Evidences of the Existence of God.

Mathetis Originals

We can know that God exists because of the world we live in and the complexity, order and design in the universe. This leads us to the belief that God is far superior and greater than we are. We have never seen God but we have seen his works. The kindness and goodness of God is seen and experienced in the good life that he has provided for us in the seasons of the year, the food and water we consume, the beauty of the created order, and the warmth and love we enjoy in human relationships.

All of these together help us to form an idea of who God is. We worship God who is invisible to us, but that does not mean that he is non-existent. His existence and presence are evident to us. We cannot reach out and touch and handle him as we can humans, animals and physical things. This could make it harder for us to get to know him because we are physical beings living in a material world that we contact through the five senses (hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting and touching).

In the Old Testament, God spoke to his people through the patriarchs and prophets. One of his laws, the second of the Ten Commandments, said, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them” (Exodus 20:4-5). This was a difficult command to obey because we humans want something visible to worship. This is the reason Israel made a golden calf to worship soon after God had commanded them not to make images to worship (Exodus 32:1-10). In seven cycles of idolatry throughout the three hundred years’ history in the book of Judges, Israel disobeyed God by turning again and again to the worship of images (Judges 2:11-19). Idolatry was the major disobedience to God during the history of Israel. In 721 B. C., because of their persistent idolatry God delivered the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel into Assyrian captivity (2 Kings 17:6-18). In 586 B.C., because of their idolatry God sent the southern kingdom of Judah into exile in Babylon where they remained until the time of Cyrus, king of Persia, in 538 B. C.

After the exile, the Jewish people returned to their homeland. They never worshiped idols again. Because they had no visible God or images representing their God, idol worshipers called the Jewish people “atheists.”

The eternal God who created the universe is Lord over all. He is not a part of the created order but separate and apart from it. In the New Testament, this one being God who is Spirit reveals himself as a plurality of persons, that is, a tri-personal God who is known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is a mystery to us that is far beyond our human understanding. Those who believe in Jesus as the second person of God who came in the flesh do so because they accept the biblical revelation by faith. This is the way we accept what the Bible says about the dual nature of man, that is, that we are both body and spirit in one person. All analogies and illustrations that we may use to describe God are inadequate. Perhaps the best thing we can do is to let the Bible speak for itself.

The Bible says,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4)

A few verses later, John wrote of this divine person that was named Jesus, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). According to the New Testament, Jesus is the visible incarnation of the invisible God. The Apostle Paul wrote about this God-Man named “Jesus”:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16. 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. 17. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20. and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)

Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30) because they are in perfect unity or oneness. He said that he came from God the Father and would return to him (17:1-5, 11). When he spoke of returning to the Father to prepare a place for his disciples, he told them,

“And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.” (14:4-11)

According to the Bible, Jesus of Nazareth is God in the flesh. He made God visible. He put a face on God. One person said, “Jesus is God with skin on him.” Followers of Christ believe that if anyone wants to know what God is like, they should read the life of Jesus recorded in the four gospels of the New Testament in the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). Christians believe that God the Father made himself known in Jesus who was pre-existent with him from all eternity. Jesus claims to have a unique relationship with the Father, a relationship shared with no one else. Jesus said about himself

All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. (Matthew 11:27)

In his ministry of miracles and healings, exorcisms of demons and teachings Jesus shows the loving, compassionate, caring heart of God. The humanity of Jesus reveals the mercy and love of God and encourages us to draw near to him. The Bible says,

For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:17-18)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

This means that Jesus is like us, except without sin. During his earthly ministry, he was worshiped as the Son of God (Matthew 14:33). After his death and resurrection, he returned to the heavenly realms where he is worshiped by all creation (Revelation 5:1-14). From beginning to end, the Christian faith is all about Jesus: who he is, what he did, why he did it, what he is doing now and what he is yet to do.

Wondering What to Believe?

Group Progress

Evidences of the Existence of God.

Mathetis Originals