“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 ESV
Last week in Aspire class we looked at the doctrine of the knowability of God. Gregg Allison defines this doctrine as follows, “Because of His self-revelation, God can be known, but never fully understood by His human creatures.” This is an interesting and important doctrine to grasp for many reasons. This means that God has disclosed Himself to us. God has made Himself known. God is there, and He is not silent (Schaeffer). He has spoken in various ways, acted
upon the world in countless ways (most significantly in creation and the resurrection of Jesus), came in the flesh through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, then preserved the record of these words and events by the work of the Holy Spirit in Scripture. It is very important to understand that we could never know God if he had not revealed Himself to us. You can observe the ways and movements of a person to learn certain things about them (general knowledge), but you will never truly know that person until he opens his mouth and speaks to you. You can never enter into relationship with another person without speaking to them. A person’s words reveal their thoughts and inner motivations. If God had not spoken to us, we could never know Him.
Equally as important, God has created us with the ability to receive His personal revelation. God has spoken, and we are able to receive that revelation. All that God has made known by His words and actions are incomprehensible, and thus meaningless, to your cat or your dog. God has spoken, but they cannot comprehend what has been said. Human beings are made in the image of God. As such, they have the spiritual capacity to comprehend the existence of God. By the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, human beings are able to enter into personal relationship with God!
God can be known, but never fully. This means that we can know God truly but never exhaustively. What is made known to us about God in Scripture is true but is not all that can be known about God. The last verse of the Gospel of John is explicitly clear about this. It tells us that Jesus said and did many more things in His earthly ministry. Infinitely more could be said about the attributes, works, and purposes of God, but what has been revealed (made known) to us is enough. This is the doctrine of sufficiency. The record of Scripture is sufficient for coming to a place of repentance from sin and believing in Jesus as Savior. The Bible is a sufficient guide to Godly living leading to sanctification. A person that believes in Jesus and makes great progress in sanctification over decades, will still never be close to knowing all there is to know about God. God is always the divine eternal Creator, and we are the finite, limited creature.
It is important to identify significant errors in this area of belief. First, atheists are those who wholly deny the existence of God. Such people reject all disclosure of God both general and special revelation. They are hardened in their hearts and choose to believe a lie rather than acknowledge divine evidence all around them.
Second, agnostics are those who deny that God is knowable. Agnostics claim to reserve judgment until more is known. The Bible tells us that we have all that is necessary for salvation and godliness, but the agnostic denies the truthfulness of this revelation putting off a decision about God waiting for more to be revealed. This is not because God’s disclosure to them is unclear, but because they reject what has been made known. The agnostic searches on for a spirituality that is more pleasing and affirming to their lost soul.
Third, is the person claiming ‘special knowledge’ from God. This is akin to the ancient gnostic heresy. This person rejects the sufficiency of Scripture and believes they have found, or must find, some other essential doctrine about God outside of the Bible. This ‘special knowledge’ always redefines and perverts Bible doctrine.
Fourth, is the improper elevation of personal experience. Our personal experiences are always to be interpreted through the lens of Scripture to gain truth. Our personal experiences do not stand themselves as truth. In error, countless people have personal experiences that they interpret by their own worldview, instead of considering the experience through God’s expressed will in Scripture.
Let us rejoice that God has disclosed Himself! Let us rejoice that Jesus has come and the Bible has been written. Let us not look past the Bible, but treasure it, trust it, and obey what we learn. God can be known, and in this knowledge we find grace toward our sinful condition!
– Pastor Vic