Our God -- A Living God
In spite of the fact that the Bible was written by about forty different men over a period of several hundred years, the picture of God is the same from the first word of Genesis to the last Amen of Revelation. Perhaps the reason that more people are not Christians is because they know very little about God. It is our purpose in these articles to give some of the characteristics of God so that we may be better acquainted with the great God of the universe.
In our study of God perhaps the greatest characteristic of Him is that He is a living God. When Peter made the great confession in the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the LIVING God." (Matt. 16:16) Hear Paul on this matter: "For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the LIVING God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe." (1 Tim. 4:10) The word "living" is used to distinguish our God from the idols, images, or dead gods. Idols or dead gods cannot see, hear, or be mindful of their worshippers. Our God is a personal God; He loves, sees, acts, and is ever mindful of His creation.
Creation, A Proof Of God's Existence
As to proof that our God is a living God, we look at the creation. Can anyone suppose for a moment that this universe is the product of a dead god? Whenever I look at a watch, I know that it did not just happen. The fact that a watch exists proves that there was a watchmaker. A building proves that there was a builder—someone who planned and made the edifice. So the creation proves that there was a Creator. Someone planned and made the universe. The nebular hypothesis does not give a satisfactory answer to the question, "Where did the earth come from?" If we can but believe in God, the answer is easy: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." But where did God come from? According to Isaiah 44:6 our God has always existed. He says, "I am the first and I am the last; and besides me there is no God." He existed before all created things. Go back as far as you with; still we believe the first sentence in the Bible "In the beginning God."
Our Lives, The Product Of A Living God
The fact that we are living proves that there is a living God. As Paul reasoned with the wise men of Athens who were very religious, he said, "For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, to the unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship him declare I unto you." (Acts 17:23) Notice his line of reasoning:
1. God made the world and all things therein. (v. 24) Here he proves God's existence by the creation.
2. "He gives to all life, and breath, and all things." (v. 25)
3. "In him we live, and move and have our being." (v. 28)
4. "As certain also of your own poets have said, 'For we are also his offspring'." (v. 28)
5. Then Paul reasons that since the preceding things are true, God is a living God. "We ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device."
Gods made of stone, metal, or wood could not create all things, and give life and breath to all things. Neither can we live and move in them or be their offspring. So Paul proves that our God is a living God because we, His offspring, are living beings. A dead god cannot produce living creatures.
Faith In Him
With the preceding thought in mind we can appreciate the statement of the writer of the Hebrew letter: "For without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that HE IS, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Heb. 11:6) In coming to God we must believe that God is, that is, that He exists—that He is a living God. If a man did not believe in the existence of God and that this God will reward them that diligently seek Him, there would be no incentive to please Him. Since He is a living God, we should do all in our power to serve Him acceptably.
Christ stated, "Because I live, ye shall live also." The same is true with God. Since He is a living God, only in Him can we hope to have eternal life. Our God is a living God—let us live for Him now that we may live with Him in eternity.