The True God
The nature of God is defined by the Lord Jesus Christ in the words: 'God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.'(John 4.24). He is inherently immortal, 'the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God.'(1Timothy 1.17). He dwells personally in heaven, as it is written, 'The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool'. ( Isaiah 66.1). The same truth is expressed in the opening words of the Lord's prayer, 'Our Father which art in heaven'. (Matthew 6.9). Not only do these words show that God has a located existence somewhere in the Universe, but they show the relationship between Him and man. In the full sense, man is incapable of understanding what God is, but the relationship of father and son can be grasped by all. It is a sublime, intelligible, and comforting conception of God that He is a loving eternal heavenly Father in whom man can put his trust.
The former Bishop of Woolwich, and all who agree with him, deny this Bible teaching. They blasphemously and cynically parody it as the old-fashioned view that God is 'the Old Man of the skies', sitting upon a throne, and indiscriminately dispensing favours to all and sundry. John Robinson led his congregation on Sundays in repeating the Lord's prayer, 'Our Father which art in heaven', but in fact he neither believed that He dwelt in heaven, nor that He had any personal reality. What hypocritical depths are disclosed by this atheistic attitude! Far more honest would it be for such religious professors to renounce Christianity altogether, and join up with the Freethinkers. As opposed to these faith-destroying, materialistic speculations of the infidel, the Psalmist's words are brimming over with truth, light and comfort: 'Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him'. (Psalm103.13).
The reality and personal existence of God can be demonstrated by reference to many Scriptural allusions. The glorified Christ is said to be 'the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person'. (Hebrews 1.3). The opening chapter of the Bible describes the creation of man in these words, 'God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness', (Genesis 1.26), and James reiterates the truth in his epistle, man is 'made after the similitude of God'. (James 3.9). Though personally located in heaven, God is everywhere present by His spirit: 'Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there'. (Psalm 139.7,8). He knows and probes the innermost recesses of every human heart. His ears are ever open to hear the needy's humble prayer, and He 'is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy'. (Psalm 103.8). His incomparable greatness is described by the prophet in a series of questions: 'Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? . . . Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance'. (Isaiah 40.12,15).
These are the attributes of the great eternal God, under whose wings mankind is invited to trust: 'Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else'. (Isaiah 42.22). This gracious invitation is the product of the Father's overarching attribute of love. 'God is love'- a statement as simple as it is sublime. The underlying principle of all God's creative work is love. His purpose with the earth will not be consummated until love is perfected therein with the removal of every curse.