We read in Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Now, I’ll admit that many in this world will speak against this truth today, citing all kinds of scientific reasons in an attempt to explain how the universe began, and how life has evolved to the present day forms as a product of evolution. But, I believe that God’s Word the Bible gives us abundant reason to believe that God is, and that He created the universe, and has a purpose in placing us in the world—a definite plan for His creation.

First of all, I believe that God has placed into the hearts of all mankind a consciousness that there is God.  We read in Ecclesiastes 3: 11, “He hath made everything beautiful in His time: also He hath set the world (eternity) in their heart (the hearts of men), so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”  Think of the history of mankind back through ancient times.  Can you tell of any who have not believed in some type of supreme being?  Gospel preacher Billy Graham once visited the Soviet Union and was able to speak to a prominent anthropologist in Siberia.  This man was an avowed atheist.  Billy asked him the very question as to whether he had ever heard of or studied a tribe of people who did not believe in God, or in some type of higher power. The Soviet anthropologist agreed that belief in a divine power was universal (from “The Journey,” chapter 2, by Billy Graham). Why do men seem to believe in a higher power, and in some type of life after death?

The truth is, God does exist, and He has revealed Himself to us through nature itself, through His Word, the Bible, and through His Son, Jesus Christ. What’s more, He wants us to know Him, and promises to help us in this search if we truly seek Him.  We read in Jeremiah 29:13, “And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.”

Now, God has left us many proofs of His existence in nature itself.  Consider Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse….”  We read in Acts14:17, “Nevertheless He left not Himself without witness, in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”  My dear friend, you may believe that I exist if you see me; however, given the miles between us, you can believe in my existence by my written response to you.  So it is with God.  We do not see Him with our eyes, but just look at His magnificent creation to see evidence that He is, and you can see the marks of a purposeful, sovereign Creator…God.

Now, God knows us personally, and this knowledge is not an impersonal awareness, but a benevolent, caring knowledge with a plan for us.  We read in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”  Also, in Psalm 139: 16, we read, “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them”. Thus, God is not just an impersonal force like energy, but a living, knowing being. He knows us intimately and He wants us to know Him too—He speaks to us through His Word.  In the Old Testament, there are literally dozens of prophesies, not one of which has proven false.  One of the prophesies that meant a great deal to me when I was first saved is found in Micah 5:2: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting”. This verse is the prophetic Word of God through Micah some 700 years before Christ.  It tells us many things about the coming Messiah: we see that One would come to be the ruler in Israel “whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (the eternal counsels of God regarding the Christ).  We see too that the place of His coming forth was Bethlehem Ephratah.  God’s Word is so specific—there were actually two Bethlehems in Israel; one to the north which we read very little about; and one to the south of Jerusalem about 6 miles, also called Bethlehem, Judah.  This is the ancestral home of David, and it is the place where the Christ was to be born.  Ephratah means “the fruitful”. “Bethlehem” means “house of bread,” and we know that our Savior is called “the living Bread”.   When I first read this verse, and saw from Luke 2 that it all came to pass, just as the prophets said so long ago, I was amazed by the precision of the prophesy.  And, there are very many more such prophesies which verify that God’s Word is true. Now, we read in II Peter 1: 20-21, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost”. So, though the Bible is a collection of books written by various authors over many years, God is clearly the author, the Bible is the true Word of God, and this confirms the existence of God.

Finally, God has spoken to us through His Son, who is God with us (Emmanuel—Isaiah 7:14). We read in Hebrews 1:1-3, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high….” Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ prophesied from of old, and not just a man, but God.  And, when we see Christ, we are seeing God.  In Colossians 2:9 we find, “For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily”. Again, we find in John 1: 1-3, 14: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made…(14) And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

So, I believe that God not only exists, but is manifested to us through God’s Word, the Bible, and through God’s only Son, Jesus Christ, who is God with us.  Scripture is full of proofs that the Bible is true from front to end, and if the Bible is true, then God certainly exists, knows us, and wants us to know Him.  Now, do you believe in God?  James tells us, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble,” (James 2:19). Solomon of old calls out to you in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”  And now, my dear friend, the amazingly Good News of the Gospel is for you this very moment—it’s found in John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved”.  (382.3)  (SF)