Creation of Adam, Michelangelo, Circa 1511
I am not going to try to convince you to believe in God, because, Heb.11; 6 says “But without faith it is impossible to please him: For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarded of them that diligently seek Him.” What I am going to do is try to open your heart and mind, so you can come to the knowledge of the truth about God, for yourself.
One of the most important revelations that came to me just prior to my conversion and a true act of faith towards God was the following concept. Truth is without reason, it is just the truth. Therefore; God is, period, end of story, He just is. Nowhere in the scriptures do any of the authors try to prove the existence of God. The reason being is that they all know Him in a true and personal way. They were in communication with Him and He communicated with them. The Old Testament Hebrew term for GOD was El, Elah, Eloah, Elohim and Jehovah, more correctly Yahweh, Lord God, and was read by Jews as Elohim. They all refer to God, He who is self-existing, the divine creator, supernatural, all powerful, giver of life, worthy to be worshiped, the true and living God who is personally involved in a man’s life, and who desires to have a personal relationship with all of mankind. In the New Testament which was written in Greek, in most all case God is written Theos, and should carry with it the same content as the Jewish terms.
One must understand when reading the Holy Bible, scriptures that they are basically for believes those who have come into a living relationship with God their creator. For years I had been reading the scriptures, even to the point of making my own summary of the entire Bible. But after my conversion, having faith towards God; my eyes were opened to such an extent that my heart would be filled with joy, and I would weep, when I would read the Bible. I can go on a try to convince you with all kinds of arguments about the existence of God on an intellectual level, but that doesn’t work. A person convinced against their will, will be of the same mind still. God can only be known through a personal revelation, and this revelation can only come from a true spiritual awakening by faith in Him. This faith is not an intellectual assent, but a spiritual one. A person must understand that spiritual things are spiritually understood. In most cases the person’s intellect, only get in the way of a true act of faith. To the person’s intellect it seems unreasonable and even stupid, to act upon the Spirits urging to commit to an act of faith by yielding oneself over to God. Like I said before, truth is without reason, it is just the truth, and therefore God is real.
An act of faith towards God is a spiritual commitment from the heart (the spiritual man) not the head (the intellectual mind) by trusting that, God is. And that everyone living or dead is totally responsible before Him, there is no escape, no not one; we all will stand in judgment before God one day.
God is a spiritual being, the first cause of the universe, perfect and infinite in whom all things have their beginning, and end. God is the creator, ruler of the universe, unchanging and unchangeable, supreme judge and Father of us all, and is involved in the affairs of men.
Psalms 115; 9-18
“O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: He is their help and their shield. Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great. The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children. Ye are blessed of the Lord which made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens are the Lord’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men. The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord.”
The scriptures are an account of God’s dealings with mankind in an attempt to draw us back into a close loving relationship with Him that was present before the fall of Adam. God’s being is so complex and vast that man cannot understand or describe Him in human terms. I believe that which was revealed to Moses on the mount, at the burning bush says it all.
Exodus 3:13-14
“And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, what is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM: And he said, Thus shalt thou Say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
This very statement from God to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM” reveals the depth and unsearchableness of God. The essence of the statement is that God will be and do everything necessary to save His people Israel. Another similar and profound statement about God is found in Jeremiah.
Jer.10:10
“But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, and an everlasting King: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.”
Throughout the Old Testament God has revealed Himself to us as “Creator” Gen.1:1; “Almighty God” Gen.17:1; “Provider” Gen.22:14; “Mighty One” Jud.5:3; “Lord or Master” Ex.23:17; “Banner” Ex.17;15; “Peace” Jud.6:24; “Sheppard” Psa.23:1; “Healer” Ex.15:26; “Righteousness” Jer.23:6; “Lord of Host” I Sam.1:3; “Who is present” Ezek.48:35; “Recompense” Jer.51:56; “Sanctifier” Ex.31:13. One of the most revealing portions of scripture about God, in relationship with man is found in Psalms 139.
Psa.139:1-6
“O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my down sitting and mine uprising, thou understandeth my thoughts afar off. Thou compasses my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.”
As you well can see; the psalmists reveals to us, that God knows all our actions, our thoughts, even our words before they are spoken. God knows what we are about to do, before we do it.
The understanding of this truth totally confounds my mind. Just think, before we think a bad thought, God is there to try to change it, before an evil word is spoken. He is there to try to have us hold our tongue, and before we commit an act of violence. He is there to try and stop us. How great and loving is God that he doesn’t want us do anything wrong that would cause Him to be angry with us. Unfortunately we are too stubborn and taken up with ourselves, that we can’t hear that quite voice of God speaking to us.
Psa.139:7-12
“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.”
This portion of the Psalms reveals, that there is absolutely no place that one can hide from God. Not in heaven or hell, not in the earth or the sea, there is no place to hide from God. I once heard a preach say that there is a place to hide from God, and that is in his bosom. An interesting thought, don’t you think; that the only place to hind from God, is for you to get as close to Him, as you possibly can. Praise the Lord!
Psa.139:13-18
“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast coverer me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.”
God knew us before we were even born; our names were written in HIS book of life. In fact He knows us before he created Adam, our natural father. All the days of our life have been and are known by God. How wonderful it is that God has taken such a great interest in us and desires, that we live a full great life, if we would only listen to Him. Remember that God is the beginning and the end and everything in between.
Psa.139:19-24
“Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O LORD. That hate thee? And am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Here we see the anger of the Psalmist against those that are evil and haters of God, and that which is good. I have to ask myself, why we have become so permissive towards wickedness and evil in these days. No one dares to cry out against the evil doer, we just turn our head and look the other way. We continue to let thieves, homosexuals, addicts, drunkards, adulterers, and the like, hold public office and high places in our government and churches. This has to stop, if there is to be any hope for our future as a society.
Have the wicked become so powerful and strong? They now control every aspect of our social lives, when it should be God. Don’t you think it’s about time for us who are living Godly lives, and walk in the path of righteousness to stand up and be heard? We need to let the world know that we do not want to be part of their wicked ways. One must understand that we are doing a person a great favor when we cause them to turn from their evil ways, and towards God and His righteousness. Have we forgotten that God has sent His Son into this world to save us from our sins?
From the oldest book in the Bible; the book of Job, we can see why Job was able to withstand all the suffering, pain, and discomfort that befell him, at the hands of Satan. No one said that keeping the faith would be easy, but the promise is, if you endure, you will take part in the glory of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, and be seated with Him in heavenly places.
Job 19:25, 26
“For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:”
I would like to make one thing very clear. That the whole Bible, Old and New Testament have but one purpose and goal. That is to bring you into a personal relationship with the true and living God, and to serve Him in truth and love. Which is to turn you away from sins and into the path of righteousness for His name sake? Amen (let it be so).
Looking at some of the scriptures which pertain to; that which is considered to be Biblical wisdom and knowledge, from God’s point of view.
Prov.1:7
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Prov. 8:13
“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: Pride, arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”
Prov. 9:10
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Prov. 14:16
“A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.”
1Pet. 3:10, 11
“For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
The Holy Bible, Scriptures in no way tries to prove to you that God exist, because all those who were responsible for the Scriptures which became the Holy Bible as we know it, knew God personally. Their goal was to let you know what you need to do to please God, and to have a full life, by walking in the ways of righteousness. And that Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son has made it possible for anyone that will to be freed from the power of sin.
There is one more though about the existence of God I would like to share with you. The view is a non-biblical one, which I have arrived at, after watching some of these television programs on prophecy. Most people, believers and non-believers alike do believe that certain persons have had the ability to see into the future. One such person was H.G. Wells, his novel 20,000 Leagues
Under The Sea and The Time Machine revealed so many examples of thing that we consider common place today. He wrote about them in his novels well before they were invented.
One has to ask, did he have the ability to see into the future in order to be able write about such thing as submarines, scuba gear, radio, television, and atomic weapons? Also we have to take notice of the Astrologers that make predictions from the study of the heavenly bodies. Wasn’t it through a form of astrology that the birth of Christ was predicted? We also have the prophet, Nostradamus and Edger Casey, the sleeping prophet, whose prophesies are revered by most of the scientific community, as being true and accurate? Therefore if the future can be seen by someone, before it happens, then it most exist or is predestined by someone, that someone being God. Because, God is the beginning and the end, within Him there is no time, He is all encompassing. Time only exist in relationship to our world which has an end, judgment day. If you agree that there is a future, yet to be unfolded, and that it can be seen and revealed to man, then who is doing the reeling? It is God of course. Thus there couldn’t be any future, if there wasn’t, a true and living God. We would only have the past and the right to know. Everything would be evolving moment by moment, with no future to see into by the prophets. Can you understand my reasoning, if so praise the Lord.
Within the New Testament the same point of view is held by Apostles and other writers as the Old Testament authors. The fact that God created the heavens and the earth was one of the main fundamental doctrinal truths of the Christians. The Apostle Paul points to nature itself as proof of the existence of God. Also in spite of the turmoil surrounding the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the New Testament declares that God is one, and is Head of all things.
Jn.14:28
“Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.”
1Tim.2:5
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”
Acts 7:55, 56
“But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfast into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”
1Cor.11:3
“But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is man; and the head of Christ is God.”
1Cor.15:24
“Then cometh the end, when he(Jesus Christ) shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he(Jesus Christ)shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.”
1Cor.15:28
“And when all things shall be subdued unto him (Jesus Christ), then shall the Son also himself (Jesus Christ) be subject unto him (God the Father) that put all things under him (Jesus Christ), that God may be all in all.”
Note: The parentheses were added by myself for your understanding, and are not part of the scripture verses in 1Cor.15:24, 28.
One need, is to read the opening words of the Epistles and see that they refer to God our Father and to Jesus Christ as two difference persons. Also I would like to debunk the notion that the term Godhead refers to the Trinity, it doesn’t. This term is only mentioned three times in the New Testament, so let’s look at them one by one.
Acts 17:29, 30
“Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”
The context of this statement by the Apostle Paul was in response to the Athenians inscription on Mars Hill “To the unknown God”. Paul is explaining to them that this unknown God which you are referring to is the Head of all things the Creator, God the Father. That He is the invisible God and can’t be fashioned by mans’ hand and that you better change your ways of thinking about God.
Rom.1:19, 20
“Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”
To me, within these verses, it is so clear that the Apostle Paul is only talking about God the Father and Creator, and no other, that the Godhead, the Father of all things, and is the only authority, and is above all.
Col.2:8, 9
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”
Here the Apostle Paul is warning us not to listen to human concepts about life and our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the expressed image of God the Father in bodily form. That Jesus Christ is the true reflection of the Godhead that is the Father. Remember that the New Testament scripture declare that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, therefore being the only begotten Son of God. During the time of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist; the voice from heaven declared that Jesus was God beloved Son.
When the translators’ of the KJV I believed they got it right when they translated the three Greek words “Theios”; “Theiostes”; “Theotes” as Godhead, pertain to the authority of God the Father. The problem that arises is with modern Theologians, trying to prove their idea of the Trinity that real doesn’t hold water. I will deal with the Trinitarian concept in a later chapter.
Eph.4:4-6
“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”