Can Anyone Know God?

article by site founder, Connie Rice

God is outside of time and space and is the Creator of all life. God is infinite, but His creation is finite. Because of that, we can never know God completely this side of heaven. However, He did not leave us in the dark. Anyone who sees His creation can see that He exists and that He is powerful, intelligent, creative, and that He cares about His creation since He gave each one the adaptive ability to survive. However, He also chose different people in different generations to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to write down more about Himself and how He has revealed Himself throughout human history so that we would know even more about Him. How amazing that He even shares some of His characteristics with all people – of course, not to the same degree. Here are some of the things we know about God because He has revealed them to us in His Word:

• God is love – not just loving, but the essence of love itself; He gave people the capacity to love as well.
• God is holy – without sin, set apart from everyone and everything else.
• God is light – in Him is no darkness at all. He made the greater light (sun) and the lesser light (moon) for His creation.
• God is the author of all life.
• God is the source of all wisdom – fearing God is the beginning of wisdom.
• God is omnipotent – all-powerful.
• God is omniscient – He knows everything past, present, & future and knows the hearts & thoughts of every person.
• God is omnipresent – He is everywhere at once; nothing is hidden from Him.
• God is just – the source of all fairness; He gave people the desire to want justice and fairness.
• God is merciful – He forgives all who turn from their sins, ask for His forgiveness, & choose His ways; mercy is not giving us what we deserve, withholding deserved punishment.
• God is creative – He created uniqueness among every person, animal, plant, and even snowflakes; He also gave people the capacity to be creative, each person gifted a little differently from the rest.
• God is good – even when evil occurs, He brings good out of it for those who are trusting in Him.
• God values His creation and looks out for even the sparrow.
• God is faithful – He keeps all of His promises and provides for those who are obedient and trusting in Him.
• God hates evil and will ultimately destroy it.
• God is sovereign – He is in control of all things and His plan will play out; that’s why we don’t have to live in fear , despair, or confusion.
• God judgment is righteous – since He is the source of all that is just.
• God is eternal – He always was, always is, and always will be; He put eternity in the heart of each person (survival instinct) so we would seek the way to heaven.
• God is worthy of all praise – just because of who He is.
• God wants to bless His children, but can’t bless disobedience.
• God is gracious – He knows that people have a sinful nature, but also knows when they are trying to be obedient and offers His grace to us; grace is undeserved favor.
• God knew that humans had a sinful nature and were dead in their sin, so He made a way of salvation for them.
• God is one, but exists in 3 persons – the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit; each one having specific roles; the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of mankind, to conquer evil, to overcome death, to be the intercessor for those trusting in Him as their Lord & Savior, and is the way God chose for people to enter heaven when they die; Jesus lived a sinless life, so was able to pay the penalty of sin with His death; He rose again, overcoming death itself; Jesus sent the Holy Spirit as a helper to indwell and empower those believing in Him so they would not have to be held in bondage by sin. The Bible gives us the characteristics of the Holy Spirit that can be seen in believers who are following the Lord (if everyone had all of these characteristics all the time, what a wonderful place this would be). The fruit of the Spirit is found in Galatians 5:22-23:
  • Love
  • Joy
  • Peace
  • Patience
  • Kindness
  • Goodness
  • Faithfulness
  • Gentleness
  • Self-control
    • As long as we’re on this earth, we will still battle our sinful natures which will prevent complete victory here. God knew that and is gracious to us when we are quick to confess and ask for forgiveness. We can be victorious with the help of the Holy Spirit and should never give up. God looks at our hearts and knows when we’re trying to do things His way.
• Jesus was tortured and chose to voluntarily give His life “for the joy set before Him” of providing a way of salvation for all mankind.
• Every person will stand alone before Jesus as judge – those believing in Him have have their sins covered by the blood He shed and will receive rewards from Him; those who rejected or ignored Him will receive judgment for the sin in their lives. He knows everything about us, even our thoughts & the intents of our heart; therefore, He is the perfect and fair judge.
• God wants to His children to reflect His characteristics so others will seek Him and also find eternal salvation through trusting in Jesus. We show our love for Jesus by being obedient to His commands and choosing to follow Him instead of the world. We are to be His ambassadors.

Read through this list when you need to be encouraged. If we don’t know Scripture, much of what is going on in our world will make no sense and can be frightening. Read the Bible – it provides discernment and understanding. I recommend you start in book of Psalms to get an idea of God’s majesty and sovereignty. Then read the gospels, starting with the book of John, and then the rest of the New Testament. You may want to read the Old Testament before the book of Revelation as it will make more sense. I’ve found that reading through the Bible chronologically is helpful since history makes more sense that way. In order to better grasp events of the end times, there are a number of helpful resources that can be helpful on this site’s End Times Prophecy page. We are in the middle of life’s greatest adventure!

We can know God because He has revealed so much of Himself through His Word. The more we learn about who He is, the more we see that He deserves our praise and worship, and that our lives should bring Him glory. As we learn more about the sacrifice Jesus made for us, the more we should want to live for Him and make sure others know His love for them. We may not know everything about God, but we know enough. And since we don’t know what’s around the corner, we need a Guide who does. It’s been said that God doesn’t waste any pain, and I’ve found that to be true in my own life as well. The Lord wants to bless us, give us meaning and a sense of purpose in this life, prepare us for the things life throws at us in our broken world, and prepare a place for us in heaven so we can be with Him for eternity – a beautiful place where there is no death, no sickness, no sadness, no evil, and no sin (not even our own). How heavenly is that? The darker this world gets, the better that sounds – let’s keep doing what God has called us to do while keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith. Let’s keep sharing about His amazing love and have an eternal mindset – because God has even shown us the future and it will be glorious to behold! It will also be a grand reunion with all those who have gone before us!

© Constance Rice 2024