Distinctives that Make a Difference: A God-ward Focus by Rev. G. I. Williamson
When Paul the Apostle wrote to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 3:3 NKJV), he described each one of them as "an epistle of Christ ... written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God." This means that every Christian life has a story to tell and the story is written by God. But just as Shakespeare (the author) is much greater and more important than any of the many different characters in the plays that he wrote (such as "Hamlet" or "King Lear"), so God is much more important than the story of Moses or David or Paul.
It follows, then, that when we study the Bible—and the lives of some of the great men that we read about in the Bible—the most important thing we need is to understand the great work of God as it is seen in the lives of these people. We don't really understand their significance until we see them as books, or epistles, written by the Spirit. And they were written so that we might know more and more about their Author, who is God.
It is this God-centered focus that we constantly endeavor to keep in all the Sunday school materials published by Great Commission Publications. After all, as the Apostle John says, the central thing necessary to have eternal life is to know the true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent (John 17:3). We should ask "What is David doing in this story?" But we should also ask "What is God doing here with David in this story?" Yes, we need to know that David had the courage to face and conquer Goliath. But we need even more to see the great work of God in David that enabled him to do so. It is not enough to tell our children to be like David—not unless we first help them to see the greatness of the true God in whom David trusted. For of him, and through him, and for him are all things: to whom be the glory for ever. That is what the Bible is all about and our aim is to help you see that it is so!
Rev. G. I. Williamson is a minister of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Now retired, he served pastorates in the OPC and other Reformed denominations for 40 years. He also is a member of the OPC's Committee on Christian Education and the Committee on Ecumenicity, as well as editor of Ordained Servant, a quarterly journal for church officers. Mr. Williamson is well known for his study courses on The Westminster Confession of Faith, The Westminster Shorter Catechism and The Heidelberg Catechism. And he was co-author of First Catechism, GCP's revision of the original Catechism for Young Children.
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