There are many reasons for believing God is real, and the foremost is that he has spoken. The Letter to the Hebrews makes an extraordinary statement –
In many and various ways God has spoken to our ancestors through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us through a Son Whom he appointed heir of everything, through whom also he created the universe. He is the radiance of his glory and stamp of his being, upholding the universe by the word of his power …
It goes on to talk about Jesus’ death to make atonement for our sins and his taking up the position of highest authority in the creation, next to God the Father himself.
The first thing to note here is the assertion that God has spoken, not once or twice and not in one way only, but in all sorts of ways through many prophets in the past. More recently he has spoken through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This was another form of revelation altogether. Jesus’ words were God’s words, and still are because even today we have access to them through the Bible. But Jesus’ very person was and is a revelation of God, because God became a human being so we could know him. Jesus is the “radiance of God’s glory”. The only way we can see the sun is by the light (radiance) that streams from it; it would burn our eyes out to touch the sun itself. So, the only way we can see God is Jesus. Jesus is also described as the stamp of God’s being. The Greek word is “character”; it means an exact representation. There is no variation between Jesus and God. He and the Father are one.
Then we learn something about who this Son is, who became the man Jesus. He is the heir of everything. This means everything in creation is for him. He was also the agent of God the Father in bringing creation about. Jesus is the Son of God, who, before he became a human being, made the universe. I find this stupendous, and the next statement is also: he upholds (literally “carries”) the universe by the word of his power. This means that things only continue to exist because he wills it – at every moment. The stars shine only as long as his power continues their shining. Nothing has the power that causes it to exist in itself; nothing is independent of the Son of God. My heart will continue to beat until he no longer wills it.
What a marvelous thing that this God, this Creator and Sustainer of the universe and the life of every human being has chosen to make himself known to us. How precious is the Bible, which brings this revelation to us today! What an exciting thing it is to explore and understand it! From it we learn the ultimate truth about God, the world, and ourselves.
15th July 2019