The Signature of God

The Signature of God

Genesis 15

            When Abram left the land of his father he knew little about the God of heaven.  We have every reason to believe that he was as much a pagan as the people with whom he lived.  He had no reason to live any other way.  He may have been influenced by the culture and people around him just as many of us are influenced by our surroundings today.  It’s easy for us to tell ourselves that God called someone exceptional and completely different than you and I to do His work, but this is not the case.  God called someone with the same problems and shortcomings.  The world worked no more in his favor than it does in ours. 

            In the middle of all the confusion and turmoil of this sinful world, God called a man into a covenant relationship.  He set the terms of the covenant, gave promises for the fulfillment of the covenant, and then God sealed it.  We read in Genesis 15, When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold a smoking fire pot and A FLAMING TORCH passed between these pieces.  On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram (v. 17, 18)…

            As the flaming torch of God passed over the ritual of Abram the relationship between man and God changed forever.  One man in the entire world ceased to worship the distant deities of the polytheistic world and began a journey that would lead him into an ever-growing relationship with his creator and Lord.  He would inherit all the blessings that God had intended to give man from the beginning of time, and would live by faith in one who could provide for every need.  As Abram slept and the sky around him became dark, the covenant of Jehovah was sealed with the signature of God in the form of a flaming torch.

            Throughout Scripture God and His work are characterized by fire.  After the flaming torch sealed the covenant with Abram fire is again prominent in God’s work as it rained down from heaven to destroy the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.  When God called His great prophet to deliver Israel from bondage in Egypt He came to Moses in a burning bush.  After their deliverance from Egypt, God led His people through the desert for 40 years as a pillar of fire by night.  Eventually the people came to the foot of Mount Sinai to receive the Law of God.  He came to the top of the mountain as fire.  When God dwelt in the tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple in Jerusalem His presence was always portrayed as fire.  As Elijah stood atop Mount Carmel facing the prophets of Baal God came as fire to show Himself to all the people who had turned their backs on Him in favor of the pagan worship of their king.  It is safe to say that fire IS THE SIGNATURE OF GOD.

            Even the throne of God is surrounded by torches of fire.  Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden LAMPSTANDS, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man (Rev. 1:12, 13)…  From the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the thrones were burning seven TORCHES OF FIRE which are the seven spirits of God (Rev. 4:6).  Fire burns continually around God’s throne and represents the light given by His work in and through the lives of man.  Many of His mighty works throughout history have been done through the fire that has come to represent Him, and His power and might.

            God Himself is even described as fire by the Spirit-inspired writer’s of Holy Scripture.  For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God (Deut. 4:24).  Know therefore today that he who goes over before you as a consuming fire is the Lord your God (Deut. 9:3)…  For our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). 

            We can look back at God’s work against the backdrop of history and see the brightness of the fire that characterizes God cut through the smoke and darkness of the sinful world, just as it cut through the darkness and authenticated a covenant relationship with Abram.  But in spite of all the mighty work of God that fire represents, the most impressive act happened 400 years after the close of the Old Testament.  God’s people had seen Him lead His children and consume other nations through fire, but when the time came for God to establish the church in a new covenant, God’s signature – in the form of fire – rested on His people.  When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place…And divided tongues AS OF FIRE appeared to them and RESTED ON EACH OF THEM (Acts 2:1, 3).  God’s signature was no longer a show of brute force and strength to His people.  His signature became a part of them.  The work of God did not need to be done in a way that would destroy all who opposed Him, but it was done in a way that would save them: through His church; the church that He established on the cross of Christ was signed into citizenship in God’s kingdom and that signature rested on their souls and sunk deep into their hearts.

            Have you ever considered the importance of signatures in our day?  We use them for almost anything of importance that we do.  They are used to get credit or open bank accounts.  To register a vehicle or purchase property requires that we sign our name, and it is even necessary to sign in when we vote.  We sign checks and receipts for credit cards.  We have become so accustomed to writing our signature that we don’t really even think about it anymore.  But there are reasons that the signatures we take so lightly are necessary.  They provide verification and proof of the things that we are doing.  They show our agreement to our activities and our interactions with others.  Many times they are used legally to prove or disprove our actions or contractual obligations.  Look at the uses of signatures in our society:

Signatures Provide Identity

            I have a lot of things that are autographed by hockey players or some type of celebrity.  Those things are associated with that person.  At some time in the past they held those things and signed their names to them and now they are forever bound to, and identified with those objects.  In the same way, God is identified with fire.  It does not mean that God is literally a fire, but that His identity is bound to fire.  When someone is “on fire for God” our Lord is being identified as working in the life of that person.  That person has become a representative of God’s work because the signature of God can be seen in their hearts and the results of the work going on within their lives soon becomes clear in the circumstances and relationships surrounding those live.  God has become IDENTIFIED by His signature on them.

            Whether we realize it or not, God is identified with us because we claim to be a part of His church.  By attending worship services and making the claim that we are a Christian, people are associating God’s work with the signature that they see on us.  The problem with this is that some signatures can be forged.  Their origin is not what it appears to be.  I have a couple autographed hockey pucks that I have bought on eBay over the years.  Most of the ones I have were signed in my presence, but a couple were not.  I have no way of being sure that they are real because I did not see the work that went into placing the signature on the puck.  When we do not witness the work for ourselves we have no means of verifying the identity.  We must assume it’s real.

            When we claim to live our lives for God people must ASSUME that He is to be identified with us.  Far too often His signature in our lives is nothing but a fairly believable forgery.  His work is not really taking place within our souls, we simply go through the motions.  But at the end of the day God’s signature can NEVER BE FORGED.  It is more than an autograph that is placed on us, it is God’s living Spirit PLACED IN US.  It is His love OVERFLOWING from our hearts in a way that is unmistakable.  It is Jesus Christ directing our paths and guiding our ways as we make this journey through life.  God is identified in us by our burning desire to know Him more and understand His will and His ways.  He is identified by our passion and desire to Love the Lord you God with all your heart…

God’s Signature Provides Proof of Intention

            This signature of God that is placed in our hearts does more than identify us with Him.  It shows the world the intention of God.  When we sign a document it is a legal promise to fulfill an obligation, and it is legally binding.  When we place that signature next to the “x” we must fulfill the promise that we made.  In His covenant with man God made many promises to us.  Over 6,000 have been made in Scripture and may be appropriated by God’s people.  Through those whom He has identified as His own He will FULFILL these promises.  His intention is to work in our hearts to such an extent that people in the world around us can’t help but to see God working out His promises.

            God fulfilled every promise to us through Jesus Christ and His life and sacrifice.  Consider the Scriptures:

Ø  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah.   -Matt. 2:17

Ø  And he [Joseph] went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled…     -Matt. 2:23

Ø  And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea…so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled…        -Matt. 4:14

Ø  Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set…            -Matt. 27:9

Ø  The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand…        -Mark 1:15

The purpose of the ministry and sacrifice of Jesus was to fulfill God’s promises.  It was to deliver man out of the sin of the world and set Him apart to live in a relationship with God.  God’s signature in the hearts of His people not only identifies Him with us, but it binds Him and His work to His people. 

Many times we convince ourselves that if we just sit back and do nothing God will do His work.  He will revive the church and our nations.  And I agree that we are guilty of taking things into our own hands and not waiting on Him at times.  But waiting for God does not mean we do nothing.  Waiting on God means that we are seeking His will.  We spend our time in prayer and searching the Scriptures for direction from God.  It means that we are looking for the ways that He wants to work through us and in the lives of the people around us.  If God’s work is to be done in the world today, it will be done through the people who bear His signature.  I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God (Ex. 29:45).

God’s signature gives us the authority to appropriate all the power of heaven that comes through the blood of Jesus Christ as we spread the light of God’s fire into the darkened world.  It binds all the power of God to our hearts and souls and delivers us through every trial and tribulation that we may face in this world.  God’s signature is not some type of eternal security that gets of off the hook for living a holy life, but it is the power promised by Jesus Christ.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).  We give testimony of the power of God because of the signature we bear, a signature written with fire from heaven.

God’s signature binds Him to His promises and His promises to us.  When we feel like we have reached the end of our rope and can’t deal with one more difficulty, God’s signature reminds us of the faithful character of the one to whom we are bound.  When we just don’t know if we can make it in this world, and the circumstances we find ourselves in seem overwhelming God’s signature ensures His promises to take care of us and sustain us through whatever the world puts before us.

            When our lives are turned over to God – in covenant relationship – every promise in Scripture becomes a reality and a possibility for us.  The work of God becomes a real, living power in our hearts as He cleanses us from sin and sets us apart for Himself so that we will enjoy a relationship with Him.  His power becomes a part of our lives as we live in the overflow of His love and grace.

            As the flame of God passed over the ritual covenant of Abram so many years ago, it hovers also over us today.  God does not offer a life of mediocrity and stumbling at every obstacle.  His desire is for that fire to find its resting place in our hearts.  He wants to see it grow and become a vital, vibrant flame, warming our hearts and setting our soul ablaze.  God wants us to be the ones with whom He is identified, and to whom His promises are bound.  God’s intentions to save this dying world and bring them into the grasp of His loving grace and power are linked to His church today.  His signature has been placed on our hearts, and if people are to see His work, they will see it from those of us to whom He has laid claim. 

            Abram accepted the signature of God with a faithful, willing heart.  God wants to autograph the church and our lives today.  Will we accept His signature?