Letter from the Pastor February, 10th 2026
INTRODUCTION
“Woe is me,” cried Isaiah when he was given a vision of the reality and holiness of God. We might give the same response as we seek to understand the doctrine of God in the Second London Confession. Chapter 2 of this historic Baptist confession of faith is entitled Of God & the Holy Trinity. Over the next five weeks we’ll walk through the three paragraphs of this chapter, seeking to grow in our understanding of who God is, how he relates to his creatures, as well as how the three persons of the Trinity relate to one another. No other chapter in the confession fills me with as much caution as I labor to explain its contents. As the confession itself says, God is incomprehensible, and therefore our best attempts to explain him fall woefully short of the task. What is God? Can we even define him if he is incomprehensible? How are we to understand the Trinity of Father, Son, and Spirit? How can God be one and three? These are the questions we’ll attend to in this series.
SECOND LONDON CONFESSION, 2:1a
The Lord our God is but one only living and true God; whose subsistence is in and of Himself, infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but Himself; a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions…[1]
THE CATHOLICITY OF THE CONFESSION
Anyone familiar with the early creeds of the Christian church will instantly sense their presence in this chapter of the confession. The London Confession stands as a direct descendant from the Nicene Creed (A.D. 325) and the language of the church fathers. In other words, the confession does not offer any new or novel thoughts concerning the doctrine of God. It only picks up the shared vocabulary from the creeds and classical theists such as Athanasius, Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas. Therefore, when we study the Reformed doctrine of God, we stand alongside the historic orthodox Christians of all streams. As we walk through this chapter together, you’ll learn words like subsistence, being, essence, passions, begotten, procession, and relations. All these terms have a rich history in the writings of the church from its earliest days through the Patristic, Scholastic, and Reformed eras.
OUTLINE OF THE CHAPTER
The confession breaks the doctrine of God into three paragraphs, each with its own emphasis. Paragraph one speaks to God’s nature and attributes. Here we will encounter doctrines such as God’s aseity and simplicity along with his infinite mercy and love. The second paragraph draws an infinite distinction between God and creatures. We call this the Creator/creature distinction. The final paragraph unfolds the church’s historic teaching on the Holy Trinity; that God is one in essence and three in person. Here the confession highlights the personal relations of the Trinity as well as the eternal generation of the Son and the eternal procession of the Spirit. Don’t worry. If those terms are new or foreign to you, they will be explained in the weeks to come.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINE
While all Christians ought to intuitively understand the importance of the doctrine of God, I find that Christians often overlook or roll their eyes at this doctrine. Perhaps that’s because of the highly philosophical language related to essence and being. The doctrine of God seems strange and esoteric. Or maybe they don’t see how this doctrine connects to their own daily life. They care more about the doctrines of God’s providence, salvation, or the doctrine of sin or the last things.
It’s at this point that I want to raise your level of awareness. There may be no Christian doctrine that is under more assault than classical Christian theism. In the last century several influential theological movements have tinkered with, and in some cases redefined classical formulations of the doctrine of God.
In the mid-20th century, Process Theology taught that God is evolving with creation. In other words, God is in process. Toward the end of the 20th century, Open Theism argued that God voluntarily limits his own knowledge in order to allow for free choices. The future is, therefore, partly open. More recently, many prominent evangelical theologians have entertained the idea that for God to have a genuine relationship with us, there must be a mutual give-and-take between the Creator and the creation. To varying degrees, all three of these movements deny what Christians have classically confessed regarding God’s aseity, simplicity, and immutability. You may ask, “Ok, but isn’t that all just a bunch of academic babble?” No! I recently heard R.C. Sproul put it like this: “If there is one scintilla of becoming in God, then God is no longer God.” He’s right! God cannot become what he was not a moment ago. If he can, then he is not God, and we can have no certainty about his power, love, or the security of our redemption.
Even though the church had ironed out the credal statements concerning God in the early church councils, the doctrine of God is still under fire today, and nothing short of our salvation is at stake when the doctrine of God is under assault.
CONCLUSION
In the coming weeks, both you and I will be stretched. I want to walk you through the doctrine of God in such a way that I accurately explain the truth while also making sure I don’t drown you in theological terminology. Who is this God in whom we confess belief? What does the Bible teach us about him? And how do we formulate a systematic doctrine of his nature, person, and work that increases our worship, obedience, and delight? These are the questions that await.
In Christ,
Pastor Jonathan
[1]You would be helped to read the entirety of chapter 2 on your own time. The full text of the confession can be accessed at: https://www.the1689confession.com