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We serve the living God
We "serve the living and true God" (1 Thessalonians 1:9), "the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them" (Acts 14:15).
Life is found only on earth. In the dark middle ages, atheistic alchemists believed in the spontaneous generation of life. Pasteur disproved their theory, and one of the basic scientific principles of modern biology is that all life comes from life.
The theory of evolution, by the way, is simply a new form of the old alchemist theory, which pushes the supposed spontaneous generation of life back in time beyond the reach of empirical research. Darwin developed his theory a few years after Pasteur proved the old form to be false.
The empirical scientific evidence is unanimous: life comes from life. Which proposition then is more plausible: that life originally came from dead matter or from a living source?
No explanation is more plausible than the Biblical explanation. The living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, is the origin of life on earth. "Then God said, 'Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures' ... So God created ... every living thing that moves" (Genesis 1:20,21). "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7).
The living God is the origin of human life. "God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27).
We do not bow down before a marble statue, a lifeless image that cannot see, hear, feel or think. Nor do we worship nature or man. We worship the true and living God who created us, who watches over us, who loves us, who hears our prayers, and who intervenes.
"The Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to endure His indignation" (Jeremiah 10:10).
After Daniel was saved from the lions, the Persian king, Darius, wrote: "To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions" (Daniel 6:25-27).
The living God has spoken to man.
When the old covenant was given, the people "heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire" (Deuteronomy 5:26).
When Jesus came as Savior of the world, the voice of God was heard: "And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased'" (Matthew 3:17). Peter, James and John heard the voice of God when Jesus was transfigured. "Behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!'" (Matthew 17:5).
Peter testifies in his second letter: "We did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:16-21).
The living God has spoken to man. The message is preserved in prophetic writings. Private interpretation of Scripture is not allowed because God's word has a fixed meaning that man can understand. Jeremiah warned the people: "You have perverted the words of the living God" (Jeremiah 23:36). God tells them, "Therefore behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you and forsake you" (Jeremiah 23:39). If we refuse to listen to the living God why should He listen to us?
Peter speaks of untaught and unstable people who twist the Scriptures to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). We may not pervert or twist the words of the living God. We bow our heads when we talk to God in prayer. We should be even more reverent when God talks to us, when the holy Scriptures are being read.
We will be judged by the living word. "The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:12,13).
The living God has revealed Himself in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him" (John 1:18). The confession of Peter is the confession of all Christians: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). "We have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (John 6:69).
Through Christ, both Jews and Gentiles can become "sons of the living God" (Romans 9:26 // Hosea 1:10). "We trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe" (1 Timothy 4:10). We do not "trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Timothy 6:17). The blood of Christ cleanses our "conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Hebrews 9:14).
This purification enables Christians to be "the temple of the living God" (2 Corinthians 6:16).
We are "in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).
We have "the seal of the living God" (Revelation 7:2). He has "sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee" (2 Corinthians 1:22). "You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise" (Ephesians 1:13). "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30).
We "have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven" (Hebrews 12:22,23).
We serve the living and true God, the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them. He created us in His own image and, like the Psalmist, we long for our Father. "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalm 42:2). "My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God" (Psalm 84:2).
Roy Davison
The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982,
Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982,
Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.
Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)
(http://www.oldpaths.com)