ORTHODOX VIEWS OF GOD

ORTHODOX VIEWS OF GOD

      We apply the name “God” to the foremost, the most high and self-existent supreme Being, who is the source of everything that exists. God created everything from nothing and thus is the only source of everything.  He is self-sufficient having no needs, and everything that has existence receives it from God.

     God (Theos) exists forever not in time for He is eternity having neither beginning nor end, but He gives existence to everything that exists. When God spoke to Moses he declared His existence to him, saying: "I Am who  I am, or I Am the Being." The Being is a more descriptive name for God for He is the Being from whom everything that exists comes to be.

     God has eternal perfect existence and there is no other god but the Being and Creator of all that exists. Reason testifies that there can only be one God, and it is impossible for any other god to exist. Christianity teaches more about God than Moses and the Prophets, due to increased divine revelation.

     Christ revealed His Father in heaven from whom He is eternally begotten and the Spirit who eternally proceeds from the Father. Therefore Christianity teaches that the one God is a Trinity, three hypostases and one God, or one in three and three in one – Father Son and Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity. The teaching that God is one was taught by God himself in the first commandment: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods beside me” (Exodus 20:2-3). When addressing Moses, God spoke as an individual, not as a plurality: “I Am who I Am”   “Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord” (Deut. 6:4) “Before me there was no other God. And after me there shall be none” (Isaiah 43:10). God is one in nature and in essence, and being self-existent He is perfect in every way. 

     This doctrine means that God is the one who establishes to the potential unity and peace of the human race, for w He made us one in Christ, united in the Church which is Christ’s Body and the Church is one there being no other church. We continually confess this oneness and unity of our Church each time we say in the Creed: “I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.”

     The perfect life that God planned for man has been maliciously affected by Satan who sneakily introduced violation of God’ law causing  sin to enter the lives of man, followed by the many ills stemming from inevitable death.  Crimes, murder, wars and every ill that afflicts man are not the creation of God. But God permits this condition for a time but in time will destroy them and they will never return. But God’s plans are being fulfilled in the holy Church, wherein are those who seek love and peace with God and with each other, are sanctified.

   Realizing the oneness of God, and that we are his beloved children, arouses in us the yearning to listen to Him just as a child listens to his father, for multiple benefits will be acquired just in realizing that matter is no lasting consequence, but God is everything, and we must give Him our full attention. The world cannot offer us anything except temporary matter and pleasures for the superfluous desires of this world are in opposition to the spirit of Christianity.

     Firm belief in the one God does not conflict with our purpose, but supports it and will lead us into truth.  But we must approach Christ with absolute faith and trust. For only by faith in the one true God, can we begin to understand who we are and why we are here and where are we headed. These are vital questions answered only by total faith in the Son of God.

     We are the most important of God’s creatures, this is a fact, for the Son and Logos of the Father, Jesus Christ came down to earth, became incarnate, and as a man like us taught us through His Gospel. He told us that He would suffer and endure the Cross for our sake, and so He was crucified for us and resurrected on the third day that He might save our souls and redeem, that we may enter His glorious Kingdom. 

     He who has an understanding of these things begins to realize the end purpose for which everything exists, for there is nothing superfluous or lacking in God’s creation. Our God is a theanthropos or lover of man, and we must love Him as He loves us, with all our hearts, our souls and our minds. The world is filled with men who work against and even hate God and deny His plan for man. We however, look at the God-man and believing in Him teaches us that He, Jesus Christ is our ideal and the beautiful objective of true human life. He chooses to dwell in each of us. We were baptized into  His death and were made worthy to eat and drink God himself  in the mystery of the Eucharist. Then with our faith and good works we bear witness before all mankind for He shines within each of us and then from us to  many other men. 

     And the Church grows as members are brought into her bosom. It is in this present world that we are being trained and sanctified that we take part in eternal life now and in the world to come. The Church sanctifies and feeds us providing we respond to work in cooperation. Those who are sanctified have been released from the chains of sin, ignorance, error and heresy and are thus made able to fulfill Christ’s command: “Be holy for I am holy.”