We are continuing in our series on the fundamentals of the faith. The first of these ideas deals with the existence of God. The Bible does not seek to prove the existence of God; it assumes that He exists. Indeed, the Bible was written as a result of His existence. Previously, we’ve discussed the nature of God, as He revealed it to Moses in the Bible. (See “The God of the Gospel” posts or the podcast.) Therefore, for now we will address some broader points when it comes to our knowledge of God. To refresh our memories, our statement about God says:

There is one God, existent in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All are equally divine, only their functions are different. When referring to “God” it is possible to refer to the Father singly or all three jointly. God is merciful, gracious, perfect, and holy.

And we read this in Mark’s Gospel:

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one’” (Mark 12:29).

First and foremost, God is self-existent. It’s common for children to ask, “Who created God?” The answer is God is uncreated. He gave this self-definition to Moses at the burning bush. We read in Exodus,
Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:13-14). The phrase “I AM” speaks of the One who always was, is, and will be. He is above all, subject to neither time nor space, having created both time and space.

Second, God is sovereign. This means that God is in control of all things. Nothing escapes His eye or His authority. God’s sovereignty flows from His self-existence and extends to the smallest, most minute detail of creation (Romans 9:14-21).. Contrary to some opinions, God’s sovereignty does not negate the moral responsibility of humanity (Revelation 21:6 and 22:17).  There is no “balance” to be found between the two ideas. The Bible teaches both, thus we are to believe both. It’s not our job to reconcile the two. In a similar way, we hold that Jesus is fully God and fully man. There is no ‘balance,’ making Him only partly God and partly man (but here we are jumping ahead….)

FThird, God exists in community. The theological term for this is the Trinity. We speak of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three Persons, yet one God. They are all equal, having the same essence, but have taken on different functions. The Son (Jesus) lives to please the Father and make Him known (John 1:18 and 5:19). In turn the Father has given all things into the Son’s hand (John 3:35; 5:22-23; Philippians 2:9-11). The Holy Spirit, no less God than the Father or Son, serves the Father and Son by convicting the world of sin, drawing people to Christ, and testifying about Christ (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:8-15).

There are some important implications of these truths, so we will touch on each one:

First, because God is self-existent and sovereign, He makes His own plans. Nothing surprises Him. Men may make their plans, with some succeeding and some failing. God’s plans, however, never fail. What He wills to come to pass will indeed come to pass.

Second, because God is sovereign, there is nothing that happens to us that does not come through His hands. Even though the world is full of sin and the entire world’s system is hostile to Him, God remains in control. His sovereignty allows Him to take things that are evil and bring good from them. 

Third, because God exists in a self-existent Community, He desires that humankind would be part of that community. Though self-existent and needing nothing, God created humankind in His image. Whatever else that means, it means that humans were created, at their core, to connect in community with God and others. We were not meant to walk alone in this world.

There is, of course, much more to God than that. Many books have been written about Him, and many more will continue to be written about Him–and yet our knowledge of Him will never and can never be complete. What we do know, however, is that He is good and holds each of us in the palm of His hand.