Point of View

Years ago, J. B. Philips wrote a book with an intriguing title, Your God is Too Small. Philips examined destructive "unreal gods." Although not a Southern Baptist, A.W. Tozer expressed the vital connection between the doctrine of God and everyday living. "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." Baptists believe in a Big God, as demonstrated by the Baptist Faith and Message, and our confessional statement about God is the most important thing about us.

First, God is a Personal Being. The first two sentences contrast a biblical conception of God with other worldviews that deny that God is person in any meaningful sense, like polytheism, pantheism, and non-biblical monotheism. An affirmation that "God is a personal Being" functions as one of the most unique truth claims of Christianity. God relates to humanity in a personal way. In line with the teachings of Jesus, the BFM highlights the personal image of God as caring, loving Father. God cares for all humans in a fatherly way (Acts 17:28-29). However, God is truly Father to Christians—that is, to individuals who have received Jesus (John 1:12-13).

Second, God is an eternal triune God. God exists eternally as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Triune God is co-equal in essence or being. Although Christians struggle with understanding the Trinity, all Christians live life in a Trinitarian fashion. We are committed to doing the will of one God by following Jesus through walking in the Spirit. The BFM 2000 committee inserted the small word "eternal" before triune. Rather than Father, Son, and Spirit being merely different modes by which God revealed Himself chronologically, God eternally exists as Father, Son, and Spirit.

Third, God is Infinite in all His attributes. Infinite simply denotes "limitless." An attribute is a description of the nature or being of God. An attribute is not something God has; an attribute is something or someway God is. The BFM selectively highlights the following attributes: spirit, holiness, all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving. God is Spirit (John 4:24). He lacks the limitation of a physical body. God is love (1 John 4:8). God's love is historical, that is, focused on the cross. The New Testament contains one verse that describes God's love with a present tense verb - loves us (Rev. 1:5); all other references to the love of God are past tense - loved us. The complete, final, and perfect demonstration of God's love was the cross of Jesus (Rom. 5:8). God is all-powerful. The Bible highlights the power of God through the mighty acts of God, particularly creation and redemption—a God "mighty to save" (Isa. 63:1). God is all-knowing (Rom. 11:33). The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 committee added an explanatory comment to combat open theism, a contemporary theological movement that denies God knows the future. "His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures." God is holy (Lev. 11:44). The biblical concept of holiness has the connotation of "separateness." God is holy, that is, separate from His creation in that He transcends creation. As well, holiness describes the separation between the character of God and sin. God is morally perfect.

Fourth, God is Sovereign. The BFM affirms the sovereignty of God by means of a brief listing of the activities of God. All persons of the Triune God participate in these activities of God. God is the Creator (Gen. 1:1). He created ex nihilo, out of nothing. No pre-existing materials existed out of which God fashioned the cosmos. The realm of spiritual beings (angels) and the physical realm of time, space, matter and biological life came into being as God spoke. God is Redeemer. Redemption entails a rescue by means of a price paid. At the high cost of the blood of the Lamb, God rescues humans, the crown of His creation, from the evil triadic perils of Satan, sin, and self. God is Preserver (Neh. 9:6; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3). God did not withdraw from the cosmos after He created. He actively sustains, upholds, and directs His creation to a goal. God is Ruler. Providential care, rather than despotic tyranny, characterizes God's rule.

The BFM summarizes Baptist beliefs about God by focusing on God's attributes and God's activities—a focus leads us to doxological praise. To God "we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience."

Mark Rathel is associate professor of theology at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.