Chapter 2: Of God and the Holy Trinity
The Lord our God is but one only living and true God;[1] whose subsistence is in and of Himself,[2] infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but Himself;[3] a most pure spirit,[4] invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto;[5] who is immutable,[6] immense,[7] eternal,[8] incomprehensible, almighty,[9] every way infinite, most holy,[10] most wise, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will,[11] for His own glory;[12] most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him,[13] and withal most just and terrible in His judgments,[14] hating all sin,[15] and who will by no means clear the guilty.[16]
[1] 1 Corinthians 8:4,6; Deuteronomy 6:4
[2] Jeremiah 10:10; Isaiah 48:12
[3] Exodus 3:14
[4] John 4:24
[5] 1 Timothy 1:17; Deuteronomy 4:15–16
[6] Malachi 3:6
[7] 1 Kings 8:27; Jeremiah 23:23
[8] Psalm 90:2
[9] Genesis 17:1
[10] Isaiah 6:3
[11] Psalm 115:3; Isaiah 46:10
[12] Proverbs 16:4; Romans 11:36
[13] Exodus 34:6–7; Hebrews 11:6
[14] Nehemiah 9:32–33
[15] Psalm 5:5–6
[16] Exodus 34:7; Nahum 1:2–3
God, having all life,[17] glory,[18] goodness,[19] blessedness, in and of Himself, is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which He hath made, nor deriving any glory from them,[20] but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them; He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things,[21] and He hath most sovereign dominion over all creatures, to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever Himself pleases;[22] in His sight all things are open and manifest,[23] His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to Him contingent or uncertain;[24] He is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works,[25] and in all His commands; to Him is due from angels and men, whatsoever worship,[26] service, or obedience, as creatures they owe unto the Creator, and whatever He is further pleased to require of them.
[17] John 5:26
[18] Psalm 148:13
[19] Psalm 119:68
[20] Job 22:2–3
[21] Romans 11:34–36
[22] Daniel 4:25,34–35
[23] Hebrews 4:13
[24] Ezekiel 11:5; Acts 15:18
[25] Psalm 145:17
[26] Revelation 5:12–14
In this divine and infinite Being there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word or Son, and Holy Spirit,[27] of one substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided:[28] the Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father;[29] the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son;[30] all infinite, without beginning, therefore but one God, who is not to be divided in nature and being, but distinguished by several peculiar relative properties and personal relations; which doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God, and comfortable dependence on Him.
[27] 1 John 5:7; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14
[28] Exodus 3:14; John 14:11; 1 Corinthians 8:6
[29] John 1:14,18
[30] John 15:26; Galatians 4:6