The Knowability and Incomprehensibility of God

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Okay, so it's not on the board, but you guys see on your handouts, we're kind of in a new category now. As I was going through this, I thought of a way to kind of encompass knowability and incomprehensibility, which, when I look at that on the paper, that's, like, one of the longest words that really does. I don't know if you. I never knew how I know that word. I'm assuming a lot of you guys know that word, but it's, like, as long as the three words above it. And when I typed it out, it shocked me. So I don't know. That's probably not interesting to you, but I typed it out, and I was like, what in the world that word is so long. Knowability and incomprehensibility. Now, none of you guys ever commented on this, and it's okay, really. I preferred it this way. But recently I started wearing glasses. I did not have glasses when I started working here. I think I got them in the summer. I had never worn them before in my life. The issue was I could not see very far. After being in seminary, I had to read a lot of books. And when you read like this a lot, your eyes get really bad at looking in the distance. So if you read, be sure to take breaks. That's my recommendation. I didn't take enough breaks, and it ruined my eyes. And I'm only 27, so I had to get those. And this was a most obvious problem when I drove. In fact, the eye doctor, he said, you know, I don't think I would drive in a car with you, which was a little hurtful. But he said that I just couldn't see the signs. I could see everything. I just couldn't see, like, what the signs said. So if especially I moved here, it was new. I didn't know the streets, and I knew I needed to turn on, like, some street that had, like, two names. 71st or Kenosha. I don't know what we call it, but it's got two names. And I'm looking for the name, and I can't see it until, like, I'm right there. So some of you guys are starting to drive. Some of you guys have been driving. You understand, if you don't know where you're going and you're looking for a street sign, and you can't read the street sign until you're right there, it's kind of hard to make the turn because you don't know if you need to slow down, turn on your Signal, get over or whatever. So it was really difficult. I needed these corrective lenses to be able to drive. Now I knew they were there. I couldn't see clearly. And I think this is similar to this topic. God is perceived, so he can see things, or people can see that there is a God generally, as I could generally see that there were street signs. But we need something special to actually know Him. So while people can see the sign, that doesn't mean they can necessarily read it. Right. They need something special to help them see and know God. And that kind of captures the two ends of this topic. People can know God, but he's also incomprehensible. They can't exhaustively or completely know Him. That's kind of the balance we're trying to strike here. And so we have moved on into a new broad category of these core truths. We've been studying, or the fancy word, systematic theology. We were in the doctrine or the teachings about Scripture and now we're doing the doctrine or the teachings about God. This is also called theology proper, because theology means what? Yeah, study of God. And we like to add in that it affects and changes our lives as we do it. But you're studying God. And so the doctrine of God is the proper form of theology. So that's why they call it that. And there will be six lessons for this. So we'll be doing a few different aspects of it. But today we're just going to open up about how we can know him and how at the same time we can't completely know him. So let's look at our first Scripture today. Jeremiah chapter 9. So flip to Jeremiah 9. And when we get there, can I get someone to read verses 23 and 24? Jeremiah 9, 23, 24. [00:04:37] Speaker B: Thus says the Lord. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man glory in his ways, nor let the rich man glory in his riches. But let him who glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight, says the Lord. [00:05:01] Speaker A: Thank you. So here we have the Lord saying, let him who boasts to boast that he knows the Lord. Now before we move on, I want to make sure I. I'm staying true to this handout. The main idea of this, and I think this is a good verse that kind of captures a lot of it, is this because of his self revelation, God can be known. He can be known. That's the first blank. But never fully understood because of his self revelation, how God reveals himself. He can be known, but never fully understood by his human creatures, which is us. We are all his human creatures. So this first point is the right answers. We want to know the right answers. How does God's Word teach this? How have Christians historically understood this? Among Christians we have a lot of agreement in the doctrine of God. And so we get to enjoy a lot of help from church history in these topics. But we'll be looking at scripture frequently. Now about this first verse, Jeremiah 9, 23, 24, I want you guys to answer this. Why should knowing God cause people to boast? [00:06:30] Speaker B: Because God is such a great thing. Why wouldn't you want to, you know, let it be known? [00:06:37] Speaker A: Yeah, God is so great, why wouldn't you want to let it be known? That's great. And it's interesting because so often in scripture you are told to not boast. Boasting, arrogance, pride are bad things. But in this sense, when you are boasting of the Lord, it's not a sinful pride because you are boasting in the actual supreme being. When you boast in yourself or even someone else on earth, you are boasting of someone lesser than God. But when you boast of knowing God, you are boasting of the only being who truly deserves to be boasted of. And our purpose as humans is to glorify God by knowing him and by loving Him. And so this is why the Lord says this. Now in the main idea we have the word revelation. What does revelation mean? The revealing of something. That's a very good way to put it. And it helps us connect it to the word. It's more than just a book of the Bible which this book of the Bible is revealing something. But at the same time, all the books of the Bible do reveal things. Yeah, it's revealing something. So when we're talking about God's self revelation, we're saying that God reveals who he is to his human creatures. He is showing us. We are not Sherlock Holmes figuring it out by ourselves, but he is showing us. And we discover things as he has made them known. Now when we are talking about the academic discipline of theology, we have subcategories of revelation. So there are two types of revelation, I think. Yeah, I have these on here. The first type is called general revelation. So that's a sub point, general revelation, which we see in a couple places. So let's go to Romans 1. So if you flip over to Romans 1 and can I get two volunteers to read? We're just going to split up a couple, like a paragraph or two. Okay, Gabe. Hank. Gabe, can you do verses 18 to 21 and then. Hank, can you do 22 to 25? [00:09:19] Speaker B: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. But what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made so they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. But they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God with images resembling mortal men and birds and animals and giving things. Therefore God gave them love. [00:10:17] Speaker A: Thank you. And Psalm 19:1, don't flip there, says the heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. So these passages represent or teach us a little bit about general revelation. So what do you notice about general revelation in these? Usually it's looking at creation. Usually it's looking at creation. Yeah, exactly. Anything else revealed to everybody? Right. Can we think of anything else? For what can be known about God is plain to them. Verse 19. So to everyone it is plain. It's in nature. We also see that his power and nature are clearly perceived. He is known. It says also in verse. Oh, where is it? Verse 20 at the end of verse 20, because of this, mankind is left without what? An excuse. An excuse of their sin. They know who gone to say, I didn't know God. No one told me. Cannot be an excuse. Because they have been. It has been revealed to them. Yeah. And so that. And it's through nature they all know. That's exactly right. So a good definition for these blanks is God's disclosure of himself to all peoples at all times and in all places. So, yeah, all three of those blanks are the exact same. God's disclosure to all peoples at all times and in all places. So it comes through Greg Allison, the author of the book I've been reading. It comes through the creation, through conscience, through God's providential care of us, and through just an innate sense that God is real, that people have. Which is why all throughout history, people groups all over have religions, different religions, frequently because they have an innate sense. Even if they've never heard the good news of the gospel, they know that there is something there. Though sometimes people deny this. But we should not be surprised, because Romans 1 tells us that by their unrighteousness, they suppress the truth that they know to be true. Now, that's the first kind of revelation. The second is called special revelation, contrasting with general. So let's go to some scriptures. Can I get somebody to go to Hebrews 1, Hebrews 1 1, 2? It's just two verses, Eliza. And then can someone go to Matthew 11:27, Talia? And then does someone else want to do 1 John 5:20? You'll do it. Thank you. Okay, so I'll give you a second. We'll do Hebrews 112 first. Just whenever you're able to get there. [00:14:07] Speaker B: Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days, he was spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. [00:14:19] Speaker A: Great. Now, Matthew 11:27, all things have been. [00:14:22] Speaker B: Handed over to me by my Father. And no one knows the Son except the Father. No one knows knows the Father except the Son. [00:14:28] Speaker A: And anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Great. And then 1 John 5:20. [00:14:40] Speaker B: And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding. [00:14:50] Speaker A: Christ Jesus. Thank you. So these are some examples of special revelation, I believe. What do you notice about special revelation? Speaking? Yes. Speaking to a person. Is God speaking to a person is special revelation? Yeah. What else? [00:15:25] Speaker B: He's talking to specific people or referring to specific people? [00:15:29] Speaker A: Yeah, to specific people. Not necessarily to everybody. Right. Anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal. So it's based on whom the Son chooses to reveal this knowledge to. Right. Anything else? Well, that's good. So Hebrews one also taught us that previously it was through prophets. Right. So through prophecies, you could throw in dreams and visions also. But now God reveals Himself through His Son, and it is through knowing the Son that special revelation can be known. And special revelation refers to the Scripture, so it refers to any way that God is speaking in particular to people. So the Scripture and what we have in our laps is the most obvious example. But previously, we would see it as Moses talking to God through a burning bush. It was special revelation. Or Ezekiel being given visions from God was special revelation. All of these examples, they vary a lot more in the Old Testament. But now we have the written word. We have a surefire and consistent and objective way to hear the voice of God in a special way. And so the definition of special revelation is God's disclosure of himself to particular peoples at particular times and in particular places. So again, all three blanks the same word. He discloses himself to a special group of people. It is not to everybody. Now, when we recognize this, I want to ask if God only reveals some things through special revelation. And we need that special revelation. Right. If we don't have the Word, if we don't know the Son and all we have is creation, we cannot be saved. There's not enough there. So if he only reveals some things through special revelation, what is the point of general revelation? Why do you think he reveals himself generally? If God only reveals some things through special revelation, what is general revelation for? Yeah, basically, what's the point. [00:18:24] Speaker B: Of the earth, you know, sinful. So maybe it's just supposed to lead you down a train of thought to believe that you're sinful. [00:18:32] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's definitely one point of purpose of it for sure. The innate sense that there is a God is important. [00:18:43] Speaker B: Is it? So there's like a standard for everyone. [00:18:47] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's. I think Paul in Romans 1 gave us that a little bit by saying so that they are without excuse. So there's a standard. We all have been given enough knowledge, similar to what Gabe said, to know our guilt. We recognize that the world is not perfect just. And everybody knows that. Nobody's going to deny this unless they're delusional. The world is not perfect and we are not perfect. So there is a sense of we know enough to know that we are guilty. And there's enough that God can hold people guilty for rejecting him. So it leaves out the excuse of, oh, I didn't know any better. That is not something taught in Scripture. I didn't know any better, so God will forgive me. It's not true. We know enough to know our guilt. And so it points to God. It begins asking questions and from an evangelistic or mission standpoint, it gives us a good starting point. It gives us a place knowing that we all have a sense that God is real and all people have standards and morality. So people will believe something should be unlawful, something should be lawful. Right. Everybody has these opinions. They don't come from nothing. It's because they believe that there is a standard from nature, from creation, or they reject creation. But there is some standard that there's. They're holding things up too. Our job is to point out to them that the only consistent standard is God's. So you are making up your standard, but really you're getting it from the world that God created. So it convicts and points to God. But ultimately we need the Son. We need the Word to be revealed fully to us so that we can be saved. Now. So God is knowable. Right, but not fully knowable. So why is God incomprehensible? Or say it another way, why can't we fully know God? Yeah, I think that's right. That would make us equal. Are there any other reasons you guys can think of sin? Sin, exactly. I think those are great. And I think the two I thought of is one, that we are finite and he is infinite. So he has no limits. So that's similar to what Gabe said, being equal, if he is infinite, he has no beginning and no end and he is immense. He has no spatial capacity. He is outside of our reality and outside of matter. But we're finite, then we can't fully grasp Him. It's just impossible. In fact, the amazing thing is that we can know anything about him at all. That is truly the amazing thing. And then also that we're sinful. So our intellects are affected by sin. We are not as smart or intelligent as we could be because of sin. And also because of sin. We are not necessarily even all equally intelligent. Right. Exact equality on these things is just not a reality in a sinful world. It just isn't. And so we can't fully know God. He is the Creator. Can the watch understand the watchmaker? Obviously not. But you know, watches don't have brains. But God is far greater than we can imagine. And so I want this to be encouraging to us because sometimes people are encouraged that we can't fully comprehend. And there are going to be doctrines and things that are difficult for us to understand, like the Trinity, which we will go over in a few weeks. But the fact that we can know him at all is truly a gift. And so those are. That's our first point, the right answers. Let's go over some of the wrong answers. When we're talking about knowing and not being able to comprehend God. So the wrong answers, those are the second point. First two of them are similar. You may have heard the term agnosticism. Does anybody know what that means? What's an agnostic? Yeah, well, so they, they're skeptical. They kind of just say, I don't really know. Right. They'll deny God in a way and then compare that to atheism, which is there is no God. So agnosticism denies God's knowability. So they're denying the first part of this lesson. They say God can't Be known. He might be there, but he can't be known. And if you claim to know, then you're arrogant and you're probably wrong. That's agnosticism. So that one's wrong. And then atheism denies God's existence entirely, so it's even a step further. Now, obviously neither agnosticism or atheism can coexist in Christianity. They are living contradictions of one another. I don't think anyone is surprised by that. But I want to point out that both are foolish. They are completely wrong answers. They are the exact thing that Psalm 14:1 tells us is foolish. Psalm 14:1 says this. It says that the fool says in his heart there is no God. They are suppressing the truth. There is no true atheist. They claim to not believe in a God, but really they don't exist. We know from Paul In Romans 1, they are suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. They perceive that something miraculous has happened to create the world. Everybody knows it, but people will suppress this knowledge in their own righteousness. Now a second wrong answer or error people make, and I will write this out, is called Gnosticism, which used to be more of an official thing in the early church, and now we could just have kind of forms of Gnosticism. Very few people say, I'm a Gnostic. You'll probably never hear that. Maybe you will. And it has a G because of language stuff. I don't know if it's a Latin thing or a Greek thing or whatever, but it comes from a word, gnosis, which means knowledge, and it starts with a G. So Gnosticism claims to have a special knowledge of God which isn't revealed to others. So I have a special knowledge. Now, it's different than this special knowledge, Right? This is a special knowledge written in the word revealed through God. But this is something more secretive. He's given it to me and I can't tell you about it. He's got to tell you about it. That's the heart of Gnosticism. What's the issue with that? What's wrong with Gnosticism? Yeah, it ignores general revelation. And it also kind of ignores evangelism and missions. Because only God can give you this secret knowledge. I cannot impart it to you. And so that's a huge issue. Right? So that's Gnosticism. And then the final one is radical individualism. This is the worldview that sees yourself and your experiences as the most important. So you as an individual person is the center of the world. In essence, what is the issue with individualism, why is this wrong? [00:27:10] Speaker B: Makes yourself an idol. [00:27:12] Speaker A: Yeah, makes yourself an idol. Anything else. [00:27:18] Speaker B: Contradicts itself because it's talking about, like, your subjective truth. You know, that's the only truth there is. But then you can't prove that because it's like, well, is that an absolute truth? [00:27:41] Speaker A: Yeah, you can't prove it. And so we just need to recognize that your special or your individual experiences are not the same as revelation. You know, we can't because people claim this. Right. This is a common thing. If you speak to a Mormon, or as they prefer to be called, a Latter Day Saint, a Mormon will almost always say, if you say, how do you know? Like, how do you know that the Book of Mormon is worth its salt? They'll say, well, I've prayed and God has made me feel that it's true. They will almost always say that. If you ever meet one, ask. I can almost guarantee you they'll tell you that if they believe it because they have elevated their personal experience to dictate what is true. And we do this all the time with our feelings and trying to seek a certain identity that makes us feel fulfilled. Right. This is a huge thing today and age among yours. In my generation, just trying to find who we are based on our feelings instead of looking to the revelation of God. Who is he? How has he created the world? How has he revealed Himself through His Son? If your personal feelings contradict the Bible, then they are wrong. And that's not surprising because we live in a sinful world. We are wrong sometimes. In fact, we're wrong often. And if your feelings don't contradict the Bible or the things that are going through your head, they don't contradict the Bible, then you don't really need them because they agree with the Bible and you already have Bible. And so we need the Word. The Word should be central as we try to know God better. Now, finally, I want to ask this question while we have time. The knowability and incomprehensibility of God, how do you apply this based on what we've learned? How should this change your life or affect how you live? [00:29:53] Speaker B: Maybe, like the parts of God that, like, can be known. Like, you strive to, like, learn more about the parts of God that can be known. [00:30:00] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a great, great answer. It's a hard question, but that's a great answer. Yeah. Strive to know God the best that you can. That's great. Anything else? Yeah, I think those are the two main answers. Really strive to know God yourself. And strive to help others to know him so we can grow in our knowledge of God. That was the first one I wrote. And so we're going to be doing that. So if you guys keep coming and, you know, applying yourself, paying attention and participating like you do, then we'll be studying the doctrine of God. We're going to get to know God better, hopefully over the next several weeks. Now, we cannot fully grasp any of the coming categories, but we can know them in part, and we can know what the Word says about them. And through Christ, you can know them to a sufficient degree. Remember, we studied that the Word is sufficient. It has all that we need to know. And so we can be encouraged by that. And then also, like Levi said, it should affect our evangelism, helping other people to know God. And in fact, we can use general revelation as we share the Gospel. There's actually a really cool example. You don't have to flip here, but just listen as I read from Acts 17, Acts 22:31, Paul does this. So I want you to try to find how Paul uses general revelation to share the gospel. Acts 17. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said, men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription to the unknown God. What therefore you worship as unknown? This I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands as though he needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him, and find Him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said. For we are indeed his offspring. Being then God's offspring. We ought not to think that the divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked. But now he commands all people everywhere to repent. Because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. And of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. Did you guys pick up on any of that? So he sees an idol, an altar, it says to the unknown God that the people there in Athens would worship. And he says, you don't know this God, but I know him. And so using their they know there's a God, there's something out there. They worship these other gods, but they know there's at least some God that they don't know. And it's true, they don't know the God of Christianity. They don't. And so Paul says, this is the unknown God that you are looking for. And he quotes their own poets back to them saying, see how these poets are writing these lines? They know something is there. Again, this is God. This is who he is. And he does not overlook ignorance any longer because his Son has now come and been revealed. Which takes us to Hebrews 1. Remember, formerly through the prophets, but now he has spoken through his Son. So we all must go through the Son. So Paul does a wonderful job of this. It's a lot harder to just do it yourself. But in practicing, if you are observing things in the world or if somebody is speaking about this, it can be beneficial to turn it to God. Seeing the creation in the world and the order God has given us can be a great on ramp to the gospel. So I encourage you guys to look for those opportunities. Before we close, does anybody have any questions? Is there anything a little foggy or unclear? No questions. I should have been saying this all along. You can ask questions throughout if something doesn't quite make sense. And if you have questions afterward, you can always come up and ask me. Let's pray and we can get out of here. Father God, we praise you and thank you that you have made yourself known to us. Not only in your wonderful works of creation and providence and how you uphold and upkeep the entire world, but through your son, God. This morning, as we open your word and we worship with the church, we ask that you would be evidently present with us, that you would point us to be able to live lives that are more like Christ. God help us to know you better. And Lord, give us the perception to see opportunities to go into the gospel in our everyday conversations, Lord, even using things that people can perceive in the world already so that we can get to the gospel quicker and we can tell them about the God who made all of this. And we pray this in Christ's name, Amen.