Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
Let me clarify something at the start: The lesson of faith, as taught in the Old Testament, is foundational to what is taught in the New. You can’t understand how God designed faith to work unless you understand its foundation and what hangs in the balance. The lessons are definitely not incompatible, but they can be confusing. Yet, without an understanding of their differences, we may be led to struggle with questions like, “How did people who lived before Christ get saved (or did they?)”
The “God-Shaped Vacuum”
In the beginning, God made us in His image. From the day He made us, He knew what every turn His creation would make—from beginning to end. Having said that, I believe God provided numerous “checks and balances” in His creation that were designed to help us find Him, appreciate Him, and revere Him. One of the first (and I think most important) of those checks was that God placed inside each of us what many have called “a God-shaped vacuum.” I liken this to God’s version of a “homing device.” Thus, we have a built-in mechanism that compels us to find our Creator. Although we may have an insatiable desire to know Him, we may also selfishly try and fill this hole with other things we think can substitute for God (e.g., money, sex, power, drugs, etc.) Since God placed this hole inside us for a reason, it is His prerogative to decide what we can fill it with before we will feel satisfied. It’s like that natural instinct that tells us when we’re with someone who loves us (like a parent, a spouse, or one of our children). When we know we’ve had an experience with the one true God, a still, small voice whispers, “You found me!” There is nothing like that feeling, and once experienced, it will set you on a lifelong path of seeking more ways to find and know this all-powerful, all-knowing, creator God whose greatest thrill is to love His people and to feel their love in return.
Now, how does this small vacuum work? And is there any Biblical basis to support it? My favorite verse for describing this phenomenon is found in Paul’s letter to the Romans:
19 For that which is known about God is evident to them (humanity) and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them.
20 For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification],
21 Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. Romans 1: 19-21 ABCE
There are some very deep lessons to draw out of this short section of verse:
- Creation is the best witness to the existence of God. Since the beginning of time, if anyone wanted to find the one and only true God, all they had to do was look around them. The full power and majesty of God is on display every day! And it is “intelligible and clearly discernible,” “made plain in (our) inner consciousness.” (The God-shaped vacuum).
- How is it “made plain?” I think the best answer to that question is to look at all the diversity! How many birds did God have to make to impress us? How many stars in the sky were enough? God clearly went overboard in placing us on a planet that is just filled with examples of His power, His creativity, and His desire to interface with us!
And to what end is God aiming? God wants us to be impressed with our Creator because, to the extent that we recognize Him as the one and only true God, and revere Him, trust Him, and obey Him, therein is the beginnings of our faith in Him. Paul makes this clear in the verse that precedes the ones we read earlier:
17 The Good News shows how God makes people right with himself—that it begins and ends with faith. As the Scripture says, “But those who are right with God will live by faith.” Romans 1:17 NCV
And what is faith? The author of Hebrews is generally considered the authority on that subject:
11 Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. 2 Faith is the reason we remember great people who lived in the past.
3 It is by faith we understand that the whole world was made by God’s command so what we see was made by something that cannot be seen. Hebrews 11: 1-3 NCV
Faith by Inspiration
So, God put this homing device inside us so we’d be motivated to seek out our Creator and, in the process, develop a faith in Him based on trust, reverence, and obedience to Him. In the beginning, when humanity was young and didn’t understand much about the world (but was generally frightened by it), the first place God showed Himself was through the inspiration that came from an awareness of the awesomeness of His creation. They looked up in the sky at night and saw all the stars, planets, and the moon and couldn’t help but feel that an all-powerful God must have been responsible. Or, they were just astounded at the diversity, beauty, and creativity that must have gone into all the birds, animals, fish, flowers, etc., that existed on the earth. When they were inspired, some used that moment to fill their vacuum by labeling it “God.” And God said, “You found me!”
Faith by Sacred Scrolls
This worked for a long time until our accumulated knowledge began to lead us into the trap of thinking that we were smarter than God. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. But God had a check and balance for that, too. Over time, He worked through men of great faith, men who had found and listened to that “still small voice” many times, and they revered it and recognized it as coming from God. They then shared what they heard with others, and they were known to them as “men of God.” Men like Abraham, Moses, and King David. Because of their faith, that still small voice became a booming message coming directly from God. And when they wrote down what God had revealed to them, others were inspired and heard the voice of God, too. The faith of many was strengthened. Thus, the second method by which God showed Himself to humanity was through SACRED SCROLLS. Now, granted, before any scroll was written, many of these sacred words were passed on via oral traditions. However, their impact was greatly expanded once a written form of language was available. Remember, God spoke to a lot of people during the Old Testament period! There were Kings, prophets, psalmists, and others who contributed to the 27 books of the Old Testament. All had heard and responded to that “still small voice,” telling them, “You found me!”
Faith by Divine Action
Finally, the time came when God decided to “come out of the closet” and leave no question as to who He was. His people were in bondage to an evil and mighty empire, and God decided it was time to “take them home!” But He knew the road home would be tough, and they would need all the faith they could muster to sustain them. So, in the single greatest outward display of His power (before or since), God revealed Himself to the world! He performed miracles that shocked and awed everyone and left no question as to who was the one and only true God! And, as He guided His people out of Egypt and through the wilderness, His presence continued to be evident by a “cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.” Many who saw these things believed and decided to place their faith in the living God. Some might say that the miracles occurring during The Exodus did not require any faith. Yes, but only if you were there. For centuries, scholars from both science and even religion have questioned if they ever happened. God’s actions were so “over-the-top” that, in retrospect, it seems unrealistic that they ever happened at all. ((If you want to know more about how science is now proving some of these events, please read my blogs on Discoveries #1, 2, and 4.)) Today, much faith in God’s Word is required to believe such things could happen. I think God planned it that way. And to those who have the faith to believe, God will respond, “You found me!”
Faith is Still a Decision
Unfortunately, the connection between that God-shaped vacuum (Asking, “Where is God?”) and the world around you (Screaming, “Here I am!”) the connection is not always firmly established. It’s an individual decision to decide “IF” and “TO WHAT EXTENT” you want to try and fill that “God-shaped vacuum.” Some people fight it because they fear that if they find God—they will have to give up control of their lives to Him (which, in fact, is only partially true). This was a constant struggle for the Jews, and that struggle is no different for the rest of us.
Faith in Jesus
Then came Jesus, and He changed everything! When a man came to the disciples and asked, “Men, what must I do to be saved?” They responded: “Believe in (have faith in) the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16: 30-31 (NCV) Emphasis mine). This is the fundamental core of Christianity, and although true, it has prompted a question that has confused and concerned many people of the faith for centuries. And that is, “How was anyone saved prior to Christ?”
Well, my friends, I think the answer to that question will become a lot simpler in just a few more paragraphs.
As we pointed out earlier, faith began through an inspiration in the wonder and majesty of creation. Humanity first “saw” God by being inspired by what He had done. But how do we know which God was doing the inspiring? Take a look at what Paul wrote to the Colossians:
15 No one can see God, but Jesus Christ is exactly like him (God). He ranks higher than everything that has been made. 16 Through his power all things were made—things in heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen, all powers, authorities, lords, and rulers. All things were made through Christ and for Christ. Colossians 1:15-16 NCV
So, when early humanity was inspired by the stars in the sky and attributed their existence to God—unbeknownst to them, they were placing their faith in Jesus! Then, as the great men of faith emerged—men who actively sought to hear and distill what that still, small voice told them to write—others judged their words to be from God. Why? Because it was clear that they were inspired by the God of Creation and not just men. But what part of the Trinity were they listening to? Let’s look to the words of the Apostle John:
In the beginning there was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were made by him, and nothing was made without him. 4 In him there was life, and that life was the light of all people. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it. John 1: 1-5 NVC
These words were given to describe Jesus. He is the word. He has always been the word—the only message ever delivered to any part of humanity—at any time! Jesus is “life” and the “light of all people”—regardless of when they lived. Believing in Him (having faith in Him) today is no different than those who choose to believe in and respond to that “God-shaped vacuum” inside them. They may not have understood it was Jesus, but it was! Praise the Lord!
Now, lest you remain unconvinced, let’s look at how Jesus developed faith in Himself during His lifetime. First, He inspired people with His words. Many attributed Him with “wisdom beyond His years.” But those who truly heard what He said knew they were listening to the voice of God. That still small voice was screaming, “Here I am!—You found me!” Jesus knew that (just as it was during the time of Pharoah), His time would be a time for miracles. But the miracles Jesus did were miracles to heal, not to destroy. The purpose was the same—His people needed to see who He was by what He could do. The result of Jesus’ life has led to more books being written about Him than any other person who has ever lived. But the greatest of all books was the one they refer to as “the Holy, inspired Word of God.” Perhaps that title will mean more to you now because the truth is—Jesus Himself inspired each and every word in the Bible! That does not (in any way) take anything away from God the Father. For Jesus said:
“Now the Son of Man (Jesus) is glorified and God is glorified in him (Jesus). 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. John 13: 31 NCV
There is no competition here! God, the Father, and Jesus are one. It’s just that without the perspective of the Old Testament, we tend to view the “God” in the Old Testament as referring exclusively to the Father portion of the Trinity. And, to an outward extent, that is true—God, the Father, is the central part of the Trinity that appears in the Old Testament. But Jesus was always the undercurrent behind the workings of His Father in the Old Testament. God (the Father’s) message to the Jews was, “Obey me!” whereas Jesus’s message was, “Follow me.” As a result, the Jews ended up placing their faith in the Law given by God (the Father) versus the Father Himself. They misplaced their faith to those who interpreted the Law instead of the God who gave it to them. As a result, God looked for faith in His people and usually found it wanting. Jesus inspired faith and preached on how to find it.
And that is why we miss the undercurrent of Jesus’ influence and presence during the Old Testament. Yet, He was always there! To place your faith in Jesus is the same as placing your faith in the Father—and vice versa. Jesus said it best when He declared that:
30 I (Jesus) and the Father are one. John 10: 30 NIV
As Christians (and as God’s creation), it has always been the plan that we would be:
…2looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12: 2 NKJV
Remember, the whole purpose and storyline of the Bible is to lead us to Jesus—the author and creator of our world and “finisher of our faith”. And that applies to both the Old and New Testaments!
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[1] If you want to know more about how science is now proving some of these events, please read my blogs on Discoveries #1, 2, and 4.
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