ODJ Focus Article

Question :
Recently I spoke to a friend from Germany, and he asked me how we know that Jesus and God exist and how we get this information and from whom? Because the Bible was written by prophets, how did they get this information about Jesus and God? 
- Kofi -

Answer :
We can know that God exists because God Himself told us so. God has revealed Himself to the world.

Firstly, God has revealed Himself through the universe He created. Our complex universe and the intricacies of our earth tell us that God exists. David, one  of the writers of a song in the Bible speaks of this : "The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak, night after night they make him known" (Psalm 19:1-2). The apostle Paul, another writer of the Bible, says the physical world we live in tells us that there is a God and that we can know Him. "They [that is, all human beings] know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything GOd made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God" (Romans 1:19-20).

Secondly, we know that God exists because He has told us about Himself. He has revealed to us who He is, what He is like and what He wants us to do in the Bible. In speaking of the origin and the authority of the Bible, Paul says that "All Scripture is inspired by God" (2 Timothy 3:16), literally meaning that the Bible is "God-breathed" or the words that come "from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4) The 40 human authors of the Bible clearly acknowledged that what they wrote were "the Lord´s instructions" (Exodus 24:3-4, 34:27; Jeremiah 30:1-2; Hosea 1:1; Joel 1:1; Haggai 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:1). They put into words what God revealed to them (2 Peter 1:21). The Bible is God´s Word, God speaking to us.

Thirdly, we know God exists because He has shown Himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ. John, who wrote the gospel that bears his name, says that God Himself "became human and made his home among us" (John 1:14). Jesus, "who is himself God... revealed God to us" (v.18). Jesus told His disciples, "Anyone who has seen me has seen [God]!" (14:9).

There is a God. And He has told us about Himself because He wants us to know Him personally. He is Immanuel, which means "God is with us" (Matthew 1:23).

You may want to read more about God in the following online booklets :

http://discoveryseries.org/ten-reasons/in-the-existence-of-god/

http://discoveryseries.org/ten-reasons/in-the-bible

- K.T. Sim -