The Most Perfect Being

Yesterday I posted a list (not exhaustive) of my wrong concepts of God that were the result of a weak and probably nonexistent doctrine of God. I picked up these erroneous ideas from different sources and at different times in my Christian life, but they all have a common denominator. Each one takes away from God's perfection.

In None Greater, Matthew Barrett introduces the reader to Anselm (1033-1109) who asked the questions - Is God the most perfect being? "Perfect" meaning "that than which it is impossible to think anything greater." If he is, then what must he be like? Notice where Anselm begins. He begins with God, not his experience of God. 

Given the Fall, our thinking and perspectives are warped. Rather than God being the starting point, we take that on ourselves. "Man is the measure of all things." Umm, no. But this faulty baseline is the reason why the Greek gods were just super-sized versions of people with super-sized sins. This is why we say things like, "I don't think God would..." or "My God wouldn't...." But this can lead to "the possibility of creating a God in our own image, always defining God's attributes according to our limitations." (pg. 9)

So for God to be perfect, what would that mean? We think of perfection in terms of moral perfection as in not sinning, but his perfection goes deeper than that.

God is self-sufficient and independent of anything or anyone. He has life in himself. If he had a need, he would be lacking in something. Something outside of himself would have to give to God.  (Psalm 50:10-12, Acts 17:25)

God does not change. If he changed for the better, then he was imperfect before. Or he could change for the worse and lose his perfection. But God explicitly states in Malachi 3:6, "For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed."

God is one God in three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He does not show up in history in 3 different modes (Modalism) but is Three in One. God is not one-third Father, one-third Son, and one-third Spirit. The Trinity isn't 3 separate Gods. 

God is all knowing. If he wasn't, then creatures can be hidden from his sight. All things would not be open and laid bare before him. He'd be imperfect because he would lack knowledge. Compare that to Hebrews 4:13.

God is all powerful. He rules over the nations and no one can withstand him (2 Chron. 20:6). He does whatever he pleases (Ps. 115:3). If he wasn't, then something else would be greater in might, and God would be imperfect.

God is Creator and greater than all of his creation. He does not change in relation to or submit himself to what he has created (Gen. 1:1, Ps. 96:5, Is, 45:18). 

Jesus is fully God and fully Man. Not half and half. Not blended. Two separate natures in one person. (Phil. 2:5-11, John 8:58)

So going back to my list -

• God was lonely so he created people. God is dependent and needy for something outside of himself.
• God needed Adam to carry out his will on earth and gave Adam the "title deed." When Adam fell, he turned that deed over to Satan, and God was banished to the heavens. The Creator is now subject to what he has created. 
• God was taken surprise by the Fall. God doesn't know everything. Therefore, he is imperfect. 
• God altered himself by reducing his sovereignty in relation to man. God changed.
• YHWH in the Old Testament only refers to God the Father, not the Trinity. God the Son shows up in the New Testament. Heresy of modalism which denies the Trinity.
• In the Incarnation, the Son divested himself of his deity. We wouldn't have a savior then. Jesus needed to be both God and Man.
• The Trinity was ruptured at the Cross. The nature of God underwent a change, and God would cease to be God.
• If the church doesn't pray in the right way, God's will cannot be done on earth. God is dependent on us.
• We can prevent Jesus from returning. We can prevent the Holy Spirit from sanctifying us. If we prevent God from doing something, we are saying we are more powerful than he is.
• God loves us when we obey him, but his love changes towards us when we don't. The creature would be affecting change in the Creator. 

An imperfect "God" doesn't offer much assurance or hope at all, but the one true triune God is perfect. He is so much greater than my misconceptions of him, and I'm thankful that he uses sermons and books correct my understanding. And the only reason I could know God in the first place is that he made himself known to me through the gospel.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:33-36.

None Greater: The Undomesticated Attributes of God, Matthew Barrett, Baker Books, 2019. pgs. 8-9.