Many people say they believe in God. But which god do they really believe in?
The Bible says that the God of Israel is the only true god.
So do you believe in some other god or do you believe in the God of Israel?
I do not deny that there are other powers outside of the God of Israel, His Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ, powers that may even seem like gods.
As a Christian, I must believe everything that the Word of God says.
Therefore, I also believe that Satan and demons exist. And I believe that they have certain powers. But when these powers manifest themselves, they do not come directly from God in response to a believer's prayer.
If you are a Christian, you no longer have to look for powers outside of the God of Israel and the Lord Jesus Christ. You have to understand that our God is jealous and a consuming fire.
You must also know that he who turns back is like a dog returning to its vomit, and if you again become entangled in the corruption of the world, you are worse off at the end than you were at the beginning. (2 Peter 2:20-22)
The Bible begins by saying in Genesis 1:1 that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
You have probably already heard or read this statement.
The question is whether you believe it or not.
Personally, I learned this statement in religion classes in my primary and secondary school in Belgium.
Because of these classes, for a long time I wondered, among other things, if God had really created the world. Looking back, I did not believe it in those days. But now I do.
Some will say that according to the Bible the earth is only a few thousand years old, while modern science says it is millions of years old.
To broaden your thinking about the true age of the earth, I want to mention two arguments:
1. The concept of “apparent age” implies that God could have created the earth with the appearance of an old planet.
The Bible states in Genesis 2:7 that one day God formed man from the dust of the ground.
From one day to the next, a man came into being who looked like an adult, but was actually zero years old.
The first man had the “apparent age” of an adult, but was actually only a few hours old.
God may have done the same with the earth.
God may have created it just a few thousand years ago, but made it look like an earth millions of years old.
2. God sends a powerful delusion so that unbelievers believe a lie.
The Bible states in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 that those who did not believe the truth and did not receive the love of the truth so that they would be saved, to these God himself sends a powerful delusion so that they would believe a lie and be condemned.
I believe that those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ are in God's sights for condemnation.
And I believe that God himself also sends them the powerful delusion of scientific theories about an earth with millions of years of existence and the evolution of the human being through the ages.
Now, even to accept the explanations of scientists, a dose of faith is needed because you have to believe what they say.
If you have doubted until now that the God of Israel was the one who created the earth, perhaps the arguments mentioned here can make it easier for you to believe that indeed he did.
In the first two verses of the Bible we read that in the beginning the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
It seems that there is a special connection between the Holy Spirit and water.
For example, when one is at the edge of a river or a lake or near the sea, one feels a special presence.
I have also observed on numerous occasions when I have sent a thought to the Holy Spirit in my mind, that suddenly there is a movement on the surface of the water in a jug near me, without anyone having drawn water from there.
In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit only manifested himself occasionally in people.
There is the example of Samson, of whom the Word says that the Holy Spirit came upon him and he killed thirty men (Judges 14:19) and on another occasion some ropes that were on his arms became like flax burned with fire, and the bonds fell from his hands. (Judges 15:14)
So in these particular cases the presence of the Holy Spirit upon Samson gave him supernatural strength and even made him use violence.
In the New Testament the Holy Spirit has a much more important role.
The Lord Jesus Christ spoke about the Holy Spirit in John 16:7 calling him “the Comforter” and telling us that he would send him to us after his own departure.
In the book of the Acts of the Apostles we learn that when the Holy Spirit comes upon us we receive power (1:8); that we will speak in new tongues (2:4); that we will proclaim the Word of God without fear (4:31); that the church is strengthened by the Holy Spirit (9:31); that the Holy Spirit can speak to us (13:2; 20:23; 21:11) and make his opinion known to us (15:28); that he can prevent us from doing certain things (16:6).
The Word of God says in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that the Holy Spirit is within us and that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
In 2 Corinthians 13:14 the Word wishes us that the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us.
In Ephesians 4:30 the Word warns us that we should not grieve the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is constantly near and within us to push us forward, guide us, help us, comfort us, etc.
The most intimate communion of Christians with their God must be first of all with the Holy Spirit.
It is good for us to establish a constant internal conversation with the Holy Spirit. At every moment we can silently expose our thoughts and intentions to Him, and we can consult Him and ask Him for confirmation.
The Holy Spirit is really the representative of God on earth for Christians, while Christians are the representatives or ambassadors of God and of Jesus Christ on earth for unbelievers.
The Gospel of John begins by saying that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
About wisdom it says that she was conceived in the beginning and was present at the creation of the earth. (Proverbs 8:22-31)
It is my personal conviction that both texts are about the Lord Jesus.
The Bible tells us in Philippians 2:6-7 that the Lord Jesus, being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant. His mother, the virgin Mary, had conceived by the Holy Spirit.
After announcing the Kingdom of God for a time, the Lord Jesus died on the cross at Calvary. The Bible says that one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. (John 19:34)
Now you should know that the Word establishes that there is no remission of sins without the shedding of blood. (Hebrews 9:22)
In the Old Testament, the Law established for the Jews the need to bring an animal whose blood was shed to be reconciled with God.
For us in this time of the New Testament, the sacrifice of the Spotless Lamb serves us. If we believe in the Lord Jesus, if we believe in our hearts that He rose again, and if we also begin a new life, then we can apply the blood of Jesus to be reconciled with God.
When we use our mathematical and logical minds and it comes to the creation of the earth by God, some suddenly wonder where God came from.
Who created God?
And if there was another god or whatever that created God, where would this other god have come from?
It is the old question of what came first, the chicken or the egg.
We must understand that there are some things that in our present time will remain as mysteries.
If we have had some personal experience that made us believe in God without doubting His existence, and if we decide to believe in everything that the Bible says, then we must accept that we are ignorant of certain things, including what was the true origin of everything.
Some scientists propose the Big Bang theory. An explosion at the beginning of time of infinite energy concentrated in a single point, which gave rise to an ever-growing expansion, within which the earth came into existence, on which evolution led to the formation of man and all other living beings, plants, etc.
Well, to believe this theory you also have to exercise faith, because there is no conclusive evidence for it.
So as a Christian I prefer to believe in the existence of God without knowing where he came from, rather than believing in a Big Bang without God.
Bart De Wolf