Chapter 2.1 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith and the Westminster Confession of Faith both state that “The Lord our God is… without body, parts, or passions.” Any study of the Doctrine of God can be a bit daunting, and one will quickly find it intellectually challenging when specific doctrines are pursued in depth. Nevertheless, every Christian should take the time to understand the nature and essence of God as much as they are able. One such study that I have focused on teaching on Wednesday nights at Ephesus Church is the confession’s statement “…without body, parts, or passions”, or the doctrine Divine Noncorporeality, the doctrine of Divine Simplicity, and the doctrine of Divine Impassibility. As we work through the 1689 LBC, we have paused for several weeks to consider the intent of the writers’ statement, and have discovered some wonderful truths along the way.
Having just completed a thorough study of “…without body, parts, or passions” I want to hopefully make it a bit easier on anyone else who might seek to do the same. Below is a list of resources that I have found most helpful – and of course, if you have any that I have missed, please include them in the comments:
Books:
DOES GOD SUFFER? by Thomas Weinandy (Notre Dame Press, 2000)
THE CHRISTIAN FAITH pages 228-253 by Michael Horton (Zondervan, 2011)
THE EXISTENCE AND ATTRIBUTES OF GOD 1:310-362 by Stephen Charnock (Baker, 2005)
REFORMED DOGMATICS, VOL II chapter 4 by Herman Bavinck (Baker, 2008)
POST-REFORMATION REFORMED DOGMATICS, VOL III, Part 2:4.3 by Richard Muller (Baker, 2003)
Online Articles:
HUMAN SUFFERING AND THE IMPASSIBILITY OF GOD by Thomas Weinandy
GOD WITHOUT MOOD SWINGS by Phil Johnson
THE IMPASSIBILITY OF GOD: CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA TO MOLTMANN by Dr. Robert Duncan Culver
OF THE UNITY OF GOD by Thomas Boston
EUTHYPHRO, GOD’S NATURE, AND THE QUESTION OF DIVINE ATTRIBUTES by Jules Grisham
Videos:
DIVINE SIMPLICITY on The Reformed Forum
DIVINE IMPASSIBILITY on The Reformed Forum
(By: Nick Kennicott)
The Decablog 