God has revealed Himself in many unwritten ways. Creation, design, and morality are only a few of many unwritten evidences for God. He has also revealed Himself through His Son, Jesus. This is the final question: What does God look like? If God came into our world, what would you expect Him to be like? Would you guess that He would be powerful and full of muscles? Perfect and loving? Would He be angry at all the evil that exists? Would people want to get close to Him? We don’t have to guess because God has entered our world and allowed people to see what He is like.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). Jesus is the eternal Word, present from the beginning, creating, designing, and giving life. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
Jesus Reveals the Creator
Jesus reveals the Creator to us. In Mark 4:37-41, Jesus calmed a great storm on the sea. The storm so violent that even experienced fishermen were terrified. Have you ever experienced a violent and frightening storm? Unfortunately, many have. In middle Tennessee, we experience occasional winter storms with falling trees and power outages. We also experience occasional tornados and wind damage. I’ve experienced tremors from earthquakes a few times when traveling in Central and South America. But never a storm on the sea. What was amazing was when the fishermen woke Jesus, He spoke to the storm, and it obeyed: Peace! Be still!
In the Cause Argument for the revelation of God, we ask questions about where time, space, matter, and energy came from. Genesis 1:1 showed us, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God spoke all things into existence: Let there be… When He spoke of light, there was light. When He spoke of an expanse, there was an expanse. This is amazing to us because we cannot fathom this authority. I’d like to go outside and tell the sun not to reach 98 degrees today so that my afternoon run will be more enjoyable. But, it is not going to obey my voice because I don’t have authority over the sun. But, here is Jesus – God, standing inside of His creation, and commanding it to Be still! The wind and the sea did not argue. Creation recognized the authority of the Creator. The Creator was in the boat.
Jesus Reveals the Designer
Jesus also reveals the Designer to us. In Mark 7:32-37, Jesus healed a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. Deaf people have most certainly used gestures to communicate for as long as deafness has existed. But this man’s problem was not merely communication. His hearing and speech were impaired, and Jesus knew exactly how to restore them.
In the Design Argument for the revelation of God, we see order and arrangement in the world and know there must be a Designer. The complexity of the human body is one of the most amazing examples of design. And communication provides a great illustration of this design. Ears receive sound, the brain functions as the computer that processes the sounds, and the mouth and tongue then produce responsive speech. This is a very well-designed group of systems working together.
For the man brought to Jesus in Mark 7, some of those systems were not functioning, and Jesus knew exactly how to help him. How? Because the Designer understands the design better than anyone. A few weeks back, the remote control to my television was not functioning correctly. It was having trouble communicating, and I was in trouble because I don’t know anything about remote signals, codes, or circuit boards. Before spending money to purchase a new one, I asked: Who would know how to best fix this brand of remote control? I decided I should begin with the company that designed and manufactured it. Sure enough, after referencing the user guide and punching a few buttons, communication with the television was reestablished. The same holds true with Jesus and the restoration of this man’s hearing and speech. The Designer can restore the design.
Jesus Reveals the Moral Lawgiver
Jesus also reveals the Moral Lawgiver to us. In Mark 2:1-12, Jesus healed a paralytic. There were so many people gathered to see Jesus that this man’s friends couldn’t get to the door to Jesus. And so, they lowered him down through the roof. Everyone expected Jesus to fix his legs. And Jesus did so, because the Designer can do that. But Jesus said: Son, your sins are forgiven. And then He healed the man. But some folks got upset because they understood the theological stakes: Who can forgive sins but God alone? Jesus deliberately made an invisible claim and then performed a visible miracle demonstrating that His claim to authority should be believed.
The Morality Argument points to a standard higher than human opinion. Jesus didn’t speak about forgiving sins as if it was an opinion. He didn’t say: In my opinion, I think, maybe your sins are forgiven. He spoke as the Moral Lawgiver, His Word was the standard, and He had the authority to forgive.
Recently, I presented this scenario and question to a group of boys: Suppose somebody stole $100 from an elderly woman’s purse. Can I walk up to the thief and say: Don’t worry about it. I forgive you? They were quick to tell me I didn’t have the authority because the $100 was not stolen from me, but from the elderly woman. The person who was wronged has the right to forgive the offense.
About 25 years ago was the last time I was pulled over for speeding. I was not paying attention, and the speed limit in between Spring Hill and Columbia, TN is 55, but I was going too fast. The officer gave me a ticket that carried a very expensive fine. I was worried because I was a poor college student. The court date arrived, and I went before the judge. To my surprise, he decided to have mercy on me. If I would pay court costs and attend a 4-hour driving class, he would forgive the fine. The idea is that the Lawgiver can forgive the lawbreaker. Jesus is God stepping into the world to reveal to us God’s desire for men to repent and be forgiven. God wants to be known. He has not hidden Himself from us. Creation points to the Creator. Design points to the Designer. Morality points to the Moral Lawgiver. Scripture tells us who He is and what He desires from us. But ultimately, God stepped into His creation and showed Himself to us in Jesus. We are not left to guess what God is like. We can look at Jesus. When we do, we see a God who has moved toward us so we can know Him. Now it is our turn to decide to meet Him.
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