I believe we all wrestle with some confusion and misunderstanding concerning the nature of God. We struggle with God’s nature and God as “being” itself. God as “being” itself can be seen as outside our space and time. God is the singularity, which can best be described as Love, which never changes; God is the uncreated creator; Jesus the uncreated created and the Holy Spirit the created uncreated. This paradox of God seen through the Trinity also points to the paradox of singularity as well. God’s love is His mercy and His grace; His providence is His compassion as well as His kindness, guidance, power and purpose. With God there is no separation, nothing in Him stands between Him.

So, what is so difficult about the nature of God, since we just described His singularity as well as from our point of view His attributes? I think in order to make a complex idea seem more understandable; we project our worldliness onto His holiness. Jesus teaches this in Matthew 16:23, as he tells Peter, “You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Perhaps there are many ways to interpret this passage, however, it seems to me, Jesus is saying, you are thinking as a man would think not as God thinks. We often hear Jesus saying He has come to fulfill the law, in many cases this means, He is bringing the Word forward as in Isaiah 55:9, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

I am suggesting we a adopt a world view based on the foundation that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one in the same. In the lowest common denominator, the Truth is simply what is. When we hold on to the idea of God as singularity, then His love is the Truth. This leads me to the conclusion that there can only be one worldly Truth as well, the same Truth whether seen through the lenses of theology, philosophy, science or psychology. So, why the apparent stark difference between the God of Old and New Testament; why the world view of truths in every discipline? It seems to me the real question lies in the answer. There is no difference between the God of Old and the God in the New Testament and there cannot be different truths in each discipline. So, how are the people in Old Testament times different from the people living today?

It is not my intention that this portion of the essay be comprehensive, thorough or exhausting. I would like it to stand as a reminder of the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the idea that we live in a cause and effect world; a world of observations and conclusions which we sometimes mistake as truths. I believe we were endowed with the Holy Spirit at the moment our God, the Father Almighty, breathed life into Adam. I also believe in olden times the Holy Spirit’s presence was unusual and infrequent. Certainly, the Holy Spirit spoke to the Prophets and mystics had visions, however, they like all of us are locked into their era and limited by their own frames of reference. I have often prayed that the Lord would teach me what I can understand, rather than ask for greatness beyond what my mind could comprehend. We also see in the Old Testament and in the New Testament as well, Job’s friends asking what he had done to deserve these trials, and the Apostles asking Jesus whether the man born blind had sinned, or whether his parents were to blame for his blindness. 

One more thought, the emphasis of the New Testament seems to be on separation. The vertical separation between God our Father and we His people. Perhaps more importantly, the separation we make ourselves, about ourselves. At times, we struggle to understand the difference between our “self” and our “being”.  Our “self” is the person we have come to be in this  world and our “being” is the person we were made to be in His image and likeness. Finally, we see the relationship as well as the linear interaction as we strive through our self-control and perseverance to reach a more righteous frame of reference. Applying this newfound foundation, we look at the world, as Peter teaches in 2 Peter 1: 5-8, “with brotherly kindness.” This reflects back to God our Father as we receive and accept His love, as well as our loving Him. It is this interchange which demonstrates the separation as well as bonds the unity. It also points to the contrast of how we treat our brother with our limited humanity, and how God treats us through His infinite love. Doesn’t it seem to you that the Golden Rule actually means, treat others as God would treat them, not as you would like to be treated or how you are capable of treating others.

Now, the conclusion I am drawing does not hinge so much on how, why and when God reveals himself to us as much as what we gleam from these glimpses. As long as we see the world in terms of cause and effect, the longer we remain locked in this worldly frame of reference. However, when we realize our worldliness does not lead to His holiness; His holiness leads us to our holiness, this changes our world view. Now we begin to see that God uses everything that happens for a greater good. This realization changes our disposition. We see the Grace of the Holy Spirit through our Baptism, the washing away of Original Sin, the teachings of Christ Jesus and two thousand years of discernment as seen through the Catholic Church. This brings us streaming into the twenty first century and a step away from the first century Christians.