Core Teachings Of The Christian Faith: God and Creation with Bishops Leah Hidde-Gregory and Mike Lowry

Study Guide for individual participants and groups:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CttvITHoAZv3h-nZ2Ii5rIAYaElUQUTx/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=104137624006892725169&rtpof=true&sd=true

Who Is God?

In the Global Methodist Church, we are clear about where faith begins.

It does not begin with trends, opinions, or even our urgent needs.

It begins with God.

That is why our catechism starts where the Church has always started—not with what we are called to do, but with who God is. Doctrine, for Global Methodists, is never an end in itself. It exists to form disciples, anchor the Church in truth, and fuel faithful mission.

In a time of cultural change and ecclesial rebuilding, this grounding matters. When we are clear about God, we are steadied for the work before us.

The catechism teaches us that there is one living and true God—eternal, holy, infinite in wisdom and goodness. This confession is not abstract. It is pastoral.

When leadership feels heavy, God is faithful.

When the Church feels fragile, God is not.

When the future feels uncertain, God remains the same.

The early Church understood this deeply. They spoke of God carefully, not because God was distant, but because God was holy. They trusted that while God cannot be contained by human language, God has truly made Himself known—not so we could control Him, but so we could trust Him.

The catechism reminds us that the one God is known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This is not simply language for creeds or worship services. This is the shape of Christian life.

Before there was creation, God was already love.

Before there was mission, there was communion.

Before there was redemption, there was relationship.

This matters for who we are as Global Methodists.

Because God is Trinity, we are a connectional people, not isolated believers.

Because God is eternally relational, Christian life is never meant to be lived alone.

Because God is love, scriptural holiness is not about rule-keeping, but about being formed in love of God and neighbor.

The catechism also helps us name what God is like.

God is eternal—never rushed, never reactive, never overwhelmed. God is not bound by time, yet God steps into time for our salvation.

God is powerful, but not in the way the world defines power. God’s power does not dominate or coerce. God’s power creates, heals, forgives, and restores. The clearest picture of God’s power is the cross.

God is all-knowing. God knows us fully—our faith, our doubts, our obedience, and our resistance—and still invites us into relationship. God’s knowledge does not trap us; it sustains us.

God is always present. There is no place where God is absent. No congregation, no community, no mission field is beyond God’s reach. God’s presence always goes before the Church.

And the catechism refuses to separate God’s character. God is holy, just, and loving—not in tension, but in perfect unity. God’s holiness calls us into transformation. God’s justice is faithful and redemptive. God’s love is steadfast and active.

The catechism then turns to what God is doing.

God is at work in the world. Christians call this divine providence.

Providence does not mean everything that happens is God’s will.

It does not deny suffering or minimize pain.

It does not remove human responsibility.

Providence means God has not abandoned creation. God is patiently, faithfully working toward redemption—often in ways we only recognize over time.

As Global Methodists, this resonates deeply with our Wesleyan heritage. God’s grace goes before us, walks with us, and works within us. Grace invites response. Grace forms disciples. Grace fuels mission.

Finally, the catechism reminds us that God is Creator.

Creation exists because God is good. People are made in God’s image. The world belongs to God. Nothing is disposable. Nothing is forgotten.

This shapes our life together.

Because God is Trinity, we live in connection and accountability.

Because God is holy, we pursue lives shaped by grace and obedience.

Because God is at work, we lead with confidence rather than fear.

Because God is Creator, we steward faithfully what has been entrusted to us.

The catechism does not give us God to manage.

It gives us God to trust, worship, and obey.

And this is our calling as the Global Methodist Church:

to make disciples of Jesus Christ,

to spread scriptural holiness across the globe,

and to bear faithful witness to the living God.

So today, pause.

Remember who God is.

Remember whose you are.

And trust that the God who called the Church into being is still forming His people for faithful mission.

“For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be the glory forever.”

—Romans 11:36

Amen.