The Westminster Shorter Catechism opens with the famous declaration that 'the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever' (Q&A 1), encapsulating the theocentric orientation of all Presbyterian theology. The Westminster Confession (Chapter II) describes God as 'most holy, most free, most absolute, working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will, for his own glory.' God's sovereignty extends over all events, including salvation and damnation, without God being the author of sin.

Presbyterian theology emphasizes the incomprehensibility of God — humans can know God truly through his revelation in Scripture and Christ, but God's essence infinitely exceeds human comprehension. The doctrine of divine simplicity (God has no parts or distinctions of substance), divine immutability, and the eternal decrees are given systematic treatment in the Westminster Standards. The sovereignty of God over all things is the presupposition and conclusion of all Westminster theology.