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Chapter 2: Of God, and of the Holy Trinity

The 1647 Westminster Confession of Faith

1. There is but one onlya living and true God,b who is infinite in being and perfection,c a most pure spirit,d invisible,e without body, parts,f or passions,g immutable,h immense,i eternal,k incomprehensible,l almighty,m most wise,n most holy,o most free,p most absolute,q working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will,r for his own glory;s most loving,t gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin;u the rewarder of them that diligently seek him;w and withal most just and terrible in his judgments;x hating all sin,y and who will by no means clear the guilty.z

a. Deut 6:4; 1 Cor 8:4, 6. • b. Jer 10:10; 1 Thes 1:9. • c. Job 11:7-9; 26:14. • d. John 4:24. • e. 1 Tim 1:17. • f. Deut 4:15-16; John 4:24 with Luke 24:39. • g. Acts 14:11, 15. • h. Mal 3:6; James 1:17. • i. 1 Kings 8:27; Jer 23:23-24. • k. Psa 90:2; 1 Tim 1:17. • l. Psa 145:3. • m. Gen 17:1; Rev 4:8. • n. Rom 16:27. • o. Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8. • p. Psa 115:3. • q. Exod 3:14. • r. Eph 1:11. • s. Prov 16:4; Rom 11:36. • t. 1 John 4:8, 16. • u. Exod 34:6-7. • w. Heb 11:6. • x. Neh 9:32-33. • y. Psa 5:5-6. • z. Exod 34:7; Nahum 1:2-3.

2. God hath all life,a glory,b goodness,c blessedness,d in and of himself; and is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which he hath made,e nor deriving any glory from them,f but only manifesting his own glory in, by, unto, and upon them: he is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things;g and hath most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them whatsoever himself pleaseth.h In his sight all things are open and manifest;i his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature;k so as nothing is to him contingent or uncertain.l He is most holy in all his counsels, in all his works, and in all his commands.m To him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience, he is pleased to require of them.n

a. John 5:26. • b. Acts 7:2. • c. Psa 119:68. • d. Rom 9:5; 1 Tim 6:15. • e. Acts 17:24-25. • f. Job 22:2-3. • g. Rom 11:36. • h. Dan 4:25, 35; 1 Tim 6:15; Rev 4:11. • i. Heb 4:13. • k. Psa 147:5; Rom 11:33-34. • l. Ezek 11:5; Acts 15:18. • m. Psa 145:17; Rom 7:12. • n. Rev 5:12-14.

3. In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost,a The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father;b the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.c

a. Mat 3:16-17; 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14; 1 John 5:7. • b. John 1:14, 18. • c. John 15:26; Gal 4:6.

 

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Reformed Theology at A Puritan's Mind