God
Described Himself So We Might Know Him Better
Background:
Christians and other Bible students are aware that in several
parts of the Bible, God reveals Himself to man so that we might better know
Him. As the incarnate, visible image of the invisible Triune God, our Lord
Jesus both created and spoke to man. (John 14: 6 - 11; Colossians 1: 15 – 20; 2: 8 – 9) Also for example, even in His pre-incarnate
form He spoke to Abram / Abraham and Moses. ( https://countingmyblessings.com/god/ )
Even after His Crucifixion, death, burial and
resurrection, one of His first priorities was to confirm for His disciples then
(and us today) that the Old Testament scriptures had many relevant prophecies concerning
Himself. Remember the pilgrim disciples on
the Road to Emmaus? (Luke 24: 13 – 35)
How God shares how He sees Himself is of great importance
to Christians, because the Bible confirms that Believers in the Gospel are “in
Christ, and He is in us.” (https://www.gotquestions.org/Christ-in-us.html ; https://blog.biblesforamerica.org/8-verses-showing-jesus-lives/ )
Christians have various opportunities to serve our God and Savior in this
fallen world before we leave it to join Him in eternity. The Bible reminds us
that we are His husbandry / laborers.
( 1 Corinthians 3: 9 – 15; https://www.gotquestions.org/husbandman-in-the-Bible.html ). Because He now sits on the right-hand of the
Father, and we are “in Him”, our citizenship is in Heaven. (Luke 22: 66 – 69;
Romans 8: 28 – 34; Colossians 3: 1 – 2) As a result, we are ambassadors for Christ
to serve Him in this fallen world. (2 Corinthians 5: 13 – 20; https://www.gotquestions.org/ambassador-for-Christ.html
To prepare Christians for these roles, the Holy Spirit
has endowed us with spiritual gifts. Collectively we form the “Body of Christ”
and our individual gifts complement each other. (1 Corinthians 12; Romans 12: 1
– 8; https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holy-spirit/what-are-the-seven-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit-scripture-meaning.html )
How We Are to Use This Knowledge:
The Bible tells us that the long-suffering of the Lord was
for the salvation of man. (2 Peter 3: 15). He is not willing that any should
perish. (2 Peter 3: 9) Believers are to
aid Him in pursuing those objectives.
Have you ever been asked: “How do
people who have never had access to the Bible receive Salvation?” The
answer lies in the Scriptures. No one has
an excuse for missing God’s gift of the eternal salvation of their soul.
(Romans 1: 16 – 21) Whether before the Bible was written or since then, wherever
man has lived, he has not had to have Scriptural access to receive salvation. God
chose to give each of us free access to knowledge of Him and the key to our
Salvation…our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
That access was provided through our senses: sight, hearing, smell,
taste and touch. For the sake of brevity, I’ll limit this initial discussion to
the sense of sight, through which man’s eyes have been “witnesses” of the Glory
of the LORD since the Creation.
A detailed review of the significance of this concept
from a biblical perspective can be found in: The Witness of the Stars,
by E.W. Bullinger, published by Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1967
(Reprint of the 1893 edition). However, I will touch on only five points from
the Old Testament to attempt to make my point. (Remember, the scripture advises
us that “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning…” (Romans 15: 4)
1. Genesis
1: 14 -15 – “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven
to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons
, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the
heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.”
The first area underlined stressed that God knew man would
need early signs of his salvation, following the fall of the first man
Adam. The second area underlined added
that those signs would depict the coming source of that salvation. Later scripture
notes that Jesus Christ would be that “…true Light, which lighteth every man
that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him,
and the world knew Him not.” (John 1: 9-10)
2. Genesis
15: 5-6 – “And He (the LORD) brought him (Abram / later Abraham) forth abroad,
and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell (read) the stars, if thou be able to
number (recount / rehearse) them: and He said unto him, ‘So shall thy seed be.”
And he (Abram / Abraham) believed in the LORD; and He (the LORD) counted it to him
for righteousness.”
Abram / Abraham was able to interpret the stars /
constellations of the Zodiac. As a result, he was declared righteous in the
eyes of God because he believed what God told him…that the Savior, our Lord Jesus
Christ would come through his “seed”.
3. Deuteronomy
4: 12-19 – Please read this entire chapter, but especially these Verses. Verse
19 states: “And lest thou lift up
thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon , and the
stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them and
serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the
whole heaven.”
On behalf of the LORD, Moses
was warning the people of Israel that even as they looked to heaven, they were
never to worship or make graven images of what they saw. He specifically named
beasts of the earth, creeping things, winged fowl, and fish. Note the images
found in the stars / constellations:
https://gbible.org/tree-of-life-post/gosple-jesus-christ-written-stars/
https://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2005/zodiac.html
It was no mere coincidence
that the Enemy of God prompted the people of Israel to make and “worship” a
Golden Calf (resembling Taurus the Bull), while Moses was up on Mount Sinai
receiving the Ten Commandments from God. (Exodus Chapter 32)
4. Psalm
19: 1 – “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork.”
This entire Chapter in the Book of Psalms, written by Israel’s
King David, provides his view of the significance of the constellations in the
heavens. He recognizes various key aspects of the precepts that would later be
taught by our Lord Jesus, and closes by acknowledging who He is by calling upon
Him: “O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” (Verse 20)
5. Psalm
147: 4 – He (The LORD) telleth (counted / assigned / appointed) the number of
the stars; He calleth them all by their names.
In this chapter, the Psalmist acknowledges the majesty of
the LORD, as evidenced by a number of His natural gifts to mankind and the rest
of His Creation, that make Him worthy of man’s highest praise and worship.
[EDIT: An important addition to the list of five Old
Testament references above is found in the New Testament. The Book of Matthew,
Verses 1 – 12, tell the story of the “wise men from the East” who travelled to
Jerusalem…”Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his
star in the East, and are come to worship him.” These men were Gentiles with no
apparent affiliation with Israel. They
were learned, had studied the stars, and knew from their observations that following
that star would lead them to a King worthy of their worship. They were wealthy,
and able to not only travel, but to also bring valuable treasures as gifts to
the young child, to help demonstrate the value of their worship.
These wealthy Gentiles and lowly Jewish shepherds were both
drawn to the baby Jesus by “the star” in the heavens.]
Collectively, these and other scriptures and references
aid Christians in answering the question raised above, that asked: “How do
people who have never had access to the Bible receive Salvation?” But another question arises. What about those people who live in many
highly populated areas plagued by “light pollution”, where the constellations
of the heavens are generally invisible? The answer can still be found through
the use of the sense of sight.
In man’s daily experiences, the evidences of God’s majesty
are everywhere…man’s survival under adverse and/or extreme circumstances; plants
morphing during changing seasons; falling snow and rain; large ships on the ocean;
skyscrapers that don’t fall in strong
storms; birds and airplanes in flight;…and the list goes on. For those who have
not been able to travel extensively, there are a variety of videos and movies
that have captured the grandeur of the world’s natural phenomena (forests,
mountain ranges, deserts, rivers and oceans, etc.). These additional resources
have provided numerous opportunities to confirm His Greatness.
At your convenience, develop your own lists of daily
experiences that include examples of how man’s other senses (hearing, smell,
taste, and touch) have contributed to our knowledge and appreciation of who God
is.
As noted above, Believers are “in Christ, and He is in
us.” We have evidence of God’s existence. We believe and honor what He has done
to redeem us, bringing us eternal salvation by faith in His word, the Holy Bible.
(1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10: 9-13; Hebrews 11: 1-3, 6) With the knowledge
of who Christ Jesus is, and that we are part of His Body, we willingly serve Him
as God’s husbandry, and as ambassadors for Christ in this fallen Earth.
Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson
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