True Knowledge of God

1.1 What Is the Purpose for Knowing God?

John Calvin outlines several truths about knowing God. (Institutes, I.1–2)

• Without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God. The knowledge of ourselves not only arouses us to seek God, but also, as it were, leads us by the hand to find Him.
• Without knowledge of God there is no knowledge of self. It is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself.
• As a consequence, we must infer that man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God’s majesty.

“All the doctrines treated in dogmatic theology—whether they concern the universe, humanity, Christ, and so forth—are but the explication of the one central dogma of the knowledge of God.” (Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics Abridged, 147)

Knowledge of God leads to adoration and worship. Our purpose in studying the doctrine of God is to live unto God through Christ.

“We should not think that the knowledge of God strengthens believers because of an inherent power in theology. Sadly, it is possible to have much head knowledge of theology with no godliness at all. The demons know God in this sense and tremble with dread (James 2:19). However, when someone knows God truly by faith, this knowledge unites him to God through Jesus Christ. To know God experientially is to trust him.” (Beeke and Smalley, RST Vol. 1, 503–504)

1.2 What Does the Bible Say About the Knowability of God?^[1]

God is the Incomprehensible One, but on the other hand, He can be known, and knowledge of Him is an absolute requisite for salvation. Reformed theology holds that God can be known, but man cannot have a knowledge of Him that is exhaustive and perfect in every way.

• “Can you find the depths of God? Can you find the limits of the Almighty?” (Job 11:7)
• “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?” (Isaiah 40:18)
• “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)
• “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. This is the true God and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20)

1.2.1 What Is the Prerequisite for Knowing God?

Self-revelation is the prerequisite for all knowledge of God. Theology as the knowledge of God differs in an essential point from all other knowledge. In the study of all other sciences, man places himself above the object of his investigation, but in theology, he does not stand above but rather under the object of his knowledge. Man can know God only in so far as the latter actively makes Himself known.

God is the subject communicating knowledge to man, and can only become an object of study for man in so far as the latter appropriates and reflects on the knowledge conveyed to him by revelation. And when we speak of revelation, we use the term in the strict sense of the word. It is not something in which God is passive, a mere “becoming manifest,” but something in which He is actively making Himself known. All our knowledge of God is derived from His self-revelation in nature and in Scripture.

1.2.2 Distinguish Innate and Acquired Knowledge of God.

A distinction is usually made between innate and acquired knowledge of God. This is not a strictly logical distinction because, in the last analysis, all human knowledge is acquired. The doctrine of innate ideas is philosophical rather than theological.

This cognitio Dei insita does not consist of any ideas or formed notions present in man at the time of his birth, but on the other hand, it is more than a mere capacity that enables man to know God. It denotes a knowledge that necessarily results from the constitution of the human mind, that is inborn only in the sense that it is acquired spontaneously, under the influence of the semen religionis implanted in man by his creation in the image of God, and the laborious process of reasoning and argumentation does not acquire that.

On the other hand, acquired knowledge (cognitio acquista) is obtained by studying God’s revelation. It does not arise spontaneously in the human mind but results from the conscious and sustained pursuit of knowledge. It can be acquired only by the wearisome process of perception and reflection, reasoning and argumentation.

1.3 Explain the Perversity of Rejecting the Existence of the True God.^[2]

The wicked fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They act corruptly; they commit abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. (Ps 14:1)

"No man needs to have God's existence proved to him. He already knows it. Anyone who denies this is a liar." (Greg Nichols, Lectures in Systematic Theology Vol. 1, 97)

• God's revelation of Himself exposes the foolishness of atheism. (Jer 9:6)
• The moral effects of this unbelieving response to God's self-revelation show the wickedness of atheism. (Ps 10:3–4)
• Atheism, denying God or living as if He did not exist, arives not from a lack of evidence or intellectual persuasion, but from the inner darkness of man in rebellion against God.(Rom 1:21–25)

1.3.1 What are two types of atheism?^[3]

There are practical atheists. They are godless persons who, in their practical life, do not reckon with God but live as if there were no God. Christians are practical atheists when they sin. Charnock said, “All sin is founded in a secret atheism,” and the language of every sin is “I would be a Lord to myself, and would not have a God superior to me.”(Charnock, Stephen. The Existence and Attributes of God Vol 1., 93)

There are also theoretical atheists who base their denial of God on a process of reasoning. They seek to prove, using rational arguments, that there is no God.

Theoretical atheism may present in three forms.

1. Dogmatic atheism flatly denies that there is a Divine Being.
2. Skeptical atheism doubts the ability of the human mind to determine whether or not there is a God.
3. Critical atheism maintains that there is no valid proof for the existence of God.

1.3.2 What false conceptions of God involve denying the true God?^[4]

• False belief that God is not immanent but impersonal: Theism believes in a transcendent and immanent God. Deism removes God from the world, and it stresses His transcendence at the expense of His immanence. Pantheism does not recognize God as distinct and infinitely exalted above His creation.
• False belief that God is personal but finite: Theism regards God as an absolute personal Being of infinite perfections. Polytheism and Henotheism hold to the idea of finite god(s). Some falsely interpret that because of the evil that is in the world, God must be thought of as limited in knowledge or power, or both.
• False belief that God is a mere abstract idea: Most who reject the theistic view of God still profess faith in God, but He is a God of their imagination.

1.3.3 What are the rational proofs for the existence of God?^[5]

1. Ontological Argument: Anselm argues that man has the idea of a perfect being. Existence is an attribute of perfection; therefore, a perfect being must exist.
2. Cosmological Argument: Every existing thing must have an adequate cause. If so, the universe must also have an adequate cause: an indefinitely great cause. Hume called the law of causation itself in question, and Kant pointed out that if every existing thing has an adequate cause, this also applies to God and that we are thus led to an endless chain.
3. Teleological Argument: The world everywhere reveals intelligence, order, harmony, and purpose, thus implying the existence of an intelligent and purposeful being adequate to create such a world. Kant regards this argument as the best of the three named thus far, but he claims that it does not prove God's existence, nor a Creator, but only of a great architect who fashioned the world.
4. Moral Argument: Objective moral values and duties exist. These moral truths are true regardless of what anyone thinks or feels about them. Objective moral values and duties require a moral lawgiver to exist independently of human opinion or societal norms. Therefore, God exists as the best explanation for the source of these objective moral values and duties.
5. Historical (Ethnological) Argument: Among all the peoples and tribes of the earth, there is a sense of the divine, which reveals itself in an external cultus. Since the phenomenon is universal, it must belong to the very nature of man. And if the nature of man naturally leads to religious worship, this can only find its explanation in a higher Being who has constituted man a religious being

1.4 How High a Priority Should Man Place in Knowing God?

Nothing is more central to human life than the knowledge of God through Christ.

• Knowing God is the pinnacle of human privilege and better than anything this world can offer us (Jer 9:23–24).
• Knowing God is the heart of the covenant (Jer 9:3; Hos 4:1).
• Knowing God is the essence of eternal life (John 17:3).
• Knowing God is the engine of holiness (Gal 4:8; 1 John 3:5–6; 4:7–8)

1.5 How Is Knowing God a Holy Pursuit and an Act of Piety? ^[6]

True knowledge of God involves not just acknowledging His existence but understanding what is appropriate for His glory and beneficial for humanity. Without piety, one cannot truly know God. Calvin calls "piety" that reverence joined with love of God which the knowledge of His benefits induces.

A pious mind does not create its own conception of God but recognizes Him as He reveals Himself. This recognition compels individuals to live according to His will, acknowledging Him as the source of all good and the rightful authority over their lives. True religion combines faith with a sincere fear of God, leading to authentic worship and obedience, contrasting this with the superficial reverence often found in society.

The knowledge of God is relational, and we seek it by seeking Him through dependent receptivity, humble repentance, Christ-centered faith, holy desire, and righteous action. (Beeke, RST vol 1, 512–516)