One God, the Father alone; personal Creator; absolutely singular in person
The COGC affirms that God is one person — the Father — who is the omnipotent, omniscient, personal Creator and Ruler of the universe. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who made covenant with Israel and revealed himself through the prophets and ultimately through his Son Jesus Christ. His oneness is not a Trinity of persons but the absolute singularity of the one true and living God.
The COGC's theology of God is shaped by the Abrahamic Faith tradition's commitment to restoring the plain biblical understanding of divine oneness. The complex metaphysical categories of Nicene Trinitarianism — substance, person, procession, consubstantiality — are regarded as philosophical impositions foreign to Scripture. The God of the Bible, in the COGC reading, is simply the Father — the one Lord who is acknowledged in the Shema and who speaks of himself consistently in the first person singular throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.
The divine attributes — holiness, love, justice, mercy, wisdom, and power — are affirmed as essential features of God's character. He is not an abstract deity but a personal being who acts in history, keeps his covenants, hears prayer, and will bring his purposes to completion through the return of his Son Jesus Christ.
Key Distinctions
- Theism type:
- strict unitarianism — Father alone is God; no Trinity; no inherent immortality
- Primary divine attribute:
- love; Father is personal and relational
Scripture References
Sources
- Church of God General Conference Statement of Faith