THE DOCTRINE OF GOD
Script by Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Anim
LESSON ONE
Presented by:
Isaac Owusu
(Lecturer, Pentecost University College)
LESSON ONE
Presentation Outline
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Belief in the one true God
Things Important to Note
God in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible)
The Name Jehovah and Other Titles of God
Discussion Questions
Closing Remarks
Belief in the existence of a Supreme Being is
universal.
In Africa, for instance, the belief was
expressed in the daily practical experiences
of the people before the advent of
Christianity.
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.
At the end of this course it is expected participants will:
Be abreast with the nature and character of the One
true God
Know the names by which God has revealed Himself in
the Old Testament
Know how God has revealed Himself in the New
Testament
Have clearer understanding of God being in three
persons
Appreciate the existence of God in African thought
What does The Church of Pentecost believe about the
One true God?
“We believe in the existence of the One True God,
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”
This is the second tenet or stated “believe” of the
Church.
It may also be described as a Statement or
Article of Faith or Credo (Latin word, meaning,
“I believe”)
In this study it is necessary to know that:
Creed became necessary in the history of the
universal Church as it sought to establish its identity in
the light of both general and special revelation viz the
word of God including the Holy Bible.
At the center of the tenets is the man named Jesus
Christians (Believers of the Faith) have expressed their
solidarity with the life and ministry of Jesus and his
testimony as the Son of God.
The New Testament reveals how the early
Christians identified with Jesus and his ministry
and the basis (underlying principle) of their
understandings of the personal relevance of
Jesus to their situation.
It is this same principle, which the books of the
Old Testament had affirmed with regards to
the existence of God and his manifestation
among his people as The Lord and Redeemer.
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.
This is because God does not lend himself to
direct observation.
He can only reveal himself to us as he did with
Moses in Exodus chapter 3
The Three names of God are significant:
El, Eloah, Elohim and in Greek, Theos – This is
translated in English as ‘God’.
El Elyon means God Most High and conveys the
thought of a transcendent being, exceptionally
strong and with inexhaustible life in Himself.
God is One on whom both God Himself and
everything that is not Himself depends.
This is the picture Moses might have received
when he encountered God in the burning
bush in Exodus chapter three.
God revealed Himself as a burning fire in a
bush and yet the bush was not consumed.
God is self-existent, self-sufficient and self-
sustaining.
The next name of God which expresses his being is
Adonay (Adonai) in Hebrew and Kyrios in Greek.
This is translated as ‘Lord’ in English language and
means one who rules over everything external to
him
Another name of God is Yahweh, meaning ‘the
LORD’ as translated in various versions of the Bible
(AV, KJV, RSV and NIV)
It is rendered Yahweh Sabaoth, which is translated
as ‘Lord of hosts’ or ‘Lord of the heavens’
Yahweh, originally written as YHWH is called
Tetragrammation, meaning a “four-letter-word”,
and was not pronounced, because it was
considered a most holy name.
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.
This was the name God first revealed to Moses in
the burning bush in Exodus 3; ‘I AM THAT I AM’.
The meaning of the English word God is ‘to
call’ and indicates simply the object of
worship, one whom human beings call upon or
invoke.
The Hebrew word Yahweh (The LORD) is
sometimes translated as Jehovah in our English
Bibles
As indicated earlier, the original name of God
was not vocalized
YHWH (also spelt YHVH), was considered too
holy and people were scared to pronounce it.
In 1518, a Catholic priest called Petrus
Galatinus, spelt God’s name as IEHOUA in his
publication.
In this artificial construction, the vowels of
Adonay and Elohim were combined with the
Tetragrammation YHWH to form Jehovah as a
substitute in reading
William Tyndale and other early Protestant
translators popularized the name Jehovah in the
English-speaking world.
In later translations, the name Lord or LORD was
used in place of Jehovah, indicating that the
corresponding Hebrew is Yaweh or YHWH.
i. What is a creed?
ii. What is the second tenet of The Church of Pentecost?
iii. Give the meaning of each of the following Hebrew
names of God:
a. Elohim
b. Adonay
c. Yahweh
God exists (Hebrews 6:11), and as can be
inferred from Exodus chapter three, He is self-
existent, self-sufficient and self-sustaining
THANK YOU
