How to Know God by Using the Bible

Lewis's The Message Of The Living God: His Glory, His People, His World The first point that Peter Lewis makes in his book The Message of the Living God is that God does not speak to us on our own terms, the way that Woody Allen would want Him to speak.[footnoteRef:1] No, God speaks to us in His own language, though He uses our words: it is the language of spiritual love, expressed through ancient covenants described in the Old and New Testaments.

It is a language that we must look for if we are desirous to know God. This is the thesis of Lewis's work -- and thus the book takes a foray into the Scriptures so that the reader might better understand the God Whom he seeks. Lewis connects this idea with that of Calvin, who also began his teaching from the basis of "knowing" God rather than of questioning His existence. Knowing God is the basis of a personal relationship -- which is what God wants.

[1: Peter Lewis, The Message of the Living God: His Glory, His People, His World (IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 15.] The book begins with Genesis and Lewis points out the "truth that touches every other truth" -- which is, as Scripture points out, the fact that God created the world.[footnoteRef:2] The first question Lewis raises is: What kind of God would create such a wonderful place? As Scripture notes, it is a God Whose Being is Good. This is what Revelation tells us.

This section of the book delves into the character of God, how God is good, why God is good -- namely, because God is order, presence, eternity, and so on. The attributes of God are what define Him, in a sense, for human intellects. The other way that we know Him, however, is through His works and revelation. Basically, Lewis's point is that we know God in various ways: through history, testimony, revelation, Scripture, and inspiration. [2: Ibid, 27.] Part 2 considers God and His People from the standpoint of the Old Testament.

It looks at the covenants made between God and the Jews, His commandments, as well as His character, which is deepened in a way through the examination of His relationship with those Who love Him.

It discusses the glory and the grace of God, as depicted in the Book of Exodus, how He reconciles sinners, as depicted in Leviticus, how He is righteous, as depicted in Amos, how He is loving, as depicted in Hosea, and how He is the true living God unlike the dead, false idols, as depicted in Isaiah. The third and final part of the book examines the Personhood of God.

It begins with an examination of the Incarnation and moves on to an expression of God as Redeemer, taking the reader through the pages of the Gospel of John to the Epistle of Paul. The Trinity is examined in the Gospel of Matthew followed by the Divine Kingship of God. This portion of the book concludes with a discussion of the Book of Revelation and how God is to be worshipped. The book concludes with a study guide that allows the student to consider the most important points of the.