The Perfectly Happy God: Beatitude as a Divine Perfection

Do we struggle against a downward tug when contemplating God’s perfect happiness or beatitude? Does it seem too human to speak of God as perfectly happy? How might we confess the perfection of God as blessed in a way that is both faithful and edifying? What blessings might be ours if we were to return to the realm of the perfectly happy God?

The Christian tradition has a varied history of locating beatitude among the unity of the divine perfections. And yet the confession that God is blessed, that he possesses the perfection of divine blessedness or beatitude, stands in need of retrieval today. Among the divine perfections, blessedness repays our contemplation for at least these three reasons: First, it is a summative doctrine that helps us grasp the unity of all other divine perfections; second, it directs our attention to the mystery of God's own perfect self-possession, which is otherwise difficult to conceive of; and third, it is the bridge doctrine between the doctrine of the one God and the doctrine of the Trinity. In today's episode of Greystone Conversations, Dr. Fred Sanders recommends the doctrine of divine blessedness, explaining how to restore it to its proper function within the doctrine of God, and describing some of the challenges the doctrine faces in the modern setting.

Dr. Sanders is a systematic theologian who studies and teaches across the entire range of classic Christian doctrine, but with a special focus on the doctrine of the Trinity. He has taught in the Torrey Honors Institute since 1999. This talk was originally delivered in the fall of 2019 as the inaugural presentation in the Greystone online Postgraduate Seminar Series, now in its second iteration. This series seeks to capture the liveliness, quality level, and variety of the traditional postgraduate theological seminar but expand its reach and usefulness for thoughtful Christians around the world. The Greystone postgraduate seminar series is open to the public and meets online monthly for 9 months per year. It features many scholars working at the top of their respective fields. Dr. Sanders’ presentation was a truly fitting way to launch this initiative. Remember that Greystone Members enjoy access to this and all other previously recorded presentations, as well as all full modules, study day lectures, special lectures, and more.