How we see God is more important than we realise because our believing determines the good and the bad in our lives. If you believe that God is against you or if God is behind all your pain, you will naturally avoid Him or even be angry at Him.
“But God is all-powerful, right? He can do anything, right? So, if bad things can take place in my life, God must be behind that, directly or indirectly, right? Perhaps He wants to teach me a lesson? Or perhaps this is because of the bad things I did in the past?”
Have you had those questions before? Especially when you went through a challenging situation in your life. And if you have been looking for the answer, you probably have tried different things. You might have listened to different teachings or sermons, or you have heard different experiences from other people. But something in you is not satisfied. You are not convinced and you want to know the truth. But what is the truth and where can you find the truth?
To find the truth we must go to the source of the matter. Here is an example. I received a parcel of a birthday cake from an unknown sender. All I had was the brand of the cake and the contact information of the shop. I wanted to find out who sent me the cake so I called the shop where the cake came from and enquired, and I found out who the sender was.
Likewise, to know what God is like, we ought to go to the source of information and ask the one who knows Him and look at the evidence.
1 The source
There is only one source that God has authorised and that is the Holy Scripture or the Bible. Just like the cake came from the shop that made it and sent it, God declared Himself and spoke through the Scripture. It recorded the beginning when He made man until the end of the world as we know it in the book of Revelations.
Any source of information can be intimidating for someone who is not familiar with the subject. I remember when I was a college student when there was no wireless Internet yet and I had to set up the Internet modem myself. All I had was the box containing the equipment and the manual. But I knew it had to be done or I could not do my project work. So I brought myself to read the manual and follow the steps. When nothing happened, I went back to the manual to see what I had missed. I thought it would take me a few hours to get it done, but it was done within thirty minutes.
The Bible can seem intimidating but being someone who had been in that position before I can tell you, it is not true. I used to only read the Bible at its face value, which led to confusion and even condemnation for failing to understand the context and to see Jesus in each book, especially the Old Testament. That is why God gives teachers in church, they help to unveil Christ by rightly dividing the truth. Make sure you are listening to teachings that focus on unveiling Christ in every Scripture.
Beloved, the truth can only be found in the Holy Scripture, the Bible. Even prophecy or word of knowledge must be based on the Scripture – if it does not edify and does not align with the principles of the faith, you should not accept that word. God will never let any prophecy violate His written word, the Scripture.
2 The One who knows Him
No one called God as Father until Jesus. That’s because He was the Son of God and He always knew God as Father. He was the only one who knew what the Father was like for He came from the Father. John witnessed that no man has seen God at any time but the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him (John 1:18).
And Jesus Himself declared:
“Everything has been put in my hands by my Father, and nobody knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son—and whomsoever the Son chooses to reveal him.” Matthew 11:27
And the Father bore witness to Jesus, proving that what He said was true by declaring openly that Jesus was His beloved Son at His baptism at the Jordan River (Matthew 3:17) and by having the Spirit descending and remaining on Him (John 1:33).
3 The evidence
So now that we have established the source and the One who knows the Father, let’s find the evidence: what did Jesus say of the Father, why did the Father send Him, what was the work Jesus finished for the Father and what does that mean for us?
Jesus said that God so loved the world (that is mankind) that He gave His only begotten Son (referring to Himself), that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). This giving was further explained that Jesus is the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).
The Jews at that time understood because they had been waiting for the Messiah (Saviour) that was promised by God in old times and prophesied by the prophets like Isaiah, Joel, Micah. They had been sacrificing an unblemished lamb as commanded under the Mosaic Law to cover their sins. As they laid their hands upon the sacrificial lamb, their sin was passed to the lamb and they were pardoned until the next sacrifice. That is why their work was never finished, they still sinned and they had to keep sacrificing. Until the Messiah, the real Lamb of God came (for it is not possible for the blood of rams to take away sin (Hebrews 10:4): animal’s life is of a different level than human’s life).
And God finally sent the Lamb, which was His own Son: the Word who was One with and was God (John 1:1-2), born of God, became flesh and dwelt among men. The Son of God had to be born as man because it takes a man, a perfect, righteous man that is, to redeem mankind – and there was and is no righteous man without sin, only God who is without sin.
So Jesus came in obedience to the Father, to atone for our sins and to redeem us from the power of darkness. He went to the cross because of His faith (read more in the article of Love Prevails) even when we did not understand and we were still sinners. He did not wait for us to repent first but rather He sacrificed first and because He was God (of eternal Spirit), His blood atone for sin without the limitation of time.
From the time He died and rose again until now, we have been living in the age of grace, and His work at the cross is still available to whoever that believes in Him: He took your sin and put it on His body that is why His body is broken (punished) and He died as you as the result because the wage of sin is death. When you confess this and you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you are saved: all your sins were forgiven you and you are justified in God’s eyes as a righteous man. This is the grace of God! You don’t have to work to earn righteousness, but just believe on His Son and God gives you righteousness as a gift. Wow! I am still amazed every time I am brought to this truth. What a heart! What a God!
The cross is the very evidence of God’s love for us! In every situation, judge God’s love from this truth, from what had been done. Because He loved you that much, He will help you in your situation. Because He loved you that much, He will deliver you. Not: I am facing this, it means God does not love me. No. Start from the truth: God loves me, He gave His beloved Son to die for me, therefore He is with me and He will deliver me. God loves me therefore the end of this will be good. This is not phsyco-ing yourself, this is standing on truth and the Spirit of God that dwells in you will bear witness to the truth. If you believe the wrong thing, the Holy Spirit cannot bear witness (release power) to that.
Enthroned in the Father’s heart
A few years ago, during my time with the Father, I saw in the spirit of myself sitting at the beach early in the morning. Next to me was Father. I asked Him about what a largeness of heart meant. He told me to look into my heart, so I did. As I zoomed inside my heart, I found myself entering into His heart, and when I was still catching up with my amazement, I saw my heart inside His heart.
I did not fully understand what that meant until much later. I now see that my position is I am enthroned in the Father's heart. Because I am in Christ, I am in Him, being One with Him and with the Father. This was the prayer that Jesus prayed in the upper room in John 17. The Lord was asking Father the very thing that He had while He was in this world: the Father’s Spirit in Him to be in us, those who believe on Him. Before Jesus died on the cross, no man could have God’s spirit in Him because of sin. But for those who believe on Jesus, whose sins were taken away and fully-paid, God could give the Holy Spirit to the believers. When He raised us together with Christ, He made our spirit one with His Son’s Spirit, that is why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:17 “he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit”. And the Father’s Spirit is in Christ, that is how we are one with the Lord and also one with the Father.
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gave me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gave them me; and they have kept thy word.
7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gave me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
John 17:6-11
Now that we are in Christ, we are living based on His heart, not based on our performance. We live believing the Father’s heart for us, which is love beyond our comprehension. That is why we can rest, because we can trust that the Father always gives us the best and He is always about our wellbeing. This is faith, beloved, believing the best of God.
My prayer is that every time you use this mug, you remember this truth and let yourself be pampered by His love because the Holy Spirit in you will bear witness and bring that hope or miracle to your way. In Jesus’ name, amen.
