Biblical Praportions and Principles Our understanding of God has been influenced by our own religious experience. We see God as the loving Father of the family, the kindly Grandfather of the home, the generous Creator of the world, and the heavenly Savior and Judge of the universe. The Old Testament pictures God as our Creator, who made the world and everything in it, including man, woman, and even animals. In speaking to Moses, God said: "Let me make mankind in the image of my own eternity. He was created upright and in God's likeness." (Gen. 1:26.) "Behold, I will create him a helpmate as a comrade unto man; and he shall be called Iahv." (Isa. 63:19.) Paul, speaking of the creation, says, "But account this, O man, that thou art of the earth, earthy and unsinning." (Rom. 8:7.) It is clear from his words that man is of the earth and of the dust. In the New Testament, the Son of God, our elder Brother, spoke to the repentant thief on the cross, "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." (John 11:25.) In the Lord's Prayer in which we ask that "our Father, which art in heaven, may be delivered from the power of evil," we have a promise that "every one that asketh receiveth." (Matt. 7:11.) One of the fundamental rules of belief in God is that we must believe in God. In explaining this fact, Professor George C. Burrell, of Stanford University, wrote: "Do you believe God exists? This is the first and fundamental question. If you admit the existence of God, then your mental processes will be directed by the law of faith." In the words of Dr. Thomas H. Gallagher: "Do you believe in God? Do you believe there is a God? Do you believe in the Christ and in his mission? There is no other way of being saved. These are the first questions to be considered. No one should dare to deny these three principles. And when once a man has come to believe that there is a God, then he will come to believe in Him also." "There is but one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (1 Tim. 2:5.) This is the one doctrine that is the foundation of all Christian religion and philosophy. It is the one doctrine which can never be too often repeated, nor can it be too earnestly believed. To repeat this doctrine, the "one Mediator" of all men, is the primary message of this Book. No statement of basic doctrines is more frequently made in our Holy Scriptures than the following statement: "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all." (1 Tim. 2:5.) "For what man is there that knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." (1 Cor. 2:11.) In explaining the reason for the Trinity, Dr. Gallagher said: "It is absolutely essential to Christianity. It is our very salvation. Jesus Christ has come to earth to save men, as it is written in 1 John 4:9. He must therefore have had some way of bringing men to God. The Bible makes that clear. He was a 'man, even the Son of God.' How could He be 'a man' unless He had some way of bringing men to God? 'God was in Christ.' God is outside of men and has no ability to bring men to God. He is not capable of bringing men to God. How, then, could Jesus save men? He has always been saying that men can find salvation in Him. He also says He is the Way of salvation, that if a man believes on Him he will be saved. Now how does He bring men to God? It must be because he is a man. He says so Himself. The Son of God said to Nicodemus, 'You must be born again, of water and the Spirit.' 'You must be born again.' How does one man take another man to heaven? Through water. Jesus has Himself said, 'I give water to drink.' Now, if one can come to God through water, how could the Son of God come to men and not come through water? The Bible declares that God and Christ were one. The same God that spoke this universe into existence has come to men, bringing all men into His family. 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him.' This one Holy Spirit. How is it that Jesus can come to God and bring men to God? There is no other way. Jesus is the Way. 'No man cometh unto the Father but by Me.' God is not a God who cannot do a thing He wants to do. Jesus is in heaven because He is a Man. He is not just one or two things, but many. He is what Paul calls Him, 'a Mediator between God and men.' He is God incarnate. He is the answer of God to the prayer that has been repeated in the Bible, 'Send me now, O Lord, Thou Holy One of Israel.' He has come to bring men to God. I think that is the meaning of the Bible when it speaks of Jesus coming into the world as the Son of God. God needs men. The Holy Spirit is God, but He needs men. You see, you cannot make a living God. We have tried and failed. But God in His great mercy tried this way. He made man, and He made us as one with Him. His Spirit can be in us. He needs man to help Him do this work. He has made provision that He Himself would be represented by another. Jesus is that one. Jesus is one of the Mediators between God and man. We know God, and we know Christ. How much more we know Jesus, as one with God." God is one and unchangeable. If this doctrine is a fundamental fact, then it would follow that the Bible would not contain two contradictory statements regarding one of the most basic matters in the Christian world. It was once commonly believed that such contradictions exist in the Bible. The most fundamental doctrine of God is that of His unchangeableness. God is unchangeable. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. For His name's sake, God made His name known unto Adam when He created him. And every living creature gave Him praise. (Gen. 1:26.) Some might object that the Bible also records a change of names for God. According to the Bible, God's name is spelled Jehovah, Jahve, Yahweh, Adonai, or Lord. At first it might seem that these different spellings would indicate a change of God's name. However, if we examine each of these changes, we find that in each case they are not so much a change of name as a change in pronunciation. In the Hebrew language, a vowel signifies either "an," as in man, or "o," as in mother. Jehovah, Jahve, and Yahweh are all pronounced similarly. In the Book of Exodus we find that God's name was changed from Elohim to Yahweh. One Hebrew word may have been translated into English as "God," another as "Lord." "Jehovah" appears to be the original form of the name and has been translated from the Hebrew into the English word "Lord." "Jehovah" is a title of God, meaning simply "The Lord," as "father" means "the father." A little of this title would go a long way in the right direction. This same word, Jehovah, or Lord, is used frequently in the Bible. "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, the God of my rock; in Him will I trust." (Psa. 18:2.) "The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works." (Psa. 145:9.) "And in this I rejoice, and give thanks to my God," (Job 33:3.) Is it any wonder that Job expressed gratitude to God? Job's statement shows clearly that God has given him "an inheritance among the great." (Psa. 49:14.) There are four reasons for believing in the existence of God. The four reasons are: God is the supreme source of being. He is the originator of life, and life has been the greatest blessing. God is the highest truth. In God all truth finds expression and God has the only true existence. We are of the opinion that God is the Supreme Being. We do not agree with those who claim that God is a being, or that He is one of a kind. We have rejected the views of those who say that God is a finite being because this theory does not make sense. If