On Knowing God

By Justin Gray


God is an immense subject which has elicited conflicting thoughts, feelings and attitudes from generation to generation. Throughout history men have wrestled with the idea of an eternally transcendent being. Despite numerous attempts, no intellectual ascent has penetrated this great mystery.

By reason, the philosophers seemed to be on the precipice of discovering The Divine and later many scientists were prompted by an uncanny sense of awe to systematically probe the universe. However, no philosophy, scientific analysis, religion, or any other worldview has spoken more concretely concerning God than the Judeo-Christian tradition.

A.W. Tozer once said: "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us"- and for those who have arrived at the conclusion that God exists, then it follows 'If God exists, is it possible to really know Him?' In order to speak accurately on this topic we must first define what it means to 'know' something or someone.

According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, epistemology is the study of knowledge and justified belief. It is important to understand that information that comes to us which we regard as 'true' or 'real' is not only perceived as an exercise of our intellect but is simultaneously a commitment to such facts; therefore part of knowing is believing.

All around us is the awe-inspiring presence of nature. This fact is undeniable and as we continue to discover the many facets of our universe we can’t help but be curious; and to pose questions concerning its origin. Science has contributed much to our understanding of what we see and even some of what we experience. However, the questions of science, ‘what?’ and ‘how?’ are very different than ‘why?’ and it is at this point science ends and religion begins.

Many have recognized nature as a signpost to The Divine; however, there is some debate over how much can be ascertained of God from nature itself. Historically, theologians have agreed upon and embraced the concept of general revelation, which is simply defined as what one can know about God through nature and reason.

Some assert that God may only be known through the investigation of the cosmos, because God is not personal and therefore does not communicate with man. While others believe that God may be known through nature but also by the exercise of reason in evaluating Scripture. In both cases, human reason is above all and no other supernatural influences such as special revelation (God directly revealing himself) are involved in the process of ‘knowing’ God.

However, theists traditionally maintain that God has spoken through nature but “God has also revealed Himself in words- propositional, verbalized revelation to his prophets and the various biblical writers. And, theists maintain, God has also revealed himself in his Son, Jesus- ‘the Word became flesh’ (John 1:14).” (Sire, 40)

I believe that general revelation acts as a paradigm into which special revelation comes to us. According to the apostle Paul in Romans Chapter 1, we implicitly know God because His invisible qualities have been made known to us in part by nature and our innate sense of a moral standard. And so we have an impetus for God’s existence and, to a certain degree, His nature but reason alone will not take us the whole way.

Inevitably, reason must surrender to faith. And it is by faith that we “...may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:18,19)

In J.I. Packer's book, Knowing God he identifies “five basic truths, five basic foundation principles of the knowledge about God which Christians have: 1) God has spoken to man, and the Bible is His Word, 2) God is Lord and King over His world, 3) God is Savior, 4) God is triune, 5) Godliness means responding to God’s revelation.” (Packer, 15-16)

When we step off the cliff of reason and unto the invisible substance of faith we enter into a fresh understanding of what it means to know God. This ‘knowing’ is not merely intellectual but also deeply relational. This relationship, despite the impeding conditions of our world, prompts us to place the full weight of our trust upon God’s person.

Knowing God is a journey, not a destination; like an exciting voyage into outer space, and not like pulling into a McDonald’s drive-thru. We begin our voyage to knowing God by looking around us at nature and looking within us to our moral inclinations and the meditation of our hearts. It is by faith that we pierce the stratosphere and enter into the cosmic vastness of God. And it is there we begin to understand the riches of His grace and bask in the unsurpassed radiance of His Son.


Works Cited

Sire, James. The Universe Next Door. InterVarsity Press: 2009. Google Books file.

Packer, J. I. Knowing God. InterVarsity Press: 1993. Google Books file