How does God exist?
God, as the First Cause, embodies original dual characteristics: internal character and external form, and original masculinity and femininity. Universal prime energy is not an independent force enabling God but rather an expression of God's own inherent creative power and attributes, including purpose, design, and will. Creation, from subatomic particles to humans, mirrors these dualities, revealing God as a personal, omnipresent Heavenly Parent who continuously manifests His loving nature throughout all existence.
Universal prime energy is not a standalone, independent force, but is a fundamental aspect of God's own creative nature. To comprehend God, we must first understand that He is the First Cause and the origin of the existing world. Just as we learn about an artist by observing their artwork, we discern God's invisible qualities through creation (Romans 1:20). Creation itself operates on fundamental principles, notably the reciprocal relationship of dual characteristics.
God as the First Cause and Dual Characteristics
Every entity in creation exists through a reciprocal relationship of dual characteristics, such as plus and minus, male and female, or stamen and pistil. More fundamentally, every entity possesses an internal character and an external form. The internal character, which is invisible, resembles the visible external form; it is the internal character made visible. For humans, the mind is the internal character and the body is the external form. Even plants have a "plant mind" as their internal characteristic, guiding their organic functions. At the most basic level, even subatomic particles exhibit these dual characteristics. Modern science identifies elementary particles as pure energy with both wave (internal nature) and particle (essential form) aspects.
However, even energy cannot automatically create matter. There must be purpose and will – internal values – that pre-existed matter. This means that even energy possesses internal characteristics of purpose and design. Tracing this back further, we arrive at the First Cause, an existence that animates all beings with purpose, design, energy, and matter. This First Cause is God, who possesses the original internal character and original essential external form.
Therefore, God is the original being composed of the harmony between original essential character and original essential form. Additionally, God embodies original essential masculinity and original essential femininity. These are collectively termed God's Dual Characteristics. Just as human beings are a harmony of mind and body, and exist through the union of male and female, God is the ultimate Subject of these dualities. As Genesis 1:26-27 states, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness'... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he them; male and female he created them." This reveals that God encompasses both masculine and feminine aspects, making Him our Heavenly Parent, a God of personality with intellect, emotion, and will, who can experience joy, sorrow, longing, and love. For "God is love" (1 John 4:8), embodying the very essence of relational existence.
Universal Prime Energy and God's Nature
Universal prime energy is thus an attribute of God. God, as the original being, possesses law, order, Principle, energy, and purpose. These attributes are displayed throughout creation. The "universal prime energy" is not an independent force that allows God to exist; rather, it is an expression of God's inherent creative power and being. It is the very essence through which God's will and purpose are manifest in the physical universe.
God did not create merely by force of will or magic, but through principles, investing His energy to express beauty and His heart over vast periods (e.g., the six stages of creation in Genesis correspond to scientific eras). This energy, guided by His intellect, emotion, and will, formed everything from subatomic particles to complex life. God is not merely a transcendent being outside creation; He is omnipresent, both within and without, transcendent yet immanent, continuously revealing His creative nature (Acts 17:28). For "in him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28). Thus, universal prime energy is inseparable from God's active, purposeful, and loving nature, serving as the dynamic force by which His ideal is realized in creation. As it is written, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork" (Psalm 19:1).
Why the Question Has to Be Turned Around
The question as usually asked assumes that universal prime energy is a resource God depends on, but the relationship runs the other way, and the reason matters. Universal prime energy is the fundamental energy that originates in God and sustains everything he made; it is an expression of his being rather than a supply feeding it. Nothing precedes God, because whatever caused God would itself be God — which is why he identifies himself as "I AM THAT I AM" (Exodus 3:14) rather than by reference to anything else, and why Scripture says that by him all things consist (Colossians 1:17).
The reason this energy is discussed at all is that it explains how an invisible God relates to a visible world. Every existing thing maintains itself through give-and-take action between a subject and object partner — protons and electrons, stamen and pistil, mind and body — and that action requires energy supplied from a source outside the pair. Universal prime energy is that supply, which is why the world holds together as a single ordered system instead of dissolving into unrelated parts, and why the order in it points back to a mind: the invisible things of God are "clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made" (Romans 1:20).
What Follows From It
Three consequences are worth drawing out. First, the created world is not independent machinery that God set running and left; it is continuously sustained, so his involvement is present-tense — in him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). Second, this energy is not an impersonal force to be tapped for private power. It flows in the service of a purpose and is received through relationship, and asking for it apart from God's purpose misunderstands what it is. Third, human beings participate in it consciously rather than passively. When a person enters proper give-and-take with God — through prayer, obedience, and love given to others — that circuit is opened, which is why Jesus described such a person as one out of whom shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:38). The practical lesson is not to seek energy but to seek the relationship, and the energy follows.
Living the Principle
Understanding God's nature as the source of all energy and purpose deepens our perspective on life.
1. Recognize Divine Purpose: See God's purpose and design in all things, from the smallest atom to the grandest cosmos, reflecting His original character. 2. Cultivate Dual Characteristics: Strive for harmony between your internal character (mind/spirit) and external form (body), understanding this as a reflection of God's own nature. 3. Embrace Reciprocity: Live a life of balanced give and take, recognizing that all existence, including human relationships, thrives on mutual contribution, as God's masculine and feminine aspects do. 4. Live as God's Image: Develop your intellect, emotion, and will, expressing love and creativity in your life, knowing these are reflections of God's personality.
These answers explain the Bible in the light of the Divine Principle, the teachings of Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Read about the author, Sun Myung Moon.
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Sources and further reading
- The Holy Bible, King James Version — Scripture quoted and referenced throughout the answers.
- The Divine Principle (full text) — The complete text of the Divine Principle, the teaching of Reverend Sun Myung Moon that these answers explain.
- Unification texts library (tparents.org) — Large online library of Unification texts, sermons and collected speeches, including the Cheon Seong Gyeong.
- Short video lectures in English — Playlist of short English video lectures presenting these same principles.