Can We Really Know God?

Can We Know Him?

From the beginning, mankind has wanted to know God. That longing is not accidental. We were made by Him and for Him. Deep down, every human heart knows there is more to life than what we can see, touch, measure, and explain.

But here is the great question: Can we really know God?

On the one hand, God is not like us. He is infinite, eternal, self-existent, and self-sustaining. He does not borrow life from anyone. He is life itself. We are finite, temporary, dependent creatures. Every breath we take, every heartbeat we have, and every moment we live is a gift from Him. As Paul said, “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

So, if God had remained silent, we could never have climbed high enough, thought deeply enough, or searched long enough to discover Him on our own. God is beyond our control, beyond our imagination, and beyond the limits of human perception.

And yet, God has not left us in the dark. Because we are created in His image, He is not “totally other” in the sense that He is unknowable to us. The God who made us has spoken to us. By His self-revelation, we can truly know Him.

God Must Make Himself Known

This raises some important questions. How much can we know about God? Can we be sure that what we know is true? Where do we go to learn about Him?

Those questions can only be answered by God Himself. He alone is the true source of knowledge about Himself. We do not define God. We do not invent God. We do not vote on who God is. We receive what God has revealed.

And praise God, He has revealed Himself. He has left His fingerprints in creation. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1, CSB). He has also placed a witness within the human conscience. Romans 1:20 says, “For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made” (CSB).

But God has done even more. He has revealed Himself most clearly in Jesus Christ, the living Word, and in the Bible, the written Word. Hebrews 1:1–2 declares, “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son” (CSB). And Scripture itself is God-breathed: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

That means every claim about God—whether from nature, philosophy, tradition, experience, or human reason—must be tested by Scripture. The Bible is not merely one witness among many. It is the final authority because it is God’s own written revelation.

We Can Know God Truly, But Not Fully

So how much can we know about God? The answer is both humbling and encouraging. We can know God truly, but we cannot know Him fully.

That is not a contradiction. It is the difference between partial knowledge and complete knowledge. A child can truly know his father without knowing everything about him. In the same way, believers can truly know the living God, but no creature can fully comprehend the infinite Creator.

The doctrine of God’s incomprehensibility reminds us that God is never small enough to fit inside our minds. But the doctrine of God’s knowability reminds us that He is gracious enough to make Himself known to our hearts.

Scripture Holds Both Truths Together

The Bible teaches both truths. Job 11:7 asks, “Can you fathom the depths of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?” The answer is clear: no one can search out all that God is. His wisdom is deeper than ours. His holiness is purer than ours. His power is greater than ours. His ways are higher than ours.

But the Bible also tells us that God can be known because God has come near in His Son. Jesus said, “If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:7). Then He said plainly, “The one who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Jesus Christ reveals God perfectly. John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.” If you want to know what God is like, look to Christ. He is not merely a messenger from God; He is God the Son, the full and final revelation of the Father.

Where We Learn About God Today

Today, the sure and sufficient source of our knowledge of God is Scripture. The Bible does not tell us everything there is to know about God, but everything it tells us is true. It tells us that God exists, who God is, what God is like, what God has purposed, how He ordinarily works through providence, and how He has sometimes acted in extraordinary ways through miracles.

The Bible shows us God as Creator, Sustainer, Judge, Redeemer, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It reveals His holiness, sovereignty, righteousness, love, grace, mercy, wrath, faithfulness, and truth. It shows us His works in creation, providence, covenant, redemption, judgment, and new creation.

This is why we do not build our doctrine of God on feelings, trends, private opinions, or cultural preferences. We stand on the Word of God. As Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”

Knowing God Personally

Still, having the Bible in our hands does not automatically mean we know God as we ought. We must come to His Word with humility, faith, repentance, and dependence on the Holy Spirit. The Spirit who inspired Scripture also illuminates Scripture. Paul wrote, “We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people” (1 Corinthians 2:13).

This is one of the great joys of Christian doctrine: we can spend all our lives learning more about God, and we will never exhaust Him. We can study Him, worship Him, trust Him, obey Him, and love Him—and still there will always be more of His glory to see.

And this knowledge is not merely information. Eternal life itself is knowing God through Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed, “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent—Jesus Christ” (John 17:3).

A Closing Appeal

So let us not treat the knowledge of God as a cold subject to be mastered, but as a holy invitation to be received. God has spoken. God has revealed Himself. God has come near in Jesus Christ. The question is not whether God can be known; the question is whether we will come to Him on His terms. Come to the Scriptures with reverence. Come to Christ with faith. Come with repentance, surrender, and worship. Do not be content to know facts about God while remaining far from God. Turn to the Son, who reveals the Father, and ask the Spirit to open your eyes to the truth. For the greatest joy in this life—and the joy that will fill eternity—is knowing the infinite, holy, gracious God who has made Himself known.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.