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Even if we knew about God through nature, realized that He exists
because we have inner knowledge of Him, and have read about Him in
the Bible, those factors alone would not give us a complete
revelation of God. To know God as completely as possible, we need to
be able to see Him as He interacts with mankind. We need to see that
He can fulfill the predictions of the Old Testament prophets. This
can happen only when we see God as He is revealed in Christ.
Although we often think of it this way, the
revelation of God through Christ did not have its beginning in a
Bethlehem manger. In the Bible, Jesus is identified as the Creator of
all things (John 1:1-3). Therefore, He is more than an important
Jewish baby lying in a Judean stable. He is the One who originated
all the evidences for God that can be found in creation, conscience,
and communication.
Also, as Jesus lived his 33-year earthly life.
He revealed the personality and character of God to man. Jesus said
that to look at Him was to see the Father (John 14:9) . In addition,
the apostle John declared, "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).
One passage indicating that God specifically
revealed Himself to mankind through Christ is found at the beginning
of Hebrews: God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in
time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days
spoken to us by His Son (Hebrews 1:1,2).
The main way, then, that God has revealed
Himself to mankind is through the coming of Christ to earth. Jesus is
the flesh-and-blood proof that there is a God. In fact, Jesus' coming
into the world as a member of humanity was the ultimate revelation of
God because Jesus Christ is God.
In Romans 9:5, Paul said, "Christ came,
who is over all, the eternally blessed God." John, writing in
his first letter, made this claim: "And we know that the Son of
God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him
who is true: and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ.
This is the true God and eternal life" (5:20). And in Hebrews
1:8, the Father says to the Son, "Your throne, O God, is forever
and ever."
Yes, the One who walked the dusty roads of
Galilee healing the sick, raising the dead, and teaching kingdom
truth was God incarnate. When He spoke, it was God speaking, when He
acted, it was God in action. The Bible identifies itself as the
written Word and Christ is called the living Word of God (John
1:1-14). Consider what it means that Christ is the ultimate
revelation of God. If you want to know God's response to those in deep
physical need, look to Jesus as He responded to the multitudes with
compassion. If you want to know God's attitude about legalism and
self-righteousness, look to Christ's relationship to the Pharisees.
If you want to know God's feelings toward the penitent, look to God's
Son as He forgave the truly changed of heart. If you want to know
God's relationship to those who believe in Him, look to Jesus in His
tender leading of His disciples.
Therefore, if you want to know God, look to
Jesus Christ. It is only through Jesus' coming in the flesh that a
way was opened for those of us living on this side of the Old
Testament to become acquainted with God.
Curtis
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