Do you truly know God? It is one thing to know of God or about God, however it is entirely different to know God intimately and personally. For Christians, God is more than an intangible, impersonal force. The Holy Bible personifies God as our Heavenly Father who is both understandable, approachable and knowable. Our Creator has revealed Himself in the pages of scripture and specifically through the incarnation in Jesus of Nazareth. What makes this revelation unique?
For millennia, mankind has searched for God and strived to comprehend who or what God is. Through this process many concepts of the divine have given rise to thousands of religions, each with a distinct perception of the deity. Religious writings differ in how they portray deity, ranging from the monotheistic, omnipotent Creator to multiple deities, mystical, transcendent beings and esoteric philosophical entities. These divergent perspectives all fall short of defining and revealing the one true living God (Jeremiah 10:10).
The Greeks, for example, believed in a plethora of gods in an effort to explain the cosmos and the forces of nature. According to ancient Hindu texts, there are thirty-three crore or 33 million gods. Buddhism does not believe in a creator god and teaches that the universe is governed by a set of cosmic laws and promotes the path to enlightenment. Islam depicts a god that is perceived to be the Creator but does not share the same attributes as the God of the Bible (https://www.partneredwithchrist.com/is-allah-god/). Christianity presents a disparate revelation of God that breaks the paradigm of God being distant and unknowable.
CHRISTIANITY’S AUTHENTICITY
Christianity’s authenticity is underscored by the abundance of historical evidence that serves to substantiate the veracity of the Christian chronicles. The literary attestation alone establishes a powerful validation of the Christian narrative that remains incontrovertible proof of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Dead Sea Scrolls confirm that the hand copied transcripts that were used to compile the Holy Bible were not only accurate, they are reliable (https://www.partneredwithchrist.com/scrolls-of-significance/).
Fulfilled prophecy is a powerful testimony to the bible’s authenticity as the bona fide word of God. The prophet Daniel wrote about Israel’s punishment and Jesus’ death over 500 years before Christ (Daniel 9:24-26) and Isaiah predicted specific details about the Messiah that were fulfilled by Jesus – over 700 years beforehand (Isaiah 53). Furthermore, Jesus Himself testified to the authenticity of the Old Testament. He referred to the scriptures as “the commandment of God (Matthew 15:3) and “the word of God (Matthew 15:6).
Jesus affirmed the Old Testament as historical truth by citing passages of scripture regarding Abel’s murder at the hands of Cain (Luke 11:51), Sodom and the death of Lot’s wife (Luke 17:29, 32), the calling of Moses (Mark 12:26), manna from heaven (John 6:31-51), the judgement on Tyre and Sidon (Matthew 11:22) as well as affirming Moses as the author of the Torah (Matthew 19:8; John 7:19; Mark 12:29-31).
Jesus also acknowledged the authenticity of the prophet Daniel (Matthew 24:15) and confirmed Adam and Eve were not mythical (Matthew 19:4). He authenticated the flood of Noah (Matthew 24:37) and the story of Jonah as truth (Matthew 12:39). Jesus clearly accepted the Old Testament as God’s word.
The apostle Paul wrote that all scripture is God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and it can be demonstrated that the New Testament was accepted as scripture in the first century. 2 Peter 3:15-16 discloses, “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote with the wisdom God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do with other scriptures, to their own destruction.”
The Bible reveals that God is one and there is no other (Isaiah 45:5), that He alone is the savior of humanity (Isaiah 43:11) and all other gods are idols and therefore nothing (1 Corinthians 8:4). Paul writes to Timothy “There is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Jesus Christ, who gave Himself as a ransom for all people.” (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
THE PLURAL NATURE OF GOD
However, the plural nature of God is disclosed in Genesis 1:26 when God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,” and that God is our heavenly Father (1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:4-6; 1 John 3:1). Once again in Genesis 3:22, we are confronted with the plurality of God, however, in this passage, the phrase “one of us” adds clarity to the one God yet more than one in nature. “And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.’”
Jesus referred to God the Father throughout His ministry (John 14:28; John 20:17; John 17:1-26; Matthew 7:21; Luke 23:34; Luke 22:42; Mark 14:36 and many other occasions). In John 10:30, Jesus declared “I and the Father are one.” And In John 14:9 He answered Philip, “Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ’Show us the Father.’”
The Bible also teaches that God is Spirit (Genesis 1:2; John 4:24). In Acts 5:3-4 Peter accuses Annanias of lying to the Holy Spirit and intimates that he lied to God. God and the Holy Spirit are one and the same (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) and the Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as “He” (John 16:7-15) and that He offers fellowship (2 Corinthians 13:14) and grieves (Ephesians 4:30). The Holy Spirit is not some impersonal force as some believe.
The divinity of Jesus Christ completes the doctrine of the Trinity (John 1:1, 1:19; John 10:30; Philippians 2:6; Hebrews 1:3; John 20:28; Colossians 2:9) Paul writes in Colossians 1:15-17, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
1 John 5:20 teaches us, “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true. And we are in Him who is true – even in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” False teachers will imply that Jesus is the son but not the Son. However, the Bible clearly teaches that the Son is divine (https://www.partneredwithchrist.com/the-divinity-of-christ/).
In what is known as the “Great Commission” Jesus sends the disciples out to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20). He didn’t say “names,” implying more than one entity, He said “name,” meaning one being.
The use of El and Elohim in scripture to reference the one true God signifies the plurality of His triune nature through the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Elohim, while plural in form is singular in concept. The term connotes unity and diversity. El is used for God the Father (Genesis 14:8), God the Son (Isaiah 7:17, Matthew 1:21-23) and the Holy Spirit (Job 33:4).
GOD MADE HIMSELF KNOWABLE
By incarnating as Jesus of Nazareth, God made Himself knowable, understandable and approachable. Jesus was available to everyone. He walked the same roads, communed with ordinary people, and ate with sinners and tax collectors. When the veil of the temple tore on the day Jesus was crucified it signified the barriers had indeed been taken down. And when Christ rose from the dead He validated His divine identity (https://www.partneredwithchrist.com/the-resurrection-reality/).
The Almighty chose to make Himself known to humanity in a distinct and mystifying way. He dwelt among us so that we could draw near to Him and appreciate Him. To enable us to see His face, hear His teachings and follow His example. To experience Him in a deeply personal way. Jesus proclaimed, “Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35), thereby attesting that Isaiah 40:8 which professes, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”, were indeed His own words. When Jesus speaks – God speaks.
The Bible is the authentic truth. It is trustworthy. When you read the Bible, you encounter God. What we ultimately discover is that this Almighty Creator that controls the destiny of the universe is intimately concerned with our collective and individual wellbeing to the extent that He entered His creation and submitted Himself to man’s judgment in order to free us from His judgment. That is love.
The Holy Bible is much more than a guide to ethical behavior. It is a profound exposure to the Creator of the universe. It draws us near to God and leads us to meet God and to esteem God. When we truly believe God, we receive the Holy Spirit who empowers us to live by His principles. Not as an object of wrath, but as His beloved child and heir to His kingdom.
Unlike every other religious writing known to man, the Bible is unique in revealing who God is. We read the Bible to discover God and to know God. We are relational beings, created by a relational God, who wants us to know Him. Its a relationship that Jesus facilitates by dwelling among us and knowing us. And in our reciprocity, we follow Him and trust Him through knowing Him.
