Twenty years ago, when I began reading theology, I was excited and eager. I had so many questions and couldn’t wait to discover the answers. But that zeal was sometimes misdirected. For instance, many of the books I read would begin with the attributes of God. I found myself skimming or skipping those chapters with the hope of getting to the good stuff—doctrines of grace, infant baptism, or end times. In my mismanaged study, I failed to appreciate that knowledge of God is the ultimate goal of all theology. Jesus said: “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3).

The Westminster Larger Catechism asks: “What is God?” That may sound confusing. Why ask “what” and not “who”? We need to remember that the catechism was written in the framework of received and understood Trinitarianism. On the basis of what the Bible says, since the earliest centuries the Christian church has confessed that God is one in substance and three in person (see Deut. 6:4, John 10:30, 2 Cor. 13:14, etc.). Asking “What is God?” relates to the oneness of His divine substance or essence, and asking “Who is God” relates to the persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In its teaching on God, the catechism begins with His essence—an emphasis found throughout the Western church, whereas the Eastern often begins with His persons. But we shouldn’t set the oneness and threeness over or against the other. As Gregory of Nazianzus said: “No sooner do I conceive of the one than I am illumined by the splendor of the three; no sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the one.”

In answering the question, we should keep in mind that the catechism isn’t trying to confine God to a neat box. God’s essence is beyond our comprehension: “[He] dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Tim. 6:16). But in the Bible (and the catechism reflects this) God is pleased to give us a knowledge of His nature through various attributes—immutability, wisdom, holiness, mercy, etc. To put it simply, God makes His nature known to us in a way that we can understand—He spoon feeds us in our finitude and frailty.

It wouldn’t be possible within this space to clearly define each of the things the catechism says about God. But to help us appreciate the answer as a whole, we should understand some things about God’s essence. At the burning bush Moses asked God His name, and God responded by saying: “I AM THAT I AM” (Ex. 3:14). This significant name teaches us about God’s substance. First, what God is He is eternally and unchangeably (see Mal. 3:6). Second, all that God is He is. We cannot reduce God to one of His attributes or prioritize one at the expense of another. God’s essence is represented to us in various attributes, but in Him there is no division or distinction. Third, God is all that He is. The attributes aren’t something He possesses in part, as though He had a degree of this something we call wisdom, but rather He is wisdom itself (see 1 Tim. 1:17).

The catechism’s answer is detailed. In quick succession it names 20 things God is. But you probably notice some things are missing. For example, why doesn’t the catechism say that God is love (see 1 John 4:8)? That’s what most people would say if they were asked, “What is God?” It’s not an accidental oversight. After all, the Confession of Faith does describe God as “most loving” (WCF 2:1). Rather, we can simply understand that the catechism isn’t trying to be exhaustive. In fact, each of these attributes could be opened and expanded on—understanding God’s love as an expression of His goodness, His wrath, or His justice.

God is so much more than we can begin to describe. Too many of us are content with a paper-thin grasp of what God is. But all theology—its doctrines and truths—are focused here. A.W. Tozer once said: “What comes to mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. For this reason the gravest question before the church is always God himself.”