This research paper by Charles Hart, submitted to Dr. Blair Smith for ST5150 – Systematic Theology 1: Scripture, Theology Proper, Anthropology at Reformed Theological Seminary – Charlotte, argues that the triune God is the very essence and fountain of beauty. Hart contends that all created beauty—whether in art, nature, or humanity—serves as a signpost pointing toward divine beauty itself. True beauty, he asserts, is neither subjective nor relative but an intrinsic quality grounded in God’s being, most fully revealed in His glory and manifested through His works of creation and redemption.
Drawing on theologians such as Augustine, Aquinas, Jonathan Edwards, Barth, and Balthasar, Hart traces the deep relationship between divine beauty and glory. He demonstrates that while creation reflects God’s beauty, it is in the face of Jesus Christ that divine beauty shines most radiantly. The cross, paradoxically, becomes the supreme revelation of this beauty—where holiness, mercy, and love converge in redemptive suffering. This beauty, Hart argues, evokes joy, worship, and transformation in those who behold it by faith.
Hart concludes that only through the Spirit can believers truly see, delight in, and confess the beauty of the Son. The Spirit’s sanctifying work not only enables the Church to behold divine beauty but also to manifest it through words, deeds, and community life. To confess the divine beauty, therefore, is to live as a people transformed by the triune God, reflecting His splendor to a world in search of true and lasting beauty.
Course and semester: ST5150 Systematic Theology 1: Scripture, Theology Proper, Anthropology — Fall 2019