1Yahweh says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their armor, to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:
2“I will go before you
and make the rough places smooth.
I will break the doors of bronze in pieces
and cut apart the bars of iron.
3I will give you the treasures of darkness
and hidden riches of secret places,
that you may know that it is I, Yahweh, who calls you by your name,
even the God of Israel.
4For Jacob my servant’s sake,
and Israel my chosen,
I have called you by your name.
I have given you a title,
though you have not known me.
5I am Yahweh, and there is no one else.
Besides me, there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not known me,
6that they may know from the rising of the sun,
and from the west,
that there is no one besides me.
I am Yahweh, and there is no one else.
7I form the light
and create darkness.
I make peace
and create calamity.
I am Yahweh,
who does all these things.
8Rain, you heavens, from above,
and let the skies pour down righteousness.
Let the earth open, that it may produce salvation,
and let it cause righteousness to spring up with it.
I, Yahweh, have created it.
9Woe to him who strives with his Maker—
a clay pot among the clay pots of the earth!
Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, ‘What are you making?’
or your work, ‘He has no hands?’
10Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What have you become the father of?’
or to a mother, ‘What have you given birth to?’”
11Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel
and his Maker says:
“You ask me about the things that are to come, concerning my sons,
and you command me concerning the work of my hands!
12I have made the earth, and created man on it.
I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens.
I have commanded all their army.
13I have raised him up in righteousness,
and I will make all his ways straight.
He shall build my city,
and he shall let my exiles go free,
not for price nor reward,” says Yahweh of Armies.
14Yahweh says: “The labor of Egypt,
and the merchandise of Ethiopia,
and the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you,
and they will be yours.
They will go after you.
They shall come over in chains.
They will bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you:
‘Surely God is in you; and there is no one else.
There is no other god.
15Most certainly you are a God who has hidden yourself,
God of Israel, the Savior.’”
16They will be disappointed,
yes, confounded, all of them.
Those who are makers of idols will go into confusion together.
17Israel will be saved by Yahweh with an everlasting salvation.
You will not be disappointed nor confounded to ages everlasting.
18For Yahweh who created the heavens,
the God who formed the earth and made it,
who established it and didn’t create it a waste,
who formed it to be inhabited says:
“I am Yahweh.
There is no other.
19I have not spoken in secret,
in a place of the land of darkness.
I didn’t say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’
I, Yahweh, speak righteousness.
I declare things that are right.
20“Assemble yourselves and come.
Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations.
Those have no knowledge who carry the wood of their engraved image,
and pray to a god that can’t save.
21Declare and present it.
Yes, let them take counsel together.
Who has shown this from ancient time?
Who has declared it of old?
Haven’t I, Yahweh?
There is no other God besides me, a just God and a Savior.
There is no one besides me.
22“Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
23I have sworn by myself.
The word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and will not be revoked,
that to me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall take an oath.
24They will say of me,
‘There is righteousness and strength only in Yahweh.’”
Even to him will men come.
All those who raged against him will be disappointed.
25All the offspring of Israel will be justified in Yahweh,
and will rejoice!
The Existence of God (Declared in Creation)
Pillars of Creation
The Existence of God
The Bible begins with the words, “In the beginning God…” (Gen 1:1). In this way, the Bible assumes the existence of God.
Lesson
Theologians throughout history have defended the existence of God. These arguments range from proving the general idea of God, to showing why the Bible portrays the one true God. Thomas Aquinas is perhaps the greatest apologist for the existence of God. He argued that everything that happens has a cause, but there cannot be an infinite number of causes. Therefore, there must be what he called an “uncaused cause.” This uncaused cause must be God.1 Other theologians, like Augustine and John Calvin, argued that God’s existence is proven by the fact that nearly all people can conceive of God, though sin clouds this idea with wrong perceptions.2 Still others, like Immanuel Kant, said that the existence of morality among all people proves the existence of God.3 Since morality is not always rewarded in this life, there must be a source of morality beyond this life, namely, God.
Key Verses
The Bible, as we said above, assumes the existence of God. Therefore the Bible’s purpose is not to prove God’s existence. However, this does not mean the Bible does not provide many reasons to believe in God. In fact, it says that those who do not believe in God are foolish.
David said, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” He says those who deny God are corrupt, and have turned aside from Him.
Isaiah claimed that God created the heavens and the earth, and did not create it “empty” or “in waste” but “to be inhabited.” This is called a teleological argument for God’s existence.4 With the benefit of modern technology, we are just now beginning to understand the amazing order of the universe. Thousands of years ago Isaiah understood that the earth was made to sustain life. We now know that there are an almost infinite number of factors essential for life on earth alone. If any one of these were slightly different, no life would be possible here.5 All this order could not have happened by chance. There must have been a creator who was both intelligent and powerful enough to know exactly how to create the perfect conditions needed for life.
Conclusion
There are many ways to argue for the existence of God. God must exist because an “uncaused cause” must exist. The presence of the idea of deity demonstrates that God exists. The fact that all people have a sense of morality, a sense that is not always beneficial, means that there must be a giver of that morality. The order of the universe points to a creator of that order.
Reflection/Prayer/Thoughts/Applications
Often conversations about Christianity begin with a discussion about the existence of God. How would you defend God’s existence to someone who does not believe in Him?