I do believe in a personal God, not as an idea, but as truth revealed in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the testimony of God concerning Christ in his words and deeds and the testimony of his Apostles and the witness of the Spirit in my own heart and life.
The incarnation (God taking on human flesh) testifies of a God getting real personal. Religion is often best described as humanity reaching up to God through ritual, thought, good deeds and personal piety. But Christianity as revealed by God in Christ, is God reaching out to humanity.
Here the truth of the incarnation is poetically represented in an early hymn or creed in the Bible (John 1:1-5):
“In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
The Apostle John’s testimony was:
“No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us” (John 1:18).
“Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31).
God, the father’s testimony was clearly communicated on the Mount of Transfiguration:
“He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matthew 17:5).
My personal witness is rooted in the love and life of God, communicated to me through the Spirit, formed through the teaching of biblical Scripture, especially the evidence of truth in the words and deeds of Christ and the ongoing fruit of a changing life.
