Introducing Christian Doctrine by Millard Erickson

That the One who is the beginning and the end created us anyway.

 

I keep wondering why He would save someone like me. Like John Newton, I can say I am not what I ought to be...but, by the grace of God, I am not what I once was (nor am I what I would have been without Christ), and, again, by the grace of God, I am what I am--a sinner redeemed by God waiting to be rid of "this body of death."

It is still a mystery to me why He'd die for the likes of me.

The Archangel

 

1. What I find most mysterious about God is probably His atemporalness. He is eternal. When we get into discussions about time and God's relation to time, many will agree or disagree, many learned men try to put God in a box...... myself included. What we have to realize is that God is creator, and as Creator, He is not bound by time, since time is a part of His creation. This will become more important as we continue our study of God and His attributes. There are so many creative tensions and mysteries of God, that it is hard to confine it to one "most mysterious."

2. Again, it is hard to have a favorite. All of God's attributes are just mind blowing. His atemporalness or omnitemporalness is one that we have lightly touched upon, and so I'll list it as my favorite. His omniscience runs in line with His omnitemporalness, but because God is all knowing, He has nothing to learn that time will be a teacher. His omnipresence deals within and without time also, since He is present in all time. His omnibeneveloence or omnigoodness is another attribute that we will have to look at. It seems there are times that evil is good. God's omnipotence is not in doubt, as by definition, if anything is more powerful than God, then He is not God. This would go along with all His attributes. Either He is completely full of all His attributes, or He is not God.

3. Theology is what we are going to be doing. God study. God's Word and it reliability and inerrancy are vital to our study. If God's Word is not our number one authority, we can just hang this study up.

The three things about God that I have outlined are probably enough to keep us busy for the time being.........lol.
Thank you again brother Tim for the invitation to this study. I pray that God will use it to enlighten us to more understanding of who He is. I pray that we can do this in a God honoring way. Grace and peace.

 

Guys, I live on the WestCoast (where God lives, BTW :laugh: ), so the time difference is before me.

1. The Eternality of God. Everything around is cause and finite and owes its existence to another. Everything and everyone is dependent, except for God.

Here's how Erickson puts it in his larger work Christian Theology, 2nd ed.:

"God life is different from that of every other living being. While all other beings have their life in God, he does not derive his life from any eternal source." (p. 297).

2. Erickson divides the attributes of God into two divisions: 1. The Attributes of Greatness; and 2. The Attributes of Goodness. And then even these divisions are further divided.

So under God's attributes of Goodness, the reader would find Love as a main division and then, things live grace and so on, following.

Because of this division in Erickson, on which our discussion is primarily based, I'll have to say the Love of God.

3. Let me know if we are going to do that. :thumbs:

 

Agreed brother. It is only by His grace any of us are saved. All our righteousness are as filty rags.

I'm so glad to see you on this thread. Your fine exegesis will be needed. I hope you stick around. I hope to see Allan also, as this will give some balance to the Calvinistic and non Calvinistic theology.

 

1. I see that we are both fascinated by the Eternality of God.

2. Having defined theology as the "study or science of God," Erickson lists five things that makes theology helpful: 1. It is biblical. 2. Systematic. 3. Relates to the issues of general culture and learning. 4. It is contemporary. and 5. It is practical. (CT, pp. 22, 23).

 

Great to "see" you brother. Since i'm in the middle (God's country) I suppose God and myself will have to wait for you guys......... :laugh:

 

One topic that addresses all these questions at the same time is the amazing mystery of why God chose to use flawed men like the writers of the bible and the characters in the stories they were writing about to communicate the story of God's desire to reach out to mankind.

 

I guess we have to enter another debate to decide where God really lives. :laugh:

 

It is quite mysterious how God uses language to communicate with us. Why didn't He just use Holy Spirit and bypass language? He does have a plan however, and His eternal Word is part of that plan.
I think this would go great in the discussion of God's revelation to us, if Tim wants to back up to last week.

 

I see you are using Millard-lite (pun intended)!

Be thankful you aren't dealing with the Big Millard.

 

His name gets me. And we can't really capture it in English. I am.

As I always have been and always will be.

Too cool.

 

Well Tim, it looks like you hooked all us fish, now the question is: How you gonna cook us? :laugh:

I will have to agree thus far with TCG, Reformed, and Arch.

1. The Eternality of God
2. Omniscience; not that He knows or doesn't know anythin, but specifically His knowledge in relation to His decrees
3. His Love
4. His atemporalness

Sorry that I am not being original yet, but give me time. All the other mysterious qualities are to verying degrees are qualities in some form or another to the above aspects.

 

TCG, that is easy!

Scritpure states that the door of the Lords house is in the North and since I live in South Dakota He lives nearest me. :laugh:

We don't need context, the seems quite plain.. get it... S. Dakota..plains.. Never mind, :tonofbricks: :laugh:

 

tinyt,

This is a great idea! I hope I can locate the book (I've done this before but rarely do other message boards do this. I love it!). When I have done it before, it has been highly enlightening!

I also love your "alternate" education. :applause: When I was in the Air Force, coming through OTS (Officer Training School) was looked down upon by "ring-knockers" (AFA grads). But in truth -- we were just as good or better!

On the other hand, I have been involved in a teen ministry that allowed some of the teens to "graduate" to be Teen Pastors and hold their own small group Bible study meetings and it was a GREAT opportunity for teens who thought God was leading them into ministry! God bless you (regardless of whether I end up on your side or the Calvies :laugh

skypair

 

That He made US in His image! God has a soul, Father -- God has a Spirit, the Holy Ghost -- and God has a body, Son! And He wants to save us soul, body, and spirit (1Thes 5:23). Can there be a greater love than that?

Obviously God/Father deserves our worship, our obedience, etc. But most of all, He deserves our LOVE!

skypair

 

No mystery, Archy -- God LOVES YOU! Imagine someone like your wife who says she wants to spend eternity with you -- except in this case, HE REALLY DOES want to spend eternity with you! Imagine the One who said, "It is not good for Adam to be alone" and He is speaking for Himself as well!!

skypair

 

So do you think God created Adam because He was lonely???