What is God Saying to Me and How Can I Know Anything About Him?

How is it that we can know anything about God? There is a difference between God's thoughts and our thoughts. This is true both quantitatively and qualitatively. Three obvious differences are that God's thoughts are creative, i.e. they make things what they are. If I say I have three pairs of blue pants in my closet that might or might not be true and one would have to check and see. If God were to say there are three pairs of blue pants in my closet, there would be three pairs of blue pants in my closet because what He says will be true.

Second, God's thoughts are criteriological, i.e, they are the highest standard and test for everything else, They are the benchmark.

Third, God's thoughts are awesome and the degree to which you know more about Him, the more awesome He becomes. That is not true about anyone else. In fact, the more you see of another person, even the greatest basketball player of all time, the less awesome they become and the more you think that given enough time maybe you could do the same things. Not so with God.

The quality and extent of our knowledge of another is dependent upon the other person opening up to us. If that is true in our relationships with other people, how much more is that true of the transcendent and incomprehensible person of God. What right would anyone have to say God is like this, or God will do that? No, knowing God must be based on His revelation of Himself. If God does not open up to us, we will never know Him.

So we read in the Bible that God spoke or the Lord said, or God commanded. God communicated with us and has left His communication in the form of writing. Why was it necessary to have a written word of God? Can't we just find out about God by looking at nature or creation?

Yes, we learn something of God by looking at nature, Unfortunately, men suppress the truth that is found there which only leads them into greater problems. NKJ Romans 1:20-23 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man - and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

What was needed was a special revelation in what we call the Bible. In this we find what is revealed in nature, plus much more. The Lord is the One who commands His people. Since He is Lord, He must communicate with His people. How else could they call Him Lord? Without a word, there could be no relationship, no knowledge of right and wrong, no understanding of life. It is committed to writing so that we can have the predictions, promises and purposes of God recorded for us. We are not left to an oral tradition, but the writing of the Bible covers the wide spans of history.

Does this mean that God has told us everything? NKJ Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. What He has given us enables us to see life more clearly and know what to do.

Has everything God has revealed been committed to writing? No. NKJ John 21:25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

But God has given us everything we need. That Bible has adequate power, authority, and clarity to accomplish all God intends. It is clear and sufficient showing a person how to live their life, have their truth pure so that they lack nothing.