The pursuit to know God has been mankinds mission for millennia. The reality of man’s pursuit to know God is something the Bible speaks about and is evidence that God exists. The wise writer of Ecclesiastes even made that point9. More broadly this pursuit has been to know about any higher, spiritual being greater than man himself.
Evidence of this carries from the writings of the great philosophers (e.g. Plato, Nietzsche, etc.) to the many religions of the world today, from the Abrahamic (e.g. Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc.) to the Indian (e.g. Buddaism, Hinduism, etc.). It was Gnosticism (from the Greek “gnosis” meaning knowledge) that “considered the principal element of salvation to be direct knowledge of the supreme divinity in the form of mystical or esoteric insight. Many Gnostic texts deal not in concepts of sin and repentance, but with illusion and enlightenment.”
how Scripture answers "How do we know God?"
We know God through belief in His Son, Jesus Christ4,7,8 and obedience to His word3,11,12,14. Sin is what separates man from God1,6. However, God very much wants man to know Him2,5,10. He has provisioned it2,13 (e.g. seek Him or “call on His name”) through His creation5,9,10 and ultimately by sending His Son3,7. It is only8 through belief and obedience to Him that man can know God3,4,6,11,12.
the answer above is built on and footnoted with the following scripture-blocks
1
In the garden of Eden when God has discovered Adam and Eve’s disobedience. He pronounces judgment on the Tempter and shares the curses for both man and woman as a result of their disobedience.
Man knew God in the Garden of Eden, but man’s sin separated them.
2
God speaking through the prophet Jeremiah during the days/years leading up to Judah’s captivity to Babylon.
Man’s confidence is based on coming to know God. God says that He can be known.
3
He [Christ] is the atonement for our sins, and not ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And if we keep his commandments, we come to know him and his atonement.
Knowing Him (God/Jesus) comes through obeying His commandments (His word). John goes on to equate knowing him with being “in him” (vs 5).
!! scripture-block context extra important here !!
4
To be sure, I [Paul] consider nothing above knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For Him have I suffered the loss of everything, considering it all worthless anyway, in order to pursue Christ and be found in Him, not based on works of my own law-keeping, but based on faith in Christ and the good works that it produces — coming to a knowledge of Him and the power of His resurrection, sharing in His sufferings, becoming dead to the flesh, that at any cost I may achieve life after death.
Paul chronicles his own journey to “knowing Christ Jesus.” It began with recognizing its worth above all other things. He had “faith in Christ,” being “found in Him” and living the “righteousness from God” that involves sharing in His sufferings and being dead to the fleshly desires. His “knowing” journey continues until he attains life everafter (“the resurrection from the dead”).
5
Knowing God should be “plain” and “clearly perceived” since God has revealed Himself to all through creation. Not knowing God is inexcusable!
6
John is stating the case for fellow believers to continue in the love of God, here reminding them of the contrast between those that practice sin (e.g. “lawlessness” vs 4) and those that have accepted Jesus and been cleansed of their sin.
The one continuing in sin does not know or have fellowship with Jesus/God.
!! scripture-block context extra important here !!
7
Knowing God leads to eternal life and includes believing Jesus Christ was the Son of God.
8
Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Jesus and the apostles in the upper room on the eve of His trial. John’s account of this begins in chapter 13 and concludes with Jesus’ prayer in chapter 17. Jesus has just said that He is going to prepare a place for them (vss 2-3) and Thomas has asked, “How can we know the way?” (vs 5).
Jesus is the only way by which anyone can know God. Knowing Jesus is to know God.
9
Observations of the folly of life without acknowledging God and His authority.
God has placed the yearning for a higher purpose (“eternity”) in the heart of mankind.
10
These two quotes from Paul, while confirming Biblical concepts to be sure, are taken from secular writers that would have been familiar to the Greek Athenians. The first is likely from Epimenides of Crete and the second is from Aratus’s “Phainomena.“
God is nearby, able to be found if He is sought. Paul confirms this desire of mankind was part of God’s creation9 and echos the prophet’s writing13.
11
This [persecution] is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, deeming you worthy of God’s kingdom for which you are suffering. It’s a truth that God considers it just to repay tribulation on those persecutors, and to give you relief together with us in Jesus’ return from heaven together with His mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting repayment on all those who do not know God, not obeying the gospel of Christ.
Expressed in the negative, Paul couples not knowing God with not obeying the gospel of Christ.
12
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
God hears (“is near”) to anyone that calls on Him “in truth” or His word (
David’s song of praise (about 1,00BC).
God is there for any that call on Him according to His word.
13
Seek the Lord, calling on Him while He is near; let a man turn from his evil ways and sinful thoughts and turn to the Lord so that he might be forgiven by a compassionate God.
God speaking through Isaiah the prophet to the nation of Judah before their imminent captivity to Babylon.
At least for some time period, God is “near” and “may be found” by any that “call upon him”.
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…and if you’re wondering more about what we’re doing and why, here are some links we hope can help explain it (and maybe even get you excited about contributing):
- the Bible Study Framework and scripture-blocks
our format and the anatomy of a question
the Bible study standard that we follow
- our top four obstacles to letting scripture interpret scripture
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