The basic perspective of Christianity is the acknowledgment of God's existence, in order to understand the fundamental question of life and the universe. It is because Christianity sees the relationship between God and mankind including the universe as that of cause and effects. We have to know the cause of existence in order to know the facts of existence.
Accordingly, we shall have to understand the Creator--God's nature and His creation--in order to solve the most fundamental questions about men and the universe.
We are sure that at this chapter you will solve the question about the existence of God, and meet God, our Parent.
Who is God?
How does the Bible describe God?
Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there! If I take wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, "Let only darkness cover me, and the light about me be night," even the darkness is not dark to thee, the night is bright as the day; for darkness is as light with thee. (Ps. 139:7-12)
Truly, thou art a God who hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior. (Isa. 45:15)
How does this invisible God work in our lives, and how can we know the existence of God? Let us believe that He is manifested in the world of His creation!
Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Rom. 1:20)
Since God manifests Himself through nature, we can understand Him better by studying the characteristics of nature.
They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary; for when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, "See that you make everything according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain." (Heb. 8:5)
As in at the passage above, God's world of creation is the world of harmony and unification. Everything--tangible and intangible--has a reciprocal relationship.
Nature has this as its common characteristics. Nature is the creation of God, and God is showing His image symbolically through the nature. Thus, we can symbolically feel God through nature.
God who is dwelling in men
God reveals Himself not only in nature but also through men who resemble His image.
In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. (John 14:20)
No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known. (John 1:18)
It talks about the very God who is present in every single individual.
Then what is the relationship between God and human beings?
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Gen. 1:27)
Through this, we can see that the invisible God manifests Himself substantially through men, and that the relationship between God and men is like that of mind and body.
In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. (John 14:20)
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own. (I Cor. 6:19)
You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt. 5:48)
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? (I Cor. 3:16)
We can see that men are the second God and the temple of God. In other words, men are the children of God and God is the Parent. If so, what would God, our Parent, expect from His children?
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: "Sons have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. (Isa. 1:2)
God feels very sad because of the fall of men.
God is preparing for the salvation of men as a parent.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (I Tim. 2:5)
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Then what kind of person was Jesus?
Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto the death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name. (Phil. 2:6-9)
Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God has sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his own Spirit. (I John 4:7-13)
"I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you. (John 14:18)
You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt. 5:48)
As shown above, being one with God, Jesus came to earth to restore the relation of men with God. Jesus came to us as the practitioner of love, namely as the parent of love like God.
We can see that men were originally created to be the inheritors of God's love. Due to the fall, men have lost this position as His children. When men restore that original position, they can fully become one with God's heart.
This does not mean being united in a material sense. It signifies a spiritual unity through love as if a man and a woman becoming one. Thus God and men should be united with the power of love. The love originates from the heart of God, which we will refer to as "Shim-Jung" from now on.
Shim-Jung signifies a desire to feel happiness . Thus, it is due to the existence of the heart that everyone wants to feel happy. Since joy can come through the give-and-take action of the subject partner and the object partner, heart becomes the basis of love.
As an object partner of love, the world was created from the God's heart.
In sum, we should understand that God created this world out of heart, the source of love. By creating men as His object of love, God wanted to realize the world of joy in which God, men, and all things could dwell in harmony and love. Thus, when men become one with the divine heart, they become the successor of God's love.
We will continue to explain the ideal of God's love and how the will of creation can be fulfilled in the next chapter.
