Westminster Project 2.1
There is only one living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions; immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will, for his own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of those who diligently seek him; and in addition, most just and terrible in his judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.
(WCF 2.1)
Over the past few weeks, we have been examining what the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) says about the Word of God. This is a good place to start because we know what we can know and say about God through His special revelation to us (1 Cor 1:21; 2:13-14; WCF 1.1).
This week, we turn to a part of the Westminster Confession in which we begin to explore the nature of God and His purposes (WCF 2-8). First, we are presented with an incredibly rich theological paragraph, which we will briefly consider in five sentences.
There is only one living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions. First, the confession directs us to God’s very being. We see here that He alone is God. This is made clear in passages such as Deuteronomy 6:4 and 1 Corinthians 8:4,6, and God clearly declares elsewhere, “Before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me” (Isaiah 43:10b; cf. 44:6). He is also infinite in being, meaning that although He is one, He is without limitation and perfect in Himself and in all that He does (Job 11:7-9; 26:14). We can be thankful for this because God always acts according to His perfect nature and good will, never swayed like a human (Acts 14:11,15; cf. James 1:17).
This is made even clearer as we are told next that God is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, and most absolute. So, what makes God? To be clear, nothing “made” God, as He IS and ALWAYS has been (Exodus 3:14; Lamentations 5:19; 1 Timothy 1:17). In other words, the Bible reveals that He is an eternal Spirit who created space and time, who reigns supreme and is sovereign over every conceivable situation and realm—seen and unseen (Genesis 1; Job 1; cf. Matthew 8-9). There is nothing—not even a rogue atom in the universe—that is outside the sovereignty of God’s almighty hand, as R.C. Sproul once put it.
From what God is, the confession then moves to what God does in and with His creation, thereby rejecting pantheistic theories. We read that God works all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory. As stated earlier, God always acts in accordance with His perfect nature and good will. This cannot be changed, and that is a good thing, because what our good and holy God has planned and created, He works with and within to bring to its glorious predestined end—where He will be glorified by all creation for who and what He is (Romans 11:36; Ephesians 1:11).
Considering everything we have looked at here, we are totally at the mercy of God. But notice the wonderful truth in all this: God is most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. In other words, God will utterly wash us clean when we turn to Him, no matter who we are or what we have done (Exodus 34:6-7; Luke 15; 1 John 1:5-10). But notice also the fifth and final point: though God is indeed loving, we are in great need of His mercy, as He is also most just and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.