The First Cause--God
Search for Revelation
Revelation Recorded in the Bible

The First Cause--GOD

In reflecting upon the world and universe, man frequently asks, "Who made the world?" "Why was it made?" Many who have asked these questions have entered into a thought process that can lead to an answer. They have thought about the universe or an isolated event or part of it and sought to explain it in terms of earlier events or objects. If this could be repeated often enough, it would lead to a string of previous events or objects and their causes that reach back in time to a first Cause, a Cause not preceded by an earlier one. This first Cause, which was before the universe existed, must have the power of being within Himself, because He had no cause. This first cause we call God, which has been described as "In the beginning God" (Gen. 1:1), "Even from everlasting to everlasting . . . God" (Ps. 90:2), and "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands" (Heb. 1:10). The nonexistence of this first Cause is inconceivable, because without it there would be no world. And it would be absurd to think the universe has been going on forever. The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy in increasing, that is, energy is degrading--the universe could not have been going on forever.

These thoughts are easy to understand, forcible, and conclusive. In simple words they argue from what we all know--something cannot come from nothing. Since we know things exist, there has to be a first cause, which we call God.

Another argument for God's existence is that of design and order--the purpose and harmony we see present in the world. These imply the existence of a great intelligence behind the world, that is, a Great Designer. This Designer would need to exist apart from the universe, and would need an inconceivably great knowledge. He would have to be the Being we call God.

Search for Revelation

Man throughout history has searched for God and has argued, discussed, and philosophized about the Supreme Being. This has led to a multitude of explanations. If one studies these, he will soon realize that man can never understand God through his own reasoning. To know God and what He does must come from a source outside of one's own thoughts--God must supernaturally reveal Himself to mankind.

God has revealed Himself in two ways. The first is natural revelation, which comes from nature. Examples of this are the cause and effect, and the design and purpose arguments that point to a First Cause and a Great Designer.

This type of revelation can only give partial knowledge of the attributes of God. For instance, since the First Cause existed before the universe, God must be self-existing and eternal. The immensity of the universe shows God's unlimited greatness and powerfulness. The simplicity and yet intricacy of material and energy points to God's unlimited knowledge. All these show the glory of God.

There is little need to dwell on what can be learned from natural revelation since it is limited and imperfect and can tell little of God's purpose in creating the world or of His moral character. But this aspect of revelation is still valuable because it reveals enough of the nature of God that men want to seek revelation from Him.

To seek to know God is a proper thing to do if the search centers on finding whether God has revealed Himself, and if He has, where this revelation is found. It is reasonable and probable to expect that God would reveal Himself to man. It is unlikely God would have created such a wonderful universe without revealing the Who and Why behind it.

The purpose of this section is to introduce the reader to what God has revealed of Himself in a second way, known as special revelation. This revelation has occurred through direct communication from God and His working through historical events directed to Abraham, Moses, and the other Old Testament prophets, and supremely through His Son, Jesus Christ, and His apostles. This is supernatural revelation because its source is God. This type of revelation given by God's messengers is called special revelation to distinguish it from natural revelation. Special revelation is limited to those who receive it, and their record of it, and it is more detailed and specific than natural revelation. According to Christian teachings, special revelation is recorded in the Bible--the Scripture of the Christian religion.

No one is asked to believe the Bible is God's revelation without evidence that it is factual and true. No one is asked to accept this by "faith" only. Faith is a central Christian teaching, but this does not mean Christianity must be believed without evidence or reason. One aspect of Faith is the persuasion and conviction of the truthfulness of Christianity, but this does not mean Christianity is not based on factual evidence. There is adequate evidence that God has revealed Himself through special revelation.

Revelation Recorded in the Bible

First, let us make some introductory comments about the Bible for the benefit of the readers who may be unfamiliar with the Bible's message. These comments should not be considered the starting point of the evidence that will be presented to show that the Bible is God's revelation. They are glances of the Bible taken from the concluding position of this book.

The Bible teaches that when God revealed Himself to man, He did it through historical events. He intervened in history and used men to time to record His revelation. This revelation was progressive, which means His will was revealed gradually to man. He did not reveal complete knowledge of Himself all at once. The record of God's earliest revelation is the first five books of the Old Testament known as the "Pentateuch" (which means the "five scrolls"), written by Moses. These books cover the period from the creation and the fall of man (his disobedience to God and the results) to the call of Abraham to set aside the people of Israel, through whom He revealed His will and plan of redemption to first, and then to all men. This revelation to the people of Israel is recorded in the Old Testament, which is composed of thirty-nine books, written from about 1850 to 400 B. C.

God's revelation to man climaxed in God's sending His Son Jesus Christ to deliver the human race from their sins, and to give a final revelation of God's will. We have a record of Jesus' life, teaching, and ministry in the first four books of the New Testament, the Gospels. The New Testament was written during the period from approximately A. D. 50 to 100 by Jesus Christ's apostles or their close associates.

The term apostle in Greek means "one who is sent forth as an authorized representative of the sender." Its meaning is close to the English words "ambassador" and "messenger." The apostles were commissioned to preach (Matthew 10; Mk. 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16) and to be His witnesses (Luke 24:48-49; John 15:27; Acts 1:8). This involved making the Word of God known (Col. 1:25; Rom. 16:25-26; I Corinthians 14:37; I Thessalonians 2:13, etc.). To insure their message was accurate, the Holy Spirit guided the authors in this task (John 14:25-26; 16:12-15; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 3:3-5; I Corinthians 2:10-13).

The Old and New Testaments together form the Bible, a term that comes from the Greek word biblia, which means "books." This plural term biblia was used because the Bible is a collection of 66 books. During church history the term Books became the singular Book, or the Bible. This singular designation shows its main purpose is one, to reveal God and His Son Jesus Christ to mankind. The existance of such a special book to record revelation should be expected since writing is the best way to convey truth. A book can be studied individually or in groups. It can preserve and present anew to each generation a record of God's revelation. This fact is widely attested, since books are the standard method men use today to convey their ideas.

Firstly, God could have revealed Himself directly to each individual instead of through writings. But unless He had forced His revelation into the mind, man would likely have rejected it because it could not be objectively evaluated. Secondly, individuals could claim they received revelation for any ideas they wished to present, and there would be no way to verify their claim. They could claim that any thought coming into their minds was from God, even if it contradicted other revelations supposedly received by other men, creating great confusion. Thus God used a method of recording His revelation that would be fixed and available to all, and could be supported by factual evidence. What are some of the facts that show God revealed Himself in the Bible?

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Copyright 1991 by Leland M. Haines, Northville, MI 48167-2053

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