THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD
Understanding the nature and character of the Father is to understand the nature and character of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as the Godhead. Since the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one, then we must assume that they are one in every realm of definition we might conceive in our minds. If we define the nature and character of any one manifestation of God, then we have defined the nature and character of the whole. Though the work and manifestation of God may be different, we cannot use the word “different” when understanding the nature and character of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in any manner that would separate them from one another. Their different works do not divide them from one another as God.
We must guard ourselves against defining any one manifestation of God in any manner that leaves the impression that there is a variation between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. If such an impression is left, then certainly we have failed to understand a biblical definition of God. We cannot interpret the revelation of God in any manner that would divide God into three Gods.
Our exegesis of biblical texts will give us a literary comprehension of God. Statements are made in Scripture and concepts of God are conveyed. But there is an inadequacy about a “book knowledge” of God that leaves us groping for more. The words of the book are our words, and our words are inadequate when we seek to fully understand God. God knows this. He knew this during the “times of ignorance” before the manifestation of the Son (See At 17:30,31). For this reason, He sent forth the Son in order to give a visual definition of the nature and character of God. Therefore, we must always seek to define God through Jesus, for Jesus revealed the nature of God. John wrote, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (Jn 1:18). Jesus affirmed, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9). Jesus “is the image of the invisible God …” (Cl 1:15). And if anyone would know God, then he must investigate Him through the Son. Any world religion, therefore, that does not consider Jesus, cannot discover the one true and living God. Any religion that does not exalt Jesus above a prophet, cannot come to an understanding of who God is. Jesus must be the central figure in our definition of God.
Our investigation concerning who the Father is of the Godhead begins with the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets, through whom God revealed Himself. Our study would thus be of those behavioral characteristics of how God dealt with Israel and worked through the Israelites throughout their history. When we come to the New Testament, our task is more simple. We understand God the Father through the living illustration of Jesus. When we see the behavior of Jesus, we see the behavior of the Father. When we see the character of Jesus, we see the character of the Father.
I. The nature and character of God the Father:
To say that God is deity, or divine, is simply to say that He is not physical. God is spirit (Jn 4:24). As spirit God has no physical attachment to this world. He can exist apart from the physical. He is not part spirit and part physical. Spirit is not physical or of this world. Spirit is not flesh and blood, but is beyond the confines of this world. The nature of God, therefore, must first be understood in the light of Him as spirit. We thus seek to understand the nature and character of God as spirit.
God as spirit works as our spiritual Father. The word “father,” as it is used by the Holy Spirit in revelation to refer to God, emphasizes relationship. The word “father” emphasizes a relationship between man and God, as well as, the relationship that existed between God the Father and God the Son while the Son was in a state of incarnation on earth. In reference to our relationship with God as our Father, there are certain attributes of God that we must understand in order to appreciate what the Father seeks to do for us His sons.
A. God the Father is self-existent: All that has been created depends upon God for existence. In fact, all that is now in existence depends on the power of the word of God for continuation in existence (Hb 1:3). This world would not stay together if God did not keep it together. If the world depends on the power of God to exist, then God must be able to exist apart from the existence of the physical world. God’s existence does not depend on the existence of the created world. God would still exist even if the world did not exist. Such was the case before the creation of the world, and such will be the case after this world passes away. God is indigenous. This means that as spirit His existence does not depend on the existence of any material thing. Athanasius stated, “God is self-existent, enclosing all things and enclosed by none; within all according to His goodness and power, yet without all in His proper nature” (De Decretis, A.D. 296-373).
The self-existent nature of God to sustain the physical world also applies to life. God is the source of all life. He does not exist because life exists. Life exists because He is the great giver of life. Therefore, life that originates from the Father exists separate from the life that exists on the earth. Jesus said, “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself” (Jn 5:26). While on earth it was the Father who sustained the life of the Son, for it was the Father who gave life to the Son.
Those who would have life must find such in the original source of life. The Father is the source of all life, and thus, the only source from which man can gain eternal life is from the Father. The medium through which all men must pass in order to receive life is the Son. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn 14:6). No one reaches the source of eternal life except through Jesus. Jesus thus said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (Jn 8:12). Jesus gives life to those who come to Him. “For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He wills” (Jn 5:21).
B. God the Father is the primal source of all. All that exists originated from God through the Son. Paul wrote, “Yet for us there is only one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live” (1 Co 8:6). Paul wants us to understand in this passage that there is only one manifestation of God as the Father and one manifestation as the Son. There are not several fathers as God and several sons as sons of God through whom all things were created. God is the origin of all, though all came into existence through the creative work of the Son. “For by Him [Jesus] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible …. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Cl 1:16). What Paul says in this statement is that in His state of existence before the incarnation, Jesus was the creator of all things. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, spoke the command for creation, but it was the work of God the Son to do the work of creating.
C. God the Father is personal. Herein is a unique teaching of the Bible in reference to God as a higher power. This teaching is especially true in reference to what is revealed in the New Testament. God is personal in the sense that He has personally revealed Himself in order to relate to His creation. Through His revelation, He has thus laid the foundation upon which men can approach Him. Through the revelation of Jesus, He is identified with a personality with which we can identify Him. This concept of God is different from the concepts of gods that are created after the imagination of men. The gods of men are usually pictured as impersonal, cold, harsh and intolerant. But the God of the Bible is portrayed as a loving father who seeks for His children to draw nigh unto Him.
God is thus personal in the sense that He is rational, compassionate and loving. Since the Father has personality, He has revealed through the Son a personality with which we can identify and with which we can relate. When John said that God is love, he revealed by inspiration a personality characteristic of God with which we can identify (1 Jn 4:8). However, our capacity to love does not regulate or limit the love of God. The limits of our love do not define the limits of God’s love. Neither are man’s limits of love God’s limits of love. The love, mercy, patience, etc. of man do not place maximums on God’s ability to do such. After our patience runs out, God continues to have patience. After we stop loving, God continues to love. As a personal God, He has simply created us in a spiritual manner by which we can relate to His character by loving, having mercy, and having patience. He did not create us with a nature as His in order to manifest the limits of His nature. He simply created us after His image in order to give us the character tools by which to understand His personality. John stated, “He who does not love does not know God …” (1 Jn 4:8). Therefore, the one who does not love cannot understand the personality of God.
D. God the Father is father of all. Since God the Father is personal, He can relate in a personal manner through the most personal relationships. He is thus a “Father” to those who have been created after His image. The word “father” is reserved for God the Father because of His relationship with humanity (See Mt 5:45; 6:4-9; 7:11; 10:20).
1. He is the Father of creation. God is our Father in the sense that He created us. “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us” (Ml 2:10). As the Father, we were the clay that was made by the potter’s hand (Is 64:8). Our Creator was the “Father of spirits” in that He created the spirit that dwells within us (Nm 16:22; Hb 12:9). We are thus God’s offspring, as Paul affirms, because all men have originated from the Father (At 17:28).
2. He is the Father of redemption. The Christian has a relationship with God because God has extended grace and mercy toward those who have chosen to submit to the conditions that are required to establish a covenant relationship with Him. Christians have thus been redeemed out of the bondage of sin in order to come into a covenant with God (Ep 1:7). In a redemptive sense, the Father deals with us as His sons in that we have been brought into a covenant relationship with Him (Hb 13:20). We are “sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gl 3:26). And because we are sons, “God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Gl 4:6; Rm 8:15). We have received the adoption, and thus, we are brought into a covenant relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ (Rm 8:15: Gl 4:5). And if we are sons, then we are now joint heirs with Jesus (Rm 8:17; Gl 4:7).
The fatherhood of God the Father is limited to those who believe and obey the gospel, and thus, are in a covenant relationship with Him. God can have no fatherhood relationship with those who refuse to submit to their Father. If one refuses to humble himself under the mighty hand of God, he cannot enjoy a fatherhood relationship with the Father (See 1 Pt 5:5-7).
Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be the “everlasting Father” (Is 9:6). This may be a difficult statement to understand in reference to our understanding that God the Father is our Father. But we must understand that Jesus is our “everlasting Father” in relation to His redemption of us through His blood. The fatherhood of Jesus is emphasized in no greater way than in the relationship between God and man in reference to salvation in Christ. The Jews, as well as the Gentiles, invented a legalistic system of justification before God in order to depend on themselves for salvation. In other words, salvation was based on the individual’s ability to perform law and do good works in order to justify oneself before God. The problem with this system of supposed justification was that no one can keep law perfectly, nor do enough good works in order to atone for sin or earn the reward of heaven. This is true simply because all have sinned, but we cannot atone for our sins (Rm 3:9,10,23). One is thus in bondage to his own sin if he seeks God after a legalistic system of justification. He is a slave to himself and a system of religion he has made to be a yoke of burden. He thus needs a father to deliver him from his own bondage.
In Christ one is set free because of his adoption by the Father into sonship (Gl 5:1). In Christ, therefore, the son has the same nature as the Father, but the one who is a slave to his own self-imposed religion does not. In Christ, the son has a Father, but the slave has a master. In Christ, the son obeys out of love, but the slave out of fear. In Christ, the son is the heir of all things the Father has to offer, but the slave has no inheritance. Therefore, in Christ the son has a future with a Father, but the slave has only apprehension concerning his own salvation.
E. God the Father is eternal: Eternal means to exist without end. We would expect this of God. He exists without beginning or ending. We would expect that His existence would not be determined by that which is passing away. “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms …” (Dt 33:27). The word “everlasting” (olam) could in this context be understood after the meaning of the Greek word aionios which is used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word olam. By use of aionios, the writer wanted to emphasize the certainty of God’s protecting arms by which He delivers. In other words, God is there for us at all times. We can depend on Him because He is faithful. His faithfulness is in His eternality. In this sense, therefore, God’s arms of security are always there for us because He exists without end.
We can depend on God because He is without end. He “inhabits eternity” (Is 57:15). He is without beginning and ending. “Unendingness” is a concept that certainly is beyond the feeble speculations of our minds that are confined to clocks and calendars. But in order for God to be God, then certainly we must believe that His deity would presuppose eternality.
The very nature of God must be based on the fact that He is without beginning or ending. What good is a terminal god? God’s eternality, therefore, is not something to be argued from the Scriptures to be true. God does not have to prove that He is eternal. The fact that He is God is evidence of the fact. The eternality of God is inherent within the concept of God. For this reason, the Bible does not set forth a doctrinal presentation of God’s eternity. Eternality is simply accepted in Scripture as an axiomatic truth, that is, a truth that does not need to be proved. If one believes in God, then he must believe that this God is eternal.
Because God is eternal, His word is eternal. On the basis of the eternality of God, Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away but My words will by no means pass away” (Mt 24:35). Therefore, “the word of the Lord endures forever” because God endures forever (1 Pt 1:25).
F. God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. It was the choice of Jesus to lay down His life. Jesus said, “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father” (Jn 10:18).
Throughout His ministry, Jesus controlled His environment in order to take Himself to the cross. He would not allow a murderous mob to take His life. He did not allow Himself to be secretly killed by jealous religious leaders. He laid His life down and took it up again. The source of Jesus’ power to be resurrected was with the Father. For this reason, the resurrection of Jesus is attributed to the Father. It was the Father who raised Jesus from the dead, for He had given commandment to the Son to raise Himself from the dead (Jn 10:17,18). The Father raised Jesus “from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (Ep 1:20). It was the work of the Father in reference to the cross to resurrect the Son. We would conclude, therefore, that both the Father and Son worked together in the resurrection of the body of Jesus from the dead.
G. God the Father is unchanging. God is solid and unchanging as a rock (Dt 32:4). David wrote, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in him I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Ps 18:2).
The Father and the Son are immutable. They are the same today, yesterday and tomorrow (See Hb 13:8). The counsel of the Lord thus stands forever and the plans of His heart throughout all generations (Ps 33:11). His word “is settled in heaven.” His “faithfulness endures to all generations” (Ps 119:89,90). Malachi wrote the words of God, “For I am the Lord, I do not change …” (Ml 3:6). God is thus immutable, that is, unchangeable (Hb 6:17,18). With God, therefore, “there is no variation or shadow of turning” (Js 1:17).
Changeability is inherent in the minds and behavior of those whose choices are affected by the environment in which they live. Circumstances around us move us to vacillate from one action to another. We thus “make up our minds” in relation to the environmental circumstances that occur.
God dwells in an unchanging environment, and thus, is not affected in His will by changing circumstances in our environment. He dwells in eternity that does not change. It is thus not in the nature of God to change His mind because of changing circumstances in our environment. The unchanging nature of His heavenly environment assumes that He is unchanging.
Man cannot know the future. When we step into future events by the passing of every moment of time, circumstances we encounter will affect our decisions. We thus change our minds and actions as new events affect us. We make changes in our desires because of new information we have learned by experience.
God knows the future. He does not encounter anything new that would affect a change in His desire and will. Therefore, there is nothing new that would cause Him to change from His predetermined plans. In this sense, the omniscience of God is the foundation upon which the unchanging nature of God is based. There will never be any new information that will necessitate God changing from the direction of His eternal plans. Since His eternal plans were based on His knowledge of the future, any change of His eternal plans would label Him a frivolous God, a God that vacillates in order to play games with man. But such is not the nature of the Father. He is always there for us as He has always been there.
H. God the Father is all-knowing. God is omniscient. He knows all that is of nature because He created all nature (Gn 15:5; Is 40:26; Cl 1:16). David proclaimed, “He counts the number of the stars; He calls them by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite” (Ps 147:4,6). He knows all the work of man (Ps 119:168). He knows the innermost thoughts and motives of man. David wrote, “You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways” (Ps 139:2,3). God knows the past, present and future (Is 41:21-23; 45:1-4; 46:11). Isaiah wrote God’s claim concerning prophecy of the future. “Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them” (Is 42:9). God has based His eternal plans on His eternal knowledge. Therefore, we can trust in His work because He is working as a result of His knowledge of all things.
I. God the Father is all-powerful. All-powerful means that God is omnipotent. He can do all that can be done. He can do all that is logical. It is not that God can do the impossible. He cannot make round squares or straight lines that are bent. He can do what is logically possible.
The Lord said to Abraham and Sarah, “Is anything too hard for the Lord” (Gn 18:14). The answer is “No!” Job said of God, “I know that You can do everything” (Jb 42:2; see Is 26:4). Therefore, “with God all things are possible” (Mt 19:26; see Lk 1:37; At 26:8). All that can logically be done God can do through His power.
Pharaoh of Egypt discovered that the Lord was able to deliver His people through great power (Ex 12:30-32). After Daniel was thrown into the Lion’s den, King Darius asked, “Daniel, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” (Dn 6:20). The answer is “Yes!” God is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ep 3:20; see Ps 33:4-9; 107:23-32; Jb 1:10,12; 2:6: 42:2; Is 40:12-17; Dn 4:30-37; Mt 19:26). He is “the Lord God Omnipotent” who reigns (Rv 19:6).
The fact that God is all-powerful means that He is the only one who is all-powerful. There can never be two all-powerful beings. Satan could not also be omnipotent in view of the fact that God alone is omnipotent. The omnipotence of God, therefore, assumes that there is one God and that He alone has control of that supernatural world beyond this physical world. Satan can do nothing that is not allowed by God.
J. God the Father is everywhere present. When discussing the omnipresence of God, we are also limited in our understanding as in our discussions concerning the nature of God. God is beyond our full comprehension. We simply accept the biblical statements concerning the omnipresence of God, and thus, do not frustrate ourselves by our lack of understanding.
When the temple of the Old Testament was completed, Solomon stated, “I have surely built You an exalted house, and a place for You to dwell forever” (1 Kg 8:13). However, we must understand that Solomon did not believe for a moment that he had constructed a building in which to confine an omnipresent God. In the same speech before Israel, he stated, “But will God dwell on earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built?” (1 Kg 8:27; see 2 Ch 2:6). God does not dwell in temples made by the hands of those He created. Stephen made this point to the Jews who had deceived themselves into believing that God’s presence was in the temple. “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: ‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord, ‘Or what is the place of My rest?’” (At 7:48,49; see Is 66:1,2; Ps 102:23; At 17:24). It is in Him that “we live and move and have our being” (At 17:28; see Ps 139:3-10; Jr 23:23). How can we suppose that we can build a building in which God would live and move and have His being? That which is created cannot build a dwelling place for the Creator. Temples of men that are built to confine the presence of God are simply temples that confine the gods of those who believe that such gods can be confined to a specific location.
Paul said that it is in Him that we live, move and have our being (At 17:28). Since it is in God that we dwell, then how is it that we think that we can construct something of this earth in which we expect God to dwell? Can we suppose that we could construct a “sanctuary” for the dwelling of God? Is it possible that our concept of God is so small that we can house Him in a house?
The preceding is the problem with the thinking of worshipers who feel that they “come into the presence of the Lord” when they enter the “sanctuary” of some man-made structure that was built for worship of God. How can one go out of the presence of a God in whom we live, move and have our being? The very thought assumes that one can leave the presence of God in a building and go out into a world where he has escaped from God’s presence. This thinking is the spirit of idolatry. The next step is to carve some stone or piece of wood in order to confine God even to a location within an idol in a building, or possibly, carry Him around on one’s neck dangling from a golden chain.
Countless religions of the world are filled with the fetish borne gods of those who have confined supernatural power to sticks and stones. The African animist will confine his supernatural power to a fetish he can carry around with him. The religionist who scoffs at such will confine the supernatural power of His god to a building. What’s the difference?
The Bible speaks of a God who is everywhere. David realized this when he wrote, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there” (Ps 139:7,8). One cannot flee from the presence of God for He says, “‘Am I a God near at hand,’ says the Lord, ‘Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I will not see him?’ says the Lord ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the Lord” (Jr 23:23,24). How can one escape a God who fills heaven and earth? How can one confine such a God to temples and cathedrals?
When one considers the presence of God, he must be careful in using terms as “here” or “there.” Though the Bible uses the phrase “in heaven” in reference to God, we should be careful in how we would understand what is meant. Words as “here” and “there” convey human location. But if God is omnipresent, then He is neither “here” nor “there.” He is not “up” or “down.” He is here and there at the same time. He is up and down at the same time. He is in heaven, but it is in Him that we live, move and have our being, though we are not in heaven. God does not place Himself in a particular location wherein He is at the same time absent from another location. We must keep in mind that the Holy Spirit used human words to explain that which is beyond our understanding. We must keep in mind that God is not confined or limited by the definitions of our words. He is not a God who can be located in one place or another.
II. The work of the Father:
No part of God is idle at any one time in the history of man. The Christian is not a deist. He is not one who believes that God originally wound up the universe as a clock, and then, wandered off to a distant part of the universe, and subsequently, left man and earth on their own. God intervenes in His creation. In fact, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit intervene in the affairs of man in order to bring about the eternal plan of God to bring the obedient into eternal dwelling.
Man and the physical world were created for an eternal purpose of God. God thus works in order to accomplish His eternal purpose to bring the obedient into an eternal dwelling with Him in a new heavens and earth. In the following ways, therefore, God is actively working in the affairs of man to bring about the purpose for which He created all things:
- The Father is over all in order to maintain all (Ep 4:6).
- The Father sent the Son into the world in order to redeem the obedient (Jn 4:23,36; 8:17,18).
- The Father’s will was done by the Son in order that the Son accomplish the scheme of redemption (Jn 4:34).
- The Father glorified the Son for the sake of the obedient (Jn 16:14; 17:5).
- The Father loves the Son (Jn 3:35; 15:9; 17:24).
- The Father works on behalf of the Son who works on behalf of the obedient (Jn 5:17).
- The Father dwells in His people (Jn 14:10; 2 Co 6:16).
- The Father gives what is good to His people (Js 1:17).
- The Father works all things together for good for His people (Rm 8:28).
- The Father works to make a way of escape for those who love Him (1 Co 10:13).
- The Father will raise the dead to eternal glory (Jn 5:21; Rm 8:18).
Since the purpose for which the world was created was to bring free-moral individuals into an eternal relationship with God, then all that God does in this world is to accomplish this purpose. The Christian must know, therefore, that God is working in His creation on behalf of the Christian. Paul concluded, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rm 8:31,32). God is working for the Christian. He will not allow anything to interrupt His plans and purpose. Paul again wrote, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rm 8:38,39).
IV. The relationship and work of the Father and Son:
Though God is three in manifestation and designation of work, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit work as one. The impossibility of any three people on earth to be perfectly united as one should not confuse us in our understanding of the unity and oneness of God in His work among men. The inability of two or more men to be one as God should never be used to define the limit by which God can be one. In the relationship between the Father and Son, perfect unity and work should not be interpreted through the minds of men who cannot so work in the unity by which the Father and Son work. The following are examples where the Father and Son work in unison in reference to the common goal of God to bring the obedient into eternal dwelling:
- The Father and the Son work as one (Jn 10:30; 17:11,21-24).
- The Father sent the Son into the world (Jn 5:23,36; 8:17,18).
- The Father sent the Son to do His will (Jn 4:35; 6:38; Hb 5:8).
- The Father was greater than the Son when the Son was on earth (Jn 14:28).
- The Father gave the Son disciples (Jn 6:39; 10:29).
- The Father bore witness to the Son (Jn 5:31-37).
- The Father glorified the Son (Jn 8:54).
- The Father was God to whom the Son ascended (Dn 7:13,14; Jn 20:17).
- The Father and Son sent the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:13,14).
God has manifested Himself to man through the manifestations of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He has done such in order to transition the obedient into a habitation of eternal glory. The fact that God is three in work and manifestation does not make Christians polytheists. The Bible does not teach that there are three Gods. The accusation that Christians believe in three Gods is only evidence against those who make the accusations that they have created a god after their own imagination. They have thus concluded that since we cannot understand the oneness of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, then such a God does not exist. The denial of the God of the Bible is based on the fact that the accusers cannot conceive of a God who can be one, and yet, three in manifestation. But the accusers are arguing from the standpoint that since man cannot conceive or understand a God who is one but three in manifestation and work, then this God simply cannot exist.
The Christian simply takes the Bible for what it says in reference to the nature and being of God. He asks no questions beyond the answers of the Bible. He is not confused or brought into doubt concerning the Bible’s declaration of the God of three manifestations and works simply because he has not created a God after his own ability to understand.
[End of series.]