The God Who Is—Infinite, Glorious, and Sovereign (Chapter 2, Paragraph 1)

The Confession begins its doctrine of God with majestic clarity:

“The Lord our God is but one only living and true God…”

This opening echoes Deuteronomy 6:4—“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” The Bible doesn’t ask us to invent God but to receive His self-revelation. God is not one among many gods. He alone is living and true. The gods of the nations are idols—dead, powerless, and false. Our God is alive, real, and active. He speaks, acts, judges, saves, and rules. He is not a concept but a person. He is not merely powerful—He is the fountain of all power.

This one God is described as “infinite in being and perfection. "That means He has no limits. He is not bound by time, space, or weakness. He does not grow tired, change moods, or depend on anything outside Himself. All that He is—His wisdom, holiness, love, and justice—is perfect and unchanging. Psalm 145:3 declares, “His greatness is unsearchable.” That’s not just poetry—it’s reality. No creature can fully grasp the fullness of God, yet He invites us to know Him through His Word.

The Confession uses rich biblical terms to describe God: invisible, without body, parts, or passions. That doesn’t mean God has no emotion. It means He is not like us. He is not composed of parts that can fall apart or grow old. He does not have shifting moods or uncontrolled emotions. Instead, He is perfectly, eternally what He is—unchanging in His holiness, love, and wrath. He is spirit (John 4:24), not flesh and blood. And because of this, He is able to be everywhere present, fully and equally.

The phrase “immutable, immense, eternal” draws us deeper into wonder.Immutable means He never changes (Malachi 3:6). Immense means He fills all of creation yet is not contained by it (Jeremiah 23:24). Eternal means He had no beginning and will have no end (Psalm 90:2). These are not abstract ideas—they are anchor points for our trust. When everything else shifts and fades, God remains the same.

Next, the Confession affirms that God is almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute. He has all power, all wisdom, perfect holiness, and complete freedom. Nothing compels God from the outside. He is self-existent and self-sufficient. Acts 17:25 says He is “not served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” What does that mean for us? It means God is never at the mercy of creation. He is never desperate. He is always in perfect control.

God works “all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will.”This is a direct echo of Ephesians 1:11, which teaches that God “works all things according to the counsel of His will.” He is not reactive but sovereign. All things—whether blessings or trials—flow from His wise, good, and holy purposes. This does not make God the author of sin, but it does affirm that He is not helpless before evil. He overrules all things for His glory and our good (Romans 8:28).

He is loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, and overflowing in goodness and truth. He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. These are the words God used to describe Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6–7. He is not only majestic—He is merciful. The Lord is righteous and just in all His ways, yet He delights in steadfast love (Jeremiah 9:24).

Finally, God is “most just and terrible in His judgments.”This is not a contradiction but a confirmation of His holiness. His wrath is never unrighteous—it is always the just response to sin. And His mercy is never unjust—it is the overflow of His grace through Christ.

This paragraph ends by confessing that God is incomprehensible in His essence.We cannot fully understand Him—but we can truly know Him. And what He has revealed is enough for us to worship, trust, and follow Him. His glory is not diminished by our limits—it is magnified through them.