The second lesson of nine on the subject of basic doctrines of the Christian faith. This lesson is part of the BBD course; one of several courses in the Diploma in Ministry Essentials program.

1. BASIC BIBLE DOCTRINES
A survey of fundamental Christian doctrines as found in the Bible.
Lesson 2 | The Doctrine of God
Word Choices​: characteristics / conscience / Emotion / equally / explainable / Father / Godhood / Intellect /
Jireh / Miracles / natural / Nissi / Oneness / personal / prophecy / proves / Shalom / Son / Spirit / spiritual /
three in one / Triuneness / triunity / Will
I. HOW DO WE KNOW ABOUT GOD?
A. Through General Revelation
1. The _______________ world reveals God (Psalm 19:1-6, Acts 14:15-17, Romans 1:19-23)
2. Human _______________ reveals God (Romans 2:14-16)
B. Through Special Revelation
1. _______________ reveal God.
a. When He extends natural laws (e.g. sun stood still, Joshua 10:12-14)
b. When He makes exceptions to natural laws (e.g. axe head floated, 2 Kings 6:5-6)
2. Fulfilled _______________ reveals God.
a. Old Testament (e.g. King Cyrus predicted, Isaiah 44:28 : fulfilled, Ezra 1:1-4)
b. New Testament (e.g. birthplace of Christ, Micah 5:2 : fulfilled, Matthew 2:1)
3. Jesus Christ Himself reveals God (John 1:18, Hebrews 1:2)
4. Scripture as a whole reveals God.
II. CAN WE PROVE GOD’S EXISTENCE?
A. The Bible generally assumes it rather than _______________ it​ (Genesis 1:1).
B. The Bible asserts that the natural world demands God’s existence (Psalm 19:1-4, Isaiah 40:26,
Acts 14:17, Romans 1:19).
III. HOW CAN WE DESCRIBE GOD?
God has many perfect _______________ (attributes).
A. Attributes of God
1. Attributes of _______________ (​self-existence​, John 5:26; ​immutability​, Numbers 23:19,
James 1:17; ​holiness​, Leviticus 11:44)
2. Attributes of _______________ (e.g. ​omniscience​, Psalm 139:7-12).

2. 3. Attributes of _______________ (e.g. ​love​, 1 John 4:8; ​grace​, Ephesians 2:8; ​mercy​, James
5:11; ​long-suffering​, 2 Peter 3:9,15)
4. Attributes of _______________ (e.g. ​omnipotence​, Job 42:2; ​sovereignty ​Daniel; 4:35)
IV. GOD’S NAMES/TITLES
God’s names and or titles emphasize who He is and what He does.
A. God : A title translated in the OT from the ancient Hebrew word ​Elohim​. This title stresses His
Godhood and Supremacy as our Creator (Genesis 1:1, 2:4), and accommodates the ​triuneness ​of God
[See Item V. C. below].
B. Lord : A title translated in the OT from the ancient Hebrew word ​Adonai​. This title stresses that He
is Lord and Master over all (Judges 6:15). In the NT, it is translated from the ancient Greek word ​kurios
and often refers ​to Jesus Christ and His deity (c/w Psalm 110:1, John 20:28, Philippians 2:10-11) or
links Him with Jehovah (e.g. Acts 15:40).
C. LORD ​: A title translated in the OT from the ancient Hebrew word ​Adonai ​or ​Jehovah ​(see D.
below).
D. Jehovah : This name reveals His changeless self-existence (Exodus 6:3, Psalm 83:18), and is often
combined with other characteristics such as:
1. Jehovah-_______________ : ​The Lord will provide​ (Genesis 22:14)
2. Jehovah-_______________ : ​The Lord my banner​ (Exodus 17:15)
3. Jehovah-_______________ : ​The Lord our peace​ (Judges 6:24)
*Note: ​Jehovah ​is an English translation of the ancient Hebrew word [YHWH]. Therefore, we
are not perfectly sure how it was originally pronounced (the ancient Hebrew language did not
use vowels). Modern Bible versions translate it as ​Yahweh​, but there is debate regarding the
phonetics and also that this name refers to an ancient pagan sky god. The safest names to
address God are those He has chosen to reveal to us in His preserved word (e.g. Jehovah,
God, the Lord, the LORD, the LORD God, God almighty, our heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, the
Holy Spirit, etc.).
V. IN WHAT FORM DOES GOD EXIST?
A. God is a _______________ being. God is not human yet He is ​person ​like man in that He has
intellect, emotions and will. He does not share our imperfections but he does share our personal
nature. God is not a ​force​. He is a personal being.
B. God is a _______________ being. ​God does not consist of any material substance. He is spirit
(John 4:24). He has no body.
C. God is a _______________. ​Trinity ​is a term that describes the ​threeness ​of God. But that is only a
partial description. God is also ​one​. He is a unified being. So a good term to describe both truths is
Triunity​. Trinity may always be the most-used term, but we must understand that biblically trinity is
really triunity.
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3. 1. Definition of Triuness: There is only one God but in the unity of God there are three
_______________ distinct eternal Persons, the same in substance but distinct from each other
(Adapted from B.B. Warfield).
a. Errors (Denials of the trinity)
i. There is not one God with three natures, roles, or qualities.
ii. There are not three different Gods.
iii. The Son and the Holy Spirit are not less than God or creations of God.
b. The _______________ of God
i. There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 45:14, James 2:19). There
can only be one perfect being. If there were two they would not differ at all and
would thus be the same being.
ii. The one God is not divisible into parts. Since God is spirit by nature and not
material in composition, He cannot be divided into three parts of 1/3 God each.
c. The _______________ of God
i. Old Testament evidence
1) God speaks of Himself with plural pronouns (​us​, Genesis 1:26, 3:22,
11:7; Isaiah 6:8) and plural verbs (Genesis 1:26, 11:7).
2) The ​Angel of the Lord is sometimes clearly ​God ​yet He is distinct from
God (The Father). Thus He must be Christ in pre-incarnate human form
(Genesis 16:7-13, 18:1-21, 19:1-28, Malachi 3:1).
3) Other passages clearly distinguish Persons of the Godhead (Father /
Lord / Spirit, Isaiah 48:12,16; LORD / Lord, Psalm 110:1).
ii. New Testament evidence
1) God is ​one ​(Ephesians 4:6, James 2:19)
2) God is ​three ​(Matthew 3:16, 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 1 Peter 1:2).
3) God is ___________________________________ (​In the name
[singular]​ of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit​, Matthew 28:19).
d. Summary : The doctrine of the trinity (triunity) is ​knowable ​and ​believable ​but will
never be completely _______________ by human minds or human words. The
mechanics of how triunity exists and functions remains a mystery to us just as the ​how
of the Incarnation (Christ is God and Man) does. We know God is One. We know He is
Three. Thus we know the Triunity is true.
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4. Practically, for Christians, we know the triune nature of God was necessary:
a. Only the perfect sacrifice of the divine _______________ could pay for our sin
(John 3:16).
b. Only the divine _______________ could indwell all of us (John 14:16-17).
c. The _______________ Himself must be distinct to perform such a plan (1
John 3:1).
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Resource information: ​This lesson was prepared by Ptr. J. F. Smith, DMin, Faith Missionary Church and Bible
Institute, Gruetli-Laager, TN, USA, email: ​jerryfranksmith@gmail.com​. Much of the framework for this lesson was
taken from:
Litke, Sid (2004, May 17). Survey of Bible doctrines. Bible.org. Accessed from
https://bible.org/series/survey-bible-doctrines
But significantly edited for content, formatting, presentation, and length.
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