264
Selected Messages Book 1
The physical organism of man is under the supervision of God; but
it is not like a clock, which is set in operation, and must go of itself.
The heart beats, pulse succeeds pulse, breath succeeds breath, but the
entire being is under the supervision of God. “Ye are God’s husbandry,
ye are God’s building (
1 Corinthians 3:9
). In God we live and move
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and have our being. Each heartbeat, each breath, is the inspiration of
Him who breathed into the nostrils of Adam the breath of life—the
inspiration of the ever-present God, the great I AM.
The ancient philosophers prided themselves on their superior
knowledge. Let us read the inspired apostle’s understanding of the
matter. “Professing themselves to be wise,” he says, “they became
fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image
made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts,
and creeping things.... Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and
worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator” (
Romans
1:22-25
). In its human wisdom the world cannot know God. Its wise
men gather an imperfect knowledge of God from His created works,
and then in their foolishness they exalt nature and the laws of nature
above nature’s God. Those who have not a knowledge of God through
an acceptance of the revelation He has made of Himself in Christ, will
obtain only an imperfect knowledge of Him in nature; and this knowl-
edge, so far from giving elevated conceptions of God, and bringing
the whole being into conformity to His will, will make men idolaters.
Professing themselves to be wise, they will become fools.
Those who think they can obtain a knowledge of God aside from
His Representative, whom the Word declares is “the express image
of his person” (
Hebrews 1:3
), will need to become fools in their own
estimation before they can be wise. It is impossible to gain a perfect
knowledge of God from nature alone; for nature itself is imperfect. In
its imperfection it cannot represent God, it cannot reveal the character
of God in its moral perfection. But Christ came as a personal Saviour to
the world. He represented a personal God. As a personal Saviour, He
ascended on high; and He will come again as He ascended to heaven—
a personal Saviour. He is the express image of the Father’s person. “In
him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (
Colossians 2:9
).
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