Read This Book!

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Persons In Communion, Alan J. Torrance, T&T Clark, 1996.

This book is awesome.  It is a critique of personalist, LaCugna et al,
presentations of the Doctrine of God.  He does a good job of summarizing
personalist presentations and "whining" because they forget about a
communion of persons.  I am still trying to digest all of the
personalist presentations he has presented!

I am preparing some Apostolic affirmations of faith for my web site. 
This is the affirmation of the doctrine of God.

An Affirmation of the Revelation of God in Jesus Christ

Apostolics are revelational monotheists.  Apostolics believe that the
one true God, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob is revealed in
Jesus Christ.  This revelation is personal.  God is not an  it or a
thing. God is a person who encounters us as persons, addresses us as
persons, defines us as persons, and who establishes a dynamic personal 
relationship with us as persons.  God is an I who speaks to humankind as
a thou and reveals his identity as Lord.

For Apostolics revelation brings the knowledge of God.  God is not
different from the one who he  reveals himself to be.  God is God (the
Father).  God is Jesus Christ (the Son), God is Holy Spirit, (Spirit). 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three identities, ways of existence, of
the one true God.  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three I's, but
one I thrice.  

The Apostolic Pentecostal understanding of God is Biblical, historical,
and revelatory.  God is proclaimed to be Father, Son, and Spirit because
of  His revelation in human history.  Apostolics are not attempting to
explain how three different entities could be one in being.  Apostolics
are describing the coming of God into human history in a threefold way. 
The Apostolic knowledge of God is a revelational event.  Apostolics 
come to know God (the Father) in the Son (Jesus) through the Holy
Spirit.   God is the revealer, the revealed, and the revealedness. 

The writers of the New Testament had no difficulty identifying Jesus
with the one true God of the Old Testament.  Jesus is given the title
Lord, kyrios, the Old Testament name for God (I Cor. 8:6).  Jesus is
said to be the image of the invisible God  (Col. 1:15).  In Jesus, God
is manifest in the flesh (I Tm 3:16).  All of the fullness of the
Godhead is said to reside in Jesus (Co. 2:9).  These affirmations of
faith were made with power, boldness, and without hesitation.  These
Christians did not feel that they were in danger of violating a doctrine
of a Triune god.  They had no conception of the Nicene doctrine of the
Trinity and its explicit distinctions between Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit.  They did not understand God's unity in terms of essences and
substances. They understood God's unity as a unity of a revelational
event.  The one true God of Israel, the Father, is made known in Jesus
Christ through the Holy Spirit. 

The doctrine of God embraced by Apostolic Pentecostals demonstrates an
essential continuity with the New Testament.  For Apostolics the
knowledge of God is a revelational event.  Through the baptism in the
Holy Spirit Apostolics receive the revelation of the "name", a knowledge
of the fullness of God in Christ.  Apostolics come to know God (the
Father), in the Son (Jesus), through the Holy Spirit. Apostolics baptize
in the name of the one (Jesus), in whom the one God Himself (the
Father), is with us through the Holy Spirit.

As Apostolics entering the third millennium we affirm the revelation of
God in Jesus Christ.  We affirm that the one true God is known only by
his self  revelation in human history which culminates in Jesus Christ. 
We affirm that God (the Father) is revealed in Jesus Christ (the Son)
through the Holy Spirit.  We affirm that God is not different from His
self revelation in human history.  We affirm that Jesus is God manifest
in the flesh.  We affirm that the fullness of God dwells in Christ.  We
affirm that Jesus is Lord.  We affirm that Jesus is the "name" of God. 
We affirm that the Apostolic doctrine of God is consistent with Holy
Scripture and the experience and worship of Jesus in the Apostolic
community.

Copyright 1999, Steve Starcher

Believe it or not Apostolics are reacting positively to this
affirmation!  I was somewhat hesitant because it speaks of three
identities in God, three ways of existence.  But it seems to fly!  I
guess they might have some trouble if they discover that it is modern
theology!

I have been doing a lot of reading the past few weeks on the doctrine of
God, the Trinity.  But I am going to change gears and start writing
again.  I will be interacting with Beisener's book which portrays
Apostolics as a cult!  Its going to be a whole lot of fun!

Hope all is going well with you and Jenn!

God Bless!

Steve