GOD BEING THE MEANING OF THE UNIVERSE
There must be a meaning to the existence of heaven and earth; all things have a meaning for their existence. What is the meaning of heaven and earth? The meaning of heaven and earth is the mystery of heaven and earth, the mystery of the universe. What is this mystery? This mystery is simply God Himself.
Romans 1:20 says, “For the invisible things of Him, both His eternal power and divine characteristics, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being perceived by the things made, so that they would be without excuse.” When you see the heaven, the earth, the stars, the sun, and the moon, you cannot deny that there is a sovereign Lord in the universe. Regardless of what you call Him, there is such a One. The entire universe declares the eternal power of God.
In addition to God’s eternal power, this verse also refers to a deeper aspect of God, that is, His divine characteristics. The Greek word for divine characteristics is a word that is difficult to translate not only in Chinese but also in English. Colossians 2:9 says, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” In Greek, the word for Godhead in this verse and the word for divine characteristics in Romans 1:20 are of the same root, but they are two entirely different words. The King James Version renders both words as Godhead.
Romans 1:20, however, refers to the special features, the characteristics, as the outward manifestations of God’s nature. Hence, in this verse we render the Greek word as divine characteristics. Colossians 2:9 refers to the divine Godhead, the divine Person, God Himself.
Glory
What then are the divine characteristics as the outward manifestations of the divine nature? Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God,/And the firmament proclaims the work of His hands.” Here, the glory of God is no doubt manifested by the glory of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The glory of light is a manifestation of the divine characteristics of God’s nature. The heavens declare the divine characteristics of God’s nature through this particular manifestation. Psalm 8:1-3 says, “O Jehovah…who have set Your glory over the heavens!…When I see…the moon and the stars.…” Glory here is manifested by the brilliance of the moon and the stars. From these verses we can see that the glory manifested in the universe tells us that the special features, the characteristics, of the divine nature are glorious.
Power and Ability
The work of His hands refers to God’s ability, wisdom, and capability. In other words, the universe is God’s masterpiece. We may well translate the work of His hands into masterpiece. In this masterpiece there are wisdom, skillfulness, ability, and power, all of which are characteristics as the outward manifestations of God’s nature.
Grandness and Majesty
Furthermore, when you see the universe, you are reminded of God as One who is grand and majestic. Grandness and majesty are also characteristics as manifestations of God’s nature.
Light and Life
Moreover, the universe is full of light and life. By this you can see that God’s nature is full of light and life. The earth created by God is full of life. There are plants, animals, and humans, all of which are life and are according to the order of life.
God first created the lifeless things, and then He created a lower form of life, the plant life without consciousness. Following this, He created the animal life with consciousness. The life with consciousness begins with the oviparous, the life that is produced by laying eggs, and advances to the viviparous, the life that is brought forth apart from laying eggs. With the viviparous, there are also different levels. Beasts and cattle are viviparous, but they are different in level and size. The highest life of the viviparous variety is man’s life. Most people today consider men as animals. We do not agree with that. I am not an animal; I am a man. First, I have God’s image, and second, I have a spirit within me. The Chinese also say that man is the “spirit of all creatures.” Man is not an animal; man is a life with the image of God.
Finally, the highest life is God’s life, signified by the tree of life in Genesis 2. The record in Genesis 1 and 2 begins with the lowest level of life, then it goes up level by level until it reaches the life of man. From there it goes up from the life of man to the life of God, which is the highest life. Praise the Lord, as the regenerated ones we have God’s life! When you look at the flowers, grass, trees, insects, fish, birds, beasts, and then the human race, everywhere you look is full of life. This declares to us that life is a divine characteristic of the Creator.
(Five Great Mysteries in the Bible, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee)
