Perhaps you have heard the slogan, “May the force be with you.” This idea is sometimes associated with the concept of God. Some take this to mean the presence of some energy or force accompanying your being. Is this the biblical view of Scripture?
God has revealed His true nature and divine character in Scripture. God is an active, living spirit. John 4:24 states, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” God may be known and related to by His creatures rather than an impersonal and hypothetical “force” as portrayed in Star Wars.
The Bible describes God as a loving, righteous, gracious, compassionate, almighty, all-knowing, and merciful. These divine attributes are indispensable elements of God’s personal nature and eternal being.
Abraham was addressed by God as the Covenant One who is always faithful to His promises (Genesis 15). Joseph, out of obedience, did not want to offend a holy God when he said, “…How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). A hypothetical “force” cannot be offended, only a “true” person can be. An accurate definition of personality incorporates self-determination, self-consciousness, wisdom, rationality, and individuality. God possesses all of these attributes of personality and therefore is a living Person. We must be mindful that Jesus Christ who possesses all of the personal attributes of God, the only Savior, desires to save us from our sins.
Moses was addressed by the compassionate God, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exo.34:6). Hannah shared that God thinks and acts, “for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed” (1 Sam.2:3). Scripture does not depict an impersonal force, but a “Living God!” The psalmist states, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Ps.42:2). In the New Testament Jesus said, “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matt.11:27). There is no doubt Jesus’ relationship with God the Father is intimate and a personal one.
Deuteronomy 4:19 declares, “And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.” We bow down to God alone, not the stars and signs of the Zodiac! Why?
- He is the Creator of the universe
- He preserves and provides for His creation
- Every person should offer Him the highest reverence, love, and devotion.
The passage shown above is to remind us that the laws of nature originate from a Creator who is distinct from His creation. We are not to be mesmerized by nature to the point that we dismiss the Creator. Moreover, to represent God as an impersonal force is to equate Him with pantheism, i.e., everything is divine, everything is God and God is in everything.
God continues to seek sinners and to be known by sinners. His love reminds us that if we believe in Jesus Christ, we have eternal life and there is no condemnation to those who believe in Him.
Would you rather place your trust the Personal God or a nebulous “force?” The choice is yours.
God bless you!
George L. Arroyo