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Scripture Reading: 19-22, Dan. 6:26; 3:14-18; Jer. 10:10; Psa. 42:2-3, 10-11; Heb. 3:12; 10:31; 1 Tim. 4:10; 2 Cor. 3:3; Matt. 16:16; Isa. 49:4
In 1941 and 1948 I gave some messages entitled “The Living God.” Recently, I have been considering the term the living God; hence, I believe that this title is of God.
The Bible uses many words to describe God. He is the holy God, the righteous God, the loving God, and the mighty God (cf. Heb. 2:11; 1 Pet. 1:15-16; Acts 3:14; 2 Tim. 4:8; 1 John 1:9; 4:8, 16; Matt. 26:64). These different words refer to God’s characteristics, His attributes. God’s being righteous speaks of His ways, for righteousness is His procedure in doing things. God’s being holy speaks of His nature being distinct from everything else; hence, only He is holy. God’s being mighty speaks of His power, and God’s being love speaks of His heart.
The Bible also calls God the living God (Dan. 6:26; Psa. 42:2; Matt. 16:16; 1 Tim. 4:10; Heb. 10:31). We may understand this to mean that God is living, not dead. However, the living God has a much deeper significance. Our lifetime would not be long enough for us to fully understand and experience the living God.
Even though Christians are persecuted, afflicted, and martyred, the gospel continues to spread, and more believers are gained because Christians believe in and worship a living God. Many people think that being a Christian is mainly a matter of believing doctrines, but according to the Bible, being a Christian is not a matter of joining a religion or believing doctrines. Being a Christian is a matter of knowing and contacting the living God. God made us Christians in order for us to experience Him, testify concerning Him, and express Him as the living God.
Some may say that they already know and believe in the living God, but it is one thing to have knowledge and yet another thing to have practical experience. It is not easy to experience the living God, testify of the living God, or express the living God. A Christian might be zealous concerning dogma and yet not touch the living God. God does not want us to be Christians who are zealous concerning doctrine; He wants us to experience and express Him as the living God in our daily life. God is pleased when we testify concerning Him as the living God.
Every genuine Christian should have a living relationship with the living God. We may consider a person to be a good Christian if he reads the Bible, prays, and attends meetings, but in God’s view he may merely be a religious Christian. A genuine Christian interacts with the living God every day and has a living relationship with God because he lives in God and lets God live in him.
There is a sister who loves the Lord and is zealous in her service, but for many years she felt that she was a sinner and that she had not fully given herself to the Lord. She testified that before she was saved, she was her own boss, but now that the living Lord is in her, she must let Him rule in every matter. This testimony shows that she has touched the living God and that He has touched her. It is not a matter of her praying in herself but of the living God leading her in prayer and causing her to sense her sins, to love Him, and to realize that He is ruling within her. This is not a matter of teaching, which gives only knowledge. This sister has touched the living God.
In order to have a living relationship with the living God, we must fellowship with Him in our spirit. We need to communicate with the living God every day and fellowship with Him every moment. When we draw near to Him, He draws near to us (James 4:8), lives in us, and speaks to us. Then He can get involved with our thoughts and actions, and He can touch both our daily walk and our service. He can rule over every item in our living. Although others may be loose in certain matters, we cannot be loose, because the living God does not allow us to be loose.
If we have a living relationship with the living God, we will be able to experience Him in our daily living. A brother may think that he will fall because he has encountered a situation that is beyond what he can bear. However, he discovers that within him there is a surpassing power that enables him to stand. This transcending power is connected to a person, the living God, and it supports the brother, causing him to stand. This power is the living God. We often marvel at and are puzzled by our ability to stand in difficult situations, even though we are so weak. We are able to stand because we are in the living God, and the living God is in us. We have experienced the support of the living God.
Some saints are afflicted by pain or are suffering great loss. Please remember that our hope is set on the living God. The extent of our difficulties varies. Some are severe, and some are not as severe. Paul says that we have set our hope on the living God (1 Tim. 4:10). The Holy Spirit has given me this feeling concerning the living God in order to strengthen the saints who are suffering.
I have served the Lord for over thirty years. During this time I have encountered many difficulties and suffered much pain. Once, after passing through a great trial, I told an older brother that we are too weak to withstand the trials. Before we pass through a trial, we think that we are strong and capable of withstanding any trial by means of our iron will and sober mind. But once trials befall us, we realize that our strong will is weak, our sober mind is confused, our ability to withstand disappears, and even our faith is lacking. However, even when we feel that we are incapable, our inner being continues to believe. The faith that we experience at these times is not according to our will, mind, or ability. That faith is the living God.
God not only allows turmoils in our environment, He even takes away what we treasure the most — His presence. We often experience that the more we pray, the more the heavens seem to close; the more we seek the Lord, the farther away He seems; and the more we read the Bible, the more we cannot touch His words. At such times we must beware of Satan’s attacks, lies, and deceit. All our situations are false and unreal. Anything that cannot last forever is false. God can change our situation at any time; hence, we should not set our eyes on our situation but on God. Our hearts should be turned to God because we have set our hope on the living God. Even though we cannot get through when we pray or worship, we must continue to pray and worship. When we are at our weakest point, our worship is the most precious to God. The weak prayers that we utter are pleasing to God. They are sweet to His ears.
However, we must not be superstitious. Sometimes our living Lord lets us suffer because of our wrongdoing. We cannot claim to have faith in Him if we stubbornly remain in our wrongdoing and are not willing to be enlightened and dealt with. Our living God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). He is righteous; righteousness is the foundation of His throne (Psa. 89:14). He is holy, and He wants His people also to be holy (Heb. 2:11; 1 Pet. 1:16). Therefore, He shines on us and convicts us in order for us to accept His judgment, dealing, and correction so that we may walk with Him in the light. The faith that we experience after such an experience is not superstition.
After Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den, he said to King Darius, “My God has sent His angel and has shut the lions’ mouth, and they have not hurt me, inasmuch as before Him innocence was found in me; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm” (Dan. 6:22). Had wrongdoing been found in Daniel, God would not have shut the lions’ mouth. Daniel had living faith in the living God because he was restricted by God, and he was guiltless before God and man. Similarly, whenever we fall into difficulties or distressing trials, we should not first seek our deliverance; rather, we should seek His shining. We should say, “Lord, I prostrate myself before You and look to You for Your shining.” The faith with which we believe in the living God is not superstition. Rather, it is genuine faith that comes from our being shined on, dealt with, and subdued in His hand. Only such faith can enable us to experience the living God in our sufferings.
We must learn to fear the living God. We must not be loose; God is not mocked (Gal. 6:7). Two thousand years of church history prove that a Christian who does not fear God will not have a good ending; such a Christian will have a miserable ending. God often lets the Gentiles be, but He is never loose with His children; He is not loose with those who belong to Him. He disciplines us so that we may partake of His holiness. The Bible says, “Whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives” (Heb. 12:6), and it says that judgment begins from the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17). Hence, we must fear God. The apostle Paul says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” and “our God is also a consuming fire” (Heb. 10:31; 12:29). We belong to the living God. We should not think that He does not see when we are loose or that He does not hear the things we say. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. We must learn to fear Him.
In the fall of 1948 I gave a message concerning God being a living God whom we should fear. In the audience there was an educated brother who loved the Lord, but he sinned against God’s government because he did not fear God. The brothers did not know how to help him. Later, this brother died in an accident. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The living God whom we serve is not mocked. He searches our intentions, thoughts, emotions, and everything about us; nothing can be kept hidden from Him. We must fear Him and know that He is a judging God and that judgment begins from His house. We must fear God in our intentions, thoughts, attitudes, living, and service because He is a living God who is not mocked.
God is a living God. He does not overlook wickedness or unrighteousness. He not only judges man’s condition but also makes man’s situation manifest. His judging is for manifesting, and He will make all things manifest (1 Cor. 3:13; Eph. 5:13; 1 Tim. 5:24). Every time He judges something, He makes it manifest. His intention in judging is not to punish and not for man to suffer; His intention is to manifest all things. His manifesting of all things proves that He is a living God. He does not overlook anything. Hence, we must not remain in any condition that is incompatible with His nature. This is one aspect of God’s manifesting all things.
There is another aspect to God’s manifesting all things. If a man is God-fearing, sooner or later he will be manifested by God. It is not vain to fear God. He knows those who fear Him. In the Old Testament Joseph is an example. He feared God and dared not sin against God. Others falsely accused him and put him in prison (Gen. 39). Eventually, God came to make all things manifest. Joseph was manifested as a God-fearing man and was enthroned (41:38-44). God will manifest our faith and love toward Him. A brother who wants to make a show of his love for God will one day be exposed, that is, made manifest. If his intention is to make a show of his faith before men, God will make that manifest. Therefore, no one can pretend, for God will manifest whether he is wrong or right. Our God is the living God; He is not careless. If we know Him in this way, we will fear Him and trust Him. He is the Sovereign of the universe, and He has authority over all things in the universe. He is not loose and does not overlook anything. He is great as well as fine. There is not a matter that is so trivial as to escape His notice.
God makes things manifest according to His nature. He wants to be manifested as holiness, righteousness, light, and love. The Old Testament law portrays the nature of God. God judged His people in the Old Testament according to His law, that is, according to His nature. In order to manifest His nature, He must work on His people. He must be involved with our intentions, our thoughts, and our living and work lest we misrepresent Him. He will manifest whether we love Him, hate Him, fear Him, or mock Him. Our God is a great God, and yet He is broad. He is also very fine and not careless. He is bright, He is light, He is holy, and He is holiness. He wants us to be children of light, and He wants to be our God (Eph. 5:8; John 20:17). Every child of God must fear Him and be comforted by Him because He is the living God.
Even though our God is a living God, His disposition is to hide Himself. Throughout the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, God was hidden from man. In the New Testament, God came down from the heavens to the earth in order to manifest Himself so that man would know Him, but He concealed Himself in human flesh. He was manifested yet concealed, such that man could not recognize Him. God is a living God, but we cannot see Him, because He is a God who hides Himself (Isa. 45:15). He desires to express His glory, but unlike many who like to make a show of the things they have done, He will not make a show. Concerning the Lord, the prophet Isaiah says, “He will not cry out, nor lift up His voice, / Nor make His voice heard in the street. / A bruised reed He will not break; / And a dimly burning flax He will not extinguish” (42:2-3). This prophecy shows that He is a God who hides Himself.
Many people often ask why the living God does not discipline people who act recklessly and lawlessly and do works of unrighteousness. Even believers question why the living God does not seem to hear their prayers. The answer is simple: He is a God who hides Himself. When the Lord Jesus was crucified, God hid Himself. He did not judge the ones who crucified the Lord by striking them with lightning. God did not say a word; it was as if God did not exist. Hence, some of those present shook their heads and mocked the Lord. They said, “He trusts in God; let Him rescue Him now if He wants Him” (Matt. 27:43). The Lord Jesus trusted in God, but while He was hanging on the cross, it was as if there were no God in the universe. God was hidden when the Lord passed through this great trial.
God is a God who hides Himself. He often hides Himself in space and in time. It seems that we pray to Him but do not receive results and that we trust in Him but He ignores us. We must understand that it takes time as well as endurance to experience the living God. The day that the Lord was crucified, God hid Himself. But after three days He raised Jesus from the dead (Luke 24:6-7). After another forty days Jesus was lifted up into heaven (Acts 1:3, 9-10). After yet another ten days, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended (2:1-4). We must say that God is real; He is a living God (1 Thes. 1:9), and He is also a God who hides Himself.
It seems as if God did not see the Roman Empire persecuting the church in the second century. The Roman Empire used every conceivable means to afflict and slaughter Christians, but God did not stretch forth His hand to stop it; rather, He hid Himself. However, a century later the Roman Empire was divided and eventually disappeared. In contrast, the believers of Christ have remained and have spread to various places because of the true and living God.
Sometimes it seems as if God is not in our situation, and it seems as if we love and fear Him in vain. But time proves that He is the living God. When it is time, He will make all things manifest. It is not vain to believe in Him, trust in Him, fear Him, or love Him.
Even though Joseph feared and trusted in God, he was hated by his brothers, sold into Egypt, and became a servant in the house of Potiphar, the captain of the guard (Gen. 37:2-36). Because Joseph kept himself pure before God and would not sin against God, he was resented by his master’s wife and unjustly put into prison (39:7-20; 40:15). Eventually, God manifested Joseph’s purity, obedience to God, fear of God, and unwillingness to sin against God. King Nebuchadnezzar is a different example. His heart was lifted up, and he conducted himself in pride and conceit. Then one day God came to make all things manifest. Nebuchadnezzar was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken away from him; he was driven from among mankind, and his dwelling place was with the beasts of the field; he was made to eat grass like a bull, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven. This was his condition until he came to know that God the Most High is the Ruler over the kingdom of men and sets whomever He wills over the earthly kingdoms (Dan. 4:19-37; 5:20-21).
God is a God who hides Himself, and He is also the living God. There may be occasions when it seems like He does not exist, but time will prove that He is the living God. Temporary trials are but a process, not the final goal. God will make all things manifest in His time. Whether our situations are difficult or easy, we must always fear God, because He will make all things manifest one day. God is not mocked; hence, we must fear Him.
It is a blessing to believe in the living God. He is our life and our all; hence, we have set our hope in Him. He is a God who hides Himself, but He is also a God who makes all things manifest. No wonder the psalmist says, “My soul thirsts for God, / For the living God... / The salvation of my countenance” (Psa. 42:2, 11). The living God is awesome to those who mock Him. There is nothing that He does not search. There are no hidden thoughts, secret intentions, or dark deeds that He will not make manifest. Let me repeat, God is not mocked. Our God is a consuming fire, and it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb. 12:29; 10:31). May we live in Him and let Him live in us. May we also daily learn to trust in Him, wait on Him, love Him, obey His shining, accept His dealing, and walk before Him.
