God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.
Hebrews 2:4,5
Whenever we started something, we all knew one very important thing. We knew that we didn’t know it all. Think back to our first day in school or at a new job. No one walked in with a blank slate for a brain. Yes, we knew certain things. But there was lots and lots to learn.
Now while some of us tried to pretend that we knew everything and had it all under control, deep down in our hearts we were absolutely convinced that we really didn’t. There were loads that we needed to learn. There were lots and lots of things to learn and understand.
If we’re honest with one another for a minute, I’d bet that we’ve all faked our way through some things in our life. We tried to convince everyone that we had all the information we needed. In another words, we were just pretenders. We tried to pull the wool over someone’s eyes, so they’d think that we knew it all.
But when it comes to figuring things out, we need some information. And part of that process is looking outside of ourselves. Looking towards other people. Since we don’t have all the information, we start talking to people and see what they know. What they’ve experienced. We then take their words and information, making them ours.
Now since God knows everything[1], he doesn’t have to ask anyone anything. He knows the smallest details about us and our lives[2]. The idea that God knows everything about us[3] is comforting and reassuring. Nothing can harm us without his permission[4]. God has put a protecting hedge around us[5]. To protect us from evil and harm.
All this personal protection by God is great, but it’s no guarantee of only good things happening in our lives. Good as defined by us. We may be walking through dark days today, but that doesn’t mean that God’s abandoned us. On the contrary, he’s never so close as when life’s falling apart.
The other side of the coin is that God knows all our thoughts. For me personally, this is the one that really gets me. I know what’s going on inside my head, and so does God. And yet, he doesn’t just blow me off the face of the universe. He loves me just like Jesus loved the people that nailed him to the cross.
Since God wants us to learn more about him, he’s got to be the one who starts the conversation. He’s the one who leans out to us. He reaches out to us. We can’t figure him out by ourselves. It’s just the opposite. He’s the one who has to reach down to us.
Think of it this way: who else could testify about God other than God alone? He’s the only one who knows himself, so he’s the one who has to start the sharing process. He’s got to be the one who tells us about himself. No one else could. God mostly uses four different to tell us about himself.
Signs. Something that confirms that God is personally involved. That it has his fingerprints on it.
Wonders. An extraordinary event to draw people to look up to God. Doing things that are flat impossible to people like you and me.
Various miracles. Displays of God’s strength and power. He’s not held back by the laws of the universe that he made.
Gifts of the Holy Spirit. God uniquely using his powers to meet the needs of individuals for his glory and our good.
Yes, God has to be in the business of testifying about himself. After all, who else is in a position to tell us about God? It’s got to all start with him. We can’t go up to him, so he’s got to come down to us. He’s the one and only witness about who he is.
And what absolutely blows my mind is that he does it so we can know him. If he were most of us, we’d look down our nose at everyone because of their stinking sin. We’d turn away from people like us because we make even our closest friends feel sick to their stomach with the smell of our lives.
Instead of doing what everyone else in the universe would do, he turns towards us. While everyone’s running away, he’s running towards you and me. Instead of pushing us aside, he’s pulling us close.
God is the greatest witness in the universe. Not only because he’s God, but because of what he did when faced with us. Instead of shipping us off to eternal separation from himself, he comes and dies to pay our debt with him. He’s the only one who could bring us back to himself, and he did it. The last line of the old hymn really says it all.
Till we cast our crowns before Thee, Lost in wonder, love and praise[6].
Noodling Questions
What’s the greatest thing you’ve personally witnessed? Describe.
How do the four ways God uses intimidate us?
What’s standing in the way of being a vocal and powerful witness for God?
[1] 1 John 3:20
[2] Matthew 10:29,30
[3] Psalm 139:1-3,
[4] Job 1:12, 2:6
[5] Job:1:10
[6] Love divine, all loves excelling, Charles Wesley (1747)
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