Session 2: The Doctrine of God – Part 1

June 3, 2025
Bethany Leadership Podcast
Bethany Leadership Podcast
Session 2: The Doctrine of God - Part 1
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Theme: Knowing God – His Greatness, Triune Nature, and Sovereignty

  1. Big View of God vs. Little View of God
    • The episode opens with a story about seminary students being evaluated as “Big Godders” or “Little Godders”—emphasizing how vital it is that our theology and ministry are centered on the greatness of God, not just human need or strategy.
  2. Can We Really Know God?
    • Yes—but only because God graciously reveals Himself.
    • We can know God truly, but never fully, because He is infinite, eternal, and transcendent.
    • Knowing God involves relationship, not just information: “The Bible is God’s invitation to intimacy.”
  3. How Can God Be Three Persons, Yet One God?
    • The Trinity is not a contradiction but a divine mystery: One God in three co-eternal, co-equal persons.
    • The early church labored over this doctrine to protect it as essential to the faith.
    • Teaching this early—especially in kids’ ministry—is vital, because misunderstanding it leads to major theological errors and even cults.
  4. Why the Trinity Matters Practically
    • It shapes our worship, prayer, evangelism, and even how we relate in community.
    • God has always existed in perfect love—Father, Son, and Spirit—and this love defines how we are to relate to Him and others.
  5. If God Controls All Things, How Can Our Actions Have Meaning?
    • God’s sovereignty and human responsibility exist in tension, not contradiction.
    • “Since God controls all things… how should we live?” is the better framing than “If.”
    • Using a tent-pole metaphor: sound doctrine must be anchored in the ground, even if tension remains in the structure.

Notable Quotes

  • “You’re a Big Godder. And I know you’re going to have a great ministry.” – Seminary professor’s encouragement
  • “We can’t know God fully—but we can know Him truly.”
  • “There’s no contradiction in one God existing as three persons. It’s tension, not heresy.”
  • “To depart from the Trinity is to depart from following Jesus.”
  • “God is not embarrassed by His attributes—we are.”
  • “The Trinity isn’t just true—it’s beautiful and good.”
  • “Since God controls all things… not if—since—our response should be humble obedience.”
  • “You have not because you ask not.” Prayer matters—even in a sovereign universe.
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