The Incomprehensibility of God ESV study Bible A. What It Means to Know God 1.

. In the quest to know God, it is vital to understand just what it means to really know him. 2. Methods, expectations, and attitudes in studying theology are determined by ones definition of knowing God.

3. Central to understanding this is the fact that God is both incomprehensible and knowable. B. Can we comprehend God? 1. Scripture teaches that we can have a true and personal knowledge of God, but this does not mean we will ever understand him exhaustively.

2. 3.

The Bible is clear that God is ultimately incomprehensible to us that is, we can never fully comprehend his whole being. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable (Ps. 145:3).

a.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isa. 55:89).

b.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? (Rom. 11:33 34;

c.

Job 42:16; Ps. 139:6, 1718; 147:5; Isa. 57:15; 1 Cor. 2:1011; 1 Tim. 6:1316

4. These verses teach that not only is Gods whole being incomprehensible but each of his attributeshis greatness, power, thoughts, ways, wisdom, and judgmentsare well beyond human ability to fathom fully.

5. Not only can we never know everything there is to know about God, we can never know everything there is to know about even one aspect of Gods character or work. C. Why God Is Incomprehensible

1.

God is infinite and his creatures are finite.

a. By definition, creatures depend on their Creator for their very existence and are limited in all aspects. b. c. Yet God is without limitations in every quality he possesses. This Creator/creature, infinite/finite gap will always exist.

2.

The perfect unity of Gods attributes is far beyond the realm of human experience.

a. Gods love, wrath, grace, justice, holiness, patience, and jealousy are continually functioning in a perfectly integrated yet infinitely complex way.

3.

The effects of sin on the minds of fallen humans also greatly inhibit the ability to know God.

a.

The tendency of fallen creatures is to distort, pervert, and confuse truth and to use, or rather abuse, it for selfish ends rather than for Gods glory (Rom. 1:1826).

4.

Gods sovereign wisdom; God has chosen not to reveal some things

a.

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law (Deut. 29:29). b. Some would label it unloving for God to decide to withhold some information from his people. c. They wrongly believe God should reveal everything they may want to know. Yet, as with all good fathers, Gods wisdom leads him to refrain from

answering all the questions his children ask him

5. In heaven, Gods incomprehensibility will no doubt be lessened when the effects of sin no longer affect minds and when he will most likely share some of his secrets.

a. However, God will always be infinite and humans will always be finite, so he will always be beyond human ability to know exhaustively. D. Implications of Gods Incomprehensibility 1. Because God can never be fully known, those who seek to know God should be deeply humbled in the process, realizing that they will always have more to learn.

2. The appropriate response to God is a heart of wonder and awe in light of his incomprehensible greatness.

3. Gods incomprehensibility also means that beliefs can be held with firm conviction even though they may be filled with mystery.

4.

The Trinity, the divine and human natures of Christ, divine sovereignty and human responsibility, and many other core teachings of the Christian faith are profoundly mysterious E. Knowing God 1. The incomprehensibility of God could lead to despair or apathy in the quest to know God, but the Bible also teaches that God is knowable.

2. While God can never be exhaustively understood, he can be known truly, personally, and sufficiently. 3. God is personal, has definite characteristics, and has personally revealed himself so that he can be truly known. 2 Peter 1:2-3 New International Version (NIV)

2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 4. God will never be known absolutely, but we can know things about him that are absolutely true, so much so that we can be willing to live and die for those beliefs.

5. God has provided knowledge of himself that is personal, relational, and sufficient for fruitful, faithful, godly living.