Theology Proper: Knowledge + Revelation
Since what we believe about God is the most important characteristic of us as humans, I wish to be as God-centered in my theology as possible. I believe in the one and only God who created all things and by, through and for whom all things exist. He is supreme over all, eternally existent, and all things exist to display His infinite worth. He is the complete essence of all that is holy and right and true, and everything He does is good through and through. He exists as three-in-one, known to us as Father, Son and Spirit, and they have made Themselves known to us by self-revelation.[1]
Knowledge & Revelation of God
God has freely chosen to reveal Himself (Deut. 29:29). His character and power is seen by general revelation in nature, while He has made Himself more explicitly known in special revelation, the written Word, and the incarnate Word. The Scriptures (Bible) as the written Word lead us to know about this incomprehendable God. And Jesus, the Son, is God who became Man to reveal God to us, perfectly, personally, eternally. To know the invisible God who reveals Himself we must look to Jesus who gives us knowledge and revelation of Him (John 1:18).
God is unique in His identity in that no one and no thing is equal to Him. Since He is not like us (Psalm 50:21) we should seek to see ourselves in light of His being, and not vice versa. We cannot project our conceptions onto Him, for that would be the epitome of idolatry, creating an image of God after our own liking. That is why I conclude that God is Who He is, apart from what we think about Him. We must adjust our theology to match His self-revelation. For all eternity His chosen believers will marvel and learn of God’s revelation of Himself perfectly and ever-increasingly through grace (Ephesians 2:7).
[1] Other than here and on a few other occasions, I will refer to God in the singular pronoun (He, Him, His), noting His unity while not lessening His happy threeness.
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