THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
Text: Exodus 3:13-15
The writers of both the Old and New Testaments never attempted to prove or argue for the existence of God. Everywhere and at all times in Scripture, it is taken as fact that there is a God and He is active in the affair of men.
Genesis 1:1 opens with “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” No one seems to have stopped and asked IF there was a God or FROM WHERE He came. In the words of Exodus 3:14, GOD IS! In fact, the Psalmist states emphatically, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”
THE NATURE OF GOD
Unlike His creation, God is NOT physical; He is spiritual. Jesus declared simply, “God is Spirit” (Jn. 4:24). He is, therefore, invisible (Col. 1:15), eternal and immortal (1 Tim. 1:17). This is why Scripture prohibits any attempt to represent God with images (Deut. 5:8-10)—because no one has seen Him and He has no physical form.
God is very different from man in that He is all-wise and all-knowing. His thinking has not been corrupted by sin and He defies human wisdom and logic. Paul asked, “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has God not made foolish the wisdom of the world? … For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom” (1 Cor. 1:20, 25). Isaiah reminded ancient Israel, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” We must remember that man was created in the image and likeness of God, and not attempt to created God in our image or likeness.
God has, however, not left us without witness to His nature and will. He has revealed Himself to His creation through nature, inspired Revelation and ultimately, in physical form, through the incarnation of His Son, Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:3). He is active in the world, seeking to reconcile it to Himself through His precious son (2 Cor. 5:19).
ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
1. The universal belief in God. Every culture in the world believes in God. What can explain this universal acceptance of the existence of God? It must come from within the very nature of man. The wise man writes, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Eccl. 3:11).
2. The Cosmological Argument. When we see something, we naturally ask, “What caused this?” Everything comes from something—except for that which is eternal. Since even science argues for a beginning to the universe, what was before the universe? The answer, GOD! Either we argue that matter is “eternal,” or that “spirit” is eternal. Of necessity, one or the other must be.
3. The Teleological Argument. No one would look at a watch and not realize that a “watchmaker” was behind its creation. Only a thoughtful, intelligent, designing mind could create a watch. So it is with the world in which we live. The incredible complexities of nature indicate an ultimate intelligence behind the universe.
4. The Moral Argument. Man’s conscience argues that there is a “right” and a “wrong.” Even atheists recognize the existence of evil in the world, for which they have no explanation. The existence of morality argues for the existence of a Moral Governor.
5. The Argument from Scripture. Besides the arguments from nature and reason, God claims to speak to His creation through a special revelation—the Bible. The psalmist writes, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge … the law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple” (Ps. 19:1-2, 7).
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