"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." (Romans 1:20 NIV)
As a young teenager, I came to the logical conclusion that nothing can create something, so the Universe had to have been created by a Supreme Being. It seemed far more reasonable to believe that God exists than not to believe He exists.
When someone makes the emphatic assertion that there is no God and no one can know that, that statement cannot be proven absolutely. Whether a person does or does not believe that God exists, no one has yet to explain honestly what caused the existence of what is perceived as the starting point of the Cosmos.
The Bible reveals why there is an existing universe rather than a non-existing one. It has yet to be proved and requires the element of faith to believe. Without faith, "it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6 NIV).
When I became a Christian, I met the one true God through faith, but one of the questions I could never get past was, "Where did God come from?" I could relate to Jesus as God, the Son, who came to earth as a human, and somewhat understand the Holy Spirit as God, but my brain would begin to fry circuits when I tried to comprehend God, the Father, as always existing with no beginning.
"By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." (Hebrews 11:3 NIV)
I learned that my reasoning was irrational and nonsensical by contemplating the origin of God, the Father because it implies that He lives within the Time, Space, and Matter continuum of the finite Universe He created into existence simultaneously, which can't be independent of each other. The Bible explains how that happened.
"In the beginning (TIME), God created the heavens (SPACE) and the earth (MATTER)." (Genesis 1:1 ESV)
God instantly created Time, Space, and Matter as a trinity of trinities. Time is past, present, and future; Space has length, width, and height; Matter has solid, liquid, and gas. God is outside of them and not limited or affected by them because He is a spirit with no material body (John 4:24).
The truth is that God has no beginning - He IS! (Exodus 3:14). The Bible tells us why the Universe exists and proclaims that Jesus is the divine Designer who created it with a purpose and maintains all things by the word of His power (John 1:3; Hebrews 1:2-3; Colossians 1:16-17).
After speaking the Cosmos and Earth into existence, He created the first human beings.
"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27 ESV)
God instantly created human beings with a brain that has independent reasoning processes and thoughts and not just a random collection of chemicals formed by chance over a billion+ years.
Since Adam and Eve, God has revealed Himself to every human being in the beauty of the heavens, "for since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse" (Romans 1:18-20 NIV).
A person who makes the bold assertion that there is no God and no one can know if there is cannot prove it, which logically opens the door to acknowledging the idea or possibility that God may exist. Proving that God does not exist requires faith or the ability to travel the entire Cosmos and examine every quantum particle to qualify and have the authority to make that assertion which would make them God!
"By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." (Hebrews 11:3 NIV)
The study of the Bible requires faith that comes via special divine revelation that only the Bible reveals (John 15:26; 2 Peter 1:19-21). Faith is active trust in God, who made Himself seen in His Creation. The Bible says that it is Jesus who supplies the infinite amount of energy that holds all things together and sustains the entire Cosmos. It is the revealed general revelation of "His invisible qualities" - His "eternal power and divine nature" that "have been clearly seen" [and] understood from what has been made" by God, which makes evident within the mechanical workings of nature the existence of God and any observer accountable to Him (Romans 1:20 NIV). However, the study of Nature or the Cosmos cannot unequivocally prove the existence of God even though the Bible declares that it was through Jesus Christ that all things originated from Him (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2).
The methodology of study used by Christians is very similar to that used by physicists. Human beings cannot see beyond the boundaries imposed by Time, Space, and Matter into realities other than what God has already revealed in the Bible. Any personal "vision" of Creation outside of the restrictions that faith imposes within Scripture contradicts what faith means.
Here are four proofs that reveal God exists.
1. God has revealed Himself through NATURE.
A. Psalms 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." (NIV used throughout)
B. Romans 1:19 "since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them."
C. Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
D. Psalms 14:1 "The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good."
E. Romans 1:18 "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness."
The Bible says that God's existence, His power, and intelligence can be known by every human being through nature. But, because of our desire to sin, instead of following Him, we "suppress the truth by our unrighteousness." To admit the existence of a God who created everything would imply a moral responsibility to that God. Humans suppress the truth because they don't want to change their behavior. Even those who live in the deepest part of the African jungles or the most remote parts of the world are in the same dilemma as the sophisticated American intellectual.
2. God has revealed the truth about Himself through HUMAN PERSONALITIES.
A. Genesis 1:26-27 "Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
B. Psalms 139:14 "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
C. Genesis 9:6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man."
God created every human being in His own image. The image of God that is in them must reflect some of the truth about the nature and character of God. This image remains even after the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This also refers to the spirit, the immaterial being, and that humans are a moral (understanding right and wrong) personality through shown through their intellect, emotions, and will - also called the conscience.
3. God has revealed Himself through SPECIAL REVELATION.
- This is God's written Word, the Bible.
A. 2 Peter 1:20-21 "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
B. 2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."
All Scripture is inspired "breathed out" from God. It is what God would say directly if He were standing physically in front of us right now. God directed people from the past what to say in the written commandments.
The Bible was written with a consistent theme by about 40 authors over an approximately 1,500 year period in three languages on three continents with no clear contradictions. Its writers were scholars, ranchers, shepherds, and fishermen. The Old Testament and the entire New Testament could be reconstructed from the writings of the early Church Fathers such as Clement of Rome who wrote a letter to the church at Corinth in 95 AD that contained numerous Old Testament Scriptures as well as the writings of the Apostles that were considered as sacred Scripture. Another early church father was Irenaeus, who lived from 130 AD to 202 AD. In his writings, Irenaeus quoted from 24 books of the New Testament over 1,800 times.
The Bible has been translated numerous times in a one step process from the original languages into multiple different languages throughout history. However, it has never been rewritten. There are approximately 5,700 copies of the Greek manuscripts that were made very close to the time of the originals, and they all agree with each other to 99.5% accuracy. The .5% variation would include textual misspelling or minor word alternations. There are also over 19,000 copies in the Syriac, Latin, Coptic, and Aramaic languages which bring the total supporting New Testament manuscript purity to over 24,000 copies.
C. Romans 1:22-25 "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator who is forever praised. Amen." The law of Moses, the Pentateuch." Israel was given these laws, so they became more accountable
4. God reveals Himself through JESUS
A. John 1:1-5 "In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. He was in the beginning with God. He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make. Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it."
B. John 14:9-11 "Jesus replied, "Philip, don't you even yet know who I am, even after all the time I have been with you? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking to see him? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of what you have seen me do. "
C. Luke 24:1-7 "But very early on Sunday morning the women came to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. So they went in, but they couldn't find the body of the Lord Jesus. They were puzzled, trying to think what could have happened to it. Suddenly, two men appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed low before them. Then the men asked, "Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? He isn't here! He has risen from the dead! Don't you remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again the third day?”
Throughout history, there have been many non-Christian descriptions of Jesus. Here are twelve of them.
5. THALLUS (52 A.D.) was a secular writer who mentioned Jesus and was quoted by Sextus Julius Afrikanes (160 -240 A.D.) when he tried to explain away how the world was surrounded by fearful darkness as well as the massive earthquake that happened during the Crucifixion of Jesus.
6. PUBLIUS CORNELIUS TACTICUS (56-120 A.D.) was a Roman historian during the reign of Trajan (98-117 A.D.) and the early years of Hadrian (117-138 AD). He was known for his analysis and examination of historical documents. His best-known works are Histories and Annals (116 A.D.), which cover the history of the empire from the time of the Julio-Claudians to the reign of Domitian (81-96 A.D.), and his explanation of Jesus in the Annals.
7. LUCIUS DOMITIUS AHENOBARBUS, aka Nero Claudius Caesar (37 A.D.) was the Emperor of Rome. He claimed that Christians were to blame for a great fire in Rome (64 A.D.). According to him, Jesus lived in Judea, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and had followers who were persecuted for their faith.
8. MARA BAR-SERAPION (70 A.D.) was a Syrian philosopher who wrote for his son and compared the life and persecution of Jesus, whom he called the Wise King, with other philosophers who were persecuted for their ideas. He described how Jews murdered their Wise King.
9. PHLEGON OF TRALLES (80-140 A.D.) mentioned a historian named Phlegon of Tralles (80 A.D.) who wrote a chronicle of history and focused on the darkness surrounding the Crucifixion of Jesus and said that Jesus could predict the future pretty accurately and was crucified under the reign of Tiberius Caesar. He also wrote that Jesus showed His wounds after He was resurrected to people.
10. PLINY THE YOUNGER - AKA Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61-113 AD) wrote in a letter to Trajan, the Roman Emperor, describing the lifestyles of early Christians and explained how they would meet regularly with other Christians and sing a hymn to Jesus Christ as a god and that they held a high moral code and took an oath not to do evil deeds.
11. LUCIAN OF SAMOSATA (120-180 A.D.) was a Greek satirist who wrote about Jesus and Christians sarcastically. He explained that the Christians worshiped a man who introduced novel ideas about repentance and was crucified.
12. FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS (37-101 A.D.) was a Jewish priest, scholar, and historian who was hostile against Christianity. Vespasian - AKA Caesar Vespasianus Augustus (9-79 A.D.) allowed him to write a detailed history of the Jews and provided details about Jesus in his Book 'The Antiquities of the Jews' (93 A.D.). He said that Jesus was a wise teacher and was considered the Messiah.
13. ORIGEN OF ALEXANDRIA (182-254 AD), wrote in his Chronicles during the reign of Tiberius that Phlegon mentioned Jesus and that there was an eclipse and earthquakes when He died.
14. CELSUS (unknown date of birth and death) was a Greek philosopher who wrote the True Discourse (or True Reason) in 178 AD as an outspoken critic of Christianity. He divided his work into two sections, the one in which objections are put in the mouth of a Jewish speaker and the other in which he speaks as the pagan philosopher that he was. He ridiculed Christians because they advocated blind faith instead of reason. In his mocking of Christians, he confirmed that Jesus was able to perform miracles, had an earthly father who was a carpenter, possessed unusual magical powers, and that Jesus claimed to be God. In his extensive writings, Celsius alluded to 80 different Bible verses.
15. JEWISH TALMUD (400-700 AD) refers to Jesus as Balasam Ben Stada, who practiced magic and led Israel astray, which resulted in Him being stoned and hanged because He practiced sorcery, and enticed Israel to go astray. He had disciples who were martyred for their faith.
16. SEFER TOLEDOT YESHU (11th Century A.D.) is a medieval text with possible multiple authors called the Book of the Generations/History/Life of Jesus), often abbreviated as Toledot that presents an alternative, anti-sectarian view, as well as a disputed biography of Jesus of Nazareth. The text confirms many elements of the New Testament, such as Jesus claiming to be the Messiah and He healed those who had disabilities.
The question for you today is who, what, or how do you think the Universe come into existence? Jesus said He created it all and is worthy to be worshipped, honored, and adored. He proved that when He chose to become human, enter the world He created, and then sacrifice Himself through death to provide the ONLY way to spend eternity with Him.
Today, it is time to choose whom you will serve – the created or the Creator.
