GOD DOES EXIST!
Who is God and how can we get to know him?
“… anyone who comes to him [God] must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Heb. 11:6). A tall order for the atheist admittedly – but the Bible gives us plenty of convincing evidence that God does indeed exist. In addition to this “intellectual” evidence, is “experiential” evidence – believers can see God at work in their own lives.
All people are without excuse not to know that there is a God, why is this?
Because the very evidence of God is all around us…. See Romans 1:19-20
“19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 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.”
We are all part of God’s creation so from within us and without we are surrounded by the very evidence of the intelligent design of an all wise, all knowing and all powerful creator.
Examining the intricate structure of our bodies (Ps. 139:14), the evident design in a flower, gazing up into the vastness of space on a clear night, these and countless other careful reflections on life surely make atheism incredible. To believe that there is no God, and that everything and everyone we see around us, came from nothing and no-one, is against all the laws of probability. Surely this requires more faith than to believe that He exists. Without God there is no order, purpose or ultimate explanation in the universe, and this will, therefore, be reflected in the life of the atheist.
There Is Only One God: The Explosion of the Trinity Myth
Deuteronomy 6:4,5 states: “The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”. So the LORD’s unity is strongly linked with His being our God, the sole Lord and unrivalled Master of His people. It was the unity of God, and the imperative from it to love Him with all the heart, which was programmatic for the Jews’ daily living. This is why it was Jewish practice to recite these words several times a day, and also on their deathbed.
If there is only “one” God, as this passage clearly maintains, where does this leave the popular doctrine of the
trinity? The trinity (symbolised by the logo on the right) is one of the greatest false doctrines of all time, in its claim that there are three “persons” in the Godhead. The word trinity is never even found in the Bible. The Bible teaches that God is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that the Holy Spirit is His special power. Three separate entities – not “three in one” – as the confusing doctrine of the trinity would have us believe.
More About God
God is from Everlasting to Everlasting
See what Hab. 1:12 builds upon the fact of God’s everlasting nature: “O LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die”. If we truly believe that we are His people, not those of this world, and that we are truly part of His eternal family, then His eternity becomes a guarantee of our eternal salvation.
God is the Creator
Because of God’s awesome creation and the power of the Word that formed it all, we should likewise stand in awe of Him and recognize the power of His word (Ps. 33:6-9). Because we are created in God’s image, the structure of our very bodies is an imperative to give ourselves totally to His cause (Mt. 22:19-21). Whatever bears God’s image – i.e. our very bodies – must be given to Him. “It is he who has made us, and [therefore] we are his” (Ps. 100:3). We must be His in practice because He is our creator. So it is not that we merely believe in creation rather than evolution; more than this, such belief in creation must elicit a life given over to that creator.
God Sees and Knows All Things Through His Spirit
The Old Testament character of Job knew this, and therefore, he commented, it was impossible that, he would lust after a woman, if he really believed (as he claimed he did) that God was omniscient: “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl… [for] does he [God] not see my ways and count my every step? ” (Job 31: 1 – 4).
Likewise God had to remind Israel: “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?” (Jer. 23:24). The context is appealing to the people to quit their sins. We should labour to enter the Kingdom, because God knows absolutely every thought and action of ours and will ultimately judge them (Heb. 4:11-13).
God is a Real, Personal Being
“An ‘impersonal God’- well and good. A subjective God of beauty, truth and goodness, inside our own heads – better still. A formless life-force surging through us, a vast power which we can tap – best of all. But God Himself, alive, pulling at the other end of the cord, perhaps approaching at an infinite speed, the hunter, king, husband – that is quite another matter. There comes a moment when the children who have been playing at burglars hush suddenly: was that a real footstep in the hall? There comes a moment when people who have been dabbling in religion suddenly draw back. Supposing we really found Him?” (C.S. Lewis, Miracles ). But the personal reality of God is startling and gripping and eternally demanding.
God is a real, physical being, that we must come to “know” as the following points prove:
- “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3 the words of Christ.3
So if we want “life eternal” then we must know God, therefore He must be a being that we can come to “know”. (The Old Testament has been given to us principally for this very purpose)
Eg. His character is revealed to us in the Old Testament as a response to Moses’ request to see the “glory of God” in Exodus 33:18, in Exodus 34:5-9 he is granted his request as follows:
“And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. 8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. 9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us…”
- It is a fundamental tenet of Christianity that Jesus is the Son of God. If God is not a real being, then it is impossible for Him to have a Son who was the “image of His person” (Heb. 1:3).
- Further, it becomes difficult to develop a personal, living relationship with ‘God’, if ‘God’ is just a concept in our mind. It is tragic that the majority of religions have this unreal, intangible conception of God.
- As God is so infinitely greater than we are, it is understandable that many peoples’ faith has balked at the clear promises that ultimately we will see Him: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Mt. 5:8).
- Jesus tells us that we should not swear, because “he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it” (Mt. 23:22). To “sit” one must be a physical being.
- The faithful are promised that they will inherit God’s nature (2 Pet. 1:4).
- We will be given a body like that of Jesus (Phil. 3:21), and we know that he will have a physical body in the Kingdom.
- The doctrine of the personality of God is, therefore, related to the Gospel of the Kingdom. There can be no sensible concept of worship, religion or personal relationship with God therefore until it is appreciated that God is a real being and that we are made in His image. We need to develop His mental likeness now, so that we may be made fully like Him in the Kingdom of God.
What Does This Mean for Me? The Practical Implications
There is a vast difference between having a vague notion that there is a higher power, and actually being certain of what He is offering in return for faithful service to Him. Heb. 11:6 makes this point, we “must believe that he [God] exists” AND “that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”.
An awareness within us that there is a God, does not mean that we are automatically acceptable to God. If we seriously agree that we really do have a creator, we should “keep therefore his…commandments” (Dt. 4:39,40). As we search the Scriptures in order to do this, we will find that our faith in God’s existence is strengthened.
Personal Testimony
There are many times in my life where I have seen the hand of God at work. Times when I’ve been lonely, or ill, or have been faced with a situation where I could see no way out – God has always provided me with strength and solutions. A case in point is when I was thinking of being baptised. God manoeuvred the circumstances of my life in such a way that I now know – with the benefit of hindsight – that He was calling me, and encouraging me to dedicate my life to Him by being totally immersed in water.
Firstly, a strange twist of events led me to complete my further education in a Roman Catholic College. This had the effect of making me compare what the Bible taught with what others believed, and strengthened my convictions when I saw that my Catholic friends had no answers to the points which I raised with them.
God also brought me into contact with young people of my own age, who befriended me and helped me to become more involved in the Christadelphian Community. These events – compounded with the knowledge I had of Bible teachings, and the heartfelt belief that as Christ had died for me I should, therefore, follow his commands (Mk 16: 16) – compelled me to be baptised. Definitely the best thing I ever did!
Click on these links for more info on: ‘BELIEVING’ and ‘WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN BY BAPTISM’
