We often talk about people being authentic, transparent or “genuine.” We know what that means…that we are to live without hypocrisy. To practice what we preach. But what does it mean that God is genuine?
It means that God is who He said He is; and He does what He says He’ll do. In other words, God is not a hypocrite. He practices what He preaches. God is not trying to fake us out in being God, hoping He will never be exposed as a false god, or a lie. No! God is the One True God. He is not one of the numerous others who have claimed to be God. In comparing him to false idols, Jeremiah declared, “But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King.” (Jeremiah 10:10)
So, what does God’s genuineness mean to us?
It means we can trust God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The fact that God is God means that we can trust Him in various ways…
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We can trust that He is the One True God because He has proven Himself to be just that. There are many false religions that claim to be God. Yet God has proven it through creation, miracles, the cross, and the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus Himself claimed to be “the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).” He is THE truth.His words, His actions and His miracles prove those claims to be true. He truly is the One True God!
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It means that God is not “tricky.” The idea of God that many people have is that God is a trickster. In other words, they believe that He does not always tell the truth. He baits and switches. He finds joy of tricking us. With God, what you see is what you get. He is sincere and genuine.
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It means that we can trust God’s Word. Through the Bible, we know what He has told us. He has not pulled any punches. His Word is true, and will always remain true.
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It means that we know we worship the One True God. We have confidence that He is the “right” God to be worshiped. He is the “right” one because is the only real one. Think about this…in order to be God, He has to be the only God. You can’t have competing gods. In theory, if you have competing gods, there would be a cosmic battle to see which one is the genuine God. However, there is only God. And if you think about it logically, there can only be one God. Our God is the One who created everything out of nothing. He alone is the One who sustains everything now. Our God is the one who set His plan of redemption into place from the beginning of time, culminating in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The One True God is the only God who hears us and cares for us.
God Himself declares that there is no other God. In Isaiah 44:6 God said, “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” Believers, we can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the God we serve is the one true God. Let that give you confidence and peace, and may it result in true worship.