Johann Quisumbing

Salvation Series by JQuisumbing

In my last article, FAITH IN THE INVISIBLE, we covered how to put faith in God who is invisible. Based on Romans 1:18-20, God’s eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, especially when you look with humbling eyes.

However, creation can only reveal that it was made by a great being with power beyond imagining. But who He truly is, early mankind had forgotten and they came up with their own ideas.

Consider the native tribes of both North and South America. Before the advent of Christianity, they believed in an all powerful great spirit of some sort. In ancient times, Greek, Norse beliefs as well as other European religions based the identities of their many deities from what they observed in nature. A good example is the Norse god Thor, the god of thunder, who was first named so by the ancients to explain away a violent thunderstorm.

Practically every culture in the world interpreted attributes of their respected deity derived from their observation of nature. But their interpretations varied so much, how were human beings to distinguish the true God? Fortunately, God did not leave it up to just our own interpretation of creation as the source of His true character. He made sure that we got His word… His written word.

The Bible 

Wikipedia would say that the Bible is a collection of sacred texts or scriptures. It is the account of God’s action in the world, and his purpose with all creation. And it’s considered to be a product of divine inspiration and a record of the relationship between God and humans.

Frankly, I prefer the Apostle Paul’s words in his letter to Timothy, who was special to him. 

From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:15-17)

What is God-breathed? 

I could give you the readily handy definition provided by Pastors and scholars alike which is ‘inspired by God’. But I always believed that when it comes to truly knowing and understanding our God better, we (by ourselves) must dig deeper! 

Fortunately, I didn’t have to dig that far. When doing a Bible word-search on ‘breathed’, the first verse on a list of references that came up was this.

Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

What is the connection? Think about it. The word, ‘breathed’, is first found in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, when the Lord God blew the breath of life into the lungs of Adam, the first human being to come alive. And I dare say, come alive so inspired that every animal that the Lord brought before him, he gave each their biological classification. Then when Eve was presented to him, the poet in him was awakened.

And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” (Genesis 2:23)

So, when it was written that All Scripture is God-breathed, it means that the words of the Bible are brought to you by God, the sole Giver of Life. 

How do I defend this? I don’t have to. Look at its history.

The Christian Bible consists of 66 different small books, written over a period of up to 1,500 years, by more than 40 writers from different times and cultures. What is the significance? When you read it, you’ll discover that it carries the same theme, like it was all written by one mind. 

From my own experience, the Bible had and still does bring life into me. When I meditate in His word, my mind soars in the wind like a bird freed from its cage. You can well understand my joy in this, since I am paralyzed and bedridden for the rest of my mortal existence. God’s inspiration has caused me to be a writer, which is a big surprise for I never thought I could be one. And the things that I have been writing about, I can only give credit to the Lord. 

Is God the Author? Let me offer this observation.

Chapter 1 of Genesis is a depiction of the creation of the universe and it was written by Moses. The chapter may only be about 750 plus words and written in a poetic/prose style, but yet it uncannily describes how the universe and our planet came to be. In fact, in just the first 3 verses, it parallels what scientists theorized as the Big Bang. The science of this had only been discovered in the last 200 years or so. So, how was it that Moses, who did not have the benefits of the technology today, was able to write about it especially since he was never there? Unless, the One who was there, spoke of it to him.  

In the Bible are many things that no man could ever conjure up. But don’t take my word for it. How about from someone from the first century?

There is much more I could add here but I leave it up to you to Google it. 

As the Bible is God-breathed (that is, written by men who were inspired by Him), it stands to reason that God had intended it to be read/heard by all of us so that we may believe.

Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

But this is just a starting point. Reading or Listening to the Bible by itself does not equal FAITH. The process is not complete.

The Process of Faith

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. (James 1:22-24)

This is a picture of a person who just doesn’t care in life. I was reminded when I was a rebellious youngster, the phrase commonly used was… ‘In one ear. Out the other.’ I thank the Lord that when the time came for me to make that crucial choice to follow God, I was not hampered by such a destructive attitude. In fact, the more I practiced being a doer of His Word, the more He blessed me.

But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:25)

By the way, my greatest blessing is knowing Him even more and more. And may I never tire.

If you recall, I cited 3 ways for you to get to know God who is invisible. We talked about the first two: 

1. God can be seen in His Creation
2. God can be known through the Bible

Today, there are places in the world where the Bible has been banned. But the Lord is not deterred. Here is the third way.

God can be known by the Testimonies of Believers

In the beginning of the book of Hebrews, the author had given us the image that God had first spoken to the ancient Hebrews through many prophets who ultimately wrote the Old Testament of the Bible. The main theme of the Old Testament was to prophetically point to God’s promised Redeemer. Enter Jesus Christ who is God in human form… visible to people. His incredible act and testimony was chronicled in the New Testament of the Bible. From the time Jesus ascended into Heaven, He had set into motion an era of grace that is still going on up until today. How?

On the day of Pentecost, He first set His Spirit to indwell the Apostles and a group of a hundred and twenty believers. Then He sent them out unto the world to share God’s love to people. When people looked at these believers, what they saw was God’s love.

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:12)

As they saw God’s love perfected in believers, they too wanted it and believed. For the past 2000 years, since Jesus walked the Earth, millions upon millions have believed.

You have heard the saying that ‘faith is seeing’, well, I pray for your sake that you would truly open your eyes, for God is not so invisible as many claim. The truth is right before your eyes if you are willing to see.

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Well, wherever you are right now, know that God is listening for you. Talk to Him with no delay and express your faith in Jesus Christ and receive Him into your heart as your Lord and Savior. You only have to pray the prayer below once, but with sincerity, because when He enters your life, He will never leave you.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you so much for loving me. I confess that I am a sinner worthy of eternal punishment. Thank you for dying on the cross to pay for all of my sins. With your help, I am turning away from all my sins. Today, I put my trust in you as my Lord and Savior and I receive you into my heart. Thank you for forgiving my sins and for coming into my heart. I accept your free gift of eternal life. Thank you that one day, I will go home to be with you in heaven. From this day on, I will follow and obey you. Amen.*

* Note: It is not the prayer that saves us but faith in Christ. The prayer is a way to express belief.