God

— the Creator of heaven and earth and Provider for the universe (Gen. 1:1; John 1:1) has in Holy Scripture various names; these are, in particular, the following: a) Jehovah (I Am That I Am) (Exod. 3:14) — the self-existent Being, independent, unchangeable, absolute, eternal (Rev. 1:8). See Jehovah; b) the Hebrew Eloah, and plural Elohim, means the adorable God of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. The plural Elohim expresses the greatness and majesty of the being of God. These words are frequently used in Holy Scripture in speaking of imagined and false deities, even of idols, which are not gods at all (Exod. 12:12; 32:1, 4; 2 Chron.

13:9), and of earthly kings (Ps. 8:1 [as given]); but they are used chiefly of the one true God (Gen. 1:1; 5:22; 6:9, and elsewhere); c) Almighty (Gen. 17:1; 28:3; Exod. 6:3); d) Lord (Hebrew Adonai) (Judg. 13:8); e) Most High (Gen. 14:18; Ps. 7:18 [as given]). In Holy Scripture, the highest spiritual perfections are everywhere ascribed to God, such as: eternity, independence, self-existence, immutability, omnipresence, omniscience, wisdom, justice, goodness, boundless love, holiness and truth, creative power and omnipotence, boundless greatness and glory.

If Holy Scripture sometimes ascribes bodily members, properties, and human actions to God, in this it accommodates itself to ordinary human speech, but this must be understood in a higher and spiritual manner: thus, for example, hands signify omnipotence, eyes and ears — omniscience, feet — omnipresence, and so forth. God is One in essence, but Three in Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit — the Trinity, consubstantial and undivided (Matt. 28:19). To all three Persons of the Holy Trinity, Holy Scripture ascribes the same divine properties and actions, although They are essentially distinguished from one another by personal properties, such that: God the Father is not begotten and does not proceed from another Person of the Holy Trinity, God the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, God the Spirit proceeds from the Father.

God is, God provides, God reigns, God shall judge. God must be loved, praised, trusted, and obeyed. The chief duty of each of us is to live for God, just as we live by Him. Atheism is an unnatural monstrosity; pantheism is a philosophical, anti-Christian subtlety, entirely opposed to atheism. To say that all is God is, in essence, to deny the very existence of God.