The Knowledge of God

 Part II

In the March-April issue of the Trumpeter we spoke about two very different kinds of knowledge concerning God. One is a “Natural” knowledge and the other is a “Spiritual” knowledge. Both partake of God’s Self-revelation, the natural revealed in His creation, and the Spiritual by His Word. We pointed out that: 

1. The natural knowledge of God does have positive value. It enables civilization to exist and it provides a fertile place to plant the seed of the Word of God. But…

2. In man’s present fallen condition the natural knowledge of God is entirely insufficient to result in salvation. It can arouse the conscience, but without faith in the Gospel of Christ, man remains in a state of hopelessness and despair.

You should review that article if it is still at hand. You may also view it by connecting to our website at http://svbc.org and looking under “Trumpeter Archives”.

Now we want to move on to the second kind of knowledge of God. It may be called Spiritual knowledge or Christian knowledge. We could even call it Saving knowledge, because without it there is no salvation. I will repeat again so that you will remember, that natural knowledge is found in God’s self-revelation in creation. But Christian knowledge is derived from His Word, the Holy Scriptures. From that Holy Word we learn that God is absolutely One and that He is also three persons, absolutely distinct.

Both the Old and New Testaments teach monotheism, i.e. that God is one. Deut. 6:4 says; Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD. And this is confirmed for us in the New Testament at I Cor. 8:4b, when it tells us that … we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. Heathen gods and idols in this verse are said to be “nothing” and in Jer. 2:11 they are said to be “no gods” They can neither harm nor help man because there is no breath (spirit) in them. (Jer. 10:5, 14-15) Because God is One, the very first of the Ten Commandment demands a monotheistic worship from man. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Ex. 20:3, and St. Mark in his Gospel also gives the command to worship God with our whole being as Jesus speaks in the great monotheistic pronouncement; Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Mark 12:29,30.

But Scripture teaches in an equally definitive way that the One True God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit! There are three Persons in One Godhead. I realize that I do not have to prove this to my present Trumpeter readers, but allow me to note for the record that Christian Baptism is Trinitarian; Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Mat. 28:19 And the Christian Benediction in II Cor. 13:14 is likewise Trinitarian; The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

For the third time I think it is important to understand that this Christian knowledge of God is not worked in us by God’s self-revelation in nature, history or man’s conscience, but solely by His Word.  Unlike the natural knowledge of God in creation, Holy Scripture gives us the Christian knowledge by revealing God’s thoughts, His gracious purposes, His mind so to speak, and above all, His loving heart. Modernist theology would like to erase this vast difference between the two kinds of knowledge, and they would likely succeed if the Bible were not readily available for us to refute their schemes. But thanks be to God, if we abide in His Word, we will hear what our Lord declares about Himself! We learn not only that the One True God is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit but we also learn exactly where we stand in God’s eyes and just what His remedy is for the dilemma that fallen man has brought upon himself.

This brings us to the practical value of this Christian knowledge. Simply stated, it is our salvation! The Bible is not setting forth the doctrine of the triune Godhead as an academic question or some kind of metaphysical problem to be solved. Along with the proclamation that in the One Eternal God there are three Persons of one and the same divine essence, the Bible also declares the gracious message that this God …so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son unto death as the Savior; and that … in the fullness of time, the eternal Son would become incarnate and by His vicarious satisfaction would reconcile the world to God; and that Jesus would send  …another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; Which Spirit would apply to man the salvation gained by Christ. When one says, “I believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit” he is saying “I believe in the God who is really there and Who is merciful to me, a sinner.”   

When you are in dialog with unbelievers concerning the saving knowledge of God it would be well to keep in mind that people who have not received this blessed revelation of God’s will are judging according to worldly wisdom. They imagine that by this wisdom they have completely overthrown the Christian Faith and exposed our folly as if we were all blockheads and fools and could not see their logic as well as they. But once again, thank God! We have the Scriptures that we know to be the Word of God! We have obtained from the Word and from no other source, all that is known of God and His divine work from the beginning of the world. We are even granted to know the ways and means of our enemies and what to expect until Jesus comes. All by this same Word! And I repeat, no one can know these things by his own wisdom, and no book on earth can teach it except the Holy Spirit teach us through the Holy Scriptures which God Himself has given.

Here is Saving knowledge; “That God has sent His Son into the world to redeem us from sin and the wrath of God and that anyone that believes in Him should have everlasting life.”

I would not want to leave you thinking that the saving knowledge of God is a simple matter. It is both simple and complex! There is a simplicity for the sinner who first comes to the Savior. St. Paul states the offer that God makes to each and every person who realizes that they are trapped in Adam’s race and desires to escape the wrath of God. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Rom. 10:9,10

How simple, and yet there is a complexity in the knowledge of God that allows us to search for a lifetime without coming to the place where we know it all. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Prov. 9:10 (New International Version) It is the beginning when we come to a saving knowledge of our Lord. Along the same line, Phil.3:10-15 is instructive when Paul says; I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. (NIV)

It is all available to us. We have the Bible. We have the Holy Spirit. We have the teaching ministries. All we need is that burning desire to gain this knowledge. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints  Eph. 1:18

Take time every day to read and meditate upon the Word of God. Pray just before you start, asking God to give you understanding.

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against
thee.  Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. With my
lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. I have rejoiced
in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.I will meditate
in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.I will delight myself
in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
Psalm 119:11-16