God cannot be known unless he reveals himself
- Romans 1:19: “For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them.”
- Explanation: This verse acknowledges that the natural world can reveal God, but it highlights that this revelation is only possible because God has deliberately chosen to reveal Himself in this manner.
- Matthew 11:27: “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
- Explanation: Jesus’ words emphasize the exclusive nature of knowing the Father and the Son. This knowledge is granted only by the Son’s choice to reveal God to individuals, underscoring that it is not attainable through human effort or wisdom.
- 1 Corinthians 1:21: “In the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom.”
- Explanation: This verse highlights that the world’s knowledge of God does not come through human wisdom or human efforts, but rather through the wisdom of God. It emphasizes that human wisdom alone is inadequate to fully comprehend God.
- Romans 1:18, 21, 25:
- Romans 1:18: “Those who ‘by their wickedness suppress the truth’…”
- Romans 1:21: “…they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened…”
- Romans 1:25: “…they exchanged the truth about God for a lie.”
- Explanation: These verses in Romans 1 reveal the consequences of sinful behavior. Those who engage in wickedness and suppress the truth exchange the true knowledge of God for falsehoods, demonstrating the need for God’s revelation due to human shortcomings.
God can never be fully known
- Psalm 145:3: “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.”
- This verse in Psalm 145 emphasizes that God’s greatness is beyond full exploration or understanding. It highlights the incomprehensibility of God’s greatness.
- Psalm 147:5: “Great is our LORD, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.”
- In Psalm 147, it’s stated that God’s understanding is immeasurable, surpassing human comprehension. We cannot fully grasp the extent of God’s wisdom and understanding.
- Psalm 139:6: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.”
- Psalm 139:6 expresses that God’s knowledge is too marvelous and lofty for human attainment. It underscores the humility in recognizing the limits of human understanding.
- Psalm 139:17: “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand.”
- This verse reiterates the idea that God’s knowledge is beyond human reach and understanding.
- 1 Corinthians 2:10-12: “the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God… no one comprehends the things of God except the Spirit of God.”
- Paul emphasizes the Holy Spirit’s role in revealing the profound wisdom and knowledge of God, which surpass human understanding. This passage underscores the necessity of divine revelation for comprehending the deep truths of God.
- Romans 11:33: “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”
- Paul’s exclamation conveys profound wonder and humility in the face of God’s unfathomable wisdom and knowledge. It emphasizes the idea that God’s judgments and ways are beyond human exploration, highlighting the incomprehensibility of God’s thoughts and paths.
- Psalm 145:3: “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.”
- This verse highlights the unsearchable nature of God’s greatness, emphasizing that it exceeds human understanding, demonstrating God’s incomprehensibility.
- Psalm 147:5: “Great is our LORD, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.”
- This passage conveys that God’s understanding is immeasurable, surpassing human comprehension, illustrating the limits of our understanding compared to God’s wisdom.
- Psalm 139:6: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.”
- The psalmist expresses that God’s knowledge is beyond human attainment, emphasizing the humility in recognizing the inherent limitations of human understanding.
- Romans 11:33: “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”
- Paul’s exclamation underscores the idea that God’s judgments and ways are beyond human scrutiny and comprehension, serving as a powerful declaration of God’s incomprehensibility.
- Isaiah 55:9: “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God’s ways higher than our ways and his thoughts than our thoughts.”
- This verse draws a parallel between the vast difference in God’s ways and thoughts compared to human ways and thoughts. It highlights the unbridgeable gap between finite human understanding and God’s infinite wisdom, illustrating the incomprehensibility of God’s nature.
- Job 26:14: “God’s great acts in creating and sustaining the earth are ‘but the outskirts of his ways,’ and exclaims, ‘how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?'”
- Job’s words emphasize that even the most remarkable acts of God are only a fraction of His ways, and His power is far beyond human understanding. The comparison between a “whisper” and the “thunder” of His power underscores the vastness of His incomprehensibility.
These verses collectively convey the idea that God’s attributes, knowledge, and greatness are beyond full human comprehension due to His infinite nature. They highlight the wonder and humility in acknowledging that we will never fully grasp the depths of God’s wisdom, knowledge, and greatness.
We can know God
- 1 John 4:8: “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
- 1 John 1:5: “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
- John 4:24: “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
- Romans 3:26: “It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
- Exodus 34:6-7: “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty.”
- Deuteronomy 4:24: “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”
- These verses emphasize that while our knowledge of God may not be exhaustive, it is indeed accurate and valuable. They highlight essential facets of God’s character, such as His love, light, spiritual nature, and righteousness. In our pursuit of understanding God, we may not grasp the entirety of His being, but we can rely on these foundational truths from Scripture to guide our knowledge and relationship with Him
- Jeremiah 9:23-24: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.'”
- This emphasizes that we can attain genuine knowledge of God’s attributes and nature, encouraging us to seek a deep and meaningful relationship with Him based on our growing understanding of who He is. It underscores the idea that God is knowable and that our knowledge of Him is a source of genuine pride and delight.
- John 17:3: “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
- This verse speaks of eternal life as knowing the Father, emphasizing that our connection with God is not distant or merely intellectual but a deeply personal and transformative relationship.
- Hebrews 8:11: “And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.”The promise of the new covenant assures that all, from the least to the greatest, can know God intimately.
- This underscores that God desires a personal connection with each individual, regardless of their background or status.
- 1 John 5:20: “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
- It reminds us that through Christ, we have gained understanding to know the one who is true. This knowledge is not distant but personal, allowing us to be in Him and experience eternal life through a close relationship.
- Galatians 4:9: “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?”
- This verse highlights the personal dimension of knowing God. It suggests that our relationship with God goes beyond mere knowledge; it involves being known by God, indicating an intimate connection.
- Philippians 3:10: “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”
- Expressing the desire to know Christ, it signifies a longing for a profound and personal relationship with Him, encompassing both His resurrection power and a shared experience in suffering.
- 1 John 2:3: “And by this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments.”
- By keeping His commandments, we demonstrate our intimate relationship with God. It suggests that knowing God involves personal obedience and a walk of faith.
- 1 John 4:8: “Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love.”
- Love is a central aspect of God’s nature. Knowing God in this context means experiencing and embodying love in a personal relationship with Him.
- 1 John 2:13: “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.”
- This verse acknowledges that different stages of life involve knowing the Father, underlining that a personal connection with God can be nurtured and deepened throughout one’s spiritual journey.
These verses collectively affirm the potential for a deeply personal and transformative relationship with God, highlighting the intimacy and significance of such a connection.
Conclusion
These passages collectively emphasize the profound truth that while we may not fully comprehend the depths of God’s nature and wisdom, we can indeed know Him in a deeply personal and transformative way. God’s deliberate revelation of Himself, His desire for a meaningful relationship, and His attributes accessible to us affirm the remarkable reality that we can know the one who is true, the source of eternal life.