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The Invisible Almighty God

The Invisible Almighty God
Author: Wilson Suwanto
Posted on: 2015-03-28 05:07:30
   

Everyone is born with the sense of God. You don’t have to see God, and you don’t have to be told that there is a God. The knowledge of God is clear from the conscience and the creation. There is a universal sense of right and wrong, which points to the existence of God as the Lawgiver. Every fabric of the created world bears witness to God as the Creator. By this logic, everybody should believe in the true God, and there shouldn’t be any debate about it. But we know that it’s not the case.

The world that we live in is a fallen world. Adam and Eve have sinned, and since that time, everything has been corrupted and perverted by sin, including the sense of God. What is clear becomes unclear because sin darkens our mind and blinds our conscience. Instead of worshipping to one true God, the Maker of the universe, human beings worship false gods. Instead of believing in God who created human, we make our own gods.

During the Old Testament time, every nation has its gods. Some nations worship fish, others worship cow, while others worship the sun. Whatever they worship, those gods are visible. You can see and touch them. You can see the sun, the statues of cow or fish, the image of the moon, etc. They are proud about this, and they can show this off to other nations, especially to Israel.

In Psalm 115.2, other nations mockingly ask Israel, “Where is their God?” The question implies that Israel doesn’t have God because they have no statue of their God. Other nations claim they have gods because they have the statues. They believe what they see, while Israel believes what they don’t see. This is the battle of faith versus sight.

As Christians, we believe God whom we don’t see. Peter writes that although Christians don’t see Jesus, yet they believe and love Him (1 Pet. 1.8). In fact, what is visible is temporary, and what is invisible is eternal. Our God is invisible because He is Spirit and eternal. The so-called gods are not really gods. They are just statues made by human hands. Psalm 115 plainly states that they have eyes but can’t see, mouths but can’t speak, ears but can’t hear, etc. They are made from gold and silver. They are human-made. How can they be gods and higher than human who make them?

In the past, people worshipped sun, moon, trees, lightning, sea, etc. They also worshipped statues and images. They did that because that was what they could see and touch. Being born in sin, they refused to give glory and worship the invisible Creator.

With the advance of science, not many people worship sun, moon, or stars. Few believe that statues can be of any help. But still, we are born in sins, and even with the progress of science, our heart is still the factory of idols. Today, we worship science, technology, and economy. We still cling to what is visible. We worship science because it produces visible results in lab. We worship technology because we can grab them in our hands. We worship economy because we can read and count numbers in our bank account.

In response to the mocking question about our God, the answer is firm: Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases (Ps. 115.3). Our God, the only true God, transcends space and time. As sinful creatures, we refuse to believe in that kind of God. We choose to worship things that we can see within the dimension of space and time. Yet, our God is in the heavens, says Psalm 115.

God forbids statues of Him because it “limits” Him, and misleads the people. God is invisible because He is great and surpasses the limit of space and time. If He is visible, just like the statues of gods, then He is not really the almighty God.

Although invisible, God does all that He pleases. In fact, He does everything that we are seeing in the world. Since God is all-powerful and all-present, nothing happens without His permission. He is sovereign and in full control of His created world. Creation is bound by time and space, and therefore, it is not eternal. One day, the people whom you are seeing, will disappear from earth. The things that you are seeing and enjoying now, will be gone. Can you find a typewriter around you? Not easy, isn’t it? Can you find them in Walmart or Costco? No, you can’t.

God is invisible because He is God and eternal. He is the Ultimate Reality. Nothing is as real as God, and yet many people consider Him unreal. As we see above, nothing lasts forever, and yet we consider them real. Deep down, there is a voice that warns us about the inevitable and invisible God who is more real than anything we consider real. In our sinful nature, we exchange the reality of the invisible God for the temporary and soon-to-disappear things.

We don’t see God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. Yet, our sense of comfort and dependence should come from trusting in Him, and not in anything else. When we believe and acknowledge God as the true and eternal God, we can have true comfort and peace. This is where faith comes. Faith believes and sees what is unseen (Heb. 11.1).

Faith faces challenges daily. We are visual creatures, and we rely on our eyes for our survival. Many times we hear stories of people who become atheists simply because they give up the belief in the invisible God. It’s too unreal and mythical, they claim. Science makes things simpler and makes more sense. You can see science in operation in classroom, lab, hospital, etc. That’s real and that’s what counts.

It’s sad to see people deny the existence of God because they don’t see Him. They can’t even admit that they will pass away, along with the things they see. They don’t realize their own temporariness. But God will not pass away. God is always there and will always be there. Those who don’t believe in Him, or who deny His existence must give an answer to Him. It will be a frightening day for them.

We believe in the existence of the invisible almighty God because that God has revealed Himself to the world. He came in the person of Jesus Christ. God is willing to put Himself within the limit of space and time so that He can show us that He is the Way. Finding the invisible and true God is not hard anymore because He has come and found us.

Jesus only lived for 33 years, and then went back to heaven. None of us has ever seen Him, but we have eyewitnesses during His earthly ministry. All the reliable records about Him are contained in the Bible. The Bible is God’s special revelation of Himself to us. Reading and believing what the Bible says will bring us to the knowledge of the true and living God. Although we don’t see Him, we believe in Him because the Bible tells us so. The Bible is simply God’s word.

As believers, we will continue to face the mockery and ridicule from those who don’t believe in Christ. In fact, we will be looked down by those who invoke science to reject God and His word. Psalm 115.9 tells us to continue to trust in the Lord. God is the living and true God, and those who trust in Him will live with Him forever.

While we enjoy the benefit of science, technology, economy, and other advances in human study, we should never forget that everything comes from God. This is the missing link in the world today. We are more comfortable, live longer, smarter, and faster, but we continue to lose meaning and purpose. We are seeing a record number of suicides and other self-destructive behaviors. We are seeing the multiplication of vices and crimes. The world becomes less safe for human.

We have to tell the world that God is the missing link between their technology and their life’s meaning. Without God, there is no meaning and purpose. We have to keep inventing things to solve new problems that appear from a new product that’s supposed to solve certain problems. Without God, it will be endless and pointless.

We have to tell ourselves daily that God is the most important. Despite being invisible, God is the most visible need that we have. Say no to idolatry. Don’t replace Him with anything that we think can bring comfort. Read His word and pray. When we are tempted to doubt Him, ask Him for strength to believe and trust in Him.

The good news is this: since God is invisible, He is not limited by time and space. He has unlimited resources at His disposal to help us. That’s why we must come to Him as often as possible to receive grace and strength. Hebrews 4.16 encourages us to draw near to the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive help from Him. Again, don’t let idols take place in our hearts because they suck our spiritual vigor and resources. Come to the invisible and eternal God, the only true God. We will be refreshed and renewed to keep the faith until the finish line.

If we believe Him whom we don’t see, we will see Him whom we believe. We are looking forward to that Day, the Day of the Revealing of our Lord and Savior.