Blogging through and answering the questions from G. I. Williamson’s The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes for personal review and comprehension.

WCF. II. Of God, And of the Holy Trinity – 1-2.

1. Where is the proof to be found of the true God’s existence?

Hebrews 11:6 says, “He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Thus, Williamson says, “The doctrine of God begins, therefore, with the assertion that God is. And to the truth of this assertion (as Scripture informs us) everything testifies” (23).

2. What do we mean when we call God a “Spirit”?

God is pure Spirit, meaning he does not have a body like men.

3. Why does Scripture speak of God as having hands, feet, etc.?

In such instances, Scripture is speaking metaphorically and/or (oftentimes) synecdochically.

4. What is meant by the term “incommunicable”?

This term is used to describe the attributes of God that are not and cannot be communicated to man (image bearer of God).

5. What is meant by the term “attributes”?

“Attribute” in reference to the Divine denotes those qualities belonging to God.

6. What are the incommunicable attributes of God?

The incommunicable attributes of God are: eternity, infinity, immutability. God alone has these attributes.

7. What is meant by the term “communicable”?

The term is used to describe the attributes of God that are and can be communicated to man (image bearer of God).

8. What are some communicable attributes of God?

God has qualities that he bestows (“in a measure”) upon creatures, i.e., the sevenfold list: being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

9. Does our knowledge of a particular fact or truth (for example) have the same qualities as does God’s knowledge of that fact or truth?

No. God’s knowledge of a particular fact or truth is eternal, infinite, and immutable knowledge. That is to say, God’s knowledge of a particular fact or truth is Divine knowledge. Our knowledge is not Divine knowledge. We are creatures. Therefore, we have creaturely knowledge. Creaturely knowledge is finite; it does not have the same qualities as does God’s knowledge.

10. What does God receive?

God receives nothing because His Divine knowledge is eternal, infinite, and immutable. All that we give to God is merely a re-interpretation (reflection) of his Divine knowledge.

11. What simple truth of the doctrine of God is seldom consistently maintained in the thinking of (even Christian) men?

The simple truth of the doctrine of God that is seldom consistently maintained is that all is derivative of God, meaning, “God is the great original. Everything else is, in one way or another, a mere reflection of him” (25). Everything else is analogically related to the doctrine of the knowledge of God.