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From the Archives: Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?
Why is there anything at all? The Christian doctrine of creation begins by refusing to treat existence as self-explanatory. The world is neither necessary nor self-sufficient. It exists because the living God freely gives being to what is not God. This earlier essay considers what the existence of the world reveals about divine fullness, creaturely…
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Aseity, Pure Actuality, and the Divine Attributes
Reader’s introduction: A detailed account of how God’s self-sufficient life illuminates the unity and perfection of the divine attributes. For an introductory reading sequence, consult the Divine Blessedness library. Imagine Moses as he stands before the bush that burns without being consumed. He protested his inadequacy: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?”…
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The Blessed God Gives Life: Divine Plenitude and the Good Life in 1 Timothy
Reader’s introduction: A close reading of the biblical language of divine blessedness and the life God freely gives to his people. Begin with the Divine Blessedness reading pathway if you are new to this subject. WHY DOES 1 TIMOTHY CALL GOD ΜΑΚΑΡΙΟΣ? First Timothy twice uses μακάριος to describe God, first in “the gospel of…
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Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?
Irenaeus, Augustine, Jonathan Edwards, and John Behr on the Gift and Goal of Creation Thesis: The world exists because the blessed God, who lacks nothing, freely gives being and life through his Word and Spirit, ordering creation toward communion with himself and bringing its purpose to light in Jesus Christ. The Question Before there were…
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The God Who Cannot Be Overcome: A Scriptural, Dogmatic, and Historical Defense of Divine Impassibility
Reader’s introduction: An extended scholarly essay on divine impassibility; begin with the shorter companion article if this doctrine is unfamiliar. Begin with the Divine Blessedness reading pathway if you are new to this subject. It is possible a grieving Christian has never asked whether God possesses passive potency. Suffering saints ask whether God cares. Does…
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The Blessedness of God and the Triune Life of Love
Reader’s introduction: Begin here for the relationship between divine blessedness and the eternal communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For an introductory reading sequence, consult the Divine Blessedness library. John Owen said: “The blessedness of God consists in the ineffable mutual inbeing of the three holy persons in the same nature.” This statement moves…
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John Owen On The Blessed God Who Gives Himself to His People
Reader’s introduction: An accessible introduction to John Owen’s account of God’s goodness and the grace of communion with him. For an introductory reading sequence, consult the Divine Blessedness library. What kind of God do Christians worship? Is God lonely, seeking fulfillment through creation? Does he require our worship in order to complete himself? Or does…
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The Blessed God and the Fecundity of Triune Plenitude: Discovering Theological Foundations in Jonathan Edwards’s Discourse on the Trinity
Reader’s introduction: A historical-theological study of Jonathan Edwards and the fullness of the triune life. Begin with the Divine Blessedness reading pathway if you are new to this subject. Edwards begins his discussion of the Trinity with a reflection upon God’s happiness: “When we speak of God’s happiness, the account that we are wont to…
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Exegetical Foundations for Divine Plenitude
Reader’s introduction: A biblical starting point for the broader doctrine of divine fullness, with further reading in classical theology. For an introductory reading sequence, consult the Divine Blessedness library. Any theological account of divine plenitude must begin with Scripture’s own depiction of God as infinitely alive, blessed, and communicative in his goodness. The Christian doctrine…
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Divine Plenitude: The Overflowing Life of God
Reader’s introduction: An introduction to divine plenitude and creation as a free gift from the fullness of God’s life. For an introductory reading sequence, consult the Divine Blessedness library. God is powerful. God is sovereign. God is immutable. Yet one can affirm all of them while still imagining God as fundamentally closed, static, or solitary.…
