God in Christianity

== Development of the conception of God ==

=== Overview ===
{{Main article|Attributes of God in Christianity|History of Christian theology}}
{{Further|Diversity in early Christian theology|Great Apostasy|Nontrinitarianism|Son of God (Christianity)|Trinity}}

[[File:P46.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|A folio from [[Papyrus 46]] containing a copy of 2 Corinthians 11:33–12:9. This folio dates to between 175 and 225 AD.]]

[[Early Christianity|Early Christian]] views of God (before the [[Canonical gospel|gospels]] were written) are reflected in the [[Apostle Paul]]'s statement in [[1 Corinthians]] 8:5–6,<ref name="Bibleverse|1 Corinthians|8:5-6" /> written {{circa|AD 53–54}}, about twenty years after the [[crucifixion of Jesus]], and 12–21 years before the earliest of the canonical gospels was written:<ref name="Hurtado 2015"/>

{{blockquote|...for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.}}

Apart from asserting that there is one God, Paul's statement (which is likely based on pre-Pauline confessions) includes a number of other significant elements: he distinguishes Christian belief from the Jewish background of the time by referring to Jesus and the Father almost in the same breath, and by conferring on Jesus the title of divine honor "Lord", as well as calling him Christ.<ref name="Schnelle 2005"/><ref name="Hurtado 2015"/><ref name=BWell424/>

In the [[Acts of the Apostles|Book of Acts]] (Acts 17:24–27),<ref>{{Bibleverse|Acts|17:24–27}}</ref> during the [[Areopagus sermon]] given by Paul, he further characterizes the early Christian understanding:<ref name=Udo477>''Theology of the New Testament'' by Udo Schnelle (1 November 2009), {{ISBN|0801036046}}, page 477.</ref>

{{blockquote|The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth}}

Paul also reflects on the relationship between God and Christians:<ref name=Udo477/>

{{blockquote|...that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us for in him we live.}}

The [[Pauline epistles]] also include a number of references to the Holy Spirit, with the theme which appears in [[1 Thessalonians]] 4:8<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Thessalonians|4:8}}</ref> – "...God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit" – appearing throughout his epistles.<ref name=Dunn418 >''Theology of Paul the Apostle'' by James D. G. Dunn 2003 {{ISBN|0-567-08958-4}} pages 418–420</ref> In John 14:26,<ref>{{Bibleref2|John|14:26}}</ref> Jesus also refers to "the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name".<ref>''[[iarchive:anointedcommunit0000burg|The anointed community: the Holy Spirit in the Johannine tradition]]'' by [[Gary M. Burge]] 1987 {{ISBN|0-8028-0193-5}} pages 14–21</ref>

By the end of the 1st century, [[Clement of Rome]] had repeatedly referred to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and linked the Father to creation in 1 Clement 19.2,<ref>[[Wikisource:Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume IX/The Epistles of Clement/The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians/Chapter 19|1 Clement 19.2]]</ref> stating: "let us look steadfastly to the Father and creator of the universe".<ref name=Veli70>''The Doctrine of God: A Global Introduction'' by [[Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen]] 2004 {{ISBN|0801027527}} pages 70–73</ref> By the middle of the 2nd century, in ''Against Heresies'', [[Irenaeus]] had emphasized (in Book 4, chapter 5)<ref>[[Wikisource:Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume I/IRENAEUS/Against Heresies: Book IV/Chapter V.|''Against Heresies'', Book 4, chapter 5]]</ref> that [[Creator deity|the Creator]] is the "one and only God" and the "maker of heaven and earth".<ref name=Veli70/> These preceded the formal presentation of the concept of [[Trinity]] by [[Tertullian]] early in the 3rd century.<ref name=Veli70/>

The period from the late 2nd century to the beginning of the 4th century (approximately 180–313) is generally called the "epoch of the [[Great Church]]" and also the [[Ante-Nicene Period]], and witnessed significant theological development, and the consolidation and formalization of a number of Christian teachings.<ref name=Rahner375>Peter Stockmeier in the ''Encyclopedia of Theology: A Concise Sacramentum Mundi'' edited by [[Karl Rahner]] {{ISBN|0860120066}} (New York: Sea-bury Press, 1975) page 375-376: "In the following period, c. 180–313, these structures already determine essentially the image of the Church which claims a universal mission in the Roman Empire. It has rightly been termed the period of the Great Church, in view of its numerical growth, its constitutional development and its intense theological activity."</ref>

From the 2nd century onward, [[Western Church|western]] creeds started with an affirmation of belief in "God the Father (Almighty)" and the primary reference of this phrase was to "God in his capacity as Father and creator of the universe".<ref name="Kelly">Kelly, J.N.D. ''Early Christian Creeds'' Longmans:1960, p.136; p.139; p.195 respectively</ref> This did not exclude either the fact the "eternal father of the universe was also the Father of Jesus the Christ" or that he had even "vouchsafed to adopt [the believer] as his son by grace".<ref name="Kelly" /> [[Eastern Church|Eastern]] creeds (those known to have come from a later date) began with an affirmation of faith in "one God" and almost always expanded this by adding "the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible" or words to that effect.<ref name="Kelly" />

[[Augustine of Hippo]], [[Thomas Aquinas]], and other Christian theologians have described God with the Latin term {{lang|la|ipsum esse}}, a phrase that translates roughly to "being itself".<ref>{{Citation|chapter=St Augustine and Being|title=Journal of the History of Philosophy|date=19 August 1968 |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=79–80 |doi=10.1353/hph.1968.a229574 |s2cid=169898847 | chapter-url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/229574/summary}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|chapter=Saint Thomas Aquinas|title=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|year=2018 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University | chapter-url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aquinas/}}</ref> God's [[aseity]] makes the Christian God not "a being" but rather "being itself", and can be explained by phrases such as "that which is with no reliance on anything external for its being" or "the necessary condition for anything to exist at all".

As time passed, theologians and philosophers developed more precise understandings of the nature of God and began to produce systematic lists of his attributes. These varied in detail, but traditionally the attributes fell into two groups: those based on ''negation'' (that God is impassible) and those positively based on ''eminence'' (that God is infinitely good).<ref name="Hirschberger"/> [[Ian Ramsey]] suggested that there are three groups, and that some attributes, such as ''simplicity'' and ''perfection'', have a different logical dynamic which from such attributes as ''infinite goodness'' since there are relative forms of the latter but not of the former.<ref>Ian T. Ramsey, ''Religious Language'' SCM 1967, pp.50ff</ref>

=== Name ===
{{Main article|Names of God in Christianity}}
[[File:Jhwh4.jpg|thumb|The [[Tetragrammaton]] YHWH, the name of God written in Hebrew, old church of [[Ragunda]], Sweden]]

In Christian theology, the name of God has always held deeper significance than purely being a label, considered instead to have divine origin and be based upon divine revelation.<ref name=Systematic47>''Systematic Theology'' by [[Louis Berkhof]] (24 September 1996) {{ISBN|0802838200}} pages47-51</ref><ref name=mercer336 >''Mercer dictionary of the Bible'' by Watson E. Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard 1998 {{ISBN|0-86554-373-9}} page 336</ref> The Bible usually uses the name of God in the singular (e.g., Exodus 20:7<ref>{{Bibleverse|Exodus|20:7}}</ref> or Psalms 8:1),<ref>{{Bibleverse|Ps.|8:1}}</ref> generally using the terms in a very general sense rather than referring to any special designation of God.<ref name="Berkhof">''Manual Of Christian Doctrine'' by Louis Berkhof (1 August 2007), {{ISBN|1930367902}}, pages 19–23.</ref> However, general references to the name of God may branch to other special forms which express his multifaceted attributes.<ref name="Berkhof"/> The Old Testament reveals [[Tetragrammaton|YHWH]] (often vocalized with vowels as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah") as the personal name of God, along with certain titles including [[Elyon|El Elyon]] and [[El Shaddai]].<ref name="Parke-Taylor2006">{{cite book |last1=Parke-Taylor |first1=G. H. |title=Yahweh: The Divine Name in the Bible |date=1 January 2006 |publisher=[[Wilfrid Laurier University Press]] |isbn=978-0-88920-652-6 |page=4 |language=en|quote=The Old Testament contains various titles and surrogates for God, such as El Shaddai, El Elyon, Haqqadosh (The Holy One), and Adonai. In chapter three, consideration will be given to names ascribed to God in the patriarchal period. Gerhard von Rad reminds us that these names became secondary after the name YHWH had been known to Israel, for "these rudimentary names which derive from old traditions, and from the oldest of them, never had the function of extending the name so as to stand alongside the name Jahweh to serve as fuller forms of address; rather, they were occasionally made use of in place of the name Jahweh." In this respect YHWH stands in contrast to the principal deities of the Babylonians and the Egyptians. "Jahweh had only one name; Marduk had fifty with which his praises as victor over Tiamat were sung in hymns. Similarly, the Egyptian god Re is the god with many names.}}</ref><ref name="USCCB2008">{{cite web |title=The Name of God in the Liturgy |url=http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/frequently-asked-questions/the-name-of-god-in-the-liturgy.cfm |publisher=[[United States Conference of Catholic Bishops]] |language=en |year=2008|quote=…pronouncing the God of Israel's proper name," known as the holy or divine tetragrammaton, written with four consonants, YHWH, in the Hebrew alphabet. In order to vocalize it, it is necessary to introduce vowels that alter the written and spoken forms of the name (i.e. "Yahweh" or "Jehovah").}}</ref> [[Jah]] or Yah is an abbreviation of Jahweh/Yahweh/Jehovah; it is often used by Christians in the interjection [[Hallelujah]], meaning "Praise Jah", which is used to give God glory.<ref name="Loewen2020">{{cite book |last1=Loewen |first1=Jacob A. |title=The Bible in Cross Cultural Perspective |date=1 June 2020 |publisher=William Carey Publishing |isbn=978-1-64508-304-7 |page=182 |language=English|quote=Shorter forms of Yahweh: The name Yahweh also appears in a shortened form, transliterated Jah (pronounced Yah) in the Revised Version and the American Standard Version, either in the text or footnote: "my song is Jah" (Ex 15:2); "by Jah, his name" (Ps 68:4); "I shall not see Jah in Jah's land (Is 38:11). It is common also in such often untranslated compounds as hallelujah 'praise Jah' (Ps 135:3; 146:10, 148:14), and in proper names like Elijah, 'my God is Jah,' Adonijah, 'my Lord is Jah,' Isaiah, 'Jah has saved.'|edition=Revised }}</ref> In the New Testament, ''Theos'', ''[[Kyrios]]'', and ''Pater'' ({{lang|grc|πατήρ}}, "father" in [[Ancient Greek|Greek]]) are additional words used to reference God.<ref name="GreenMcKnightMarshall1992">{{cite book |last1=Green |first1=Joel B. |last2=McKnight |first2=Scot |last3=Marshall |first3=I. Howard |title=Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship |date=18 February 1992 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn=978-0-8308-1777-1 |page=271 |language=en|quote=Many of the uses of ''kyrios'' for God are in citations of the OT and in expressions derived from the OT (e.g., "angel of the Lord"), and in these passages the term functions as the Greek translation of the Hebrew OT name for God, Yahweh. For example, twenty-five of the uses of ''kyrios'' for God in Luke are in the first two chapters, where the phrasing is so heavily influenced by the OT. The third frequently used term for God is "Father" (''patēr''), doubtless the most familiar term for God in Christian tradition and also perhaps the most theologically significant title for God in the NT. Unlike the other terms for God already mentioned—without exception in the Synoptics, and with only a few exceptions in John--"Father" as a title for God appears only in the sayings attributed to Jesus (the Johannine exceptions are in editorial remarks by the Evangelist in 1:14, 18, a saying of Philip in 14:8 and the crowd's claim in 8:41).}}</ref><ref name="Berkhof"/>

Respect for the name of God is one of the [[Ten Commandments]], which is viewed not only as an avoidance of the improper use of the name of God, but also a commandment to exalt it, through both pious deeds and praise.<ref name=Miller>''The Ten Commandments: Interpretation: Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church'' by [[Patrick D. Miller]] (6 August 2009) {{ISBN|0664230555}} page 111</ref> This is reflected in the first petition in the [[Lord's Prayer]] addressed to [[God the Father]]: "Hallowed be thy Name".<ref>''Theology of the New Testament'' by Georg Strecker (2000) {{ISBN|0664223362}} page 282</ref>

In the theology of the [[Early Church Fathers]], the name of God was seen as representative of the entire system of "divine truth" revealed to the faithful "that believe in his name"<ref>{{bibleverse|John|1:12}}</ref> or "walk in the name of the Lord our God"<ref>{{Bibleverse|Micah|4:5}}</ref><ref name=Pink23>''Ten Commandments'' by [[Arthur W. Pink]] (30 December 2007) {{ISBN|1589603753}} pages 23–24</ref><ref name=Cyril>''John 11–21'' (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture) by Joel C. Elowsky (23 May 2007) {{ISBN|0830810994}} page 237</ref> In Revelation 3:12,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Revelation|3:12}}</ref> those who bear the name of God are "destined for Heaven". John 17:6<ref>{{Bibleverse|John|17:6}}</ref> presents the teachings of Jesus as the manifestation of the name of God to his disciples.<ref name=Pink23/>

John 12:27<ref>{{Bibleverse|John|12:27}}</ref> presents the sacrifice of Jesus the [[Lamb of God]], and the ensuing salvation delivered through it as the glorification of the name of God, with the voice from Heaven confirming Jesus' petition ("Father, glorify thy name") by saying: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again", referring to the Baptism and [[crucifixion of Jesus]].<ref name=WBC274>'' Wiersbe Bible Commentary'' by [[Warren W. Wiersbe]] (1 November 2007), {{ISBN|0781445396}}, page 274.</ref>

=== {{anchor|Attributes and nature of God}}Attributes and nature ===
{{Main article|Attributes of God in Christianity}}
{{Attributes of God}}
The theological underpinnings of the attributes and nature of God have been discussed since the earliest days of Christianity. In the 2nd century, [[Irenaeus]] addressed the issue and expounded on some attributes; for example, Book IV, chapter 19 of ''Against Heresies''<ref>([[Wikisource:Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume I/IRENAEUS/Against Heresies: Book IV/Chapter XIX.|Book IV, Chapter 19]]</ref> states: "His greatness lacks nothing, but contains all things".<ref name=Irena27>''Irenaeus of Lyons'' by Eric Francis Osborn (26 November 2001) {{ISBN|0521800064}} pages 27–29</ref> Irenaeus based his attributes on three sources: Scripture, prevailing mysticism and popular piety.<ref name=Irena27/> Today, some of the attributes associated with God continue to be based on statements in the Bible, such as the [[Lord's Prayer]], which states that the Father is in Heaven, while other attributes are derived from theological reasoning.<ref name=SGuthrie>''Christian Doctrine'' by [[Shirley C. Guthrie]] (1 July 1994) {{ISBN|0664253687}}</ref>{{rp|111, 100}}

In the 8th century, [[John of Damascus]] listed eighteen attributes for God in his ''An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith'' (Book 1, chapter 8).<ref>[[Wikisource:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume IX/John of Damascus/An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith/Book I/Chapter 8|Book 1, Chapter 8]]</ref><ref name=Globe352>''Global Dictionary of Theology'' by William A. Dyrness, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Juan F. Martinez and Simon Chan (10 October 2008), {{ISBN|0830824545}}, pages 352–353.</ref> These eighteen attributes were divided into four groups based on time (such as being everlasting), space (such as being boundless), matter or quality and the list continues to be influential to date, partially appearing in some form in various modern formulations.<ref name=Globe352/> In the 13th century, [[Thomas Aquinas]] focused on a shorter list of just eight attributes, namely ''simplicity'', ''perfection'', ''goodness'', ''incomprehensibility'', ''omnipresence'', ''immutability'', ''eternity'' and ''oneness''.<ref name=Globe352/> Other formulations include the 1251 list of the [[Fourth Lateran Council]], which was then adopted at [[Vatican I]] in 1870 and the [[Westminster Shorter Catechism]] in the 17th century.<ref name=Globe352/>

Two attributes of God that place him above the world, yet acknowledge his involvement in the world, are [[Transcendence (philosophy)#Religious definition|transcendence]] and [[immanence]].<ref name="Theokritoff 2010"/><ref name="Young 2008"/><ref name="Cross-Livingstone 2005"/> Transcendence means that God is eternal and infinite, not controlled by the created world and beyond human events.<ref name="Theokritoff 2010"/> Immanence means that God is involved in the world, and Christian teachings have long acknowledged his attention to human affairs.<ref name="Theokritoff 2010"/> However, unlike [[Pantheism|pantheistic]] religions, in Christianity, God's being is not of the substance of the created universe.<ref name="Theokritoff 2010"/>

Traditionally, some theologians such as [[Louis Berkhof]] distinguish between the ''communicable'' attributes (those that human beings can also have) and the ''incommunicable'' attributes (those that belong to God alone).<ref name="Berkhof"/> However, others such as [[Donald Macleod (theologian)|Donald Macleod]] hold that all the suggested classifications are artificial and without basis.<ref>[[Donald Macleod (theologian)|Donald Macleod]], ''Behold Your God'' ([[Christian Focus Publications]], 1995), pages 20–21.</ref>

There is a general agreement among theologians that it would be a mistake to conceive of the essence of God existing by itself and independently of the attributes or of the attributes being an additional characteristic of the Divine Being. They are essential qualities which exist permanently in his very Being and are co-existent with it. Any alteration in them would imply an alteration in the essential being of God.<ref name="Berkhof"/>

Hick suggests that when listing the attributes of God, the starting point should be his ''self-existence'' ("aseity") which implies his eternal and unconditioned nature. Hick goes on to consider the following additional attributes: ''Creator'' being the source of all that composes his creation ({{lang|la|"creatio ex nihilo"}}) and the sustainer of what he has brought into being; ''personal''; ''loving, good''; and ''holy''.<ref>John H. Hick, ''Philosophy of Religion'' Prentice-Hall 1973, pp. 7–14</ref> Berkhof also starts with ''self-existence'' but moves on to ''immutability''; ''infinity'', which implies ''perfection'' ''eternity'' and ''omnipresence''; ''unity''. He then analyses a series of intellectual attributes: ''knowledge-omniscience''; ''wisdom''; ''veracity'' and then, the moral attributes of ''goodness'' (including love, grace, mercy and patience); ''holiness'' and ''righteousness'' before dealing finally with his ''sovereignty''.<ref>Berkhof, Louis ''Systematic Theology'', Banner of Truth 1963, pp. 57–81 & p. 46 respectively.</ref>

[[Gregory of Nyssa]] was one of the first theologians to argue, in opposition to [[Origen]], that God is ''[[Infinity|infinite]]''. His main argument for the infinity of God, which can be found in ''Against Eunomius'', is that God's goodness is limitless, and as God's goodness is [[essence|essential]], God is also limitless.<ref>''The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa''. (Lucas Francisco Mateo-Seco and Giulio Maspero, eds.) 2010. Leiden: Brill, p. 424</ref>

===Depiction===
{{See also|Religious images in Christian theology}}
[[File:Enluminure Drogon c.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Use of the symbolic [[Hand of God (art)|Hand of God]] in the [[Ascension of Christ|Ascension]] from the [[Drogo Sacramentary]], {{circa|850}}]]
Many early Christians believed that a number of verses within the Bible,{{efn|One example is John 1:18: "No man has seen God at any time".<ref>{{bibleverse|John|1:18}}</ref>}} were meant to apply not only to God, but to all attempts aiming to depict God.<ref name="James Cornwell page 24">James Cornwell, 2009 ''Saints, Signs, and Symbols: The Symbolic Language of Christian Art'' {{ISBN|0-8192-2345-X}} page 2</ref> However, early Christian art, such as that of the [[Dura Europos church]], displays the [[Hand of God (art)|Hand of God]], a theological symbol representing the right hand of God, and Christ himself, along with many saints, are depicted. The [[Dura Europos synagogue]] nearby has numerous instances of the Hand of God symbol throughout its extensive decorative scheme, and is the only ancient synagogue with an extant decorative scheme. Dating to the mid-3rd century, the symbol was likely adopted into [[Early Christian art]] from [[Jewish art]].

The Hand of God was common in [[Late Antique]] art in both the East and West, and remained the main way of symbolizing the actions or approval of God the Father in the West until the end of the [[Romanesque art|Romanesque period]].{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} In art depicting specific Biblical scenes, such as the [[Baptism of Jesus]], where a specific [[God the Father in Western art|representation of God the Father]] was indicated, the Hand of God was used increasingly from the [[Carolingian art|Carolingian period]] until the end of the [[Romanesque art|Romanesque]].<ref>Hachlili, Rachel. ''Ancient Jewish Art and Archaeology in the Diaspora, Part 1'', BRILL, 1998, {{ISBN|90-04-10878-5}}, {{ISBN|978-90-04-10878-3}}. pp. 144–145.</ref>

The use of religious images in general continued to increase up to the end of the 7th century, to the point that in 695, upon assuming the throne, [[Byzantine emperor]] [[Justinian II]] put an image of Christ on the obverse side of his gold coins, resulting in a rift which ended the use of [[Byzantine]] coin types in the Islamic world.<ref>Robin Cormack, 1985 ''Writing in Gold, Byzantine Society and its Icons'', {{ISBN|0-540-01085-5}}</ref> However, the increase in religious imagery did not include depictions of God the Father. For instance, while the eighty second canon of the [[Council of Trullo]] in 692 did not specifically condemn images of the Father, it suggested that [[icon]]s of Christ were preferred over Old Testament shadows and figures.<ref>Steven Bigham, 1995 ''Image of God the Father in Orthodox Theology and Iconography'' {{ISBN|1-879038-15-3}} page 27</ref>
[[File:God the Father with His Right Hand Raised in Blessing.jpg|thumb|''God the Father with His Right Hand Raised in Blessing'', with a triangular halo representing the Trinity, [[Girolamo dai Libri]] {{circa|1555}}]]
The beginning of the 8th century witnessed the suppression and destruction of religious icons as the [[Byzantine iconoclasm]] (literally, "image struggle" or "war on icons") began. Emperor [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]] (717–741) suppressed the use of icons by imperial edict of the Byzantine Empire, presumably due to a military loss which he attributed to the undue veneration of icons.<ref>According to accounts by Patriarch Nikephoros and the chronicler Theophanes.</ref> The edict (which was issued without consulting the church) forbade the veneration of religious images, but did not apply to other forms of art, including the image of the emperor, or religious symbols such as the cross.<ref>Warren Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, Stanford University Press, 1997</ref> Theological arguments against icons then began to appear with [[Iconoclasm|iconoclasts]] arguing that icons could not represent both the divine and the human natures of Jesus at the same time. In this atmosphere, no public depictions of God the Father were even attempted and such depictions only began to appear two centuries later.

The [[Second Council of Nicaea]] in 787 effectively ended the first period of Byzantine iconoclasm and restored the honouring of icons and holy images in general.<ref>Edward Gibbon, 1995 ''The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' {{ISBN|0-679-60148-1}} page 1693</ref> However, this did not immediately translate into large scale depictions of God the Father. Even supporters of the use of icons in the 8th century, such as [[John of Damascus]], drew a distinction between images of God the Father and those of Christ.

In his treatise ''On the Divine Images'', John of Damascus wrote: "In former times, God who is without form or body, could never be depicted. But now when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see".<ref>St. John of Damascus, ''Three Treatises on the Divine Images'' {{ISBN|0-88141-245-7}}</ref> The implication is that insofar as God the Father or the Spirit did not become man, visible and tangible images and portrait icons would be inaccurate, and that what was true for the whole Trinity before Christ remains true for the Father and the Spirit, but not for the Word.{{explain|date=December 2021}} John of Damascus wrote:<ref>Steven Bigham, 1995 ''Image of God the Father in Orthodox Theology and Iconography'' {{ISBN|1-879038-15-3}} page 29</ref><blockquote>
If we attempt to make an image of the invisible God, this would be sinful indeed. It is impossible to portray one who is without body: invisible, uncircumscribed and without form.
</blockquote>

Around 790, [[Charlemagne]] ordered a set of four books that became known as the [[Libri Carolini]] ("Charles' books") to refute what his court mistakenly understood to be the iconoclast decrees of the Byzantine [[Second Council of Nicaea]] regarding sacred images. Although not well known during the Middle Ages, these books describe the key elements of the Catholic theological position on sacred images. To the [[Western Church]], images were just objects made by craftsmen, to be utilized for stimulating the senses of the faithful, and to be respected for the sake of the subject represented, not in themselves.

The [[Council of Constantinople (869)]] (considered ecumenical by the Western Church, but not the [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Church]]) reaffirmed the decisions of the Second Council of Nicaea and helped stamp out any remaining coals of iconoclasm. Specifically, its third canon required the image of Christ to have veneration equal with that of a Gospel book:<ref>Gesa Elsbeth Thiessen, 2005 ''Theological aesthetics'' {{ISBN|0-8028-2888-4}} page 65</ref><blockquote>
We decree that the sacred image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the liberator and Savior of all people, must be venerated with the same honor as is given the book of the holy Gospels. For as through the language of the words contained in this book all can reach salvation, so, due to the action which these images exercise by their colors, all wise and simple alike, can derive profit from them.
</blockquote>

Images of God the Father were not directly addressed in Constantinople in 869. A list of permitted icons was enumerated at this Council, but symbols of God the Father were not among them.<ref>Steven Bigham, 1995 ''Image of God the Father in Orthodox Theology and Iconography'' {{ISBN|1-879038-15-3}} page 41</ref> However, the general acceptance of icons and holy images began to create an atmosphere in which God the Father could be symbolized.

Prior to the 10th century, no attempt was made to use a human figure to symbolize [[God the Father]] in [[Western art]].<ref name="James Cornwell page 24" /> Yet, Western art eventually required some way to illustrate the presence of the Father, so through successive representations a set of artistic styles for symbolizing the Father using a man gradually emerged around the 10th century. A rationale for the use of a human figure is the belief that God created the soul of Man in the image of his own (thus allowing humanity to transcend the other animals).

It appears that when early artists designed to represent God the Father, fear and awe restrained them from a usage of the whole human figure. Typically only a small part would be used as the image, usually the hand, or sometimes the face, but rarely a whole human figure. In many images, the figure of the Son supplants the Father, so a smaller portion of the person of the Father is depicted.<ref name="Adolphe Napoléon Didron pages 169">Adolphe Napoléon Didron, 2003 ''Christian iconography: or The history of Christian art in the middle ages'' {{ISBN|0-7661-4075-X}} pages 169</ref>
[[File:Andrea_del_Verrocchio,_Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_Baptism_of_Christ_-_Uffizi.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Depiction of two hands of God and the Holy Spirit as a dove in ''[[The Baptism of Christ (Verrocchio)|The Baptism of Christ]]'' by [[Andrea del Verrocchio]] and [[Leonardo da Vinci]], 1472]]

By the 12th century depictions of God the Father had started to appear in French [[illuminated manuscript]]s, which as a less public form could often be more adventurous in their iconography, and in [[stained glass]] church windows in England. Initially the head or bust was usually shown in some form of frame of clouds in the top of the picture space, where the Hand of God had formerly appeared; the [[Baptism of Jesus|Baptism of Christ]] on the famous [[Baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège|baptismal font in Liège]] of [[Rainer of Huy]] is an example from 1118 (a Hand of God is used in another scene). Gradually the amount of the human symbol shown can increase to a half-length figure, then a full-length, usually enthroned, as in [[Giotto]]'s [[fresco]] of c. 1305 in [[Padua]].<ref name="ReferenceA">[[Arena Chapel]], at the top of the triumphal arch, ''God sending out the angel of the Annunciation''. See Schiller, I, fig 15</ref>

In the 14th century the [[Naples Bible]] carried a depiction of God the Father in the [[Burning bush]]. By the early 15th century, the [[Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry]] has a considerable number of symbols, including an elderly but tall and elegant full-length figure walking in the [[Garden of Eden]], which show a considerable diversity of apparent ages and dress. The [[Battistero di San Giovanni (Florence)#Lorenzo Ghiberti|"Gates of Paradise" of the Florence Baptistry]] by [[Lorenzo Ghiberti]], begun in 1425 use a similar tall full-length symbol for the Father. The [[Rohan Book of Hours]] of about 1430 also included depictions of God the Father in half-length human form, which were now becoming standard, and the Hand of God becoming rarer. At the same period other works, like the large Genesis [[altarpiece]] by the Hamburg painter [[Meister Bertram]], continued to use the old depiction of Christ as ''Logos'' in Genesis scenes. In the 15th century there was a brief fashion for depicting all three persons of the Trinity as [[Trinity#Less common types of depiction|similar or identical figures with the usual appearance of Christ]].

In an early Venetian school [[Coronation of the Virgin]] by [[Giovanni d'Alemagna]] and [[Antonio Vivarini]], (c. 1443) The Father is depicted using the symbol consistently used by other artists later, namely a patriarch, with benign, yet powerful countenance and with long white hair and a beard, a depiction largely derived from, and justified by, the near-physical, but still figurative, description of the [[Ancient of Days]].<ref>Bigham Chapter 7</ref>

: ...the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. ([[Book of Daniel|Daniel]] 7:9)

In the ''Annunciation'' by [[Benvenuto di Giovanni]] in 1470, God the Father is portrayed in the red robe and a hat that resembles that of a Cardinal. However, even in the later part of the 15th century, the symbolic representation of the Father and the Holy Spirit as "hands and dove" continued, e.g. in [[The Baptism of Christ (Verrocchio)|Verrocchio's Baptism of Christ]] in 1472.<ref>Arthur de Bles, 2004 ''How to Distinguish the Saints in Art by Their Costumes, Symbols and Attributes'' {{ISBN|1-4179-0870-X}} page 32</ref>

In Renaissance paintings of the adoration of the Trinity, God may be depicted in two ways, either with emphasis on The Father, or the three elements of the Trinity. The most usual depiction of the Trinity in Renaissance art depicts God the Father using an old man, usually with a long beard and patriarchal in appearance, sometimes with a triangular [[Halo (religious iconography)|halo]] (as a reference to the Trinity), or with a [[papal crown]], specially in Northern Renaissance painting. In these depictions, the Father may hold a globe or book (to symbolize God's knowledge and as a reference to how knowledge is deemed divine). He is behind and above Christ on the Cross in the [[Throne of Mercy]] iconography. A dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit may hover above.<ref>[https://news.artnet.com/market/introduction-to-medieval-iconography-32889 Bourlier, Cyriil. "Introduction to Medieval Iconography", ''Artnet News'', October 28, 2013]</ref> Various people from different classes of society, e.g. kings, popes or martyrs may be present in the picture. In a Trinitarian [[pietà]], God the Father is often symbolized using a man wearing a papal dress and a papal crown, supporting the dead Christ in his arms. They are depicted as floating in heaven with angels who carry the [[instruments of the Passion]].<ref>Irene Earls, 1987 ''Renaissance art: a topical dictionary'' {{ISBN|0-313-24658-0}} pages 8 and 283</ref>
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Representations of God the Father and the Trinity were attacked both by Protestants and within Catholicism, by the [[Jansenist]] and [[Baianist]] movements as well as more orthodox theologians. As with other attacks on Catholic imagery, this had the effect both of reducing church support for the less central depictions, and strengthening it for the core ones. In the [[Catholic Church]], the pressure to restrain religious imagery resulted in the highly influential decrees of the final session of the [[Council of Trent]] in 1563. The Council of Trent decrees confirmed the traditional Catholic doctrine that images only represented the person depicted, and that veneration to them was paid to the person, not the image.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct25.html|title=CT25|access-date=30 December 2016}}</ref> The Council also reserved the right of bishops, and in cases of new artistic novelties, the Pope, to suppress images deemed non-canonical or heretical.

Traditional artistic depictions of God the Father which followed the conventions of the church were relatively uncontroversial in Catholic art thereafter, but less common, unusual depictions of the [[Trinity]] were condemned. In 1745 [[Pope Benedict XIV]] explicitly supported the [[Throne of Mercy]] depiction, referring to the "Ancient of Days", but in 1786 it was still necessary for [[Pope Pius VI]] to issue a [[papal bull]] condemning the decision of an Italian church council to remove all images of the Trinity from churches, including standard canonical ones.<ref>Bigham, 73–76</ref>

God the Father is symbolized in several Genesis scenes in [[Michelangelo]]'s [[Sistine Chapel ceiling]], most famously ''[[The Creation of Adam]]'' (whose image of near touching hands of God and Adam is iconic of humanity, being a reminder that Man is created in the Image and Likeness of God ({{Bibleref2|Gen|1:26|NRSV}})).God the Father is depicted as a powerful figure, floating in the clouds in [[Assumption of the Virgin (Titian)|Titian's ''Assumption of the Virgin'']] in the [[Frari of Venice]], long admired as a masterpiece of [[High Renaissance]] art.<ref>Louis Lohr Martz, 1991 ''From Renaissance to baroque: essays on literature and art'' {{ISBN|0-8262-0796-0}} page 222</ref> The [[Church of the Gesù]] in Rome includes a number of 16th century depictions of [[God the Father]]. In some of these paintings the [[Trinity]] is still alluded to in terms of three angels, but [[Giovanni Battista Fiammeri]] also depicted God the Father as a man riding on a cloud, above the scenes.<ref>Gauvin A. Bailey, 2003 ''Between Renaissance and Baroque: Jesuit art in Rome'' {{ISBN|0-8020-3721-6}} page 233</ref>

[[File:RubensLastJudgeDetail.jpg|thumb|right|Rubens' ''Last Judgment'' (detail), 1617]]
In several of his painting, such as the ''[[The Great Last Judgement (Rubens)|Last Judgment]]'', [[Rubens]] depicted God the Father using the image that by then had become widely accepted—a bearded patriarchal figure above the fray.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Esposito |first1=Teresa |title=Ignis artificiosus. Images of God and the Universe in Rubens's Depiction of Antique Shields |journal=Early Modern Low Countries |date=11 December 2018 |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=244 |doi=10.18352/emlc.70 |doi-access=free }}</ref> While representations of God the Father were growing in Italy, Spain, Germany and the Low Countries, there was resistance elsewhere in Europe, even during the 17th century. In 1632 most members of the [[Star Chamber]] court in England (except the [[Archbishop of York]]) condemned the use of the images of the Trinity in church windows, and some considered them illegal.<ref>Charles Winston, 1847 ''An Inquiry Into the Difference of Style Observable in Ancient Glass Paintings, Especially in England'' {{ISBN|1-103-66622-3}}, (2009) page 229</ref> Later in the 17th century [[Sir Thomas Browne]] wrote that he considered the representation of God the Father using an old man "a dangerous act" that might lead to, in his words, "Egyptian symbolism".<ref name=":2">Sir Thomas Browne's Works, 1852, {{ISBN|0559376871}}, 2006 page 156</ref> In 1847, [[Charles Winston]] was still critical of such images as a "[[Romish]] trend" (a derisive term used to refer to Roman Catholics) that he considered best avoided in England.<ref>Charles Winston, 1847 ''An Inquiry Into the Difference of Style Observable in Ancient Glass Paintings, Especially in England'' {{ISBN|1-103-66622-3}}, (2009) page 230</ref>

In 1667 the 43rd chapter of the [[Great Moscow Synod|Great Moscow Council]] specifically included a ban on a number of symbolic depictions of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, which then also resulted in a whole range of other icons being placed on the forbidden list,<ref>Oleg Tarasov, 2004 ''Icon and devotion: sacred spaces in Imperial Russia'' {{ISBN|1-86189-118-0}} page 185</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://genuineorthodoxchurch.com/moscow_1666.htm|title=Council of Moscow – 1666–1667|access-date=30 December 2016}}</ref> mostly affecting Western-style depictions which had been gaining ground in Orthodox icons. The Council also declared that the person of the Trinity who was the "Ancient of Days" was Christ, as ''Logos'', not God the Father. However some icons continued to be produced in [[Russia]], as well as [[Greece]], [[Romania]], and other [[Eastern Orthodoxy by country|Orthodox Christian-majority countries]].