In the modern world, it is often hard to know what is true. Many people claim that truth is completely relative and that every individual determines what is true for themselves. But the question of the existence of God cannot be relative. He either exists or He doesn’t. He can’t both exist and not exist. Evolutionists claim that the world is purely material and came about by random chance. But as Christians, we believe that God is the Creator of the world and remains intimately connected with His creation. But how is it that we can say with confidence that God exists?
There are a variety of ways that we know God exists. Primarily, we know that God exists because we see evidence of His existence both historically and scientifically. We also use logic to understand that His existence is necessary philosophically. And we experience the inner confirmation of the Spirit who brings about life change upon our conversion to faith in Jesus Christ.
Historical Evidence of God
The Bible claims to be the Word of God Himself. In the Bible, we read of several historical figures who had direct encounters with God and who testified about His existence. Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses, Solomon, and the prophets all heard from God in the Old Testament. Then in the New Testament, we learn that God Himself came down from heaven and took upon Himself human nature in order to reveal Himself fully to His people and rescue them from sin.
There are more than 500 witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection, including some testimony from unbelieving historians. The disciples and many others believed in the ministry of Jesus so much that they were willing to die gruesome deaths in order to remain faithful to Him.
The archeological evidence confirms the veracity of the biblical accounts. There has never been an archeological discovery that contradicted the Bible. And all throughout history, we see that some of the greatest minds who ever existed believed in the existence of God. Francis Bacon, Galileo Galilei, Nicholas Copernicus, John Milton, William Wilberforce, and Johann Bach are a few of them.
Scientific Evidence of God
The more science advances, the more it is becoming evident that naturalistic evolution is simply false. Everything from the smallest known pieces of microbiology to the largest known galaxies of the universe point to the need for a Designer. Richard Dawkins, who is one of the most famous atheistic scientists of the modern world, admitted that no one who is informed of such matters could claim that something as complex as the eye could come about by chance.
Unfortunately, he continues believing in naturalism despite the mountain of evidence against it and makes ludicrous and self-contradicting assertions to support his theories. Believing in evolution takes far more faith than believing in God. But ultimately, he and other atheistic scientists have chosen to embrace blind faith instead of evidence-based faith in the matter.
Cells are irreducibly complex, which means that they couldn’t have evolved gradually over time. The entropy of the universe, the proximity of the earth to the sun, and the size of the sun have such little margin for error that it would be ridiculous to surmise that they came into being by accident. And the billions of bases that have to come together in the correct order for DNA to function would be statistically impossible to have formed in a random explosion. This is just a sampling of the vast problems of evolution. Science undoubtedly points to the existence of God.
Philosophical Evidence of God
Though there are many philosophical arguments for the existence of God, there are four primary ones that we will look at. First, the cosmological argument for the existence of God recognizes that everything that exists has a cause. Nothing comes into existence by itself, and there is no such thing as spontaneous generation. With this in mind, it is only logical to conclude that the universe could not have both created and started itself. It had to have an outside cause to set it into motion, and that cause is God.
Second, the moral argument for the existence of God pushes back against the theory of naturalistic evolution. If the universe came about as the evolutionists claim, then humans would have no real purpose. They would be as equally valuable as a single-celled organism or an animal. But humans do not act as if this were true. They love and value other humans more than animals, and they believe that some actions are good and some are bad. They live as if there is an objective moral system, and this is because they are made in the image of a moral God.
Third, the ontological argument for the existence of God recognizes that humans would have no real reason for inventing the concept of God if He didn’t actually exist. If humans really were formed as a result of slow and random mutations from lower species over billions of years, then they would be the highest creature. There would be no reason to think of a being that was greater than them. But since people have conceived of an all-good Higher Being, it is proof that He really does exist.
Finally, the teleological argument is linked to the aforementioned scientific evidence. Since the universe exists with such complexity and with such precise order, it points to the fact that it was designed for a specific purpose by a complex and orderly God.
Personal Evidence of God
First John describes the objective tests for life change that are possible only through the work of the Holy Spirit. Believers walk in the light rather than the darkness (1:5-7), confess their sins (1:8-10), and obey the Word of God (2:3-4). They love their fellow believers (2:9-11) and hate the sin of the world (2:15-17). They persevere in the gospel until the end (2:24-25) and live in pursuit of righteousness (3:10). Finally, they have the testimony of the Spirit (4:13).
Christians who have come to know Jesus Christ as Lord experience life change. The Spirit of God Himself comes to dwell inside of His people, and He provides the inner confirmation of His existence and His seal on their life. He grants peace beyond comprehension and provides the personal and tangible evidence of God’s existence for those who believe.