The Essential Nature of God
Fact is something which is known to have happened or exist, especially something for which proof exists, or about which there is information. Therefore things the Bible states are facts and therefore are unchanging. Our universe is a result of deliberate planning of God's part. We can see God in the Nature, because God's invisible qualities revealed in the Nature. We read in the book of Romans 1:19-23 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and God-head, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves...." Again we read in the pages of the book of Psalms 19:1-3; Isaiah 40:26-28 "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard." Consider the profound word written in the pages of Psalms 8:3-6 " When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet.." Again in the pages of Psalm 90:2 " Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God." It is natural to have the burden of the word of the Lord which was spoken by our Lord God the Almighty stated in the book of Zechariah 12:1 ; Isaiah 42:5 ".....Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.."
1. The Nature is the Proof of God's Existence:
The knowledge of God our creator can be acquired through the Nature. The Nature is the teacher and our conscience is the pupil. In the world we can see God and understand Him that He is almighty God. We need an inventor to create an instrument for amplifying the still small voice of our conscience. It is Paul's argument and it is completely valid that if we look at the world, we see that suffering follows sin. Break the laws of agriculture, your harvest fails. Similarly break the laws of architecture, your building collapses. Break the laws of health, your body suffers. Paul was saying, "look at the world! See how it is constructed! From a world like that you know what God is like! The sinners are left without excuses. "..every house is built by some man; but He that built all things is God Himself." Hebrews 3:4 Consider the word of Holy Spirit revealed in the book of Romans 1:18-22 " For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools..." The apostle Paul goes on another step asking questions "what did the men do?" Instead of looking out to God, he looked into himself and involved himself in vain speculations and thought he was wise, while all the time, he was a fool. Why? He was a fool because he made his ideas, opinions, desire and his speculations his standard of live and the law of his life god, instead of the real God. Can we see now the men's folly consisted in making "Man" the master of things. It is fact that we do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is our life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away (James 4:14) . We human being boast in our arrogance of futile achievement, but all such boasting is evil. The modern men sow the wind, and consequently they reap the whirlwind. Men have forgotten their Maker and has fortified their cities, but God will send fire upon their cities and it shall devour their places.
2. Cosmological Argument on God's Creation:
The existence of the universe demands a cause which we call it cosmological argument in order to prove ourselves wise. According to the cosmological argument, it is easy to see God as a great designer which is stated in the book of Hebrews 3:4 " For every house is built by some man, but He that built all thing is God". We human beings are also created for good works. Listen to the word of God in the pages of Ephesians 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before-hand that we should walk in them." Again read the word of God written in the book of Isaiah 45:18 " For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited, I am the Lord, and there is no other." Isaiah 40:22 " It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in." Genesis 1:1-31, 2:1-25 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light''; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day..........." Think of the expression of Psalmist in Psalms 8:3 "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained..."
3. Reasonable God:
It is more reasonable to believe in a beginning set in motion by God who is all powerful creator, than to believe in the eternity of dead matter and mindless energy, by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the seas together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.(Hebrews 11:3; Psalm 33:6-9) After the creation of the heavens and the earth, the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life or an animating power of life by God and the man became a living being or soul. (Genesis 1:1; 2:7) Be it known to all that without the word of God, we human beings will never know the will of God. People must realize that it is the living God who created man with 200 bones, 500 muscles and 2000 ligaments. Men have only discovered them by counting them.
4. God as the Greatest Thinker:
We see God as a Great Thinker in Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." It is ascertained that God alone spread out the heavens and treaded upon the waves of the sea. It is God who made Constellations, Arcturus, Orion and Pleiades and the chambers of the south. He does great things that are unsearchable and miracles that can not be numbered. (Job 9:8-10) If we are curious to know about things which we can not understand, then let us ask God who does all things. If you study the word of God stated in the book of Isaiah 44:24-25 , 45:11-12 Thus says the Lord God the Maker, Ask Me of things to come concerning My woks; and concerning the work of My hands. I have made the earth, and created man on it. It was Me and My hands that stretched out the heavens, and all their host I have commanded. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb: "I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself; Who frustrates the signs of the babblers, and drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolishness...." For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: "I am the Lord, and there is no other" (Isaiah 45:18; Psalm 115:15-16; Jeremiah 51:15) Let all the people of the world know that God is mighty in strength and wisdom. (Job 36:5) "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (I Timothy 1:17) Let us go back to Genesis 1:1-3 " In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light'' and there was light." We still have nights and days with us. What a great and amazing work of our God Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, God the Holy Spirit!!! Think of amazing work of God in that our earth is standing out of water. What a incredilous work of our God the Creator!!! (2Peter 3:5; Psalm 136:5-6) Our earth with every thing including water is hanging upon nothing. (Isaiah 40:22; Job 26:7; Psalm 24: 1-2)
5. God as the Greatest Law-Giver:
Now it is easy for us to understand that God is a Great Lawgiver. Let us see read the Psalms 19:1-8 "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes..." "God made Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chanbers of the south. Which does great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number."(Job 9:9-10) Job 37: 9-13 "From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds of the north. By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen. Also with moisture He saturates the thick clouds; He scatters His bright clouds; and they swirl about, being turned by His guidance, that they may do whatever He commands them on the face of the whole earth. He causes it to come, whether for correction, or for His land, or for mercy." Genesis 1:3-5 "Then God said, "Let there be light''; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day."
6. God as the Greatest Mathematician:
It is profitable to acknowledge that God is a Great Mathematician. Genesis 1:13-19 "So the evening and the morning were the third day. Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; "and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth''; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day..." God pointed out man's inability by count the stars asking him to look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if you are able to number them......" (Genesis 15:5) Again go to Jeremiah 51:15-16 "He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, and stretched out the heaven by His understanding. When He utters His voice there is a multitude of waters in the heavens: "He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries.'' Again in Jeremiah 10:12 " He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion." Let us see the Psalms 104:19-23 "He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down. You make darkness, and it is night, In which all the beasts of the forest creep about. The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God. When the sun arises, they gather together and lie down in their dens. Man goes out to his work and to his labour until the evening. Also read further to understand more about nature of God and His questions to Job (Job 38:38-42:17 ). "Then the Lord God answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; for I will question you,, and you shall answer Me...."
7. Men were created in the Image of God:
We were created in the image of God our Father and therefore we should not distort our vision in the matter of spiritual insight and knowledge and wisdom that come from our God.(Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7; Proverbs 1:7; James 1:5, 3:13-17) If we are God's children, then we should be willing to abide in Him and be obedient to Him.(Luke 3:38; Hebrews 12:9) Let us ponder the word of life in the book of Matthew 6:22-23 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" Let us not forget that the word of God is the light of our Lives.(Psalms 119:105; John 1:3-4) We are told to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And 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. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,'' says the Lord. "Therefore if your enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.'' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. "(Romans 12:1-21) Think of God's blessing upon us in the book of 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 " Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in every thing for all bountifulness, which causes thanksgiving through us to God." Therefore we should be aware of distorted vision which can blind our eyes and shut up our understanding. These are prejudice, jealousy and self-conceit which can easily distort our vision and blind our eyes. It will be worthwhile to mention here that there are three kinds of great evils of the ungenerous judgmental spirit. Our ungenerous judgmental spirit will makes impossible to live with ourselves, harbouring envy, grudge, bitterness and resentment in us. It makes it impossible to live with other people and even with God. Remember that we have to give account of what we have done in this world. Let us watch ourselves! (proverbs 23:6-7; 28:22 Let us consider our ways! (Haggai 1:5,7) God's people are warned to wash their hearts from wickedness that they may be saved. How long shall their evil thoughts lodge within them? (Jeremiah 4:14) Let us listen to God's warning. Listen to the word of God: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord." (Jeremiah 17:5, 9 ; Psalms 146:3-4; Daniel 11:32) We are told to possess good thoughts and actions which can never produce bad results. If we claim God as our Father, we should be willing to act as His children. Remember Christians are perfected men of God. The world of darkness needed individual children of God that are of five talent Christians, who will teach a class, study the word of God with the lost, visit and encourage the weak and sick and so forth. Such Christians are mightily used by God and sorely missed by man when they die in the Lord. The Lord forbids us all our unkind criticism resulting from a spirit of fault finding and censorious judgments. (Matthew 7:1) Let us remember the watch word that Satan does not come to us as Satan; neither does sin present itself to us as sin, but in the guise of virtue; and the teachers of error set themselves forth as the special advocate of Truth. (Isaiah 9:16; "Oh! my people, your leaders mislead you, and confuse the course of your paths."
8. Satan the Enemy of God and Man
Destroys the Happiness of Men:
The Bible is the history of God's creation and relationship of God and Man. (Genesis 2:4) It tells us that God created heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1) Before the mountains even the greatest and tallest Mount Everest, there was God. (Psalm 90:2) The Bible opens and gives its account with God. We are wise to recognize that there is living God. (Psalm 14:1) Can we make a search for a person entirely void of conception of God if we find him , be assured that he is but a few degrees removed from the brutes. This living God created man and woman out of dust. (Genesis 2:7) It is this God who glued man and woman together in marriage till the death parts. (Genesis 2:24-25; Matthew 19:4-6; Romans 7:1-4) Thus we arrive at the beginning of wonderful marriage institution and establishment of home. The conception of family began to take root in the hearts of men. (Genesis 4:1) This wonderful and happy realization of family was destroyed when Cain killed his brother Abel through the guidance of Satan. Eve, Adam and Cain did not realize that truth and honesty have their sources in the bosom of God and their voices when heard bring harmony and love to the world. Consequences of their wrong motives, all human being had to suffer. The disobedience of our first parent Adam and Eve brought the tragedy and turmoil even death into the world. The wickedness of man grew in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5) The contagious diseases of conception of evil spread rapidly into the hearts of men. Since then almost all people had lived so long with duplicity and deceit that their spiritual compass was no longer functioning correctly.
9. Gospel Ought to Preach Every Where in the World:
In the book of Romans 2:14-16; 3:9, Paul has shown that the heathen are lost because, even though they had the witness of both nature and conscience, they suppressed God's truth to them. He has shown also that the moral man is lost because even though he outwardly put on a facade to judge the heathen, inwardly he was guilty of the same sins. Likewise the Jew is lost because he has not kept the law, and neither his circumcision, ancestry, nor arguments can save him from the condemnation of disobedience. Now Paul wraps up his argument and the summation assumes the terminology of the courtroom. According to 2 Thes. 1:7-9, It will be terrible to some; for God will then take vengeance on the wicked. On those that sinned against the principles of natural religion, and rebelled against the light of nature, that knew not God , though the invisible things of Him are manifested in the things that are seen. And the truth is, if Religion is worth any thing, it is worth every thing; and those either have no religion at all, or none that is worth having, or know not how to value it, that cannot find in their hearts to suffer for it. The light of nature, This the Gentiles have, and by this they shall be judged: As many as have sinned without law shall perish without law; that is, the unbelieving Gentiles, who had no other guide but natural conscience, no other motive but common mercies, although Gentiles did not receive the codified Mosaic legislation, they are not oblivious to the essential tenets of the law. The essence of the law is engraved in their hearts. Conscience, though perhaps seared and distorted, contributes its own testimony, while man's intellect either adds its own accusation or else fabricates schemes to evade the combined internal and intuitive witness concerning God's law (cf. 1 Tim. 4:2, note). Consequently entails belonging even to Stone Age and aboriginal peoples are guilty of rebellion against God's law.
This is the main reason that the Son of God came down from heaven to the earth to be sacrificed for the sins of the whole world. We see in the book of John 1:29, Jesus Christ was the lamb of God who took away the sin of the world." Again in John 3:16, Because of the God's love for the people of the world, He sent His only Son to die, so that every one who believes in Him will have eternal life. We read John 1:12-13, Those people who believe in Him are born from God and will be called the children of God. Therefore those people who desire to become the children of God must hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 16:15-16). Seeing the necessity of the Gospel, even the angel told Peter to preach the Word of Life.(Acts 5:20) We see the first time the Apostle Peter was preaching the Gospel message to the Jews in Jerusalem and those who believed were baptized for the remissions of Sins were save and were added to them.
We see here people ought to hear the Gospel message or we must go out to preach the Glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15) It is necessary to hear the Glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to believe, since faith comes from hearing the word of God(Romans 10:17). Those people who hear and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are ready to accept Him as their Saviour and will be willing to confess Him as the Son of God by their mouth also(Romans 10:9-10) We read the confession of Philip in Acts 8:37 he believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Read also I Timothy 6:12; Matthew 10:31-33 . According to the recorded word of God in the book of Acts 2:37-38, those people who believed and repented of their sins were told to baptize for the remission of Sins. Read also Mark 16:15-16; John 3:3-5; Acts 22:16; I Peter 3:21; Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:26-27. "Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who had raised Him from the dead." (Colossians 2:12) Therefore we should not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Our fellowship with the saints should make us possible to live a kind of life that is pleasing to the sight of God our Father.(I John 1:3) May our God and Father Himself, and the Lord Jesus Christ direct us our ways of eternal life. May the Lord make us increase and abound in love to one another. So that He may establish our hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.(I Thessalonians 3:11-13) May God bless us as we strive to understand His holy words! May we be blessed to enter into our glorious eternal home in heaven! Let us thank God our Father!!