One of the most profound questions we can ask is simple: Can we know God?
Can we genuinely know God, or is He so far beyond us that we can only speculate about who He is?
The answer is both reassuring and humbling: God can be known because He has chosen to reveal Himself. Yet we can never know Him exhaustively because He is infinite and we are finite.
God is not someone man discovers through wisdom or effort. If we are to know Him, He must make Himself known. And Scripture shows us that He has.
The world around us bears witness to God’s power, wisdom and glory. Its beauty, order and complexity point beyond themselves.
This is known as general revelation: God’s communication of Himself through creation. It is available to humanity generally. Paul explains that God’s eternal power and divine nature can be perceived through what He has made (Romans 1:20).
But general revelation has its limits.
Creation can show us that God exists and reveal something of His character and power. It does not, by itself, give us the fullness of God’s saving purposes. For that, we need specific revelation.
God has spoken through Scripture and has made Himself known most fully through Jesus Christ. Matthew 11:27 reminds us that the Father is known through the Son and through the Son’s revelation of Him.
God is not hiding from man. He has revealed Himself and invites us to respond.
Knowing About God Is Not the Same as Knowing God
There is an important difference between knowing about someone and knowing someone.
You can know facts about a person without having a relationship with them. You might know their name, background and many details about their life, yet still not genuinely know them.
The same is true spiritually.
We should seek to know God. Scripture and sound doctrine matter because we cannot simply create our own version of God and call it truth.
Hebrews 11:6 teaches that those who come to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
The goal is not merely information; It is relationship.
God has made Himself known so that He may be known.
And knowing God should affect how we live. If we know Him as:
- holy, we should desire holiness.
- faithful, we should learn to trust Him.
- loving, we should become people who love others.
True knowledge of God moves beyond the head and reaches the heart.
We Can Know God Without Knowing Him Fully
Knowing God does not mean completely understanding God.
God is infinite. We are finite.
Psalm 145:3 says His greatness is unsearchable. Psalm 147:5 describes His understanding as infinite. Paul responds to the depth of God’s wisdom and knowledge in Romans 11:33-36 with wonder and worship.
This is what theologians mean by the incomprehensibility of God.
It does not mean God cannot be understood, rather that He cannot be understood exhaustively.
We can truly know that God is:
- holy without knowing everything about His holiness.
- loving without exhausting the depths of His love.
- faithful without reaching the limits of His faithfulness.
This should encourage us.
We will never reach the point where there is nothing more to learn about God. There will always be more of His character to discover, more of His wisdom to appreciate and more of His works to marvel at.
The more we know Him, the more we recognise how much greater He is than our understanding.
Conclusion
Can we know God? Yes.
Not because humanity has discovered Him through its own ability, but because God has chosen to reveal Himself.
We can know Him through creation, through Scripture and, most fully, through Jesus Christ.
Yet we will never know Him exhaustively. His greatness is beyond our complete understanding.
And that is part of the beauty of knowing God.
There is enough revelation for us to know Him truly, yet enough mystery to keep us humble.
We do not need to understand everything about God before we can trust Him.
God cannot be fully comprehended, but He can truly be known.
The God who has made Himself known invites us to do more than know about Him.
He invites us to know Him.