"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork.  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge." - Psalm 19, 1-3.
 "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God." - Psalm 90, 2.
 Whatever man knows of God, he knows through God's own revelation of Himself either in the realm of nature or in the realm of grace.
 By means of His natural knowledge, man realizes that there is a divine Being who had created this world and still preserves and rules it.  The natural knowledge alone does not tell who God is.  The Christian's knowledge of God is obtained from Holy Scripture, where He is revealed as the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit.

2. What is the nature or essence of God?

 "God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." - Saint John 4, 24.
 God is a Spirit, complete and existing in Himself.  The Bible declares in Saint John 5, 26: "The Father hath life in Himself."

3. How many gods are there?

 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:. . . There is one God; and there is none other but He." - Saint Mark 12, 29 and 32.
 God is one, by the clear statement of Hol,y Scriptures.  There never has been, is not now, nor ever will be nor ever can be another Being like Him. Deuteronomy 4, 35 declares: "The Lord, He is God.  There is none else beside Him."

4. Why then do we speak of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost?

 "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." - Saint Matthew 28, 19.
 " If ye love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever." - Saint John 14, 15-17.
 In the one Godhead there are three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy ghost, inseparably one in the same divine essence, equal in power, glory and majesty.
 While it is clearly explained in Holy Scripture, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is completely beyond our human reason.  In its majestic language the Athanasian Creed, one of the confessions universally accepted by Christians, declares:
 "We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the Substance.  For there is one Person of the Father; another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost.  But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one: the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.  Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost . . . So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and Holy Ghost almighty.  And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.  So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God.  And yet they are not three Gods, but one God . . . And in this Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another; but the whole three aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped." (Triglot, p. 33)
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5 Who is God the Father?

 "The Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art My son; this day have I begotten Thee." - Psalm 2, 7.
 "For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself." - Saint John 5, 26.
 God the Father is God of Himself, the first person of the Holy Trinity who has from eternity begotten the Son, and with the Son, has from eternity sent forth the Holy Ghost.

6. Who is God the Son?
 "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth." - Saint John 1, 14.
 The second person of the Holy Trinity is from eternity, the only- begotten Son of the Father, true God, equal with the Father in divine attributes.
 Christians cherish this golden passage of Holy Scripture: "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - Saint John 3, 16.

7. Who is God the Holy Ghost?
 
 "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." - Saint John 14, 26.
 The Holy Ghost from eternity proceeds from the Father and the Son.  He is true God, equal with the Father and the Son in divine essence, attributes and glory.

8. Memorize this beautiful confession of our Christian faith - Martin Luther's explanation of the three articles of our Christian faith, each describing in a beautiful one-sentence summary the person and work of the members of the Holy Trinity:

 a. God the Father:
 I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still preserves them; also clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and home, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods; that He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life; that He defends me against all danger, and guards and protects me from all evil; and all this purely out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all which it is my duty to thank and praise, to serve and obey Him.  This is most certainly true.

 b. God the Son:
 I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.  This is most certainly true.

 c. God the Holy Ghost:
 I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all sins to me and all believers, and will at the Last Day raise up me and all the dead, and give unto me and all believers in Christ eternal life.  This is most certainly true.

9. How does Holy Scripture describe God?

 a. He is indivisible.
 "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." - Deuteronomy 6, 4.
 b. He is unchangeable.
 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." - James 1, 17.
 c. He is infinite, not limited by space or time.
 "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amer." - 1 Timothy 1, 17.
 d. His is life itself..
 "He only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see." - 1 Timothy 6, 16.
 e. He is supreme intelligence.
 "God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things." - 1 John 3, 20.
 f. He is supreme wisdom.
 "With Him is wisdom and strength, He hath counsel and understanding." - Job 12, 13.
 "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord Or who hath been His counsellor?  Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?" - Romans 11, 33-35.
 g. The written law has been recorded as a divine attribute of God, inasmuch as He is intent upon the execution of His purpose, the accomplishment of His designs, the realization of His counsels and the fulfillment of His ordination.
 "He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." - Psalm 33, 9.
 h. God is perfectly holy and powerful.
 "Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy." - Leviticus 19, 2.
 i. God is supremely true.
 "He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He." - Deuteronomy 32, 4.
 "The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." - Psalm 19,9.
 j. God is supremely true.
 "He keepeth truth forever." - Psalm 146,6.
 "The Word of the Lord is right; and all His works are done in truth." - Psalm 33, 4.
 k. God is Good.
 "The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works." - Psalm 145, 9.
 "How excellent is Thy loving kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings." - Psalm 36, 7.
 l. God is loving.
 "God is love; and He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." - 1 John 4, 16.
 m. God is benevolent.
 "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him." - First Saint John 4, 9.
 n. God is gracious, offering and conferring His blessing regardless of our own sinfulness.
 "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." - Romans 3, 23 and 24.
 o. God is merciful, having compassion upon the afflicted.
 "He delivereth the poor in his affliction and openeth their ears in oppression." - Job 36, 15.
 p. God is all-powerful, omnipotent.
 "With God all things are possible." - Saint Mark 10, 27.
 
Test Paper - Lesson 3
1. Check which of the following statements is true.
 a. Out observations in the realm of nature tell us that there is a God.
 b. The Bible tells us who God is and what His gracious will toward us is.

2. Complete the following Bible passage: "God is a ..............................................; and they that worship Him must worship Him ............................................................"

3. a. Please give a Bible passage stating that God is One.
....................................................................................................... ..........................................

    b. Please give a Bible passage naming the three Persons of the Godhead.

....................................................................................................... .............................................

4. Please give the special function or work of God the Father: ..................................................; of God the Son:.....................................................................; of God the Holy Spirit: ................................

5. Please write Martin Luther's explanation of the Second Article of our Christian faith:
....................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................... ............................................................................

6. Please describe in your own words what we mean when we say that God in "infinite."

7. List any three descriptions which the Bible gives of God.
    a. ....................................................................................................... .......................................
    b. ....................................................................................................... .......................................
    c. ....................................................................................................... .......................................

8. Complete Saint John 3, 16, a golden passage of Holy Scripture: "God so loved ...........................,........................................................................... .............................,......................................................................... .............................................................,......................................... ....................................................................................................... ...................................."
Have you committed this passage to memory? ..........................

9. Please match the following functions with the proper Person of the Godhead.
........................................... God the Father
........................................... God the Son
........................................... God the Holy Spirit

a. Preservation of human life.
b. The providing of our physical needs.
c. Enlightening each believer.
d. Suffering and dying in our stead.
e. Calling us by the Gospel.
f. Resurrection from the dead for our life.

10. Complete the following Bible passage: "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because....................................... God sent ..................................................................................
................................................................." - 1 Saint John 4, 9.

Make every effort to fill in the answers from memory.  If you are not sure of certain answers, you may look them up in the lesson.  Your paper will be graded according to the following standards: 10 correct: perfect; 9 correct: excellent; 8 correct: very good; 7 correct: good.