The New Testament doctrine of God is distin guished front that of the Old, first, in that it pre sents with peculiar distinctness and fullness the divine fatherhood. Second, it declares likewise the divine sonship of Jesus Christ, "God mani fest in the flesh." The God-man is the fullest disclosure of the divine nature, and the Redeemer and Savior of mankind. Third, the distinct Di vine personality and peculiar office of the Holy Ghost is brought most clearly into view. And thus comes what at most' was but intimated in the Old Testament, the doctrine of the Trinity. (See TRINITY.) The attributes of God as revealed in the scrip tures may, be summed up as follows: Spiritual ity, Infinity, Eternity, Immutability, Self-suffi ciency, Perfection, Freedom, Omnipotence, Omni presence, Omniscience, Justice, Truth, Love, Mer cy, and Grace. For discussion of Attributes see separate heads.
(4) God, Children of or Sons of. The teaching of St. John on this subject combines the elements of the Pauline and Petrine and uses the term 'children' rather than sons of God. The keynote to it may be found in the Prologue to the gospel (John i :12, 13), `to as many as re ceived him (the Logos) he gave the right to be come children of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were begotten, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' Here we have the right to be come children of God bestowed by Christ, which answers to St. Paul's statement, 'God sent' forth his Son . . . that we might receive the adop tion of sons.' The word 'adoption' is not em ployed; but the right to become children expresses the .same thing in less technical language. Fur ther, this is said to be given to those who re ceive Christ by believing on his name. St. Paul had also written, 'Ye are all sons of God by faith in Jesus Christ ; for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ' (Gal.
iii:26, f.). Thus for St. John, as well as for St. Paul, our sonship to God is through union to Christ the only-begotten Son, and that union is effected by faith.
But St. John adds to this the conception found in St'. James and St. Peter of a birth or begetting of God, which he emphatically distinguishes from the natural birth in every aspect of it. Those who believe in Christ's name are they who were be gotten of God ; and that this is not done by the process of natural generation is shown by a three fold contrast : not of blood, i. c. they did not be come sons of God through or in virtue of their being of the one blood of which God has made all mankind. Neither was it by any movement or impulse of their own nature, whether the spontaneous tendencies of its animal faculties ('the will of the flesh'), or even the voluntary acts of personality (The will of man'). The contrast is more briefly and pointedly expressed in our Lord's discourse with Nicodemus as between be ing begotten of the flesh and of the Spirit (John iii:6). St. John seems to conceive the Divine Spirit' as a principle or power of life and holiness proceeding from God, given to Jesus Christ in all its fullness and by him communicated to his dis ciples. It is not unworthy of notice that Irenmus and Tertullian apply John i :t3 to Christ, ap parently reading the verb in the singular Cwho was horn') ; and though that reading is only found in some Lat. MSS.and cannot he received, yet in John v:18 our Lord, according to the most natural interpretation, is called 'he that was begotten of God.' (J. S. Candlish, Ilastings' Dia.) (See CHILD, CHILDREN, Figurative; Sess.)