The question “Is God dead?” gained prominence in the 1960s, spurred on by philosophers who claimed that recent advances in science and technology had eliminated the need for God as an explanation of the universe and human life. However, the Bible provides a resounding answer to this question that God is very much alive and active in the world.
The Bible clearly teaches that God is eternal and unchanging. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). As the eternal Creator of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), God preceded all physical matter and continues to sustain all things by His power (Colossians 1:17). He reigns as King over everything (Psalm 47:2) and His purposes can never be thwarted (Job 42:2). God does not grow old or weak; He will never die or cease to exist.
Throughout Scripture, God demonstrates His active presence in creation. He hears and answers prayer (Psalm 65:2), guides and protects His people (Psalm 32:8), miraculously intervenes in human affairs (Exodus 14:21-22) and accomplishes His sovereign will in history (Daniel 4:34-35). Jesus Christ claimed divinity and manifest God’s power through miracles, healing, authority over nature and power over death through His resurrection (Matthew 9:2-7; John 11:38-44; Matthew 28:5-6). After His ascension, Jesus continues to build His church through the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4).
The Bible warns against those who deny God’s power and activity, stating that their foolish hearts are darkened (Romans 1:18-23). Scripture exhorts all people everywhere to recognize the one true living God who made us and sustains us (Acts 17:24-28). King David proclaimed God’s enduring love and faithfulness to all generations (Psalm 100:5). The book of Hebrews provides many examples of people who trusted in God, signaling that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
Rather than disproving God’s existence and presence, modern science continues to reveal the breathtaking complexity of the universe and living organisms, pointing to an intelligent Creator (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20). The existence of objective moral values affirms a moral lawgiver. The historical evidence for Jesus’ life, death and resurrection upholds His divinity. Changed lives offer irrefutable proof that God remains powerfully at work. Jesus promised His followers that He would be with them to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20).
The Bible clearly states that a day is coming when God will fully manifest His glory and every knee will bow before Him (Philippians 2:10-11). Until then, Christ’s followers live with hope and assurance that God reigns, God hears, God cares and God acts. He was, He is and He always will be. God is most certainly alive!
God’s Attributes Demonstrate His Eternal Existence
Scripture contains many statements about God’s eternal nature and unchanging attributes that set Him apart from His finite creation. God has always been and will always continue to exist (Psalm 90:2). He inhabits eternity (Isaiah 57:15) and alone is immortal by nature (1 Timothy 6:16). God declared His name to Moses as “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14), indicating His self-existence and eternal presence.
The Bible describes God as all-powerful (Jeremiah 32:17), all-knowing (Psalm 147:5), ever-present (Psalm 139:7-10) and changeless (Malachi 3:6). He possesses perfect holiness (Isaiah 6:3), justice (Deuteronomy 32:4), wisdom (Romans 16:27), truthfulness (Titus 1:2), goodness (Psalm 145:9) and love (1 John 4:8). Since God’s essential being and character never varies, the passage of time has no effect on Him.
The eternal God created time along with the physical universe and stands outside of it as its sovereign Lord (Genesis 1:1, Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8). He remains the same through all generations of human history (Psalm 102:25-27). While the heavens and earth will one day wear out, God remains unchanged; He will never grow old or die (Isaiah 51:6, Hebrews 1:10-12).
God Remains Active in Sustaining Creation
The Bible repeatedly emphasizes God’s enduring rule and activity within His creation. Scripture states that by God’s power all things hold together (Colossians 1:17). He sustains the universe by His word of power (Hebrews 1:3) and in Him all people live and move and have their being (Acts 17:28). God’s works and purposes extend from generation to generation (Psalm 145:4, 13).
Throughout the psalms, creation is called to praise God because He commanded it into being (Psalm 148) and He remains intimately involved in sustaining it (Psalm 104). The heavens declare God’s glory, the skies proclaim His handiwork and the earth is full of His provisions (Psalm 19:1, Psalm 33:5, Psalm 104:24). All of creation depends on Him to provide rain, food and breath (Psalm 104:27-30, Psalm 147:8-9, Acts 17:25).
Jesus demonstrated God’s power and presence by exercising authority over nature, healing diseases, casting out demons, forgiving sins and raising the dead (Matthew 8-9, Mark 4:35-41, Luke 7:1-17). Christ’s miracles provided a foretaste of God’s coming kingdom when He will utterly transform the heavens and earth (Romans 8:18-21). Until then, God continues to providentially sustain His creation, actively upholding the universe by His mighty word (Hebrews 1:3).
God Remains Immutably Purposeful in History
From beginning to end, the Bible shows how the eternal God is actively accomplishing His purposes in human history. He selects and deals with individuals and nations, demonstrating that He is the Lord of history (Isaiah 40:15-17, 23-26). God works all things together to fulfill His sovereign plan (Romans 8:28, Ephesians 1:11).
Throughout Israel’s history, God raised up leaders like Moses, Joshua and David to accomplish His redemptive plan. Through the prophets, God called His people to repentance and faithfulness. In the fullness of time, He sent Jesus to fulfill Messianic prophecies (Galatians 4:4-5). God providentially worked so that Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection would defeat sin and death (Acts 4:27-28).
After His ascension, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to birth the church and continues to build it through Spirit-empowered disciples (Acts 1:8, 2:1-4). Christ governs history from heaven’s throne to one day return and make all things new (Ephesians 1:20-23, Revelation 21:5). Even amid suffering and opposition, Christians can have confidence that God’s plans cannot be stopped (Job 42:2, Proverbs 19:21). The eternal God remains purposefully at work to accomplish His perfect will.
God Continues to Hear and Answer Prayer
A key evidence of God’s enduring presence in the world is that He hears and responds to the prayers of His people. Scripture encourages God’s people to bring their requests and petitions to Him, with the assurance that the Lord hears and answers (Psalm 65:2, 1 John 5:14-15). James pointed out that the intense prayer of a righteous person accomplishes much (James 5:16).
Throughout the Old and New Testaments, believers experienced God’s faithful response as they cried out to Him. Hannah pleaded for a child and God granted her request (1 Samuel 1). The prophets interceded for God’s people, and He showed mercy mixed with justice. In the midst of a life-threatening storm, Jonah prayed to the Lord, who delivered him (Jonah 2). At Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus demonstrated God’s power to respond to human need (John 11).
God invites His people to come boldly and confidently before His throne of grace, with the assurance that He hears and helps them (Hebrews 4:16). Christ intercedes for believers before the Father, ensuring their prayers are aligned with God’s perfect will (Romans 8:34). The Holy Spirit prompts and empowers prayer, and the Father graciously responds according to His wisdom (Romans 8:26-27).
God Continues to Be at Work Through His Spirit
After His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples He would send the Holy Spirit to be His empowering presence on earth (John 14:16-18, Acts 1:8). On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit was poured out to indwell and fill believers (Acts 2). Through the Spirit, God began building Christ’s church as a living temple of His presence (Ephesians 2:19-22).
The book of Acts shows how the Spirit powerfully advanced the spread of the gospel and established new churches in city after city. The apostle Paul described his ministry as Spirit-empowered and directed, resulting in spiritual fruit and gifts in every place the Lord sent him (Romans 15:18-19, 1 Corinthians 2:4-5). God remains actively at work through His Spirit to accomplish His redemptive purposes.
In the life of each believer, God’s Spirit produces transformation into Christlikeness as the greatest evidence that God lives and acts (2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit guides, instructs, comforts, convicts of sin, and produces spiritual fruit in surrendered lives. Every spiritual breakthrough and victory over sin stands as a marker of God’s enduring presence and activity.
Objections to God’s Existence Fail to Disprove Him
Arguments that God is dead or nonexistent do not stand up to biblical scrutiny or evidence in the real world. The Bible specifically warns against those who suppress innate knowledge of the Creator and foolishly conclude God does not exist (Psalm 14:1, Romans 1:18-23). Such arguments stem from a darkened heart rather than sound reason.
Atheistic philosophies cannot adequately account for the origin, fine-tuning, beauty and complexity of the physical universe apart from God. Nor can they provide a basis for universal human rights, intrinsic moral values, consciousness and free will. The existence of evil and suffering does not disprove God but points to humanity’s need for redemption.
Furthermore, the historical evidence supporting Jesus’ life, miracles, death, resurrection and promised return is substantial and growing. The enduring legacy of Christ’s followers and the global expansion of Christianity give testimony to God’s ongoing work in the world. Changed lives and earnest prayer provide irrefutable proof for believers that God lives within.
God Remains Faithful and True
The Bible presents a God who engages personally with His people, speaks into their lives, and demonstrates His faithful love and commitment to keeping His promises. While humans are prone to lie, forget promises, or change their minds, God remains eternally true to His word (Hebrews 6:18, Titus 1:2). His plans stand firm forever and His purposes prevail (Psalm 33:11, Proverbs 19:21).
Old Testament figures like Abraham, Joseph, Moses and David experienced God’s steadfastness throughout their lives (Genesis 15:1, Genesis 39:2-3, Exodus 3:12, 2 Samuel 7:8-16). In the midst of deep suffering, Job confessed that God can do all things and accomplish His divine purposes (Job 42:1-2). The prophet Jeremiah declared God’s faithfulness to sustain, deliver and restore His people (Lamentations 3:22-23).
At just the right time, God upheld His promise to send a Redeemer in Jesus (Galatians 4:4-5). Christ’s resurrection inaugurated the new covenant in which God promises to forgive sin, indwell believers permanently through His Spirit, and resurrect the dead to eternal life, culminating in the new creation (Hebrews 8, Hebrews 9). God remains unchanging in His commitment to fulfill all His good promises.
Believers Can Have Confidence in God’s Ongoing Work
Followers of Jesus have assurance that God is alive and actively carrying out His redemptive plan for the world. Before His ascension, Jesus declared that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not overcome it (Matthew 16:18). By pouring out His Spirit at Pentecost, God initiated the next phase of His kingdom plan (Acts 2).
Jesus promised His continuing presence with believers as they carry out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). He intercedes for them before the Father (Romans 8:34) and gives them access to God’s throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). God works through all things to accomplish His good purposes in their lives (Romans 8:28).
Therefore, Christians can confidently press on in ministry, prayer, evangelism and acts of service, knowing their labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). They live with hope and assurance that one day God will restore all things and wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4-5). Until then, God reigns; His purposes stand; He remains alive and at work as believers’ ever-present help (Psalm 46:1).
Conclusion
The Bible resoundingly affirms that God lives – He is not dead or nonexistent. As the eternal, self-existent Creator of all things, God preceded the universe and continues upholding it by His word of power. God transcends time yet remains actively involved in sustaining creation, accomplishing His sovereign purposes, hearing and answering prayer, and building His church through the Spirit’s empowering presence. While unbelievers may deny God’s existence, Christ-followers experience His faithful presence and have unshakable confidence that God is alive and at work until He fully establishes His eternal kingdom.