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THE GOD I BELIEVE IN
To believe in God is to have a relationship with God, trusting in Him and committed to Him. This implies knowing God. But in order to know God, we need God to reveal/disclose Himself to us. Else the “god” we know is just the product of our imagination!
Has God revealed Himself? Yes, and He tells us that He is
(A) JEHOVAH (Exodus 3:13ff.; see also 6:3). The name means “I am who I am.” It declares God to be self-existent and self-sufficient. He does not need anything or anyone in order to exist or to continue to exist. From all eternity to all eternity, He exists, as God. Is JEHOVAH your God?
(B) “A God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity … but who will by no means clear the guilty … ” (Exodus 34:5–7). This tells us who He is and what He will do. Or to borrow the words of John, God is both light and love (1 John 1:5; 4:8)—not love without righteousness and purity, nor rectitude without kindness and compassion, but holy love, and loving holiness, and each quality to the highest degree. The God you believe in, is He both holy and love?
(C) “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). God is One and yet He exists in Three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Not three Gods but One, yet this One God exists in Three Persons! Unless God reveals this to us, how will we ever know this unfathomable truth?
Christians are baptized in the name (note it is singular) of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We enter into fellowship with the Triune God, we believe and worship the Triune God, though we don’t fully understand the truth of the Trinity! Is the Triune God your God?
The Creed goes on to speak of “God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” This brings us to the fact that we and all things are created by God and we depend on our Creator for our existence, every moment. In this sense, God is the “father” of all men, for we are His “offspring”. What’s the implication of this? It implies an obligation to seek, worship and obey God. It implies that we the creatures are answerable to Him the Creator at the end of the day! Do you know that God created you? Are you conscious that you are obligated to worship Him? Your life is not your own, to do as you like. You are answerable to Him ultimately. What kind of an account will that be?
Beyond creation, there are men and women, boys and girls who can truly address God as “Father”. John 1:12 speaks of such: “To all who received Him [Jesus], who believed in his name, He gave power to become children of God; who were born … of God …” This is the wonderful New Testament truth of adoption, a supernatural gift of grace, linked with justification and new birth, given freely by God and received humbly by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. As disciples of Jesus, we belonged to His family, with God as our Father, Jesus as our Elder Brother and all whom He has saved as our brothers and sisters. Is adoption a reality in your life today?
For Self-Examination:
(A) How Biblical is my view of God?
(B) How does “my adoption into God’s family” impact my daily life?
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