The Gospel Way Catechismنموونە

QUESTION 3: Who Does God Reveal Himself to Be?

ANSWER

He is the Lord, the great I AM, one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. He is the Creator and Ruler of all that is, seen and unseen.

More than a century ago, the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche painted a picture of the world as having no inherent meaning or purpose. The idea of God was a great deception, and traditional morality and religion were not just irrelevant, but an obstacle to power and progress. The future would belong to those courageous enough to create their own meaning. The winners would be known not for submission to a fanciful understanding of God, but through their becoming godlike in the quest for power.

The Nietzschean outlook on life is often called nihilism: the belief that life is meaningless, and religious and moral principles are unfounded. Christianity stands in direct contradiction. According to the Bible, life is purposeful, not meaningless. And it is not belief in God but the denial of his existence that is the great deception in our world today.

In the Scriptures, we see that this God (who is the ultimate reality—not simply the greatest of all beings but Being itself) is personal and relational. God is the maker and sustainer of all things. He is the Lord. God’s creation and kingship extend not only to the visible things of this world but also to the invisible realm, including spiritual powers and authorities (Revelation 4:11).

In a world that often lives as if there is no God, or as if God is whatever we imagine him to be, or as if God is just one of many potential deities, Christianity, like a comet streaking across the sky, declares the identity of the God who made us. The God we see revealed in Scripture is unique, the Great I AM. God gives us his name in a famous story near the beginning of the Bible, when God appears to Moses in a burning bush (Exodus 3). The name I AM implies that God is always present, active and involved, fully independent, self-sufficient, sovereign, inexhaustible and all-encompassing, eternal, all-powerful (Isaiah 41:4). Like a flame that never dies. A bush that never stops burning.

As you move through the Bible, the revelation of God grows brighter and clearer. The one true God, the Great I AM, is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Christians call this the Trinity—one God in three persons (Matthew 28:19). It is the central tenet of all Christian theology, and we will return to it often in this catechism.

In the tortured vision of Nietzsche, the best life is found when we become a “superman”—not the caped hero of comic book fame but the ideal individual who succeeds at transcending conventional morality and societal norms to create our own values and purpose in life. In contrast, Christianity teaches that God is the source of the transcendence we long for. He is Life itself.

Nietzsche proclaimed the death of God, yet it is Nietzsche who died, while God still lives. In contrast to a nihilistic vision of the world that reduces all conflict to power and leads only to despair, Christianity claims the majestic, awe-inspiring, holy God of love exists as Father, Son, and Spirit, that self-giving love is the key to the mystery of life, and that all the goodness and happiness in the world can be traced back to the fountain of all joy, the divine dance of God at the center of all things.

Reflection Questions

How does the Christian understanding of God as Father, Son, and Spirit provide a meaningful alternative to the perspective that life has no inherent purpose? Reflect on how the relational nature of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Spirit) offers a framework for understanding purpose, meaning, and community in contrast to Nietzsche’s view that God is a deception. How does this relational aspect of God shape your sense of purpose and identity?

In what ways does acknowledging God as both Creator and King challenge the secular view that we must create our own meaning and purpose? Consider how believing God as the ultimate authority and sustainer of all things shapes your understanding of reality. How does this belief influence your daily decisions, values, and sense of security compared to an outlook on life that denies divine authority?