God vs. the Image of God

			Independence	Immutability	Infinity	Unity
	O N T O L O G Y	God’s Being (self-contained)	“I am that I am” God has no support system. Ps. 50. God is self-contained.	God does not change. This follows from his independence. Mal. 3:6; James 1:17	God is not in time or space, but neither is He absent from any time or space. With respect to time, He is eternal; with respect to space He is immense.	Singularity: There is and can be only one God. Simplicity: God is not composed of parts. There is distinction of Persons, but none of essence. In the unity of the God-head both multiplication and division are excluded.
		Man’s Being (Real, but Derived)	In Him we live and have our being. We are dependent on God in every way, for without Him we could not so much as move.	Man is as the grass and the flower of the field. What is your life? it is even a vapor that appears for a little time.	We are born, die, change, move from place to place, occupy only one time and one space.	Man is two: body and soul: God made man upright, but they sought out many inventions. Man’s heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
	E P I S T E M O L O G Y	God’s Knowledge	God does not look outside Himself for additions to His knowledge. He knows all things because He knows Himself.	God does not learn, nor does He forget.	All things in time and space are open and plain to Him. Nothing can hide from God.	God knows all things by one simple, eternal act of knowledge, because He knows Himself.
		Man’s Knowledge (Real, but Derived)	Man’s knowledge is derivative; he examines, tests, experiments.	Man learns and forgets; his knowledge leaks out as from a sieve.	We know only in part, and we see only in part.	Man’s knowledge is in parts; in pieces; we see through a glass darkly.
	S O V E R E I G N T Y	God’s Will (Providence)	God does not look at the data in order to make up his mind. He does not consider alternatives; nor can He be persuaded to do this and not that.	God never changes His mind. His mercy and his wrath are eternal; making both eternal reward and punishment basic to God’s very nature.	Everything in any part of time or space takes place only by the will of God. Where God is, there He is totally, so nothing in the universe past, present, or future takes place without the will, knowledge, or the presence of God.	God’s will is simple (without division):We must seek His glory and love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. There is but one object of devotion, so Christianity is a very simple religion.
		Man’s Will (Real, but Derived)	Man decides on the basis of the evidence, of reason and trial. His choices are real, but derivative.	Man’s will is of the earth. Adam’s will was not coerced, but capable of change; subject to persuasion.	Man can only impose his will in a very limited way in time and space, and then only if God’s will is prior. Man can only do what God wills.	Man’s will was capable of division, of alienation, of being divided against itself. Sinful man’s heart is shattered like a broken pot: Psalm 86:11
	M I N D	God’s Thought	Does not reason with empirical data. His thought is self-con-tained, not as ours. Possibility is determined by His will.	No logical progressions, for this would imply change. He cannot deny himself, posits His own Being and Glory.	God’s mind fills the universe at all times, and everything moves according to His Wisdom.	His thought is pure and simple as light; but his thoughts are thick darkness to us.
		Man’s Thought (Real, but Derived)	To think God’s thoughts after Him, in considering of the empirical data and in verbal revelation.	Man’s understanding matures on the basis of theories of possibility and principles.	Our thoughts cannot reach to God; it is too high for us.	Man’s thought is fragmented and divided against itself, until his understanding matures in terms of God’s thoughts.
	L O V	God’s Affections	Self-contained. He seeks His own glory. He cannot deny Himself.	Unchanging: Ps. 100:5 Ps. 103:7; Jer. 31:3; Jer. 3:36; Titus 1:3; John 17:26	His love and grace have no limits. Neither does His wrath and justice.	Pure and Simple; not mixed or confused. Cannot love that which is contrary to Himself.
	E	Man’s(Real, but Derived)	Responds to stimuli outside himself.	Fickle and Changeable	Only affect our time and space.	Contrary; not subject to the reason; fragmented.
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