Christian Basics - Chapter 4

Belief in God the Father

The Existence of God

1. The Fact of the Universe – Just as every building has its architect, every painting its artist, and every mechanism its designer, so the universe, mysterious, beautiful, and intricate, must have had its Creator. He is the Cause from which all effects ultimately derive. He is the Life to which all life owes its being. He is the Energy from which all motion comes. (Psalm 19:1, Romans 1:20, Acts 14:15-17)
2. The Nature of Human Beings – High ideals and lofty aspirations stir within us. Things beautiful to our eyes, ears, and touch deeply move us. There is an ultimate Beauty, Truth, Goodness, and Love to which our whole personality responds! Why are all human beings worshiping creatures, who manufacture their own gods if none is revealed to them?

The Triune God

Without doubt, the Trinity is the greatest mystery of the Christian faith. The word itself is a contradiction of the words “tri” and “unity” and refers to the fact that God is both three and one.

The New Testament is trinitarian through and through. (Matthew 3:16-17; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

The unity of God is not mathematical but organic. Within the complex mystery of the infinite God are three eternally distinct personal modes of being, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

There are many things in life we cannot fully explain but nevertheless experience. One might mention electricity, or changes in barometric pressure, or love. Similarly, although we cannot explain the Trinity, yet every time we prayer we enjoy access to the Father through the Son by the Spirit (Ephesisans 2:18).

God is Creator, Ruler, and Father

1. The Creator – The Bible tell us plainly that God is the Creator of all things; it nowhere tells us how he did it, expect that everything came into being by his will (Rev 4:11) as expressed in his Word (Gen 1:3; Ps 33:6, 9; Heb 11:3). Science addresses itself to “how” things function; Scripture is preoccupied with “why” questions. (1) God made everything. (2) He made it out of nothing. (3) He made male and female in his own image. (4) Everything he made was “very good”.
2. The Sustainer – What God created, he sustains. God is “immanent” in his universe. That is, he is present and active in it, continually upholding, animating, and ordering it and its creatures. Perhaps the dominant theme of the whole Bible is the sovereign, ceaseless, purposeful activity of Almighty God. Our God is a living and busy God.
3. The Father – “Father” is Christianity’s distinctive title for God. It is our duty as well as our privilege to trust God. Since God is our Maker and Sustainer, we depend upon him as his creatures. If he is also our heavenly Father, we depend upon him as his children. We have two good reasons to look to him with humble confidence. It is an honor to be the dependants of such a God.