Creation itself speaks of God’s existence and His power. There is enough evidence to make us accountable to seek Him, but we must look to the Scripture to truly know Him.
Paul, addressing a pagan audience in Acts 17:22-28 points to the general revelation and then proclaims the specific application.
“Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, “For we are also His offspring.”’”
Acts 17:22-28 NKJV
Let me share with you some key words—theological terms you should know.
The first is IMMANENCE—God is fully present in His creation. Wherever He is, all that He is as God is fully present. Yet, He is not some mere Star Wars “Force.” God is the source and sustainer of all matter, yet He is not composed of matter. Deism sees God as distinct from creation and detached from it. God’s immanence means He is directly involved in His creation.
The next word is TRANSCENDENCE—Though fully present in His creation, God is wholly independent of His creation. Pantheism sees God as part of the creation—that He is in the water, the trees, and so forth.
Next, consider God’s PROVIDENCE—God is actively directing His creation. God rules and overrules all that occurs, directing everything in every time to the fulfillment of His perfect will. the hymn writer, Isaac Watts wrote: “Within Thy circling power I stand; On every side I find Thy hand; Awake, asleep, at home, abroad; I am surrounded still with God.”
Finally, there is SUSTENANCE—God is continually preserving His creation. “For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” (2 Pet.3:5-7). Without God’s omnipresent grip, all things would fly apart.
Find comfort today that, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” Such a profound truth in a simple childhood tune!
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