9/10/19

THE DOCTRINE OF GOD

Presentation Outline
Script by:
Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Anim u  LEARNING OUTCOMES
u  LESSON ONE:
² Introduction
² Belief in the one true God

Presented by: ² Important Things to Note

² God in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible)
Isaac Owusu ²  The Name Jehovah and Other Titles of God
(Lecturer, Pentecost University College)
² Discussion Questions
² Closing Remarks

At the end of this course it is expected participants will:

u  Belief in the existence of a Supreme Being is

v Be abreast with the nature and character of the One
true God
v Know the names by which God has revealed Himself in
the Old Testament
v Know how God has revealed Himself in the New
Testament
v Have clearer understanding of God being in three
persons
v Appreciate the existence of God in African thought
universal.
u  In Africa, for instance, the belief was expressed
in the daily practical experiences of the
people before the advent of Christianity.
u  However, it is in the Bible that we know about
the various ways in which the Supreme Being
(God) has revealed Himself to human beings.

1  
 9/10/19  

u  What does The Church of Pentecost believe about the u  It may also be described as a Statement or
One true God?
Article of Faith or Credo (Latin word, meaning,
u  “We believe in the existence of the One True God,
“I believe”)
Elohim, Maker of the whole universe; indefinable, but
revealed as Triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit –
One in nature, essence and attributes; Omnipotent,
Omniscient and Omnipresent”

u  This is the second tenet or stated “believe” of the

Church.

u  In this study it is necessary to know that:

u  The New Testament reveals how the early
u  Creed became necessary in the history of the universal Christians identified with Jesus and his ministry
Church as it sought to establish its identity in the light of
and the basis (underlying principle) of their
both general and special revelation viz the word of
God including the Holy Bible.
understandings of the personal relevance of
Jesus to their situation.
u  At the center of the tenets is the man named Jesus
u  Christians (Believers of the Faith) have expressed their u  It is this same principle, which the books of the
solidarity with the life and ministry of Jesus and his Old Testament had affirmed with regards to the
testimony as the Son of God.
existence of God and his manifestation among
u  It is the history of Jesus of Nazareth, which provides the his people as The Lord and Redeemer.
foundation and the basis for our understanding of God
and his relation to his creation

2
 

u  In the Old Testament, all the names given to
God proclaim some aspects of his nature and
reveal his manifestations in the affairs of
mankind.
u  This is because God does not lend himself to
direct observation.
u  He can only reveal himself to us as he did with
Moses in Exodus chapter 3
u  This is the picture Moses might have received
when he encountered God in the burning bush
in Exodus chapter three.
u  God revealed Himself as a burning fire in a bush
and yet the bush was not consumed.
u  God is self-existent, self-sufficient and self-
sustaining.
9/10/19
u  Three names of God are significant:
v  El, Eloah, Elohim and in Greek, Theos – This is
translated in English as ‘God’.
v  El Elyon means God Most High and conveys the
thought of a transcendent being, exceptionally
strong and with inexhaustible life in Himself.
v  God is One on whom both God Himself and
everything that is not Himself depends.
u  The next name of God which expresses his being is
Adonay (Adonai) in Hebrew and Kyrios in Greek.
u  This is translated as ‘Lord’ in English language and
means one who rules over everything external to
him
u  Another name of God is Yahweh, meaning ‘the
LORD’ as translated in various versions of the Bible
(AV, KJV, RSV and NIV)
u  It is rendered Yahweh Sabaoth, which is translated
as ‘Lord of hosts’ or ‘Lord of the heavens’
3
 9/10/19
 

u  Yahweh, originally written as YHWH is called u  The meaning of the English word God is ‘to call’
Tetragrammation, meaning a “four-letter-word”,
and indicates simply the object of worship, one
and was not pronounced, because it was
considered a most holy name.
whom human beings call upon or invoke.

u  YHWH is the personal name for God by which his

people were to invoke Him as the Lord who has
taken them into covenant relationship with Himself
in order to show them his power, grace and mercy.

u  This was the name God first revealed to Moses in

the burning bush in Exodus 3; ‘I AM THAT I AM’.

u  The Hebrew word Yahweh (The LORD) is u  In 1518, a Catholic priest called Petrus
sometimes translated as Jehovah in our English Galatinus, spelt God’s name as IEHOUA in his
Bibles publication.

u  As indicated earlier, the original name of God
was not vocalized
u  YHWH (also spelt YHVH), was considered too
holy and people were scared to pronounce it.
u  In this artificial construction, the vowels of
Adonay and Elohim were combined with the
Tetragrammation YHWH to form Jehovah as a
substitute in reading

4  
 9/10/19  

i.  What is a creed?

u  William Tyndale and other early Protestant
translators popularized the name Jehovah in the
English-speaking world.
ii.  What is the second tenet of The Church of Pentecost?
iii.  Give the meaning of each of the following Hebrew
names of God:

u  In later translations, the name Lord or LORD was a. Elohim

used in place of Jehovah, indicating that the
b. Adonay
corresponding Hebrew is Yaweh or YHWH.
c. Yahweh

u  God exists (Hebrews 11:6), and as can be

inferred from Exodus chapter three, He is self-
existent, self-sufficient and self-sustaining THANK  YOU  

5