Now we are actually going to answer the question proposed, “How Do We Know God?” As I said before, we know him through His general and special revelation. But the fruit of the next couple of lessons will try and flesh out these two categories of Divine revelation.
Some of this will be review due to the fact: 1) it is important to be repetitious to a degree, and 2) it would have been impossible for me to explain the concepts of general and special revelation (as I have already done in our study) without giving some examples of what is contained in each respective category. But in our analysis of general and special revelation we will go into far greater detail than anything I have said before.
We will analyze these two ways that God has chosen to reveal Himself in 3 primary categories. These categories affirm the fact that God has revealed Himself to man in a way that they can “know” God. Here are the categories:
The Witness of God’s Work (General revelation)
The Witness of God’s World (General revelation)
The Witness of God’s Word (Special revelation)
For starters, we shall begin looking at the first category noted above- the witness of God's work. What do I mean when I say the witness of God's work? Its pretty simple. God has worked it out in his creation in such a way that all men are aware of His existence. Thus, it can be said that all men "know" God. If all men know He exists, then all men know that He is there. Thus, all men "know" God in the limited sense.
So God has worked out His creation in such a way that His existence is manifested in and around us. Thus, it can truly be said that man (all men without exclusion) “know” God. Therefore, we can (and must!) also affirm that man knows God due to an: 1) awareness of God internally (conscience), and 2) awareness of God externally (creation).
Let us first consider the way in which God's work of creation has shown us an awareness of His existence internally, that is, within the consciences of all men. I want to prove this by pointing you to 3 strands of evidence to support such a notion. Here are the evidences: 1) support by means of Scriptural explanation, 2) support by means of experiential observation, and 3) support by means of practical illustration.
But before I give these evidences, allow me to first of all clarify some important things. These are things that I have (in the past) worked hard to clarify, but I still believe need some more elucidation. When we speak about "knowing God" within our conscience, that is internally, we are not speaking about "salvificly knowing" God. No, no. That is something different altogether. That is a topic we will discuss much later.This inner knowledge of God found within all men without distinction must not be confused with salvation knowledge. It is not salvation knowledge; rather, it is what we might call “simple knowledge”, or “basic knowledge”. Right now we are speaking “only of the primal and simple knowledge to which the very order of nature would have led us if Adam had remained upright”, as Calvin says. We must properly distinguish between man’s ability to recognize, be aware of, and “know” God in this “simple sense” from knowing God in the “saving sense”. In the basic sense, all men can “feel” God. This is a different feeling of God than embracing “the grace of reconciliation offered in Christ" (Calvin). For in the face of God’s creation He as shown Himself as Creator. But only in the face of Jesus Christ does He show Himself as Redeemer (2 Cor. 4:6). The first sense of knowing God (simple sense) we are not led to salvation, but to condemnation. In the latter sense (saving sense) we are always led to salvation, not condemnation provided the Spirit genuinely operates a miracle within our hearts and truly shows us the glory, beauty, and value of Jesus Christ.
Calvin helpfully and accurately describes this inner awareness as the following: “seed of religion”, “natural instinct”, “awareness of Divinity”, etc. These are helpful terms to clarify the type of knowledge I am referring to.
This witness of God’s work which begins with an analysis of an inner knowledge only serves to the condemnation of man, not the salvation of man.“Since, therefore, men one and all perceive that there is a God and that He is their Maker, they are condemned by their own testimony because they have failed to honor Him and to consecrate their lives to His will" (Calvin's Institutes). In other words, God’s will begins with a proper recognition that He is our God, our Owner, our King- and then this knowledge results in obedience to His commands. There are two problems, however: 1) man tends to suppress this innate knowledge of God as Creator, Owner, King, and 2) even if He recognizes it, he is unable to live in full obedience to God.
Man can “know” there is a God, but He will never “know” or be able to please this God apart from the personal appropriation of the work of Christ on the cross. Luther once said that true “knowledge” of God is a matter of personal pronouns”. What Luther was getting at is simple. Luther was saying that truly “knowing” God in the salvation sense means that He becomes ours- in whom we delight in obeying Him and serving as the Creator that we know Him to be. It means being able to use a pronoun- “My God”. And when we do so, God hearkens back “My child”! There is a sense in which we are all God’s children because He is our maker, and we are created in His image (Acts 17:28). But we truly become His adopted children when His Spirit shines the Light of the Gospel into our hearts revealing the “Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). It is then and only then, that we can cry “Abba Father” (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).
So, when we speak about an awareness of God internally, we are speaking about something altogether different than "salvation knowledge". We are speaking about a limited knowledge, a "simple knowledge". Now, in the next post I will support my argument that there is an awareness of God internally with the 3 strands of evidence that I mentioned above: support by means of Scriptural explanation, experiential observation, and practical illustration.
Until Next Time,
Andy
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