by Glover Shipp
The God of our fathers is the same God worshiped since the dawn of human existence. He is the God worshiped by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon, all of the Old Testament prophets, Ezra, Nehemiah, John the Baptist, all of Christ’s apostles and the early Christians. He is the God worshiped by those who followed in their footsteps and the God worshiped today all around the world in countless tongues and cultures. This is the God in whom we trust (as stamped on our American money), the God invoked in our founding documents and the God called upon at the opening sessions of the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress. This is the God to whom we cry when calamity hits us.
The God of our fathers is the same God worshiped since the dawn of human existence. He is the God worshiped by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon, all of the Old Testament prophets, Ezra, Nehemiah, John the Baptist, all of Christ’s apostles and the early Christians. He is the God worshiped by those who followed in their footsteps and the God worshiped today all around the world in countless tongues and cultures. This is the God in whom we trust (as stamped on our American money), the God invoked in our founding documents and the God called upon at the opening sessions of the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress. This is the God to whom we cry when calamity hits us.
Just who is this God in whom we trust? Is He a kind of Santa Claus up in heaven, to dole out goodies to us? Is He a kind of broker, to protect our investments? Is He a doctor, to care for our every ache and pain? Is He a severe father, ready to punish? Just who is this God whom we worship and obey? The Bible gives us clear answers to this question. Consider some of His characteristics:
God is all-powerful (or omnipotent).
God’s power is seen in creation (Genesis 1-2; Jeremiah 51:15, Romans 1:20). Paul argues in Acts 17:22-31 that all humans should see that God created everything. In Romans 1:18-20 Paul says that those who do not believe in the eternal creative God have no excuse, because He has made His power clear to us.
The Book of Psalms declares God’s power (Psalms 8; 19:1-6, 29; 62:11; 66:7; 147:5). To see the majesty of His creative power, all we need to do is seek out a location on the high plains, in the desert or mountains and just contemplate the night sky scrolled out above us, with the planets and thousands of visible stars looking down at us, as if they were pinpoints in the canopy of heaven, letting God’s light shine through to us. The universe grows larger each year, as astronomers probe out in the infinity that is space. We are certainly little potatoes in comparison to the vastness and complexity of space.
However, space is not all there is to the creative hand of God. I live in Oklahoma, where the four seasons are pronounced. Every spring our land bursts forth with Redbuds and other flowering trees and plants. Have you ever carefully examined a flower? We have a Clematis plant surrounding our mailbox. It has exquisite shades of white, pink, and violet. There are thousands of kinds of flowers, each unique in its own way and each with its own delicate or robust shades of blossom and fragrance.
Animal life is complex and extensive. The earth’s mineral resources are nearly endless. The Lord placed all of this here to por- tray His creativity. I was standing one day on a catwalk near the Devil’s Throat of mighty Iguaçu Falls, at a point where Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil meet. Those of us there were being drenched by the spray and overwhelmed by the roar of the waters. A Brazilian gentleman near me asked, “How can one not believe in God, when He left such a calling card as this?” How indeed?
A writer in the Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8, page 215, notes, “To see law everywhere and God nowhere would be enough to crush us. To see God everywhere working by law inspires rest and joy: our “Father is at the helm.”
God is all-knowing (omniscient).
Hebrews 4:13 describes God’s capacity to know all things: Nothing in all of creation is hidden from Him. Everything is revealed to Him, to whom we must give account of our lives and actions.
God has knowledge that no human can have (Mark 13:32). Despite many predictions about the end of time or the events leading up to it, no one can ever know when these things will occur. The countdown cal- endar is in the hands of the Lord exclusively. Are we in the end times? When someone recently guaranteed to me that we are in the end times right now, my answer was that we have been in the end times ever since Christ was raised from the dead and returned to the Father. We are in the last age — the Christian age. Therefore, we should act as if today were the last moment before the end of the world. According to Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24:36-44, since we do not have God’s calendar in our hands, we need to be ready each day for the end of time. We are to beware of those who claim that some war, earthquake or other calamity is a sure sign that the end is coming; or those who claim to be a new prophet or Christ. Jesus says in Matthew 24:4-8 that, despite all of these traumas that plague our world, the end is not yet.
God’s understanding is unsearchable (Isaiah 40:28). His ways are past finding out (Romans 10:33-36). No matter how much genius we expend in trying to understand God, He remains a mystery to us. The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than the greatest strength of any human (1 Corinthians 1:25).
God is everywhere (omnipresent).
How can God be everywhere at once? Because He is God, this is not difficult at all. In Psalm 139:1-16, David reminds us that God knows us, perceives our thoughts, and is familiar with all our ways. (This sounds like national surveillance, but on a far more powerful level.) Wherever we go, the Lord is there. He knows us from con- ception. He knows when we will die. He knows our heartaches, frailties, and illnesses. In today’s language, He is awesome!
Every characteristic of God is seen in Daniel 2:19-23, 27-38 — His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. God’s power has provided for all of our physical and spiritual needs. Because He is God, He has every right to expect our submission and obedience (2 Peter 1:3,4, 8-11). It is a foolish person, indeed, who attempts to play games with God, to second-guess Him, or to attempt to elevate him- self or herself to a godlike status. Our only safe and reasonable recourse is to bow to Him in submission and obedience.
God is all-powerful (or omnipotent).
God’s power is seen in creation (Genesis 1-2; Jeremiah 51:15, Romans 1:20). Paul argues in Acts 17:22-31 that all humans should see that God created everything. In Romans 1:18-20 Paul says that those who do not believe in the eternal creative God have no excuse, because He has made His power clear to us.
The Book of Psalms declares God’s power (Psalms 8; 19:1-6, 29; 62:11; 66:7; 147:5). To see the majesty of His creative power, all we need to do is seek out a location on the high plains, in the desert or mountains and just contemplate the night sky scrolled out above us, with the planets and thousands of visible stars looking down at us, as if they were pinpoints in the canopy of heaven, letting God’s light shine through to us. The universe grows larger each year, as astronomers probe out in the infinity that is space. We are certainly little potatoes in comparison to the vastness and complexity of space.
However, space is not all there is to the creative hand of God. I live in Oklahoma, where the four seasons are pronounced. Every spring our land bursts forth with Redbuds and other flowering trees and plants. Have you ever carefully examined a flower? We have a Clematis plant surrounding our mailbox. It has exquisite shades of white, pink, and violet. There are thousands of kinds of flowers, each unique in its own way and each with its own delicate or robust shades of blossom and fragrance.
Animal life is complex and extensive. The earth’s mineral resources are nearly endless. The Lord placed all of this here to por- tray His creativity. I was standing one day on a catwalk near the Devil’s Throat of mighty Iguaçu Falls, at a point where Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil meet. Those of us there were being drenched by the spray and overwhelmed by the roar of the waters. A Brazilian gentleman near me asked, “How can one not believe in God, when He left such a calling card as this?” How indeed?
A writer in the Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8, page 215, notes, “To see law everywhere and God nowhere would be enough to crush us. To see God everywhere working by law inspires rest and joy: our “Father is at the helm.”
God is all-knowing (omniscient).
Hebrews 4:13 describes God’s capacity to know all things: Nothing in all of creation is hidden from Him. Everything is revealed to Him, to whom we must give account of our lives and actions.
God has knowledge that no human can have (Mark 13:32). Despite many predictions about the end of time or the events leading up to it, no one can ever know when these things will occur. The countdown cal- endar is in the hands of the Lord exclusively. Are we in the end times? When someone recently guaranteed to me that we are in the end times right now, my answer was that we have been in the end times ever since Christ was raised from the dead and returned to the Father. We are in the last age — the Christian age. Therefore, we should act as if today were the last moment before the end of the world. According to Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24:36-44, since we do not have God’s calendar in our hands, we need to be ready each day for the end of time. We are to beware of those who claim that some war, earthquake or other calamity is a sure sign that the end is coming; or those who claim to be a new prophet or Christ. Jesus says in Matthew 24:4-8 that, despite all of these traumas that plague our world, the end is not yet.
God’s understanding is unsearchable (Isaiah 40:28). His ways are past finding out (Romans 10:33-36). No matter how much genius we expend in trying to understand God, He remains a mystery to us. The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than the greatest strength of any human (1 Corinthians 1:25).
God is everywhere (omnipresent).
How can God be everywhere at once? Because He is God, this is not difficult at all. In Psalm 139:1-16, David reminds us that God knows us, perceives our thoughts, and is familiar with all our ways. (This sounds like national surveillance, but on a far more powerful level.) Wherever we go, the Lord is there. He knows us from con- ception. He knows when we will die. He knows our heartaches, frailties, and illnesses. In today’s language, He is awesome!
Every characteristic of God is seen in Daniel 2:19-23, 27-38 — His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. God’s power has provided for all of our physical and spiritual needs. Because He is God, He has every right to expect our submission and obedience (2 Peter 1:3,4, 8-11). It is a foolish person, indeed, who attempts to play games with God, to second-guess Him, or to attempt to elevate him- self or herself to a godlike status. Our only safe and reasonable recourse is to bow to Him in submission and obedience.