The Knowability of God

What Can We Know?

Coming off last week, we can see and understand that God is perfect in all of His nature, specifically in His incommunicable attributes. And as we continue our study on theology proper and attempt to know and learn as much as we possibly can about HIm, I find it appropriate to pause and ask, ‘Just how much can we really know about God?’. If you have been following along this month, you know that the answer to this question is that we can only know about God whatever He decides to reveal to us. ‘So why even write this blog?’, you might be asking. For two simple reasons; 1. We need to stop listening to others who say they know things about God that scripture doesn’t confirm, and 2. We need to start studying the scriptures because God has made Himself more knowable than you think. 

Dr. Wayne Grudem is probably the most quoted theologian I’ve been using during our study on theology proper and that will continue today and honestly, potentially throughout the whole month. On the topic of knowing God, Grudem notes, ‘Even though we cannot know God exhaustively, we can know true things about God. In fact, all that scripture tells us about God is true. We can know some of God’s thoughts – even many of them – from scripture, and when we know them, we, like David, find them to be precious.’ By the end of this study, I hope you will be able to accept the fact that it is impossible to know everything about an infinite being, but I also hope you accept that just because we can’t know everything, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to learn anything. May the love in our hearts for our Lord continue to drive us to learn as much as we can about Him, just as we wish to know as much as we can about our closest loved ones. As Jesus Himself tells us in Matthew 11:27, “27 All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” 

We Can’t Know It All

To start, we need to understand and agree on the simple, yet known fact, that no one can know anything about God except by what is revealed through scripture. Regardless of how trustworthy a person may seem, or the title that they may carry, the Bible is clear that God, through His word, is how He has decided to reveal Himself to us. Paul tells us in Romans 1:19, “19 that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.” God has made it evident and knowable, that which He desires for man to know. But how do we know that the Bible is the one, true, ultimate authority? Hebrews 1:1-2 answers this question, “1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” There’s no doubt that in the days of scripture being written, God had to speak to people personally, to communicate what He wanted to make known for the current generation, and also for all generations to come. However, Hebrews has made it clear that those days are over, and that now, God speaks to us through His son, who is revealed to us through scripture. This is the danger when pastors tell of ‘visions’ and ‘dreams’ that they claim God has given them. I’m not saying that these things can’t happen, I’m just claiming that if this vision or dream reveals something that God hasn’t revealed already through His word, or even worse, contradicts His word, I would argue that the Bible claims this vision or dream is not accurate. As Dr. Voddie Baucahm says, “‘God told me’ is no substitute for ‘The Bible says’”. Despite how real or convinced others may be about their knowledge of God, His word is His ultimate authority. As Numbers 23:19 makes clear, God cannot contradict Himself. “19 God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it?” 

But We Can Still Know a Lot

On the contrary, let’s address why we should know as much about God as we can. Perhaps no passage in all of the scriptures explains why we should seek to know the Lord better than Jeremiah 9:23-24, “23 Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.” Our Lord delights in His children seeking Him and understanding Him. Think about how much heavier this passage must have been when Jeremiah as a prophet was warning Israel to repent and turn to God, even amid their suffering. God doesn’t instruct His people to get through persecution by acting like nothing is happening, He does so by encouraging His people to ‘understand and know’ Him better. 

Using the excuse of never being able to fully understand God as a reason to not seek Him at all, is not just lazy, but it’s flat-out disrespectful to a God who has made Himself known to us and delights in His children who seek after Him. This is why I love asking fellow Christians not just what they read in the Bible today, but what they learned about God as they read His word. This is not just a better question, it is a question that helps address the bigger point of God’s word; to know Him more. I hope and pray this week that as you read God’s word and as you hear His word taught, don’t just listen and read with a blind eye, but you learn about our amazing God and grow in the knowledge of Him. As we do this, we don’t just grow ourselves, but we can hold other brothers and sisters accountable for what they claim to be true about our Lord, especially those who teach His word. May you go on throughout this week seeking how you may grow in the knowledge of the Lord through His word, and ultimately, may He delight in your efforts to seek and understand Him better today than you did yesterday.

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Sources

[1] “Access Your Bible from Anywhere.” BibleGateway.Com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 150 Versions and 50 Languages., www.biblegateway.com/. Accessed 2023.

[2] Grudem, W. (1994). Systematic Theology : An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA79455700