20when%20as%20yet%20there%20was%20none%20of%20them.)). He knows everything immediately and totally, that which is and that which is possible. The foreknowledge of God does not violate in anyway the free will of man; His foreknowledge of evil and the actions of each free being is contrasted and succeeded by His foreknowledge of the economy of salvation, when God will be all in all ([1 Cor. 15:28](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1-Corinthians- Chapter-15/#:~:text=And%20when%20all%20things%20shall%20be%20subdued%20unto%20him%2C%20then%20shall%20the%20Son%20also%20himself%20be%20subject%20unto%20him%20that%20put%20all%20things%20under%20him%2C%20that%20God%20may%20be%20all%20in%20all.)), i.e. His desire to unite man to Himself.

God’s wisdom and understanding is limitless and infinite ([Ps. 147:5](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms- Chapter-147/#:~:text=Great%20is%20our%20Lord%2C%20and%20of%20great%20power%3A%20his%20understanding%20is%20infinite.)). The Holy Scriptures constantly underline this. In the Old Testament attention is paid primarily to the wisdom of God in the careful and orderly arrangement of the world. Indeed many Holy Fathers have written lengthy commentaries regarding this harmony in creation. In the New Testament God’s wisdom is underlined in connection with the economy of salvation. Thus the Apostle Paul writes, O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! (Rom. 11:33).

Properties of God

These properties characterize the perfection of the Divine nature, the perfection of the Divine Being. But the Divine nature or essence is absolute, and the human language, the conceptual apparatus we use, is not capable of expressing this fullness of Divine perfection within its articulate means. Indeed, our language, our concepts were formed in the process of studying created things, and created things are incommensurable with the absolute essence of God. Therefore, we can only speak of the perfections of the divine nature in negative terms, categories or properties of His nature.

Self-sufficing to Himself and All-blessed

These two expressions are closely related to one another. Self-sufficing indicates the lack of want or need, the fullness of possession, most importantly of good things and blessedness. This is why God is the source of all life and all good things; from Him all creation derives its sufficiency and abundance (e.g. [Ps. 104: 27-28](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms- Chapter-104/#:~:text=These%20wait%20all,filled%20with%20good.)). Being the source of all good things, He is thus all-blessed. The blessedness of God is reflected in the unceasing praise, glorification, and thanksgiving which fill the universe, which begins with the Angelic Hosts and ends with the smallest of creatures in creation.

The Truth of the Existence of God

The truth of God’s existence is the primary and fundamental truth of any religion. The apostle Paul says: he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6).

Obviously, the denial of God’s existence is very rarely rooted in purely theoretical reasoning, i.e., the question of God’s existence is not a purely academic question, but always a question of direct relevance to man’s life. More often than not people deny the existence of God not because they are convinced by any rational argument, but primarily because the affirmation of God’s non-existence benefits them. As Dostoyevsky said, “if there is no God, then everything is permissible.”

We know that the essence of God is inaccessible to human understanding, and therefore the doctrine of the Godhead does not refer to His essence, but rather the properties of God’s being. These are not merely the properties of God, but the essential properties of God (i.e. the properties of His essence).

What are the attributes of God’s essence? These are the properties which belong to the very being of God and distinguish Him from all other beings, i.e., common to all three Persons of the Holy Trinity. These essential (common) properties are to be distinguished from the personal or hypostatic properties of the Godhead.

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