What Is God Like?
Our God-Concept
A.W. Tozer begins his book "Knowledge of the Holy" with
| "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. [...] That our idea of God correspond as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us. Compared with our actual thoughts about Him, our creedal statements are of little consequence. Our real idea of God may lie buried under the rubbish of conventional religious notions and may require an intelligent and vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is. Only after an ordeal of self-probing are we likely to discover what we actually believe about God." |
Everyone has A God-Concept, however poorly it represents Him. The Creator equipped each person with an imagination so we can form images of what we cannot see —primarily an image of Him. He forbade any man-made replica of God —it would defile the God-concept of any who saw it. However, He provided an image of Himself when at creation "He made man in His own image."
Why God Hides
God can be known and He wants to be known —otherwise, why would He show off for us as He has? To know Him is to comprehend ultimate reality —a life-changing experience. But God deliberately hides Himself from our physical senses because He wants us to know Him by faith —not by sight. God is a spirit, but just as real and knowable as any person we know in a physical body.
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Heb 11:6).
God's 3 Revelations
We can only form a true God-concept from His 3 revelations —the Creator's Word, His Work, and in His written Word we see the third revelation —His Son, Jesus Christ. We defile our God-concept anytime we embrace any idea that is inconsistent with these revelations. If we are careful to honor God's 3 revelations and submit to their authority in the order God places on them, He can know the true God. If we disregard His order of authority we will distort our God-concept and pervert our worship. Idolatry (false worship) draws serious warnings in Scripture.
Danger in Degrading Revelation
The respect for God's Word and Work that will build a true image of God and direct our worship to the One true God are shown in the blue row across the top. The most common mistreatments of God's Word and Work are listed in the first two columns. These cause the perversions of God's nature in the 3rd column and the strange gods to which our worship is directed in column 4. The black row across the bottom lists the total perversion dictated by atheism and evolution and the secular worldview.
Atheists believe Scripture is foolishness; Pagans ignore it; Liberals invalidate it by rejecting the plain meaning. Others nullify the authority of Scripture by treating Scripture as questionable, selectable, or inadequate. Conservatives were once known as those who used God's Word as the authority by which to judge all truth.
The Creator's Work
Evolutionists of every shade believe in some kind of deity. From pagans (whose god may be a wooden statue) to near-creationists (who haven't yet realized the hostility of evolution against the God of the Bible) practice idolatry. Only the all-wise, all-powerful, sovereign Creator whose words are inerrant and who created everything supernaturally is the true God.
The Creator's Nature
Fate is the god of the atheist. Pagans sacrifice to cruel god images consistent with the evolution they believe. We charge our Creator with at least one of the weaknesses listed in the third column when we borrow evolutionary devices to "prop-up" a supposedly deficient Biblical view.