3.1.8 God, the Perfect One
God is perfect. He requires no improvement, change, or any further development. He is the Unchangeable One and is free from all conditions and constraints. His actions are not based on external necessity, but solely on His completely sovereign will.
God revealed Himself to Moses as the Perfect One who is completely identical with Himself: "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3: 14).
The perfection of God is closely linked to His goodness: everything that occurs in God, everything that emanates from Him or is created by Him, is perfect and good. God's perfection is also demonstrated by the fact that there is absolutely no difference of any kind between His will and His actions, between His intentions and their execution. Nor is there any failure with God, or any other thing that would be imperfect in itself. The creation shares in God's perfection and goodness, and it is for this reason that God finds His creation to be "very good" (Genesis 1: 31).
The perfection of God also incorporates the truth. With God there is no lie, deception, or uncertainty. "The entirety of Your word is truth" (Psalm 119: 160). The divine word is reliable. God binds Himself to His promises and is true.
The truth of God corresponds with wisdom. God rules and fills the entire creation with it: "Wisdom reacheth from one end to another mightily: and sweetly doth she order all things" (Wisdom of Solomon 8: 1).
God's perfection can be directly experienced in Jesus Christ, "the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12: 2) because He is perfect in His speech and conduct. Jesus Christ is the example and teacher of that perfection for which mankind is to strive (Philippians 2: 5).
The "goal for the prize of the upward call of God" (Philippians 3: 14)–in other words, perfection–is of an eschatological nature. Sinful human beings may well strive for perfection, but they will not attain it. Once they have been accepted at the return of Christ and permitted to partake in the new creation God will ultimately allow human beings to share completely in His perfection.
SUMMARY
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the one God, who has existed, created, acted, and sustained from the beginning. (3￫)
In His nature and activity, God cannot be grasped by human beings. Access to Him is only possible through faith. (3.1￫)
The one God is triune: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is not a reference to three Gods, but rather three persons (hypostases). (3.1.1￫)
Belief in the one God (monotheism) is among the fundamental professions of the Old and New Testaments, and is anchored in the Christian faith from the earliest apostolic congregations right up to the present. (3.1.2￫)
Holiness–majesty, inviolability, separation from the profane–is part of God's nature, being, and rule. His word and will are equally holy. (3.1.3￫)
God can do anything. There are no limitations of any kind for Him. His omnipotence also includes omniscience and omnipresence. (3.1.4￫)
God has neither beginning nor end. God's eternity is infinite, but not timeless. He is the Creator of time and thus superior to all dimensions of time. The past, present, and future are all equally current before Him. (3.1.5￫)
"God is love" (1 John 4: 16). He also shows Himself in history as a loving God. Above all, this becomes clear in the fact that He gave His Son for all humanity. (3.1.6￫)
God is the Gracious and Righteous One. He also demonstrates His grace in that He forgives sins. He grants the sinner righteousness through Jesus Christ. (3.1.7￫)
God is perfect. His works and ways are without flaw. His actions are based solely upon His completely sovereign will. God binds Himself to His promises and is true. God's perfection is directly perceptible in Jesus Christ. (3.1.8￫)