Glory Be to Our Great God | Day 13 - God is Knowable
Give Thanks to the Speaking and Relational God
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. - Genesis 1:3
Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” - Exodus 3:13-14
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. - Psalm 19:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:1-5, 14
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. - Hebrews 1:1-2
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing
You're my all, You're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love You, Lord
- Graham Kendrick, “Knowing You”
Blind Faith Doesn’t Save Sinners
I remember growing up hearing faith being described as being “blind.” I think this sentiment is the result of another saying that states faith as “believing in something you cannot see.” In the context of Christianity, it’s not completely wrong since Christians do believe in supernatural realities that are invisible like God, angels, demons, etc. However, due to the vagueness of this definition, faith (which is then described as “blind”) then communicates some belief or trust with any evidence, proof, or reason. It implies that someone places complete trust in something without question or consideration. Many skeptics and opponents of Christianity (or any religion for that matter) can see it as that kind of blind faith—superstitious, unreasonable, naive, and manipulative. Some claiming to be Christians might celebrate this “blind faith” because they are driven by emotional experiences that touched them outside of any constructive teaching from the Scriptures.
Is Christianity a “blind faith” religion? Is the life of a Christian rooted in merely believing in something we can’t see or irrational emotionalism? Is this faith just random mumbo jumbo that is epistemologically baseless?
Previously, we reflected on the fact that God is incomprehensible meaning that he cannot be fully comprehended. Now it would be one thing if God was not only incomprehensible but also completely absent from us. But it is another thing if this infinitely transcendent God actually revealed himself to us—even speaking to us.
The God of the Bible is not only incomprehensible but also knowable because he has revealed himself to us. This is good news because the Christian faith is no “blind faith” but a faith anchored in the God who is and still speaks.
The God Who is and Still Speaks
God is not a mere theoretical concept that is considered in the halls of scholars. He is the God who has revealed himself to all. God’s knowability means that he has made himself known to man universally and clearly,1 and he does so in various ways.
First, God has made himself known generally through his general or natural revelation. Stephen Wellum defines general revelation as “the knowledge that God gives of himself to all people at all times and in all places since it is given through the creation, our human constitution and conscience, and the ordinary experience of living in the world.”2 Throughout the Bible, we read that creation is declaring the glory of God like his speech to us, and we can even perceive his invisible attributes through the visible around us (Ps. 19:1-6; Rom. 1:19-20). Also, we as humans know that God is real because our consciences testify to the reality of his absolute moral standard. “The truth that all people know of God’s moral demands from within is taught throughout Scripture.”3 In Romans 1:18-22, Paul states that all sinners know about God they did not give him the honor that was due but instead in their sinful rebellion suppress the truth about him and worship the creation rather than him the creator. Although throughout the world there are different standards or laws on the books, everyone has the law written on their hearts (Rom. 2:14-15) which reflects the reality of the divine lawgiver. God not only shows himself through creation and within humanity but also through his providence. God has ordered all of life and history in such a way that speaks to both his existence and character. He is the one who provides rains and resources to all people (Acts 14:14-18) and even has ordained the times and places for every human being that they should seek him (Acts 17:22-29).4
Second, God has made himself known specifically through his special revelation of his word. God’s word can be defined as “(1) God himself, understood as communicator, and (2) the sum total of his free communications with his creatures.”5 What makes God’s word a special revelation instead of a general revelation is that it “refers to God’s self-disclosure to particular people at specific times and places, enabling them to enter into a redemptive relationship with him.”6 The same God who spoken all creation into existence (Gen. 1:3) is the same God who spoken to people in various ways. Most commonly, God spoke through prophets like Moses to speak on his behalf (Exod. 3:13-14). However, as the author of Hebrews wrote, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Heb. 1:1-2). For God the Father so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son to take on a human nature to be the Word of God incarnate (John 1:1-4, 14; 3:16). “In Christ, the Father not only speaks through the Son, but the Father’s speech is the Son.”7 But God has given to us his written Word, the Scriptures, which “is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Anyone can not only get to know about God but also personally know him by reading the Bible for themselves because "we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed . . . as to a lamp shining in a dark place [because] men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:19-21).
Knowing and Being Known
But remember, “God is knowable and known, and yet mysterious, wondrous, and incomprehensible. How can God be both knowable and incomprehensible?”8 Similar to incomprehensibility, God’s knowability should leave us in awe that he would reveal himself to us in the first place. Our God is not like us because he alone is the infinite, self-sufficient God whereas we are finite, temporal creatures that were made by and dependant on him. Therefore, we will never get to the depths of who God is and all his purposes, but that doesn’t mean we can’t know anything about him truly. Moses spoke to the people Israel, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29). Although we will never know all of God’s ways, he has spoken to us all that we need for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3-4).
But here is the key application for God being knowable: we get the privilege to know and be known by God. One of the main purposes of our lives is to know God in relationship to him and find him as our ultimate joy and satisfaction. In fact, all things were made through Christ and for Christ, which means we, as part of God’s creation and made in his image, were made for him. Therefore, as the Westminister Shorter Catechism states, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever,” and the way that we do so is by knowing God and being known by him. But how can sinners like us even have a good relationship when we in our sinful stand condemn before his holiness and righteousness? Paul answers with this:
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. - Romans 5:6-11
Father, you are not obligated to reveal yourself to us, your creation. Yet, thank you so much for giving us the privilege of knowing you. It amazes me that the incomprehensible God would desire to show himself to me. You have showcased your wisdom, power, and beauty to all through every sunrise, sunset, cool breeze, star constellation, and all sorts of wonders in the universe. Yet the greatest way you have revealed yourself to us is through your speech. Thank you that through Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, you have demonstrated your love for sinners like me. Thank you for giving us your written Word through your Holy Spirit so that we can take up, read, and come to know you more than before. Help me never to take the treasure of having a relationship with you for granted. Through your Son, Jesus, I pray. Amen.
John M. Frame, The Doctrine of God (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Pub. Co., 2002), 200.
Stephen J. Wellum, Systematic Theology, Volume 1: From Canon to Concept (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2024), 192.
Ibid., 206.
Christopher W. Morgan, Christian Theology: The Biblical Story and Our Faith (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2020), 49-50.
John M. Frame, The Doctrine of the Word of God (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2010), 49.
Morgan, Christian Theology, 43.
Wellum, Systematic Theology, 167.
Frame, The Doctrine of God, 201.