The second aspect is the matter of who God is and of what God is. God is the unique self-existing One. Everything else comes and goes, but God remains. We are not, but God, and God alone, always is. As we have seen, the name of God as revealed to Moses in Exodus 3 is simply the verb to be. This indicates that before anything else came into existence, God was. After so many things have passed out of existence, God will still be. God was, God is, and God will be.
As the self-existing One, God is the reality of every positive thing. The Gospel of John reveals that He is all we need: life, light, food, drink, pasture, the way.
It is necessary that we know God as the One who is. Heaven and earth may pass away, but God is. Are you discouraged by your weaknesses? One day your weaknesses will cease to exist, but God will still be. Do not believe in anything other than God. Do not believe either in your weakness or in your strength, for both your weakness and your strength will pass away. However, when they are gone, God will continue to be the One who is. According to my experience, I can testify that both riches and poverty pass away, but God abides. Whether we are rich or poor, God is. We should not even put our confidence in the wife or husband the Lord has given us. Even if we suffer the loss of wife or husband, God will yet be. At such a time, we must believe in Him as the ever-existing One. If we know God as the One who is, we shall be greatly encouraged, especially during difficult times.
Many Christians know God in a shallow way, perhaps only as the almighty God. But this aspect of God is not revealed to Moses in Exodus 3. Rather, the revelation here concerns God as the One who is. It is sufficient to say that He is. There are times when it is a hindrance to go further and say that He is able. Likewise, there is no need to say that He is mighty. It is enough to know that He is. In Himself, God is always able and mighty, but to us He may appear to be neither able nor mighty. Consider Paul’s experience. In his early ministry Paul healed many people. Even handkerchiefs that had been in touch with him could heal others (Acts 19:11-12). But in his later ministry Paul did not experience so much healing power. When Timothy became ill, Paul exhorted him to take wine for the sake of his stomach and his frequent infirmities (1 Tim. 5:23). Furthermore, when Paul was imprisoned, he did not ask God to break down the walls nor did he ask Him to miraculously open the gate, as He had done for Peter in Acts 12. There are times when God acts as the almighty One. But when Paul was about to be martyred, he knew God not as the almighty One, but as the One who is. This was a source of comfort and strength to Paul. Paul knew God and believed in Him, not as the One who was able to rescue him from prison, but as the ever-existing One, as the One who is and who always will be. Even when God apparently does nothing for us, we should still believe in Him as the One who is. All Christians today know the almighty God, but we may know Him in a deeper way as the One who is.
We also believe in God as the God of resurrection; that is, we believe in Him as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Although God did not release Paul from prison, Paul knew that, after his martyrdom, God would come in to resurrect him. Before his martyrdom, Paul enjoyed Him as the One who is. But afterward, he would enjoy Him as the God of resurrection. Martyrdom simply gave him the opportunity to experience God as the God of resurrection.
We should not seek to know God merely according to His miraculous acts. In fact, we should not expect miracles. In John 2 the Lord Jesus did not commit Himself to those who sought miracles. We need to know God as the One who is and as the God of resurrection; we must know Him as the self-existing One, the ever-existing One, and the resurrecting One. If, as God’s called ones, we desire to carry out His commission in His recovery, we should not be those who expect miracles, but we should be those who know God as the One who is and as the God of resurrection. He is the I Am, and He is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. In addition to seeing the vision of the burning thorn-bush, we need this revelation of God. Do not simply know God according to what He does, but know Him according to what He is. Whether or not God does something for us means nothing. The environment may change drastically, but God still is. Everything may fluctuate; but God is, and He is forever. With Him, there is no change. Furthermore, every death situation affords Him an opportunity to be in our experience the God of resurrection.
My experience during the early days in Taiwan confirms this. When I was sent to Taiwan by the work in 1949, Taiwan was very backward and very poor. Although I was sent there, I was not given any financial support. Because I was fully occupied with the work of the Lord, I did not take a job. Nevertheless, with very limited financial resources, I still had the responsibility to support a large family. Discouraged by the situation at first, all I could do was look around at the small living quarters and ask myself what I was doing there. I had experienced a drastic change of environment in the move from the mainland, where the work was thriving and where there were hundreds of churches, to an undeveloped island. But although almost everything outward had changed, my God still was. In the days that followed we experienced what He was to us, and we saw His abundant spiritual blessing and even His material provision.
My experience was the same in principle when I came to this country. I received no financial support from the church in Taipei and very little support from the church in Los Angeles. The brothers in this country thought that the churches in all the other places were taking care of my needs. However, none of the churches sent me anything. From where did I receive the supply for my existence? I received it from the One who is. In those days I lived by the heavenly manna. But I did not look for miracles, for the God in whom I believe is the One who is.
In the midst of the turmoil in the past months I did not do anything, because I believe that the recovery is the Lord’s recovery. Since this is the Lord’s recovery, no man can damage it. The Lord’s word in John 2:19 applies today: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” I simply said, “Lord, You do something to confirm that this is Your recovery. Lord, there is no need for me to do anything. If this were my work, then I would have to do something to maintain it. But, Lord, this is Your recovery.” How we must thank and worship Him that in the past several months He has done so much. This encourages us to trust in God as the One who is and in God as the God of resurrection.