Interrogating the Trinity: What is God?
What is God?
In the previous post, we talked about the importance of coming before God humbly but hungrily. Now it’s time to dig into our six “interrogative” questions. In this one, we ask: what is God?
In short, my answer is:
God is the One, self-existing Being.
But I suppose this isn’t the only way we could answer this question. If you went around and asked other Christians, you’d get different answers. As you read the Bible, you certainly get other answers! There are loads of “God is ____” statements in the Bible.
God Means “Ruler”
You could go for the simple word definition. The word “God,” whether in Hebrew, Greek or English, literally, at its most simplistic, reductionistic core, means “ruler.” So, we could say that God is Ruler. That would be true.
But we can go deeper.
Creator and Saviour
I do a lot of youth and kids ministry. If I were to ask the young people at my church the question, I reckon the two most common answers I would get are “Creator” and “Saviour.” And I’m very sympathetic to these answers. They’re good answers. God is the Creator and Saviour.
Over the last few years, we’ve been teaching our kids the New City Catechism. Emma and I have loved it, and our kids have loved it, too—especially the songs.
But I get a little nervous when I hear the question, “What is God?” The answer is, “God is the Creator of everyone and everything.”
I’m not nervous because it’s not true. It is true. But it doesn’t get to the heart of what it means for God to be God.
It’s the same thing with the idea that God is Saviour. They both have to do with God as he is towards us. But if we define or describe him this way, we risk making our definition of God dependent on his relationship with us and, therefore, somewhat dependent on us.
But God isn’t dependent on us. He certainly loves us. He is certainly involved with us. But he doesn’t need us, nor is he “served by human hands, as if he needed anything (Acts 17:25).”
In John 17:24, we discover that God exists as Trinity in perfect glory and love prior to creation:
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
He wasn’t bored or lonely. He doesn’t need us. He could have not created us if he wanted: “he does whatever pleases him” (Psalm 115:3).
So, I don’t think “Saviour” and “Creator” quite do the trick.
Characteristics
Perhaps we could also look at some of his characteristics. By this, I mean the qualities or behaviours derived from his eternal attributes and discovered through his interactions with his creation and people.
For example:
God is Merciful, compassionate and forgiving, showing kindness despite our sin (Ephesians 2:4-5)
God is Gracious, showing undeserved favour (Ephesians 2:8-9)
God is Just and Righteous, upholding what is right, punishing evil and rewarding good (Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 145:17)
God is Faithful, reliable and trustworthy, keeping all of his promises (Lamentations 3:22-23)
God is Immanent, involved and present within creation, actively sustaining the world (John 1:14)
God is Patient, long-suffering and tolerant, not quick to anger or judgement (2 Peter 3:9)
God is Jealous, protective of his people and his glory, desiring their full devotion (Exodus 34:14)
God is Wrathful in his righteous anger against sin, responding to evil in judgment (Romans 1:18)
God is Forgiving, pardoning iniquities, and offering mercy to those who repent (1 John 1:9)
We could make this list of characteristics longer if we wanted. These are all true answers to the question, “What is God?’
But, like “Creator” and Saviour,” these are all to do with God as he is towards us. If we define him this way, we risk making our definition of God dependent on his relationship with us and, therefore, somewhat dependent on us.
Attributes
So maybe we could go to some of his core attributes, which are true of him both as he is toward us and as he is in himself. We could talk through these truths:
God is Omnipotent, almighty, all-powerful, capable of doing anything (Jeremiah 32:17)
God is Omniscient, all-knowing, having perfect knowledge of everything (Psalm 147:5)
God is Omnipresent, present everywhere, with no limitations to His presence (Psalm 139:7-10)
God is Immutable, that is, unchanging (Malachi 3:6)
God is Eternal, existing beyond time, with no beginning or end (Psalm 90:2)
God is Holy, morally perfect in every way (Isaiah 6:3)
God is Love, even before the creation of the world (1 John 4:8, 16; John 17:24)
God is Glorious, again, even before the creation of the world (John 17:24)
God is Transcendent, above and independent of creation, existing beyond the universe (Isaiah 55:8-9)
We could do a deep dive into any one of these, and we’d benefit greatly. But we’re not going to do that just here. But I think we need to go deeper.
So, what is God?
God is the One, self-existing Being.
Let’s unpack this statement in reverse order.
Being
Firstly, God is a Being. In Greek philosophy, a Being doesn’t necessarily have to exist.
God is a Being who exists. Yep. I’m going that meta.
Some people might accuse me of importing Greek philosophy into the Bible when I talk about God as Being.
Please note: I’m using the term Being a little more loosely than we sometimes use it in theology. If you want something more technical, read Thomas Aquinas. Here, I mean it to be something akin to the Latin Essentia or the Greek Ousia (more on that soon). In the Anglican Church I grew up in, we used the word Being in the Nicene Creed to translate the Greek Ousia, so I don’t feel too guilty using it here.
In Greek philosophy, Being is often considered an impersonal, unchanging principle that underlies all of existence, as seen in the teachings of Parmenides. For Aristotle, Being refers to the essence of everything that exists, categorised as substance or essence, which gives form to all reality, while a Being refers to a specific, individual entity, substance or essence that exists.
A Being Who Exists
In the Bible, God is a Being who exists. This is the first thing the Bible teaches us. Genesis 1:1:
In the beginning God …
There is a God, and he exists. In the next word, we discover that God created. So “God is the creator” isn’t a bad answer to the question, “What is God?”
The Being Who Exists
But he’s also more than just the creator. In fact, he’s more than just a Being. He is The Being. Let me explain.
In Genesis 2:4, we discover that this God has a name:
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.
Here, God further reveals his identity. God is “the LORD.” He personally introduces himself as “the LORD” to Moses in Exodus 3:14 at the Burning Bush scene. Moses asks, “Who are you?” In many ways, therefore, I should be talking about this verse when we get to the “Who is God?” article. But God’s reply answers both the “what” and “who” questions.
God said to Moses, “I AM who I AM.”
As he identifies himself, God uses the first-person-singular verb of existence, “to be.” The next thing I explain will be a bit complicated, but bear with me. It’s important. But also feel free to skip over it and just read the sentences in green and bold.
Hebrew Stuff
In the Hebrew, the verb “to be” is Hayah (היה). "I am" comes from the Hebrew verb ehyeh (אהיה), which is the first-person singular form of the verb hayah (היה).
The name Yahweh (יהוה) is derived from this. The third-person singular imperfect/yiqtol form of hayah (היה), which is haya (הָיָה).
The name Yahweh (יהוה) is related to the root hayah (היה), which conveys the idea of "He is" or "He will be.”
In other words, the idea of God as a “Being” is right there in the Old Testament, in Exodus 3:14.
Greek Stuff
In the Greek translation of this verse, the Greek version of the verb “to be,” eimi (εἰμι), is used. The LORD says, “ego eimi ho on.”
Why does this matter?
When the early church fathers—guys like Origen and the Cappadocians—talk about God, they often talk about him as a Being. There’s a biblical basis for this.
The Greek for Being (at least, the way I’m using the Word Being) is ousia (οὐσία). Ousia comes from the present participle of eimi which is ous (οὐς) or on (ὤν)—yep, the bold-green-underlined participle that just got a mention above in the Greek translation of Exodus 3:14. Ousia (οὐσία) is formed by adding the suffix -ia (-ία) to ous (οὐς), which transforms it into a noun.
Also, fun fact: while the nominative masculine singular participle of eimi is ous or on, the genitive masculine participle is ontos, from which we get the word “ontology,” the study of “Being.”
Now, let’s fast forward to the New Testament. When we get to John 8:58, Jesus says,
Before Abraham was born, I am.
A weird thing to say and a weird use of tense (Grammarly tried to correct it to “I was”) unless you’re making a very specific point, identifying yourself with “Yahweh,” the “I AM“ of the Old Testament. When Jesus says, “I am,” he uses the same Greek (ego eimi) as in Exodus 3:14. Could this mean that Jesus is claiming to be Yahweh? His opponents certainly seem to think so:
At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
I don’t think they want to stone him because he simply stated he exists. They’re angry because he’s claiming divine identity. But they shouldn’t be angry. He’s just answered a very important question. Does God exist? And what is God? “Yep. And here I am, revealing him to you. Want to know God? Here I am.”
At any level, here’s the thing that matters for now:
The language of “Being” is used in the New Testament, most prominently in John 8:58.
A strong case can also be made that (almost) whenever the word “Lord” is used in the New Testament, it has to do with Jesus, and the idea of “Being” isn’t far behind (see here for more thoughts on the use of Lord with reference to Jesus).
God Exists and Everybody Knows It
So, God exists. He is a Being. And everybody knows it. Even the atheists. In Romans 1:20-21 we read,
20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Everyone knows that God exists. It’s clearly seen in the creation. But some choose to ignore it. Atheists claim that God doesn’t exist. They are convinced at the forefront of their brains that this is the case. But deep down, there is a sense in which they know the truth: God exists. You’d have to be a fool to think otherwise (Psalm 14:1).
God exists. Everyone knows it. He is a real Being. And he is a really different Being to us. Why?
2. Self-Existing
Well, the God who exists is a self-existing Being. He exists independently of anyone or anything. We often refer to this as God’s aseity (uh-SAY-uh-tee).
Everything that exists exists because it was created. Except for God. How does he exist? In himself.
He doesn’t depend on anything outside of himself for his existence. He is the source of his own Being and does not rely on any created thing for his life or sustenance.
Youth and kids often ask me: who created God? My answer: nobody. Psalm 90:2:
Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Before anything, he just exists. In eternity, he just is God.
He doesn’t need us. He doesn’t need anything from the created world. As we saw earlier, God exists as Trinity in perfect glory and love prior to creation (John 17:24). He has the whole existence thing sorted. He doesn’t need us.
People usually go to Exodus 3:14 to defend this doctrine. Not a bad place to go. There’s not really a better way to explain that you are self-existent other than to say, “I am who I am.”
In John 5:26, Jesus says something similar:
The Father has life in himself.
Some people debate whether Exodus 3:14 actually supports the doctrine of aseity. I think it does. Others don’t. But it’s hard to argue with John 5:26. It seems pretty clear, doesn’t it? The Father has life in himself.
All other creatures—all other beings—are created. Human beings are created beings. Canine beings are created beings. Feline beings are created beings. Avian beings are created beings. Aquatic beings are created beings. Reptilian beings are created beings. Amphibian beings are created beings. Bovine beings are created beings. Equine beings are created beings. Ursine beings are created beings. Rodent beings are created beings. Ungulate beings are created beings. Primate beings are created beings. Celestial beings are created beings.
God has life in himself. He is an uncreated Being. He is a self-existing Being. That’s the kind of Being he is.
3. The One
And he is the One self-existing Being. There is no other self-existing Being. There is One. Him alone. The Bible makes this point abundantly clear. Admittedly, there are other “gods” in the Bible (see here and here for more on that), but none of them are the self-existing Being. That title belongs to God alone.
He is the One.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Deuteronomy 6:4“There is no God but one.”
1 Corinthians 8:4[There is] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:6
It’s him alone.
You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
Nehemiah 9:6For you are great and do marvellous deeds; you alone are God.
Psalm 86:10
Apart from him, there is no other.
You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other.
Deuteronomy 4:35Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.
Deuteronomy 4:39“This is what the LORD says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.
Isaiah 44:6
It’s his name and his name alone.
The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.
Zechariah 14:9
The demons understand this.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
James 2:19
Jesus understands it.
“The most important commandment,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Mark 12:29
And… Jesus shares in it, too.
I and the Father are one.
John 10:30
Yep, Jesus and the Father are one. And so is the Holy Spirit. God is one self-existing Being. He is the One. But he’s also the Three. Who? How? More on that in the next two posts.
God is Simple
But before we get to this, there’s one more point that should be made about God’s one-ness: God is simple. I don’t mean that he is stupid. If I meant that, I would be stupid.
God is One because God is simple.
When we say that God is simple, we are saying that God is not made up of parts, pieces, attributes or elements that can be chopped, swapped and stashed into an Ikea storage box. His Being is his attributes, and his attributes are his Being, meaning all that is in God simply is God. If one of the divine persons possesses an attribute (authority, eternality, omnipresence etc.), all three persons share that attribute.
God is identical with all that he is in and of himself.
This will become particularly important in the next two articles, both for the divinity of the persons, and for understanding how the three divine persons are one Being and vice versa.
