Part 2 of 11 in the Doctrine of God series 

Part I: God’s Spirituality 

John 4:24: “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth”.

• “Spirit” - not just the Holy Spirit; not “spirit” the same way angels and demons are “spirits” and  humans consist of “spirit and flesh”. This usage is unique to God alone. 

What do we mean by God’s Spirituality? 

1. God’s Incorporeality: What is God? God is Spirit. God does not have a body, physical parts and  He is not made of matter. 
2. God’s Invisibility: Can we see God? God cannot be seen with bodily eyes. When God appears in  scripture (e.g. burning bush, pillar of fire/smoke) what is seen is a created sign, not God Himself  as He is. 
3. God’s Intelligent Personality: Is God personal? Yes. God is not a force or energy. He thinks,  knows, wills and speaks. 
4. God’s Powerful Vitality: Is God alive and active? Yes, God is fully alive and active. He is the  source of all life. 

Importance of God’s Spirituality 

1. God requires spiritual worship, that engages our inner person (our spirits); worship is to be  shaped by revelation, not imagination or sensory appeal 
2. God’s spirituality guards the doctrine of the Trinity from creaturely distortion (e.g. sexual  generation) 
3. The image of God is spiritual, moral, and rational - not bodily 
4. God’s spirituality preserves his transcendence without denying his nearness 

Part II: Introduction to Divine Simplicity (Part 1) 

Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one”. 

• We are not just confessing we believe in one God, but that our God, the LORD, is one. 

1. Definitions

Simple - not made of parts; depends on nothing else to be what it is. 

Complex - made of parts; depends on their combination and unity of those parts to exist.

Part - anything in a subject that is less than the whole and without which the subject would be really  different than it is (e.g. a human has body and soul; a body has head, arms, legs, etc.)

Different types of parts (1) physical parts (2) metaphysical parts such as (a) essence + existence (b)  subject + attributes (c) act + potency (d) substance + accidents 

Doctrine of Divine Simplicity:  

(1) God is not composed of parts 

(2) All that is in God is God 

(3) God depends on nothing outside Himself to be who He is. 

And therefore: (4) God’s essence and existence are identical 

(5) God’s attributes are not additions to his being but are identical with His essence - and thus identical with each other 

2. Basic Claims 

Claim #1: God is not composed of parts. 

• Premise A: Whatever is composed of parts depends on those parts to be what it is.
• Premise B: Parts in an integrated whole require a composer outside the parts to put them  together. 
• Conclusion: God cannot be composed of parts.  
  • If God had parts, He would depend on (A) those parts to be who He is and (B) a  composer. Scripture teaches the opposite: God is absolutely independent. 

• Immediate Implications: 
  • 1. All that is in God is God. There is nothing in God that is a part, or less than God  Himself. 
  • 2. God’s essence and existence are identical. God does not have existence; He is  existence. He is not an instance or example of divinity - He is divinity itself. 
• This clarifies the doctrine of the Trinity: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three instances  of divinity, but three Persons sharing one undivided divine essence. 

Claim #2: God’s attributes Are Identical with His Essence - and with Each Other Attribute. 

• For creatures, attributes are possessions. We have wisdom and power in varying degrees, and  these attributes are distinct from who we are (e.g. wisdom and power are independent  concepts).  
• But God is not a creature. Because God is simple: 
  • There is no distinction between God and His attributes.
  • God does not have wisdom or power. God is wisdom and power.  
• God is not wise because He possesses wisdom; He is wise because He is God. ● God is just, loving, powerful and good in the same way - by being Himself. The great I AM.

3. Limits of Our Language

• Remember from Session 1 - when we speak of God, or God’s wisdom, love or justice, we speak  analogically. 
• Our distinctions are real in our understanding but not divisions in God Himself.
• Augustine’s analogy: A single ray of light passing through stained glass may appear as different  colours depending on the glass. The differences are in our perception, not the light itself.
• Likewise, Scripture speaks truly of God’s attributes, but God Himself is not divided.
• God has no parts - no physical parts (God is Spirit) and no metaphysical parts (his essence is his  existence, he is his attributes, he is pure act, and he has no accidental features)
• There is only God - simple, whole, perfect. The I AM