Who
is God?
How may
men and women come to know God, whom to know is "life eternal?"
"This is life eternal that they may know You, the only true
God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3). Is God
hidden? Is He hard to find? What is He like? What are the
evidences of His existence?
Might
we come to know God through His creation? Does He reveal Himself
in the Bible as it claims? Did God reveal Himself in the life
of Jesus? Does God reveal Himself in prophecy, by foretelling
the future? I believe the answer is yes to all four of these
questions, and I believe that He reveals Himself to individuals
in personal ways when those individuals really want to know
Him and are willing to follow His leading in their lives.
Let's
consider some of the ways God has chosen to reveal Himself.
God
reveals Himself through His creation:
One author
has stated, "Look at the wonderful and beautiful things of
nature. Think of their marvelous adaptation to the needs and
happiness, not only of man, but of all living creatures. The
sunshine and the rain, that gladden and refresh the earth,
the hills and seas and plains, all speak to us of the Creator's
love" (Steps to Christ, p. 1).
The sun
rises every morning to bring light and warmth and energy to
the earth and its inhabitants. Photosynthesis, the complex
synthesis of putting together various elements of the earth
to create plants that are entirely different from their independent
elements, is a mystery that only God understands. And it is
a science by which He beautifies the earth and feeds all its
inhabitants. Radiant energy and light of the sun and moisture
of rain on the soil cause the elements of earth to nourish
the seed and roots which then form the carbohydrates in the
chlorophyll containing tissues of plants. Magnificent planning!
Incredible execution! This does not just happen in some exotic
laboratory somewhere. It happens all around us in all the
plants that exist on earth. All the grasses, bushes, flowers
and trees are created by this process. It's a miracle of the
science of life. The plants provide our primary food source
and also produce the oxygen that we breathe. Without plant
life, we could not exist.
I am so thankful
that I was not made to receive nourishment and energy from a
gas pump. Our Creator provided an abundant source of all imaginable
kinds of living plants and foods that supply and nourish all
the cells of our bodies. He provides food freely and abundantly
through the cultivation of the land and in such variety as excites
the taste buds and satisfies our hunger. Just think of all the
variety of fruits, nuts, grains and vegetables that the Creator
through nature has provided for our sustenance and enjoyment.
(Genesis 1:29, 30)
When you
consider all the sciences that mankind is studying to attempt
to understand the secrets of the earth and the universe, it
boggles the mind. The more we study, the more we realize the
vastness of what we do not know. Yet we do comprehend that
there is an intelligent design in all of creation and where
there is a design, there is a designer. Consider the many
fields of natural and human sciences such as agriculture,
astronomy, biology, chemistry, ecology, energy, geology, geophysics,
mathematics, medicine, meteorology, oceanography, physics,
physiology, psychology, to name just a few. There are so many
of them that we can't number them. And within each scientific
field, no one can comprehend the whole. Take for example the
science of medicine. There are so many specialties within
this vast science. General Practice, Family Practice, Pediatrics,
Urology, Gynecology, Ear Nose and Throat, Neurology, Orthopedics,
Surgery and who knows how many more specialties there are
in Medicine. And just like medicine, each field of science
has its many specialties. We can only just scratch the surface
of the knowledge of God.
God reveals
Himself in His created works. "Thus says God the Lord, Who
created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth
the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to
the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it" (Isaiah
42:5).
Creation is an expression of the thought and works of God.
God
reveals Himself in the Bible:
As creation
reveals a Creator, the Bible claims to be the Creator's written
message to us about Himself and His plan for us and our world.
The Bible
is a collection of sixty-six books. The thirty-nine books
of the Old Testament were composed between 1400 and 400 BC,
and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament between about
50 and 100 AD. Over the span of 1500 years beginning with
Moses and ending with John, a disciple of Christ who wrote
Revelation, there were at least forty prophets who made their
contributions.
The Bible
writers were shepherds, traders, fishermen, soldiers, physicians,
preachers, government officials and kings, human beings from
all walks of life. They served under different governments
and lived within contrasting cultures and systems of philosophy.
Amazingly, when the sixty-six books of the Bible are brought
together, we find perfect harmony in the messages they convey.
How did
God reveal Himself to the prophets? He said to Moses, "Listen
to My words: When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal
myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams" (Numbers
12:6).
Paul made
very clear his inspiration, "I did not receive it from any
man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation
from Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:12). He also tells us, "All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly
equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16, 17)."This is
what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but
in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths
in spiritual words" (1 Corinthians 2:13).
The Bible
as a whole communicates one coherent message-One mind planned
it all, the mind of God. Scripture's remarkable unity gives
evidence that it is not simply human literature but indeed
the Word of God. Humans wrote the thoughts and words, but
they were "God-breathed," inspired by God Himself.
From beginning
to end, the Bible is God's revealed plan for the life and
salvation of all mankind.
God
came to live with us. He reveals Himself in the life of Jesus:
The Old
Testament points forward to a Redeemer. The New Testament
tells of His coming. The focus of the Bible is to show God
clearly through the life of Jesus. Matthew wrote, "All this
was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
Lord through the prophet, saying; 'Behold, the virgin shall
be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name
Immanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us' " (Matthew 1:22,
23).
John tells
us, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing
was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was
the light of men. -He was in the world, and the world was
made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came
to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as
received Him, to them He gave the right to become children
of God, to those who believe in His name. -And the Word became
flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
(John 1:1-4, 10-12).
"Philip said
to Jesus, 'Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for
us.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, and yet
you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the
Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father?' " (John 14:8,
9).
Paul's
message to Timothy was, "Great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16).
To the
Corinthians Paul said, "God was in Christ reconciling the
world to Himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19).
Jesus
said, "I and My Father are one" (John 10:30).
God came
to live with us in the life of Jesus Christ! The greatest
reason we should become acquainted with the Bible is that
it reveals God and Jesus Christ to us and assures us of God's
love for each one of us and His provision for saving our souls.
John,
Christ's disciple wrote, "But these are written that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that
believing, you may have life in His name" (John 20:31).
God
reveals the future:
In addition
to revealing Himself, God also reveals the future. According
to Amos, a prophet in the Old Testament, "Surely the Lord
God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants
the prophets" (Amos 3:7).
Peter,
Christ's disciple says, "Know this, that no prophecy of Scripture
is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came
by the will of Man, but holy men of God spoke as they were
moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20, 21).
Paul advised
"Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what
is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:20, 21).
Prophecies
of the Bible reveal the future. The prophecies of Daniel,
given about 600 years before Christ, and the prophecies of
Revelation, written between 90 and 100 AD, have been fulfilled
in accurate detail right down to our day and they reveal what
is yet to come. These will be studied in detail in the lessons
on Prophecy. God has accurately revealed the course of human
history centuries before the events took place.
God
reveals Himself in the lives of men and women:
Does God
speak to people through the pages of the Bible? He certainly
does. The Word of God possesses a power that can transform
people's lives. Paul touched on the principle of this transforming
power when he said, "Do not be conformed to this world, but
be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may
prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of
God. -Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good" (Romans 2:2,
9). A student of a Bible course wrote the following: "I am
on death row in the Utah State Prison. Before I took this
Bible course, I was lost, but now I have something to look
forward to, and I have found a new love" (Discover Bible Lessons,
Guide 2 "We can believe the Bible").
Studying
the scriptures to get to know God and to know His will for
your life is something that is very similar to photosynthesis.
However, instead of the sun's energy, that synthesizes the
moisture of rain with elements of the earth to nourish plant
life, it is God Himself and His Son, Jesus Christ, who through
His Holy Spirit, (the rain) synthesizes the elements of His
Word (the Scriptures) to nourish our lives. By beholding the
glory of our God, we become changed more and more into His
likeness day by day.
To grow
healthy and strong, we need nourishment every day. Without
any food and water, our physical bodies could exist only a
few days. We eat and drink every day because it is pleasurable
and it keeps us healthy and strong if we eat the right foods
and drink the right liquids. Likewise we need the nourishment
of the Word of God and water of the Holy Spirit daily to be
complete and whole (John 4:13).
As all
plant life is different and unique, so are we all different
and unique. God has a unique role and purpose for each of
us and only by His Word and Holy Spirit dwelling in us can
we be complete and fulfill the purpose for our existence.
Looking
for and finding God is like finding hidden treasures. The
values of the treasures that God wants to share with us are
far above the values of any earthly treasure and they are
not hidden. His treasures are as available to us as the sun
by day, the moon by night, the food we eat and the water we
drink. He is our Provider and He has so much more in store
for those who will get to know Him. His treasures are hidden
only from those who refuse to consider the evidences of His
creation, His Word, His life, His prophecies and His Spirit
leading in their lives.
God loves
us and He respects us. He does not force Himself on anyone.
He gives us ample evidence to know Him, to trust Him and to
believe Him, but He does not overwhelm us or force us by His
power to obey Him. He gives that choice to us. Jesus says, "Behold,
I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and
he with Me" (Revelation 3:20). Jesus, our Creator, wants a personal
relationship with each of us individually. And He provides for
our spiritual nourishment daily as we study His Word and allow
His Holy Spirit to lead us.
"For God
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world through Him might be saved"
(John 3:16, 17).
Who is
God? He is our Supreme Provider! In Him "are hidden all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). May God
richly bless you as you consider His creation, study His Word,
get to know Him in the person of Jesus Christ, and allow His
Holy Spirit to lead you into an understanding of what is truth.
"For I
know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord,
thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and
a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me,
and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me,
when you search for Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:11-13).
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