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Scripture Reading: Gen. 1:1; Rom. 1:20; Psa. 19:1-3; 8:1-4; Heb. 1:3; Isa. 40:22; Job 26:7
Praise the Lord that we brothers and sisters who are scattered in the United States and Canada can have a happy reunion here today. We are truly joyful to see the faces of so many dear ones. However, the Lord has given me a heavy burden, and I have been considering what to speak.
One day a few months ago, I had the inner sense that the universe is a story of mysteries, and the Bible is also a record of mysteries. Then I considered: According to my general knowledge and the knowledge that I have obtained from reading the Bible, how many mysteries are there in the universe? Moreover, how many mysteries are there in the Bible? It is strange that the word mystery is not found in the Old Testament; however, it is used again and again in the New Testament. We can probably find ten to twenty different mysteries in the New Testament. For example, Matthew 13 speaks about the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens.
In the universe, even a mosquito or a bee is a mystery. Not only the animals are mysteries, but the plants also are mysteries. Consider this: Two seeds may look exactly the same, yet after they are sown, one bears white flowers, and the other bears yellow flowers. What a mystery! I planted a number of bird-of-paradise plants in my yard. When one day they bloomed, I was shocked. I have been observing the bird-of-paradise flowers for many years. The blooms are golden yellow and blue, with a little white, and the leaves are green. If we asked even the best Chinese artist to paint with the best colors, he still could not paint something so beautiful. No biologist can tell us why the bird-of-paradise flowers are golden yellow and blue.
Our elderly Brother Weigh, who graduated with a biology major from the Chin-ning University in Nanching, was an expert in raising bees. When I met him for the first time, we spoke about bees. He said, “Brother Lee, bees are very mysterious. Some of them are leaders, some are queens, some are in groups, some are guards, and some are night-watchers. It is really marvelous! They are more submissive than the Chinese wives; some know how to exercise their headship in a way that is superior even to the way we Christians exercise our headship.” I was very glad to learn that even the little bee is a mystery.
I have no intention to speak about the mystery of plants or animals; my intention is to speak about the five great mysteries. Bees are a mystery, but they are a small mystery, not a great mystery. Then what are the great mysteries? Of course, the heavens and the earth are the first great mystery, which is also according to the sequence of the Bible. The first two items listed in the record of God’s creation are first the heavens and second the earth. How mysterious are the heavens and the earth!
Do you know how big heaven is? More than twenty years ago, when I first came to the United States to work for the Lord, I lived in Los Angeles. An observatory there published a report, saying that the sun we see and the nine great planets form one solar system; two hundred forty million solar systems constitute one galaxy; and forty billion galaxies constitute the entire system of the universe. Try to calculate this! Then in 1975 there was a report of a new discovery, saying that one hundred billion galaxies constitute the entire system of the universe. How many can you count? The astronomers claim that their study was very thorough, but I do not believe so. Twenty years ago they said that forty billion galaxies form the universe; then after twenty years the number was increased from forty billion to one hundred billion. I am afraid that after another twenty years the number will go up to two hundred billion. The universe is too mysterious; its vastness is a mystery.
There are mainly five great mysteries in the Bible. The first great mystery is the universe, and the second is man. Zechariah 12:1 says, “Jehovah, who stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him.” You should not consider man to be so small. Man is as great as the heavens and the earth, because this verse, after referring to the heavens and the earth, immediately mentions man. Even the Chinese sages considered heaven, earth, and man as three powers. Every one of us is important; we are all very great persons.
Man’s greatness is not like the greatness of the universe that lies in its vastness. Man is great in that there is a mystery in him, a mystery which is of three layers. The first layer is the mystery of the body, man’s outward part; the second layer is the mystery of the soul, man’s inward part; and the third layer is the mystery of the spirit, man’s innermost part.
The third great mystery in the Bible is God. God is too mysterious! The fourth great mystery is Christ, and the fifth is the church. The universe, man, God, Christ, and the church are the five great mysteries shown to us in the Bible. We are humans standing on the earth with the heaven above us, we have God, we are Christians, and we are in the church. We have a share in heaven and earth, in humanity, in God, in Christ, and in the church. Hallelujah, we have a share in each of the five great mysteries!
The Bible is a written explanation of these five great mysteries. We should never think that we are already clear about all these things because we have been Christians for a long time. I have been a Christian for more than half a century and have also read and worn out several Bibles. I feel, however, that I still do not know these five great mysteries in an adequate way. The Bible is a book of mysteries that records in particular the Christian mysteries. These five great mysteries, which are universal facts, require a book of explanation.
The universe is a story of mystery, and the Bible is its explanation. Actually, the explanation of this mystery is found also in the universe itself. We have the universe and the Bible. What is the story of heaven and earth? What is the story of man? What is the story of Christ? And what is the story of the church? All these matters are clearly spoken of in the Bible. I have not delved into many books, but the one book I have read the most is the Holy Bible. The Bible is the unique book, the book of books. Blessed are those who diligently study the Bible!
In these days there is a group of Christians who are scientists and who love to say, “We will use science to prove the Bible.” I do not agree with this kind of saying. Rather, we are in favor of using the Bible to prove science. Any science that does not correspond with the Bible is untenable.
You probably know that many theories are changed after a few years. Science today is different from science fifty years ago; forgive me for saying this. This does not mean that I despise education; rather, I encourage the young people to receive education. However, that is on the human side. God has given us a Bible, which we may now use to measure science.
First, let us consider the origin of the universe. Everyone agrees that this origin is monistic, not pluralistic. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This is monistic; this one beginning is just God Himself. Moreover, the earth created by God is round, not flat or square. There are two portions of the Word to prove this matter.
Over two thousand seven hundred years ago, near the time of Confucius in China, which was the time of Isaiah in the Old Testament of the Jews, Isaiah said that God sits above the circle of the earth (Isa. 40:22). How interesting it is that Isaiah spoke such a word even near the time of Confucius! The earth, which Isaiah referred to, was the earth created by God in the beginning in Genesis 1.
Nearly twenty-seven hundred years after Isaiah, at the time of the translation of the Chinese Bible, because people had the concept of the earth being a globe, the translators rendered this verse as: “It is He who sits upon the circle of the globe.” After I read this and did some research on it, I concluded that the word globe should not be used. Why? Because at the time of Isaiah, the word globe could not be found in any dictionary; only the word earth was there. Therefore, I looked into the original language and found that Isaiah 40:22 does not contain the word globe but earth. If the word globe is used, the opposers could say that the Bible is a fabrication. Hence, we dare not use the word globe. What Isaiah said was that God is sitting above the circle of the earth.
Another proof in the Bible can be found in the book of Job. Job lived probably at the time of Abraham, between one and two thousand years earlier than Isaiah. Even at such an ancient time, Job said, “He [God] stretches out the north over the void; / He hangs the earth upon nothing” (26:7). This is really wonderful! Even such an ancient person of about four thousand years ago knew that the earth is hanging upon nothing, which has been confirmed today also by astronomers. Now you can see that it is secure and dependable to use the Bible as a proof of science.
Furthermore, the record in the Bible concerning God’s creation occupies only one and a half chapters — Genesis 1 and the first half of Genesis 2. According to the record in Genesis, God first created the lifeless things and then the living things. Among the living things, God first created the life on the lower level, then the life on the middle level, then the life on the higher level, and eventually the life on the highest level. God first created the lifeless things: the earth, the water, the sun, and the air. These four lifeless items are four great necessities of life. Without the earth, water, sunlight, and air, there would be no way for living things to exist.
In your schooling you learned about the expanse surrounding the earth. The Chinese Bible translates the Hebrew word for expanse as “atmosphere,” or “air.” The atmosphere, the air, surrounding the earth is called the expanse. The word expanse means “an opening out, a spreading out.” If you go to the best English dictionary, it will tell you that this word means “to open out, to stretch out, to spread out.” I found out that this is also the meaning of the Hebrew word. God said, “Let there be an expanse,” and there was an expanse. This expanse separated the waters from the waters. The expanse was called Heaven, and the dry land under the expanse was called Earth.
Besides the expanse that surrounds the earth, there is no atmosphere or air anywhere else. When humans landed on the moon, they had to bring air with them because there is no expanse around the moon. Now the scientists are still studying whether there is life on Venus. I would say there is also no life on Venus. This is because the living things were created for God’s unique purpose, which is to have man as His expression. There are no living things on the moon because neither air nor water can be found there. Therefore, it is very proper to confirm science with the Bible. We do not use science to confirm the Bible; instead, we use the Bible to confirm science.
Let me mention another simple matter. You who are doctors know that the elements of the human body are the same as the elements of dust. Dust contains elements such as copper, iron, sulfur, and phosphorus. Scientific studies confirm that the elements of the human body are simply the elements of dust. However, the Bible already told us long ago that the human body was formed out of dust.
When I was very young, I began to read the Bible. I thought it was something laughable when I read about God’s creation of man. I said to myself, “How could it be that God would be like us to use clay to make a little child?” Little did I know that this record is very scientific. There have been many ancient writings, yet not one of them tells us that the human body was made with dust. However, the Bible says, “Jehovah God formed man from the dust of the ground” (Gen. 2:7a). God created man with a mouth and with nostrils. Then He breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, and man became living and even became a living soul (v. 7b).
Such a record not only corresponds with science, but it also corresponds with Chinese ethics, which does not deal with God but deals with the human soul. God breathed into the nostrils of Adam; then Adam, a man who was made of dust, became a living soul. This living soul is the focus of the study in Chinese ethics. Chinese moralists, from Confucius and Mencius in the ancient time to Wang Yang-ming of the modern age, all studied the soul. The study of ethics is the study of the human soul. The Chinese moralists found out that there is something in man which they called “bright virtue.” The doctrine taught by the Chinese philosophers was the principle of “The Great Learning,” which is to develop and enhance the “bright virtue” within man. This corresponds with what the Bible says about the soul. This shows you that the record in the Bible is concise yet profound; it is simple and real yet mysterious. Thus, no one can deny that heaven, earth, and man were created by God. The Bible says so, and science also confirms it.
There must be a meaning to the existence of heaven and earth; all things have a meaning for their existence. What is the meaning of heaven and earth? The meaning of heaven and earth is the mystery of heaven and earth, the mystery of the universe. What is this mystery? This mystery is simply God Himself.
Romans 1:20 says, “The invisible things of Him, both His eternal power and divine characteristics, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being perceived by the things made, so that they would be without excuse.” When you see the heavens, the earth, the stars, the sun, and the moon, you cannot deny that there is a sovereign Lord in the universe. Regardless of what you call Him, there is such a One. The entire universe declares the eternal power of God.
In addition to God’s eternal power, this verse also refers to a deeper aspect of God, that is, His divine characteristics. The Greek word for divine characteristics is a word that is difficult to translate not only in Chinese but also in English. Colossians 2:9 says, “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” In Greek, the word for Godhead in this verse and the word for divine characteristics in Romans 1:20 are of the same root, but they are two entirely different words. The King James Version renders both words as Godhead.
Romans 1:20, however, refers to the special features, the characteristics, as the outward manifestations of God’s nature. Hence, in this verse we render the Greek word as “divine characteristics.” Colossians 2:9 refers to the divine Godhead, the divine person, God Himself.
What then are the divine characteristics as the outward manifestations of the divine nature? Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, / And the expanse proclaims the work of His hands.” Here, the glory of God is no doubt manifested by the glory of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The glory of light is a manifestation of the divine characteristics of God’s nature. The heavens declare the divine characteristics of God’s nature through this particular manifestation. Psalm 8:1-3 says, “O Jehovah...You who have set Your glory over the heavens!...When I see...the moon and the stars...” Glory here is manifested by the brilliance of the moon and the stars. From these verses we can see that the glory manifested in the universe tells us that the special features, the characteristics, of the divine nature are glorious.
The work of His hands in 19:1 refers to God’s ability, wisdom, and capability. In other words, the universe is God’s masterpiece. We may well translate the work of His hands into “His masterpiece.” In this masterpiece there are wisdom, skillfulness, ability, and power, all of which are characteristics as the outward manifestations of God’s nature.
Furthermore, when you see the universe, you are reminded of God as One who is grand and majestic. Grandness and majesty are also characteristics as manifestations of God’s nature.
Moreover, the universe is full of light and life. By this you can see that God’s nature is full of light and life. The earth created by God is full of life. There are plants, animals, and humans, all of which are life and are according to the order of life.
God first created the lifeless things, and then He created a lower form of life, the plant life without consciousness. Following this, He created the animal life with consciousness. The life with consciousness begins with the oviparous life, the life that is produced by laying eggs, and advances to the viviparous life, the life that is brought forth apart from laying eggs. With the viviparous life, there are also different levels. Beasts and cattle are viviparous, but they are different in level and size. The highest life of the viviparous variety is man’s life. Most people today consider men as animals. We do not agree with that. I am not an animal; I am a man. First, I have God’s image, and second, I have a spirit within me. The Chinese also say that man is the “spirit of all creatures.” Man is not an animal; man is a life with the image of God.
Finally, the highest life is God’s life, signified by the tree of life in Genesis 2. The record in Genesis 1 and 2 begins with the lowest level of life; then it goes up level by level until it reaches the life of man. From there it goes up from the life of man to the life of God, which is the highest life. Praise the Lord, as the regenerated ones, we have God’s life! When you look at the flowers, grass, trees, insects, fish, birds, beasts, and then the human race, everywhere you look is full of life. This declares to us that life is a divine characteristic of the Creator.
Another characteristic of the divine attributes is beauty. The universe created by God is truly beautiful. Only a God of beauty can create a beautiful universe. Suppose your lawn were not green but black. You would see blackness when you go into your yard, and you would see blackness when you step out of your house. Would you consider that beautiful? Would you like to have such a lawn? The most beautiful thing is to have green trees, green grass, and red flowers. How beautiful, how pleasant to the eyes, and how refreshing are the scenes we see today!
Furthermore, everything in the universe is orderly. Today’s scientific research tries to discover the laws and principles in the universe. Since there are laws and principles, there must be one who makes them. If there are laws in a country, there must be a legislature or congress. How could there be laws without lawmakers? How could there be laws and principles in the universe unless it is God who has set them? The moon, the sun, the earth, and the stars revolve within their orbits without colliding. If the earth were a little closer to the sun, we would be burned; if it were a little farther from the sun, we would be frozen. Who defines these things? Who causes the universe to be so orderly, without any confusion? All these things speak forth God’s masterpiece and declare God’s invisible, eternal power and divine attributes.
Man can perceive the invisible things of God by observing the visible things created by Him. Both the eternal power of God and the divine characteristics that express God’s intrinsic nature are manifested in God’s creation. However, this is still not God Himself as a divine person. What is referred to in Colossians 2:9 is the Godhead, God’s person. The characteristics of God’s nature, referred to in Romans 1:20, can be verified through the created things; however, the created things cannot manifest God’s Godhead and person. Only the living person of Jesus Christ, the Word who is God and who declares God (John 1:1, 18), can express God’s Godhead and person, that is, the very God, God Himself.
What the Lord Jesus Christ reveals is much deeper than what the universe verifies. What is verified by the universe is only the outward manifestation of God’s nature, not His Godhead. Only what is revealed and declared by the living person of the Lord Jesus Christ is God’s Godhead and person, that is, the very God Himself. Before we were saved, we could see the characteristics of God’s nature manifested through the universe so that we were without excuse. After we have believed in the Lord Jesus, it is in Christ that we know the divine Godhead. The divine characteristics, which are outward, are manifested through the created things; the divine Godhead, which is God Himself, is lived out through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are countless items in the universe. In such a boundless and mysterious universe, who is maintaining, managing, upholding, and propelling it? Hebrews 1:3 says, “Who...upholding and bearing all things by the word of His power.” The Lord Jesus upholds, bears, and propels all things not by His work but by His instant word, the word of His power. In creation all things came into being through Him as the Word (John 1:1-3). The universe has been framed by the word of God (Heb. 11:3): “He spoke, and it was; / He commanded, and it stood” (Psa. 33:9). God speaks and upholds all things with His word. According to Greek grammar, this upholding is continuous, unceasing. The Greek word for upholding implies several rich meanings, including maintaining, operating, managing, controlling, and even propelling.
The Lord Jesus as the mighty God maintains, operates, manages, controls, and propels all things. He not only upholds all things for their mere existence but also maintains and propels them. This may be compared to a huge airplane. Once the engines are started, the airplane is upheld and maintained in the sky. Today no one can deny that the mystery of the universe is with God. God is the meaning and center of the universe; He is the purpose of the universe.
Without God, the entire universe is empty and dead. The meaning of the universe is the living God. As the living Spirit, He is omnipresent, and He is also a divine person. You need only to open your heart and pray to Him, and He will enter into you. Then you will become a person with meaning, and you will enjoy God as the mystery of the entire universe.
