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How Can You Know About God?
There are many questions that exist surrounding God. For example, “Does God really exist?” And, “If God does exist, what is He like?” You will find many differences of opinion on these and other questions concerning God. But, how is it that these differences can be resolved? Is it even possible to arrive at a firm answer about these things? Let’s consider.
1) You cannot know anything about God if God has not revealed Himself. If God does not really exist, no one could have any real evidence to support His existence. Then, if God does exist, knowing about His existence and His nature would have to come in a particular way. For, since God is a spiritual rather than physical Being, you cannot observe and know about God by looking at Him or having a conversation with Him. And, certainly, you cannot put God in a test tube of some sort to discover anything about His nature. For, even the Scriptures teach that no one has seen God’s full glory (John 5:37; 1 Timothy 6:15-16; 1 John 4:12). The exception is that people have looked upon Jesus (who was God living on this earth, Matthew 1:23) and Jesus has revealed the Father (John 1:18; 6:45-46). Therefore, knowing anything about God requires God to make Himself known to us. Thankfully, He has done this for us in two ways.
2) God has revealed Himself through the creation. Although you cannot physically see God, you can also see evidence of God everywhere you look! For, His fingerprints are all over this world – because He has created it all (Psalm 19:1-4)! Consider, for example, a watch. Chances are, you have never seen the people who designed and built your watch. Yet, you absolutely know they exist because you have a working watch. You know that it is impossible for that watch to have been the result of an accident (i.e. an explosion in which all the right materials just happened to form and fall into the right order). The watch is too well-designed for that to be a reasonable conclusion. Instead, the only possible conclusion is that someone (or multiple people) designed and then made that watch. The same thing is true concerning God. When you look at everything that exists in this entire universe, there is abundant evidence that should lead you to the conclusion that He really does exist! For, it is all too marvelous, too well-designed, and too orderly for it to have been the result of chance (i.e. a “Big Bang” and Evolution). Particularly, when you look at the creation, you can know two things about God (Romans 1:19-20). For one, you can know that He has eternal (limitless) power, concluding that the One who created this grand universe cannot possibly have any limits to His power. Then, you can know His divine nature (that He is God), concluding that only One who is God could possibly be great enough to create it all. In fact, by the evidence God has given for Himself throughout creation, you are without excuse if you reject His existence!
3) God has revealed Himself through the Bible. Through the evidence of creation, you can know that an eternal and all-powerful God exists. But, you are limited as to what you can know about God’s character just by observing the creation. Thankfully, God has also revealed Himself through another means so that we may know what He has determined to share with us about His nature. As the Bible both claims to be and provides evidence to be the words of this God (2 Timothy 3:16-17), we should study it to learn more about God as we try to seek Him. Throughout its pages, God reveals many of His characteristics – both by directly telling us about His character and by showing us examples of His character. For instance, God says He is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16), gracious and merciful (Ephesians 2:4-7), and vengeful (Hebrews 10:30-31). Then, God shows us examples such as His severity in punishing sin through the flood (Genesis 6-8) – and His love by sending His Son to suffer and die on earth (Matthew 26-28). However, as we study the Bible so as to know about this God, it is important that we accept who He says He is rather than make Him into who we want Him to be!
Although you could not know anything about God if He had not revealed Himself, you can know about Him because He has revealed Himself to you – and to everyone! You must carefully evaluate the evidence of the creation to know that He exists and that He is the all-powerful God. Then, you must seek to know Him more through a study of the Scriptures to learn about His character. In these ways, you can know about God and have no excuse!
