CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

GOD CONTACTING MAN

THROUGH HIS SPEAKING

Scripture Reading: 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; 2 Sam. 23:2

GOD DESIRING TO CONTACT MAN

The book of Genesis shows that man fell and was corrupted when he lost his connection with
God. Man became empty and corrupt when he lost God. After man fell, God came to look for
man and to communicate with man (3:9). Even though man rejected God, God came to search
for man. Even though man did not want God or have God, God still wanted to be with man. It is
God who desired to recover a relationship.

After the fall God could not contact man based on His status as the God who dwells in
unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16). God is great and holy, and man is small and sinful; no man
can stand before God. Some people foolishly say, “Please show me God, and I will believe.”
They do not have the realization that if God really manifested Himself as God, they would not be
able to stand. He is too great and too holy, and we are too small and too defiled. If we have no
way to approach Him, how can we see Him? Because God cannot manifest what He is in
Himself to man, He has to find another way to contact man.

THE WAYS THAT GOD CONTACTS MAN

God can contact man in one of two ways: He can contact man indirectly through an
intermediary, or He could come in a way that allowed direct contact. The former way involves
speaking to man through various channels, such as the prophets, but the latter way points to His
coming as a man to be among men. It is possible for us to contact one another by telephone or
telegraph, but the best way to contact one another is face to face. If God desired to contact man,
surely He must have spoken to man. Consequently, there would be a record of His speaking to
man among all the books in human history. There are over six thousand years of human history,
and during these years there must have been some record of His speaking, His word. If God
desired to contact and communicate with man, He would not have remained silent for six
thousand years.

THE BIBLE IS THE BOOK OF GOD

Consequently, we should investigate the books that have been written throughout the six
thousand years of human history to see which book contains the speaking of God. However, we
need to consider several criteria in order to have a standard for assessment. First, the book should
clearly state that it is the speaking of God. This may be compared to a person signing his name at
the end of a letter. If a book contains God’s speaking, it should clearly state that it is God’s
speaking. Second, if a book contains the speaking of God, it should clearly speak of the origin of
the universe, the progression of mankind, and the final destiny of heaven and earth. Third, it
should contain prophecies concerning matters in the future, and every prophecy must be shown
to have come to pass. Fourth, this book should contain a standard of morality that is quite high.
Fifth, this book should be especially powerful. Sixth, the speaking of God in this book, while
mysterious, should be very easy to comprehend.

Based on these six criteria, it is easy to see that only the sacred writings of various religions need
be considered. Of these writings, the sacred writings of Buddhism cannot be considered as God’s
word because they do not speak of God. Since there are numerous religious systems that do not
revere God, their writings cannot be considered as being the word of God. The only religions that
truly revere God are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Judaism is based on the Old Testament,
and Christianity is based on the Old and the New Testaments. Much of the content of the Koran
is drawn from the Bible. Therefore, the only book that uniquely states that it is God’s speaking is
the Holy Bible.

The Bible Declaring Itself to Be God’s Speaking

In the Old Testament the phrase thus says the Lord Jehovah is included over a thousand times.
This is enough to prove that God has declared that this book is His word. In the New Testament
the apostle Paul says, “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16). Therefore, according to the
first criterion, the Bible has a proper claim to be God’s word.

The Bible Unveiling the Origin, Progression,

and Final Destiny of the Universe and Mankind

Second, there is no book in the world that speaks of the origin of the universe, the progression of
humanity, and the final destiny of heaven and earth in such a clear and complete way as the
Bible.

The Prophecies and Fulfillments of the Bible

Third, no book has as many prophecies as the Bible. In fact, the prophecies in the Bible account
for much of its content. These prophecies address many matters. For example, the Bible
prophesied two thousand years ago concerning the condition of society in the last age. The
prophecies in the Bible have either been fulfilled or are being fulfilled.

Concerning the situation in the last age, 2 Timothy 3:1 says, “In the last days difficult times will
come.” Difficult also means “perilous.” The days in which we live today are perilous; they are
not peaceful. All of us admit that these days are truly perilous. Verse 2 says that “men will be
lovers of self.” If we compare this generation with previous generations, we can see that people
in this generation love themselves and care for themselves much more than before. People today
not only care for themselves; they are lovers of self. This verse also speaks of “lovers of money.”

In this age people become lovers of self and then become lovers of money. Young people today
all desire to be rich, and money is the most attractive thing to them. They think that money is so
powerful that it can even influence people, demons, and the “gods” behind their idols. Actually,
the money of this generation has no real value, but more people love this worthless money than
ever before because of its ability to influence others. This is not the situation of only the people
in China, because people in every country are lovers of self and lovers of money. People in every
country are selfish and love money.

Verse 2 of chapter 3 speaks of those who are “boasters, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to
parents.” In previous generations there were not many who were boastful, arrogant, reviling, and
disobedient to parents. But among young people today, the level of boasting, arrogance, and
despising of parents is almost beyond control. Even though this is a cultured age, there has not
been a generation with as little restraint as the current one. The people of this generation are
“unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control,
savage, not lovers of good, traitors, reckless, blinded with pride, lovers of pleasure rather than
lovers of God” (vv. 2-4). Look at the theaters, dance halls, bars, restaurants, and public places of
entertainment. Even with a devaluation of currency and difficulties in earning a livelihood, many
are crowding into entertainment establishments, lining up to buy movie tickets, and eating in
restaurants. People love pleasure and love to be carefree.

This situation is a result of the fact that people do not want to be “lovers of God” (v. 4). People
choose to be lovers of self, lovers of money, and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
When a person does not love God, he has no joy; when there is no joy, he looks for other sources
of happiness. He enters into sin in order to find happiness; sin becomes his only option.

In 1936 I was preaching the gospel in Nanching. A young woman came to me after the meeting,
expressing a desire to believe in Jesus if I could give her a satisfactory answer to her question.
She asked, “After I believe in the Lord, can I still watch movies?” I realized that if I said she
could not, she would not accept the Lord, but if I said she could, this would not be proper either.
So I asked her, “If your child is holding a knife and playing with it, what would you do?” She
answered, “I would spread some candy on the floor so that he would drop the knife in order to
pick up the candy.” Then I said to her that Jesus is just like the candy and that she did not need to
focus on the knife in her hand but on the sweetness of the Lord Jesus.

Today people are searching for happiness apart from God. They are like children playing with
knives. They take risks because they do not have Jesus. The thirst of those who do not have Jesus
is like the unquenchable thirst associated with the lake of fire. In order to quench their thirst, they
go to places of entertainment to dance and watch movies. They are drinking “poison” in order to
quench their thirst. This situation is prophesied in the Bible.

James 5:1 says, “Come now, you rich, weep, howling over your miseries, which are coming
upon you!” This is the situation of society today; tragedy and sufferings are upon the rich. The
portion continues, saying, “Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten;
your gold and your silver have rusted, and their rust will be a testimony against you and will eat
your flesh like fire” (vv. 2-3). According to these verses, the rich will be condemned, and their
riches will eat their flesh. Many rich people speak of the pain that money brings to their lives.
Verses 3 and 4 say, “You have stored up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the
workmen who mowed your fields, which have been withheld by you, cry out; and the cries of
those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts.” These vivid descriptions are
prophecies written in the Bible two thousand years ago.

After World War I ended in 1918, a peace treaty was enacted in June of the following year. The
whole world celebrated, and certain newspapers and magazines commented that mankind had
entered a civilized age in which there would be no more wars but only lasting peace. In 1920 the
League of Nations was established, and later a treaty was formulated specifically for maintaining
international peace. On the surface it seemed as if world peace would not be a problem. Soon
after this I was saved, and I started to read the Bible, which says that wars would increase more
and more. At the same time I also saw that many books did not agree with the view that there
would be lasting peace in the world.

Within ten years Japan initiated the “Incident of September 18” in 1931 in Manchuria. Even
though this incident was not the direct cause of World War II, the fighting throughout China
began to spread. There was intermittent fighting for ten years, which continued during World
War II. This fighting lasted until 1945 when Japan surrendered. In all, there were fifteen years of
war, six of which were included in World War II. In this great war the manpower, material
resources, and financial resources of many countries were devastated. Germany collapsed, Japan
was defeated, and China suffered great devastation from innumerable attacks. The whole world
was filled with the smell of gun powder. Yet even today the brutality of this war has not caused
the human race to be vigilant to keep peace, and many countries are still preparing for war. There
is much money and scientific research involved in the preparation for war.

God is also keeping His word that the Jews would be blessed in Palestine. Whereas they were
once dispersed among the nations because they did not listen to God’s word, they are now
returning to Israel. The experience of the Jews has been different from people in other countries
conquered through war. For example, India was conquered by England, and Korea was
conquered by Japan, but even though they were conquered by another nation, the Indian and
Korean people still remained in their own country. Only the Jews were dispersed to other nations
after being conquered. Before the restoration of Israel, the Jews were dispersed throughout the
world; they lived in every country of Europe, in America, and even in China. Although they
were dispersed and had no country of their own, they did not assimilate into these countries.
Although they were Germans and Americans by national citizenship, they remained as Jews
ethnically and culturally. Because the Jews would never assimilate, Hitler was able to persecute
and massacre them and to seize their properties. This brought the Jews tremendous suffering and
forced them to flee in all directions. This was a fulfillment of the prophecies in the Bible
regarding the dispersion of the Jews and their sufferings. What is more amazing is that the Bible
prophesied that the Jews would eventually be restored to their country. This matter has been
fulfilled; the Jews have formed the nation of Israel.

The Bible Having

the Highest Standard of Morality

The principles of morality spoken of in the Bible are higher than the standards of morality
contained in any other book. Not only does the Bible speak of loving others as one’s self, but
even of loving one’s enemies (Matt. 5:44). When Jesus was being crucified and suffering
unbearably on the cross, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are
doing” (Luke 23:34). This shows the high standard of morality in the Bible.

The Bible Having Extraordinary Power

Not only have many prophecies in the Bible been fulfilled, but the Bible also has special power,
especially the power to change people.

The Bible Being Profound and Mysterious

yet Plain and Easily Understood

The Bible has been translated into over one thousand languages. Even primitive people have a
Bible to read in their language. Furthermore, if the books written about the Bible were laid side
by side, the distance would be greater than the width of the Pacific Ocean.

Furthermore, the Bible is also the deepest and most mysterious book. Some people devote their
whole life to study the Bible, and at the end they still do not understand its mysteries. However,
the Bible is a book that is easy to read and not difficult to comprehend.

Of all the books ever published, only the Bible meets the criteria of being the word of God. The
Bible is surely God’s word; it is a book of revelation from God. Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All
Scripture is God-breathed.” Second Peter 1:20-21 also says, “No prophecy of Scripture is of
one’s own interpretation; for no prophecy was ever borne by the will of man, but men spoke
from God while being borne by the Holy Spirit.” Only through the Bible can we know God
Himself and touch His intention concerning man. Through the Bible we can contact God,
fellowship with God, and gain and enjoy God Himself.

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