Chapter 6

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God
Chapter 6

The God of Christianity is one God yet three beings. The three beings are God the Father, the Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. These three are one. They work in unison, One never contradicting the Other. I have split up this chapter into three sections, dedicating a section to each distinct being of God.

I. GOD THE FATHER

God the Father is one part of the Trinity. It was God the Father who created the world, who sent His Son to die for us, who raised His Son from the dead and who knows when He will bring this world to an end.
Making an image of God the Father has always been a point of controversy. During the early years, Christians greatly feared God. The thought of limiting Him to a poorly rendered human portrait would have been appalling. This is further enforced when we remember that Christianity had its roots in Judaism where a simple thing like speaking God’s name was strictly forbidden. For the first eight centuries, the primary symbol for God the Father was limited to only a hand.
After the eighth century, artists began to portray God in full form. In these renderings, He is depicted as being old and wise with a highly esteemed continence. He is usually given a long beard and always has a halo

around His head. He can be portrayed as a king, complete with a crown, or as a pope.

Today, opinions vary. Some churches do not allow any image of God the Father at all. They only use God’s name to represent Him. Some churches allow certain parts of the body, such as a hand or a face, to symbolize Him. Still other churches allow a full human body to portray Him. Readers should check with their pastors or governing bodies before using any image in this section to symbolize God the Father in their churches.

THE FACE OF GOD – At first, the early church limited its portrayals of God the Father to a human face floating in clouds of glory. As time progressed, the face became a bust, then a half-length figure and finally an entire human figure was used.

THE FATHER’S NAME – When wrestling with how to portray God the Father in art, one of the names of God, Jehovah, was often used. It is usually surrounded by an equilateral triangle (symbolizing
the Trinity) with rays of glory surrounding it.

HAND OF GOD – For the first eight centuries, God the Father was symbolized by a hand. This is based on Exodus 15:6 and Psalm 48:10. 1. The Roman Catholic (Latin) form of the hand will have two fingers extended, which symbolize the twofold (human and divine) nature of his Son, Jesus. The three bent figures

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