In part 1, I introduced and explored how Liberal Theology presented the doctrine of God. Here in part 2, I will respond to the movement’s impersonation of God by showing how Theology Proper has been recognized by Biblical, historic, and orthodox Christianity in accordance with Holy Scripture and draw some concluding applications.
What is Historic, Biblical, and Orthodox Theology Proper?
It makes sense for Machen to be horrified at Liberal Theology’s God, as this “God” is “Very different [from] the living and holy God of the Bible and of Christian faith.”1 As we have seen in the previous points, Machen argues that Theological Liberalism opposes even thinking of the doctrine of God because “It is unnecessary, we are told, to have a ‘conception’ of God; theology, or the knowledge of God, it is said, is the death of religion; we should not seek to know God, but should merely feel His presence.”2
But unlike Liberal Theology, historic, orthodox, and biblical Christianity has always held that “the Christian gospel consists in an account of how God saved man, and before that gospel can be understood” rightly, we must rightly understand who and what God is in accordance with Holy Scripture.3 So how has the faith once for all delivered to the saints addressed the doctrine of God in contrast to the liberal counterparts?4
First, Biblical, Orthodox Christianity believes that God has revealed Himself implicitly through creation and providence and explicitly through His Word, especially Holy Scripture.5 Whereas Liberal Theology asserts that God can only be known through our subjective experiences, the whole Bible testifies not only to the entire cosmos as a witness to God but also to itself as being the written Word of God. In Psalm 19 and Romans 1, David and Paul both highlight that God’s glory, power, and other attributes are revealed through creation as general/natural revelation. We call this natural revelation because “it occurs through God’s ordinary works and is appropriated by ordinary human sense and reasoning.”6
Yet, unlike Liberal Theology, which fronts all knowability of God to our inner sense of dependence and feeling, there is an objective reality about who and what God is that is knowable through his speech, specifically through his written Word. God is not obligated to reveal himself to his creation, yet out of his own sheer will and purpose, he chose to make himself known by his speech. This special revelation has come in many forms—through words of prophets, his audible voice, and even the incarnate Son of God, the Word made flesh—but the one medium by which anyone can obtain access to it today is his written Word, the Holy Scriptures.7 From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is God’s written self-disclosure to us, not a mere record of human experiences with the divine.
David, later in Psalm 19, states that God’s law is Perfect and able to transform the human heart. Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 declares that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Wellum rightly concludes that “Scripture’s own self-testimony is that it is God’s word written by the agency of human authors.”8 Real Christianity, not Liberal Christianity, is built on the foundation that there is a God who not only exists but has spoken to us directly, clearly, and certainly, especially through his written Word.
Second, in light of Holy Scripture, Biblical, Orthodox Christianity believes that God is the transcendent Creator who is separate from, rules over, and works in creation. Wrongfully, many Liberal Theologians conflate God and creation to the point that the creation is part of God’s nature, but throughout Holy Scripture, we see that there is a clear distinction between the Creator God and creation. True, God is immanent in that “he is present with his creation. . . . God is active in the world even though he is not ‘in’ time and space or limited by them (Deut 4:39; 10:14-15; Josh 2:11; Isa 57:15; Eph 4:4-6).9
However, Theological Liberalism fails to reckon with the biblical reality of God’s transcendence in that “as Lord, he is exalted ‘above’ all things, eternal, independent, and self-existent.”10 Throughout the Bible, we see analogical language being used by the biblical authors to show that God is not bound by space, time, and matter because “he is distinct from the world as its Creator and Lord. . . . God is omnipresent and transcendent; thus, he is not limited by space or time.”11 The Bible declares boldly that there is none like him, as he is utterly unique and thus his nature is not dependent on or connected to creation, and therefore, Christians must reject any notion of Panentheism. As Bavinck summarizes, “From the very first moment, true religion distinguishes itself from all other religions by the fact that it construes the relation between God and the world, including man, as that between the Creator and his creature.”12
If the Bible clearly testifies to God being the independent Creator who sustains the cosmos by the word of his power (Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:3), that leads us to affirm . . .
Third, in light of Holy Scripture, Biblical, Orthodox Christianity believes that God is all his attributes according to himself and thus not dependent on creation, no less our preferences. If Liberal Theology is correct in seeing creation as part of or connected to God’s nature, then that means he can be coerced or manipulated not just by the universe but by us humans. But the testimony of Holy Scripture could not be clearer in stating how God is completely independent and free from anything else; in other words, Christians have historically affirmed the aseity or self-sufficiency of God.13
The psalmist declares that “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Ps. 115:3), and compared to idols made by human hands, God is not dependent on the creatures he has made, nor can he be swayed by their whims. As the late John Webster wrote, “God simply is, originally, authoritatively and incomparably, and no creature can say, as does God, ‘I am who I am’.”14
Therefore, unlike many liberal theologians who assert that God is mutable, Christians have historically affirmed the biblical realities of God’s simplicity, aseity, infinitude, eternality, immutability, impassibility, omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. This does not mean God is a perfect yet distant being, but it is because he is absolute in his nature that “It is a mark of God’s greatness that he can condescend to the level of his creatures and that, though transcendent, he can dwell immanently in all created beings. Without losing himself, God can give himself, and, while absolutely maintaining his immutability, he can enter into an infinite number of relations to his creatures.”15
Machen concurs, stating, “he is immanent in the world not because He is identified with the world, but because He is the free creator and Upholder of it. Between the creature and the Creator a great gulf is fixed.” It is the LORD alone who never grows faint or weary and is the everlasting God who is the creator of all things (see Isa. 40), and therefore, we must reject Process Theology’s claims that God is developing or able to be manipulated, as “This robs God of his divine nature, and religion of its firm foundation and assured comfort.”16 Furthermore, because God is perfect in his nature, there is no need for us to pit his attributes against each other, as all that is in God is God.
Whereas liberal theologians sought to minimize or reject wholesale God’s holiness and righteousness for the sake of emphasizing his love. But the God of the Bible is not divided or conflicted within. As Louis Berkhof states, “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.”17
Thus God is perfect not only in his love but also in his holiness, righteousness, and all his other moral attributes, and, therefore, not only must punish sin by pouring out wrath but also demonstrates his mercy and grace by sending his only begotten Son to die in the place of sinners (Rom. 3:21-26; 5:1-8). Which leads us to my final point.
Fourth, in light of Holy Scripture, Biblical, Orthodox Christianity believes that God is the Triune, Covenant LORD who is Father to those who are united/associated with his Son, Jesus the Christ, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Whereas Liberal Theology asserted a vague notion of the fatherhood of God leading towards universalism with no need for a crucified Savior, historic Christianity has affirmed from the Bible the reality of the Triune God who has not only revealed himself as creator but also as the redeemer of all who trust in Jesus Christ. Machen writes how contrary to a vague fatherhood:
The gospel itself refers to something different; the really distinctive New Testament teaching about the fatherhood of God concerns only those who have been brought into the household of faith. There is nothing narrow about such teaching; for the door of the household of faith is open wide to all. That door is the “new and living way” which Jesus opened by His blood. And if we really love our fellowmen, we shall not go about the world, with the liberal preacher, trying to make men satisfied with the coldness of a vague natural religion. But by the preaching of the gospel we shall invite them into the warmth and joy of the house of God.18
What makes the Christian gospel good news is that the Triune God gives himself to sinners who have rebelled against him. Wellum writes, “God’s one act of redemption is the Father redeeming by the sending of his Son and the Spirit, the Son redeeming by becoming the incarnate Mediator of his people by the Spirit, and the Spirit redeeming by applying the work of the Son to us to the praise and glory of the Father and the entire triune Godhead.”19
The Bible from the beginning of the Old Testament to the end of the New Testament testifies to the reality that all humanity are sinners deserving condemnation before a Holy God, “but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:4-7). Sure, God is like a Father to all creation as the Creator, but the only ones who can call God “our Father” are those who have been purchased by Jesus Christ “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7).
According to Holy Scripture, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Gal. 4:4-7). Only those who have been saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ can experience God as their heavenly Father who demonstrates his love towards them through Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection (Rom. 4:23-5:11).
Therefore, the end goal of salvation is not primarily the brotherhood of man and betterment of temporal life but God saving sinners from his wrath and making them into a new humanity that has been “brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man” (Eph. 2:13-15). The Church is the new creation of a people born again by the regenerating indwelling of the Holy Spirit through the reception of the Gospel of God’s grace that is received by faith in Christ alone (John 3; 2 Cor. 5:17; Tit. 3:3-7).
Application: Who is Truly Glorious, All-Satisfying, and Strong Enough to Save?
Much more can be explored, but I hope you have seen that Liberal Theology’s explanation of God does not match what Holy Scripture testifies and Christians have historically recognized. But why does getting the doctrine of God right matter so much? Sure, God is God and so we must rightly understand who he is, but getting the “God-ness” of God right is not to be treated as a mere intellectual exercise to get right on a theology quiz. Let me give three brief reasons why Theology Proper supremely matters.
First, the doctrine of God is a glory issue. What we have unpacked about the “liberalizing” of God’s nature shows how the God that theological liberalism presents to us is a being that is more like us. The God of the Bible is not a vague entity whose nature is linked with all existence, able to be manipulated by creation, and wants all humanity to just get along. God himself declares in Isaiah 45:5-7, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.” Holy Scripture unfolds for readers the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who is absolutely glorious in all that he is, undivided within, infinite in all his perfections, and sovereign over all creation. The god of Theological Liberalism cannot compare to the one, true, living Triune God and is thus not worthy of any ounce of worship.
Second, the doctrine of God is a joy issue. Liberal Theology’s version of God seems attractive because it makes God close to us and in tune with our experiences. But can this god whose nature is tied to our experience and vaguely knowable truly satisfy our hearts? The answer is “No” because Liberal Theology’s god is tied down to the human experience, not truly perfect in all attributes, and, therefore, not able to provide everlasting joy. But the God of the Bible is not dependent on his creation as if he needed anything (Acts 17:15), and being perfect in all that he is, he doesn’t grow faint or weary like us (Isa. 40:28).
Are you tired and weary from this life? Are you looking for true joy that will last forever? The “gods” of this world, including Liberal Theology’s, will never satisfy us nor be an everlasting comfort in life and in death.20 It is only the LORD God who “gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isa. 40: 29-31). It is only the God of the Bible who is all-sufficient in himself that can make known to us the path of life and provide us with fullness of joy and pleasures forever by us being in his presence (Ps. 16:11).
Third, the doctrine of God is a salvation issue. Later in Isaiah 45, the LORD declares, “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other” (Isa. 45:22). Liberal Theology is not honest about the brutal reality that sin has marked not just all creation with brokenness but also all humanity as “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), rebels against the infinitely holy, righteous God, which thus makes us all deserving of everlasting condemnation.
Conclusion
It is not enough to strive for a “brotherhood of man” under a general “Fatherhood of God,” when the God of the universe is truly all of his attributes and must punish sinners who make up all human societies. But Hallelujah to what Paul states in writing:
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:3-9).
If we believe in a god that is more like us, as Liberal Theology presents God to be, we do not have a God who can save us to the uttermost, but a god who only empathizes with us and tells us to work harder to make the world a better place. But in ourselves, we can’t save ourselves, let alone all creation. Only the almighty, creator, Triune God can save those who have rebelled against him. If God is like us, then we are lost. If God is absolutely God, then we have good news because he alone can save those who can’t help themselves.
Author: Joseph Yu (B.A., Boyce College; M.Div., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) has been a member of Gospel Life Church in Sunrise, FL, since 2017. In his spare time, he writes on his blog, The “Yu”ng Theologian, where he aims to show that there is always hope for Christians and churches who want to be more infatuated with Jesus.
Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, 55.
Ibid., 47.
Ibid.
I have written extensively on the doctrine of God—his nature, Triunity, and works—in my 31-day doctrinal devotional series. You can find the introduction post here. Please reference all articles in that series for further reading on the various aspects on the doctrine of God.
“Glory Be to Our Great God, Day 13,” The Yung Theologian (Substack), accessed September 8, 2026, https://theyungtheologian.substack.com/p/glory-be-to-our-great-god-day-13.
Beeke and Smalley, Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:186.
Wellum, Systematic Theology, 1:166–69
Ibid., 307.
Ibid., 579.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 2:407.
John Webster, God Without Measure: Working Papers in Christian Theology, vol. 1, God and the Works of God (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015), 15.
Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 2:159.
Ibid., 158.
Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 62.
Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, 53-54.
Wellum, Systematic Theology, 1:699.