Brothers and sisters, welcome to the first episode of The Faith of Contemporary Believers. This is a continuation of New Hearts, Fresh Beginning and Ancient Teachings for Modern Man written by Rev Caleb Su.

The focus of this series is our faith in Jesus Christ. We know God, the Creator; Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, whom we believe in, and the Holy Spirit who lives deep within our lives. Once we believe in Jesus Christ, we attend the church of God, and we need to know about the church (which we will explore in Lesson 4). And with the two significant sacraments of God through Jesus Christ, we continuously draw closer to God. The first sacrament is the holy baptism after we accepted Jesus Christ (which will be covered in Lesson 5); the second is the Holy Communion which we receive every month or in some churches, every week (which will be further discussed in Lesson 6).

We have experienced the amazing grace of God, and we hope to draw closer to Him every day. Therefore in Lesson 7, we will talk about spiritual devotion – how does one commune with God, always pray to Him and listen to His Words. The last lesson allows us to become a new creation through faith; the old has passed; behold, all things have become new. We have a distinct relationship with God, with people, the devil, the world, and sin. Once we have a clear understanding of God, ourselves, and the things around us, we will live practically and realistically. Today, let us talk about to know and to worship God the Creator.

Through the revelation of nature or the moral conscience of man, one speculates there is a God that exists but he does not know who God really is.

John Calvin, the founder of Presbyterianism, in his masterpiece Institutes of the Christian Religion, volume 1, clearly pointed out that the awareness of God is engraved on every human heart. He even quoted the words of the philosopher Marcus Cicero that, “no nation or tribe is so uncultured that it does not acknowledge some sort of deity.” An innate consciousness of God is natural. Modern Asians believe the existence of gods, however, we believe in too many gods. Being Chinese, we believe that there is god of the mountains, god of the rivers; deity of the land, monarch of the sea; jade emperor of the heavens, and for those who want to get rich, there is god of fortune.

If one only relies on the revelation of nature or moral conscience, one may speculate on the existence of God and yet, not know who He truly is. Just like in some instances we say, “that’s not possible.” For example, let’s consider the human body. We eat, food goes into our digestion system, after which it is excreted. In this process, food is converted into nutrients and blood transports these nutrients to different parts of our body where skin and hairs grow, and all of these organs maintain their functions. The whole process is very intricate and complex. This in and of itself is a mystery which is incomprehensible. How could this happen naturally?

Sometimes through observing nature, one can infer that there must be a God. However, he can only know that there is a God, but not know who God really is, let alone be able to communicate with God and know what He has done for us. Thus, getting to the bottom of knowing the Almighty God, we still need God’s revelation. The path of God’s revelation is through His Word, and the Word was written in the form of the Holy Bible; the Word became flesh, which is Jesus Christ who came into the world. When we truly know God, we will give Him the due worship and reverence.

Seeing all the natural things that surround us, one would reckon that there should be a God. But he does not know who God really is, let alone interact with God, and know what He has done for us. To know the Almighty God, we need God’s revelation. The path of God’s revelation is through His Word, and the Word is written in the Bible. The Word became flesh, which is Jesus Christ who came into the world. When we truly know God, we will give Him the worship and the reverence that He is due.

Who is God? What is your perception or definition of God?

Please put forward your definition or view according to your perception of God. Many people define God from a one-sided, incomplete or even an incorrect perspective. Some scholars have set some important ideas about God. For example, William Hordern said, “God represents the fundamental, the utmost, and the root of everything, the highest value, and the ultimate purpose and significance of life.” The Oxford English Dictionary states, “God is the object of supreme honour and worship; He is the Creator and Ruler of the universe.”

Let’s analyse these two definitions: who worships God and who does not? Firstly, it says clearly that God is the root and the fundamental of everything; He is the Creator, not a creature. Therefore, He is the origin of everything in the universe because all things are created by Him. Secondly, God is great and the greatest of all. Unlike human beings, He is an infinite being. Thirdly, God is the ultimate purpose and significance of life. In other words, God not only gives us life and the need to sustain, God is also the source of purpose and meaning in our lives. Life without God is like a dream - nothing related to ultimate eternity. And if so, life is worthless.

If I was to make a chair, the purpose and value of existence is not in the chair itself, but in the way that I gave it meaning when I made it. If the creation can accomplish what I have given, its existence will become meaningful and valuable. It is therefore pointless that today, people do not seek the Creator Lord for the existence of their purpose and meaning. We implore the Heavenly Father to seek the value and meaning of human existence because we are a being who seeks after this. We are not like animals, who eat, drink, going through the life cycle of birth, ageing, illness and death. We have a strong nature as a human. This human nature is the pursuit of eternity, the inquiry of meaning, and the search for value. And God is the Giver of purpose, meaning, and value to our existence.

Which gods are not God at all?

With a definition and understanding of God, we need discern which is God, and which is not. First, all created “gods” are not God, and keeping this in mind can help you to understand. It is wrong to idolize people and make them into gods. These definitely are not God, because God is not a title conferred upon man to become God. Just like my father, it is not because I call him father that makes him my father. God is your God, not because you confer a title upon Him that makes Him your God. God is the Creator, not a creation as if you made Him. If God can be conferred by you, aren’t you greater than Him? Therefore, it is clear – all that is created is not God.

Second, all “gods” with limitations are not gods. There is god of the heaven, monarch of the sea, and deity of the land. That means the deity of the land is limited with ruling over just the land, so as monarch of the sea could only rule over the sea, and the god of the rivers could only rule over the river. In other words, the ability of each god is limited. When the monarch of the sea reaches the land, he could not perform his function. Similarly, when the deity of the land reaches the sea, he could not incite troubles for he could only rule over the land. With limitations, none of these are God. So, when one says, “I have to worship many gods” that means one god is not powerful enough to bless or protect him. He needs many other gods as well to watch over him.

Third, the gods of the world are often associated with misfortune and blessings, financial resource and pleasure. These gods do not give eternal hope, value, purpose, and significance of life. Today, the reason people worship gods is to obtain peace, wealth, blessings upon their offspring, a life with a bed of roses and thriving towards the road of success. However, these gods do not provide hope for everlasting and eternal life, and they do not give the purpose and value of their own existence. Hence, these gods of the world are ultimate limited in what they can seem to provide because they are not the eternal God at all.

Therefore, when we talk about God, we must be rooted in clear understanding. According to the Bible, God is the eternal God and the everlasting Lord; and He is the Word became flesh that came to the world, and He is called Jesus Christ. He lives forever in our lives, and He is the Holy Spirit. The triune God is the object of our worship.

How does the concept of “God, the Maker of heaven and earth” relate to man and the world?

When the Bible refers to “God as the Maker of heaven and earth”, this brought about a new understanding of God to man and to the world. This differs from what we have known in the past. What does this indicate?

The Lord God is the only One and He is the Creator - all other things are created by Him and all that is created cannot be called the creator. Therefore, creationism tells us to know God. Which God? The One Lord God whom we need. Today, if you worship many gods, that means your god is not the creator because there is one Creator who created everything - not a god creates the earth, the other creates the sea and another creates forest and so on. Our God is infinite. Thus, He is the only One that is needed, and He is the One.

Since God is the Creator, inevitably He is not created. So, Pantheism is groundless (Pantheism refers to the theory that everything has divinity). My father engaged in the timber industry and deforestation. When I was a child, I went to the forest with him and his colleagues. When they arrived at the forest, they would worship the deity of the land, the god of the trees and so on because they perceived that there were gods surrounding the entire land. They worship because they did not want to offend any one of them. The concept of ‘everything has divinity’ is known as Pantheism.

However, the Christian faith states that God is the Creator. Created things cannot be called gods. There is saying in ancient China that ‘Pan Gu created the heaven and the earth’ and after Pan Gu died, one of his eyes became the sun and the other, became the moon. His hairs burgeoned into a lush forest, his blood became flowing waters and rivers, his bones turned into a variety of minerals… Friends, such a saying implies that Pan Gu’s divinity had transformed and become a part of the earth... that’s not our faith. We trust in the One true God who created all things. None of these creations is God and so, all things are not his incarnation – this is our faith.

Next week, we shall share with you how “the Maker and the Creator of heaven and earth” relates to us. Please stay tuned.