Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

eing free from division into parts, and therefore from compositeness. It means that
God is not composite and is not susceptible of division in any sense of the word. This
implies among other things that the three Persons in the Godhead are not so many parts
of which the Divine essence is composed, that God’s essence and perfections are not
distinct, and that the attributes are not superadded to His essence. Since the two are
one, the Bible can speak of God as light and life, as righteousness and love, thus
identifying Him with His perfections. The simplicity of God follows from some of His
other perfections; from His Self-existence, which excludes the idea that something
preceded Him, as in the case of compounds; and from His immutability, which could
not be predicated of His nature, if it were made up of parts. This perfection was
disputed during the Middle Ages, and was denied by Socinians and Arminians.
Scripture does not explicitly assert it, but implies it where it speaks of God as
righteousness, truth, wisdom, light, life, love, and so on, and thus indicates that each of
these properties, because of their absolute perfection, is identical with His Being. In
recent works on theology the simplicity of God is seldom mentioned. Many theologians
positively deny it, either because it is regarded as a purely metaphysical abstraction, or
because, in their estimation, it conflicts with the doctrine of the Trinity. Dabney believes
that there is no composition in the substance of God, but denies that in Him substance
and attributes are one and the same. He claims that God is no more simple in that
respect than finite spirits. 26
QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY. What different conceptions of the Absolute do we
meet with in philosophy? Can the Absolute of philosophy always be identified with the
God of theology? How does Bradley distinguish between the two? How is the finite
God of James, Schiller, Ward, Wells and others, related to the Absolute? How do the
incommunicable attributes of God link up with the Absolute? Does the immutability of
God exclude all movement in God? In how far does it exclude changes of action and
relations? Should the absolute perfection of God be regarded as an attribute? Why does
the Bible represent God’s eternity as endless duration? Is it possible to harmonize the
transcendence and the immanence of God? How is transcendence frequently
interpreted in modern theology? What is implied in the simplicity of God?
26 Syst. and Polem. Theol., p. 43f.
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