How Can We Know God?

How Can We Know God?
Psalm 19: 1 – 14 AND Hebrews 1: 1 – 3

Introduction

(Before standing up to preach this sermon, we heard a testimony from a man who is a Christian physician in a Communist country which is closed to the Gospel.)

If I wanted to travel to a foreign country, I would need a passport.  When I exit the airplane, I have to stand in line and show my passport / credentials to a government official.  The government official checks to see if I am allowed to enter into his / her country.  God does not have a passport…and God does not need a passport.  No government official gets to check God’s credentials to see if God is allowed into his / her country.

No president, king or dictator can decree that God is not allowed.  No legislative body can vote God out.  No judge can rule against God.

Last Sunday, I preached about the character of God.  There are several ways we can talk about the character of God.  We could describe God by using all the “Omni” words…God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, etc…  Or, we could describe the “perfections” of God…God is Perfect in Goodness, Perfect in Love, Perfect in Wisdom and Perfect in Power.  Or, we could describe God in his basic essence…God is transcendent.

When we say that God is transcendent, we affirm the perfection of God and all the Omni characteristics of God.  We agree with the words of the Prophet Isaiah who declared that God is “high and lifted up.”  God is higher than we are.  God is above us.  God is holy and set apart.  God is not like us.

Of course, when we say that God is transcendent, we are describing a problem.  If God is “high and lifted up”…If God is holy and set apart…If God is not like us…Then, how can we ever know God?

God is above us and different from us.  Whereas we are sinful, God is perfect.  Whereas we are finite and limited by our temporary lifetimes, God is eternal and cannot be threatened by death.   Whereas we are influenced by the world, God is Holy / Set Apart / Heavenly.  Whereas we are predictable (inasmuch as we are influenced by sin and always make sinful choices), God is unpredictable because God is truly free.  Therefore, God is not only above us…God is also beyond us.  In some ways, God is unknowable and will always be a mystery to our finite minds.

The only way this transcendent, mysterious and unknowable God could ever be known is that God has made himself “knowable.”  Left to our own devices, we could never discover God.  We could never know the unknowable.  However, God wants us to know him.  Therefore, God has made himself known.  God has revealed himself to us.

Psalm 19 is a praise Psalm which contains some very important theology.  It can be divided into three sections which describe (in something like a progression) three ways God reveals himself to us.

Creation Reveals God… 

Psalm 19: 1 – 6, “1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. 3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, 5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.”

These verses are unique in the ancient world.  They describe a distinctly Jewish world view—a world view which carries over into Christianity.

The pagans of the ancient world would not proclaim that creation declares the glory of God.  Instead, they would say that Creation is God.  The pagan view of creation takes one of three perspectives.  First, some people in the ancient world worshipped the individual element of creation—sun, moon or stars.  Second, other ancient people worshipped everything in creation—this could be described as “pantheism,” which is to say God is everything and everything is God.  Third, other ancient people worshipped creation as a whole—this is what we might describe as “panentheism,” which is to say that everything comes together to form God…God is in everything and everything is in God.

Christians and Jews have a completely different view of creation.  In our understanding, creation is not God.  Rather, creation is the handiwork of God.  Looking at creation invites us to reflect on the God who made everything we can see.

Worshipping creation is a distinctly ancient problem.  Modern-day men and women do not actually worship creation.  People may love nature and the environment…but no one actually worships creation.  However, there is a modern-day equivalent.  People in the Twenty-First Century are tempted to worship science in the same way ancient people were tempted to worship creation.

The ancient pagans were nearsighted.  When they looked at creation, their focus stopped short.  They were not able to look beyond creation and see the God who created everything.  In the same way, some modern-day skeptics are also nearsighted.  They are not able to look beyond science to see the God who not only created everything science describes but who also establishes the rules and characteristics of scientific discovery.

Creation is not God.  Creation is the handiwork of God…God is other than creation.

Scripture Reveals God…

Psalm 19: 7 – 11, “7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. 11 By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”

In these verses, we read six parallel statements that describe the Scriptures.  The Law of the LORD…The Statutes of the LORD…The Precepts of the LORD…The Commands of the LORD…The Fear of the LORD…The Ordinances of the LORD…

Creation can only reveal so much about God. Creation shows us that God exists, that God creates, that God is good and wise.  But, God is other than creation.  And, God has actually stepped into his creation to redeem what God has created and to call a people to himself.  God’s activity in his creation is recorded in Scripture.  Therefore, we read the Bible in order to know God…And, we know God by the way he has dealt with and acted within his creation…The Scriptures describe the redemptive work of God.

The redemptive work of God is recorded in the History of Israel.  God heard their cries for help when the Hebrew people were slaves in Egypt.  So, God stepped into his creation and called Moses (from a burning bush) to rescue God’s people.  Through Moses, God led the Hebrew people to Mount Sinai and established them as his Chosen People by giving them his Law.  God continued to pursue Israel as God’s people (and to act in their history), despite the fact that they were unfaithful to God.  Then, God entered history in general (and the nation of Israel in particular) through the Person of Jesus of Nazareth—the Virgin-born Son of God.

A Personal Cry for Help… 

Psalm 19: 12 – 14, “12 Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. 14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

Notice how this last section sounds different from the previous sections.  The other sections are written in the third person—the psalmist is writing / speaking / singing praises ABOUT God.  In this section, the psalmist is not writing / speaking / singing about God…Here he is writing / speaking / singing TO God.  We might even say he has shifted from praise to prayer.

The transcendence of God makes it impossible for us to know God or to discover God by our own intellect.  The only way we can possibly know God is for God to reveal himself to us.  God must help us to see him / to know him.

We need Personal help in order to overcome our sinfulness.  Our sins distort our minds and our understanding.  In order to know God and to receive God’s revelation of himself, we need God to forgive us and make us right.

Theology of Revelation… 

In my understanding of Psalm 19, there is a progression in God’s revelation.  There are three ways we can know God.  God has revealed himself in three ways. 

First, General Revelation—available to all people in all places at all times.  Nature and creation.  Human conscience and morality.  Love and family relations.  Search for meaning and the desire for a better future.  General Revelation is available to anyone who has eyes to see what God has done in creation.

Second, Special Revelation in Scripture—available to all people who are willing to read the story of God’s redemptive activity in history through the Nation of Israel.  Law, Prophets, Writing…All describe God’s redemption in history.  Special Revelation is available to anyone who has ears to hear what God has done in the story of redemption found in Scripture. 

Third, Personal Revelation in the life, crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ—available to anyone who acknowledges that Jesus of Nazareth is the unique Son of God.  Personal Revelation is available to anyone who has a heart open to experience the love of God through Jesus.

Hebrews 1: 1 – 3, “1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

If God had only revealed himself through creation and Scripture, then we could say that knowing God is a matter of receiving a proper understanding of information.  In this sense, knowing God would be nothing more than accepting certain propositions about God; memorizing data and historical facts about God; and interpreting abstract truth from the historical data. 

However, creation and Scripture are not the only ways God has revealed himself.  God also revealed himself through the Person of Jesus.  Therefore, God’s revelation of himself is not about Information…It is about Transformation…Allowing your life to be transformed by Jesus Christ.

Since God revealed himself through Jesus, we know God by experiencing a relationship with Jesus. 

Jesus transforms our lives by offering us forgiveness of sins.  Forgiveness is not about information…It is transformation. 

Jesus offers us a reason / purpose for living by giving us abundant life.  Again, abundant life is not about information…It is transformation. 

Jesus also offers us Eternal Life.  Eternal Life is the result of a life transformed by Jesus and not something to be gained through information.

Conclusion

God’s revelation of himself is both Deep and Wide…

As wide as all of creation…available to everyone with eyes to see…

As wide as the Scriptures…available to everyone with ears to hear…

As deep as the cross and Resurrection of Jesus…available to everyone with a heart open to God’s love…A heart open to love God and to be loved by God…