Last week we considered the fact that God is Light. In so doing we just assumed that God is – or God exists! For a few moments let’s consider this big assumption that God is!
As a teenager I tried to convince myself that there was no God and was very willing to embrace evolution as an explanation for the origins of life. However to be honest deep in my being or God-given soul, I knew that an all-powerful Creator-God existed, and I was accountable to Him. I tried to suppress that truth because I wanted to do my own thing and call the shots of my own life. John 3:19 certainly applied to me, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” Thankfully, God worked in marvelous ways and brought me to the point when I believed that He is! That is where people have to start with God, as Hebrews 11:6 indicates: “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 rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Have you come to the point in your life that you believe that God is? If so, you will appreciate the Scriptures that reveal the God who is.
In Genesis chapter one we are introduced to God as the Creator who spoke and light was made as well as everything else. Interestingly, no proofs for God’s existence are offered in the chapter besides the creation itself. The inherent design in this world begs for the conclusion that an all-powerful and all-knowing Designer-Creator exists. You would think me crazy if I told you that the painting on the wall did not have a painter. The fact of the painting presupposes the fact of the painter. Much like the artist’s signature on a painting, God has left his unique signature all over His creation. Sadly, those who have chosen not to believe in God refuse to recognize His verifying signature. Paul makes this clear when he wrote: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). David announces his conclusion in Psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” The existence of God is a safe and right supposition to make when you look at His creation with an open heart and mind rather than a heart and mind closed to God.
Furthermore, when thinking about God we don’t have to complete the phrase “God is”. God is the eternally self-existing one. He has always existed and will always exist. He is eternal and never came into being or was created. He is the Creator and Sustainer of everyone and everything! Paul reveals this person as none other than Jesus Christ in Colossians 1:15-17, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” We should not be surprised that God revealed Himself to Moses as “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14), Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), and the book of Revelation calls Jesus “the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). Will you join me in worship and awe of the God who is?
With prayer, Mark
© January, 2011
As a teenager I tried to convince myself that there was no God and was very willing to embrace evolution as an explanation for the origins of life. However to be honest deep in my being or God-given soul, I knew that an all-powerful Creator-God existed, and I was accountable to Him. I tried to suppress that truth because I wanted to do my own thing and call the shots of my own life. John 3:19 certainly applied to me, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” Thankfully, God worked in marvelous ways and brought me to the point when I believed that He is! That is where people have to start with God, as Hebrews 11:6 indicates: “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 rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Have you come to the point in your life that you believe that God is? If so, you will appreciate the Scriptures that reveal the God who is.
In Genesis chapter one we are introduced to God as the Creator who spoke and light was made as well as everything else. Interestingly, no proofs for God’s existence are offered in the chapter besides the creation itself. The inherent design in this world begs for the conclusion that an all-powerful and all-knowing Designer-Creator exists. You would think me crazy if I told you that the painting on the wall did not have a painter. The fact of the painting presupposes the fact of the painter. Much like the artist’s signature on a painting, God has left his unique signature all over His creation. Sadly, those who have chosen not to believe in God refuse to recognize His verifying signature. Paul makes this clear when he wrote: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). David announces his conclusion in Psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” The existence of God is a safe and right supposition to make when you look at His creation with an open heart and mind rather than a heart and mind closed to God.
Furthermore, when thinking about God we don’t have to complete the phrase “God is”. God is the eternally self-existing one. He has always existed and will always exist. He is eternal and never came into being or was created. He is the Creator and Sustainer of everyone and everything! Paul reveals this person as none other than Jesus Christ in Colossians 1:15-17, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” We should not be surprised that God revealed Himself to Moses as “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14), Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), and the book of Revelation calls Jesus “the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). Will you join me in worship and awe of the God who is?
With prayer, Mark
© January, 2011
