God The Father – The First Person in Holy Trinity

GOD THE FATHER is the fountainhead of the Holy Trinity. The Scriptures reveal the one God is Three Persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — eternally sharing the one divine nature. From the Father the Son is begotten before all ages and all time (Ps.  2: 7; 2 Cor. 11: 31). It is from the Father that the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds (Jn. 15: 26). God the Father created all things through the Son, in the Holy Spirit (Gen. 1 and 2; Jn. 1: 3; Job 33: 4), and we are called to worship Him (Jn. 4: 23). The Father loves us and sent His Son to give us everlasting life (Jn. 3: 16).  (Fatherhood of God. – Matt. 5: 48; 6: 26; Jn. 6:27; 1 Cor. 8: 6).

We all know that God is called Father. St. Paul says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” When His Disciples asked Christ Himself to teach them how to pray, He taught them “Our Father Who art in Heaven . . . “. Again we find in the Gospel of St. John, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have ever-lasting life.”

We find much purer and complete knowledge of God in the Holy Scriptures. God, Himself revealed to the righteous people of the Old and New Testaments, seeking Him. God is called Father in two senses: the moral and the doctrinal sense. God presents Himself as the Father of all of us in a moral sense and meaning, in the Lord’s Prayer, in the parable of the Prodigal Son, and in many other places in the Holy Scriptures. He is a Father with infinite love for His creatures. A Father Who sends the sun and the rain and all His other gifts to all people. A Father Who always receives with open arms all sinners; those who have taken the wrong path; even criminals, as long as they repent. He is our Father, our Creator, and our Protector. He accepts us when we repent and reinstates us in our former glory. He is our Father because He intends us to be heirs of His Own Kingdom. For all of these reasons, He is our Father. But all of us, and the angels, too, are children of God “by grace.”

In His Being, God is beyond comprehension not only for humans, but also for the angelic understanding. There is no definition of God. That, which is defined, is limited. How can we define and limit God? If we could do this, God would not be God, but, instead, we would be gods or at least something superior to God. Holy Scriptures give us an elevated and unified portrayal of God.

God reveals Himself to humans as a Being that is completely separate from the physical world, specifically – as a Spirit. “God is Spirit,” say the Scriptures, – “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (John 4: 24; 2 Cor. 3:17). God is the highest, purest and most perfect Spirit. God revealed himself to the prophet Moses, as “I Am” (Jehovah) as a pure, spiritual, highest Existence. As Spirit, which God is, He does not require space, but rather He fills space; He is, that is to say, present everywhere. God is Eternal. The Existence of God – is beyond time, for time is simply a form of existence that is final and variable. He is unaffected by change and therefore is unalterable. The Spirit cannot be confined within earthly limits; it does not age, does not accept changes or alterations. God is Omnipresent. He is All-encompassing as he is present everywhere. “Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me” (Ps. 139:7-10). 

Since God has all of these qualities, God is Omnipotent. He comprehends everything. “For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast” (Ps. 33: 9) – so expresses the Psalmist about the omnipotence of God. God is the Creator and the Provider of the world.  God is All-knowing. He has unlimited knowledge. He knows and has always before Him the past, the present, and the future. Past, present, and future have a meaning for us; but for God, they have no meaning or significance. Everything is in the present to Him. He is eternal. He acts always correctly and with purpose. God is Omniscient. “All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13). “Thine eyes did see my substance,” – wrote King David (Ps. 138:16). God is All-wise. The wisdom of God is another facet of His omniscience. “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite” (Ps. 147: 5).

He is the All mighty and the Ruler of everything. He is All-powerful; nothing can resist Him. Before Him, “every knee” is bent. Again, John the Evangelist tells us that God is Absolute Love. Since He is complete Love, God is Self-sufficient. He has no need whatsoever of anything outside of Himself. He is truly All-blessed. Scripture tells us still again that He is Light, the Light of Truth that enlightens and blesses everything. God is self-sufficient and all blessed. These two words have similar meaning. It signifies the fullness of possession, complete blessedness, the fullness of all good things. “As though He needed any thing, seeing He gives to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). In this way, God Himself appears the Source of all life, every blessing; from Him all creatures draw their satisfaction.

God is All-good, that is – He is infinitely kind. He is Perfect Goodness. The Scriptures witness: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (Ps. 103:8). “God is Love” (1 John 4:16). The goodness of God extends not to some limited region of the earth, like the characteristic love of limited beings, but to the whole world with all the beings found therein. God is Sovereign and ruler of the universe. He lovingly cares about the lives and needs of each creature, no matter how small or insignificant they may appear to us. “God is like a mother bird, which, seeing its fledgling fallen from the nest, herself flies out of it, in order to lift it, and when she sees him in danger of being swallowed by some kind of snake, with mournful cries circles it and all the other fledglings, not being capable of being indifferent to the death of one of them” (Clement of Alexandria). “God loves us more than a father, mother or friend, or anyone else, can love, and even more than we can love ourselves, because God cares more about our salvation than even about His own glory, evidence of which serves that He sent His Only-Begotten Son into the world for suffering and death (in human flesh) only for the sake of opening for us the path of salvation and eternal life” (John Chrysostom). If a person often does not understand the full force of the goodness of God, then this occurs because he focuses his own thoughts and desires too much on earthly welfare; but God’s industry combines the gifts of temporary, earthly blessings with the appeal to acquire eternal goods for ourselves, for our souls.

God is All Righteous. He is also Most Holy. He is the highest justice. He treats all of His creatures with utmost love, justice, and mercy. Holiness is comparable to light, and Godly holiness – as purest light. God is “One Holy” by essence, by His nature. He is the Source of holiness for angels and people. The Justice of God is another side of the all-righteousness of God. “He shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness” (Ps. 9:8). “Who will render to every man according to his deeds, For there is no respect of persons with God” (Rom. 2:6 and 11). God’s truth is always mercy, and mercy is truth, according to the statement: “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Ps. 85:10).

God is Unchangeable. “The Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17). God is perfection, and each change is a sign of imperfection, and therefore is unthinkable in a perfect Being. Notwithstanding His invariability, His Being is life, full of power and activity. God Himself in Himself is life, and life, – is His existence.

Reading Holy Scripture, we can, without fear of being in error, say that there is one Trinitarian God. – Only One, True, Trinitarian God, the highest, infinite, unlimited, perfect spiritual Being, Creator, and Director of the world, from Whom derived all that has been created and is sustained. It teaches that God is One. He is the highest, overall and individual Being; God is Spirit – eternal, glorious, sovereign, All-holy, All-mighty, All-good, All-loving, All-knowing, Omnipresent, Omniscient, All-righteous, All-wise, invariable, unchangeable., All-satisfied, All-blessed. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall have sight of God.” Blessed and happy are those who have a pure heart, for they shall see God. So, we must have a pure heart.