Although God is manifested in many ways through the universe and through mankind, the most direct revelation of Himself is through two things: His word and His Son. God’s word is the Holy Scripture, which is the Bible. The Bible reveals to us the titles of God. Among the many titles for God in the Old Testament, primarily only three are used-Elohim, Jehovah, and Adonai. Elohim is a plural noun in Hebrew. It implies the notion of “the faithful strong One.” God is strong and faithful. He is strong in strength and faithful in word. Jehovah means “I Am That I Am,” revealing that God is the self-existing and ever-existing One. He is the One who was in the past, who is in the present, and who is to come in the future. Adonai means “master” and “husband.” On the one hand, God is man’s Master; on the other hand, He is man’s Husband. In the New Testament there are many other titles, such as Father, Lord, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. All these reveal to us what and who God is.
The lives of the patriarchs are a strong evidence of God’s working in men’s lives. The experience of these men and their records show how God is the caring One who takes care of men’s affairs and guides them to know Him.
If one reads the Old Testament he will find that the laws given by Moses are a living picture of God Himself. God is holy; therefore, the laws that He gave are holy. God is righteous; therefore, the laws that He gave are righteous (Rom. 7:12). The psalmist in the Old Testament tells us that we can know God through the law (Psa. 9:16). Without the law no one knows what God is like. The law is like a photograph; it shows us what God is like.
All the prophets in the Old Testament spoke through the inspiration of God (1 Pet. 1:10-11; 2 Pet. 1:21). It was God who put the words of prophecy into their mouths. The phrase “Thus says the Lord” is often repeated in the Old Testament. The wisdom of the prophets’ words and the fulfillment of their prophecies have proved that their words are indeed divinely inspired. One of the greatest prophecies concerns the destiny of the nation of Israel. The Bible prophesied that the Jews would be scattered throughout the world, but that at the appointed time the nation of Israel would be restored and the city of Jerusalem would be returned to the Jews. We can see this in our own time with the restoration of the nation of Israel in 1948 and the return of Jerusalem to the Jews in 1967. The establishing of that tiny nation in the Middle East is a living proof of God’s work in history.
No other book has been attacked as severely as the Bible. Atheistic governments have tried their best to remove this book from their lands, but God’s sovereign hand has preserved this book. We are happy that the Bible is now being made available to the people of Russia, a country formerly under the rule of atheistic communism, after so many years of prohibition. We must realize that it is God’s hand that has made this possible. The preservation of the Scripture is one strong evidence that God is alive in the world today.
Hebrews 1:1-3 says that God, having spoken to man in many ways in ancient times, one day decided to speak to man personally in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God coming in the form of man. His coming declared God (John 1:18). Through Him man sees God Himself (John 14:9). The Gospel of John records that when He was on earth, He told others one hundred fourteen times that He was God. In His last discourse with His disciples He made reference to His being God over fifty times. The miracles that He performed could not have been done by anyone unless this one was God. He ordered and controlled the laws of nature, changing water into wine (John 2:1-11), quelling the storm (Matt. 8:23-27), and feeding five thousand with five loaves and two fish (Matt. 14:14-21). He healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out demons (Matt. 4:24; 8:28-32; 11:4-5). He spoke words of wisdom which only God could utter (Matt. 13:53-56).
After thirty-three and a half years of living on earth, He died a supernatural death. His death was a fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament. He foretold His death to His disciples before the event happened. At His death He declared, “It is finished,” meaning that God’s work of redemption was done. The death of all world leaders marks the end of their influence and career, but the death of Christ formed the beginning of Christianity and the ushering in of an earth-shaking faith. It is no wonder that the centurion and soldiers who guarded Him at the cross confessed, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matt. 27:54). His death was the death of the God-man. At His death the sky became darkened and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the dead saints were raised. It was God who had died for man! No historian can explain the power that lies behind the death of Christ. The life and death of Jesus Christ are a living testimony to the power and work of God.
The above discussion has proved to us that God is real and living. But we must ask the most important question: What is this God doing today? What is His plan for man today? Acts 17:27 tells us that God wants man to seek after Him and to know Him. He has displayed His workmanship in the universe, and He has spoken in His Scripture. He has even manifested Himself in Jesus Christ. His intention is that we would know Him. God has no intention to hide Himself. He intends that man would come to know Him first as the Creator and then as his God and his Father.
Second, God intends for man to worship Him. John 4:23 tells us that God seeks for true worshippers, those who would worship Him in spirit and in truthfulness. He has no intention for man to worship the things that He has created. The true worship of God is to worship with our spirit. In the past, man has set up many idols and worshipped these things instead of God. But in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, God forbids all forms of idol worship (Exo. 20:4-5; 1 Cor. 10:14; 1 Thes. 1:9b). He is the unique God. No other object is qualified to demand our worship.
The true worship of God does not consist of many rituals or forms. Neither the place nor the way we sit or bow matters much to God. What He cares for is that men would worship Him in their spirit. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit (John 4:24). If a person wants to receive radio waves, he must use a radio receiver. If a man wants to receive a telephone call, he must pick up the telephone receiver. In the same way, if a man wants to worship God and contact Him, he must use his spirit. One cannot hear color with his ears, nor can one see music with his eyes. We need the right organ for the right substance. God is Spirit and is not anything material. This is why we must not worship Him with anything material, but must worship Him with our spirit.
The way to use our spirit is to pray by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus (Rom. 10:12-13). If we will open our mouth and our heart and will pray to God, our spirit will touch Him, and God will be real to us.
The ultimate plan of God for man is that man would express God. The way to express God is to be filled with God. If we pray to Him and receive Him, God will come into us and will fill us. He will not be an objective God outside of us anymore, but will be a subjective God inside of us. He will fill us with Himself and will change our whole being. To be a Christian is not merely to believe in some creeds or to learn some teachings. It is to know God, to worship Him, and to express Him by being filled with Him.
This article is taken from a series of gospel messages given in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia in 1992. They have been instrumental in bringing over 7,000 people to the knowledge of God, the Bible, and the Christian salvation. The entire series comprises six articles with the following topics: 1) The Bible, 2) There Is God, 3) Christ Is God, 4) Christ Is Spirit and Life, 5) Christ’s Redemption and Salvation, and 6) The Meaning of Human Life.
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