The Revelation of God

I. Nature only supplies a limited knowledge of God. ROM 1:19-20; PSA 19:1. A. The “Book of Nature” is corrupt and therefore unreliable to reveal God. ROM 8:21-22. B. Polytheistic idolatry is evidence of the vanity of knowing God from nature. To discover God by interpreting the creation is to end up where all paganism ends up: creature worship, idolatry and uncleanness. ROM 1:22-25. C. Some have thus concluded that God is inscrutable and unknowable, and that it is wrong to declare to know Him. 1. Mind that some who vehemently affirm that God is concealed and unknowable will nonetheless also affirm that they know best what God is likely like. 2. Paul was not of the mindset that God cannot be declared (openly or formally made known by words or something equivalent). ACT 17:23.

II. God may be known and understood for He has revealed Himself. A. Alone, man cannot fully discover God to truly know Him with understanding. JOB 11:7-9. B. God has chosen to reveal Himself in His Son. MAT 11:27; 1JO 5:20. C. Saints may comprehend their God through Christ. EPH 3:17-19. D. God may be known and comprehended through the words of His Son. HEB 1:1-2; JOH 1:18; 14:8-9. E. The knowledge of God was conveyed from Christ to His apostles that we may know God through their word. JOH 15:15, 27; 17:8, 20; 2CO 4:6; 10:5; 1JO 1:3-4. F. God reveals Himself by His word. 1SAM 3:21. G. Far from being some unknowable, incomprehensible Force, unrevealable to man, our God may be known in Jesus Christ. 1. (ITI 3:16) And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 2. manifest: Clearly revealed to the eye, mind or judgement; open to view or comprehension; obvious. 3. Some assume that since there are Scriptures which speak of the mystery of God, therefore God is ultimately unknowable and incomprehensible and so also His doctrine. This is often used as an escape when someone is holding contradictory doctrinal positions. 4. “Mystery” does not mean that something cannot be known or understood, but only that it must be known through divine revelation. 5. mystery: A religious truth known only by divine revelation... 6. Any mystery which God has revealed may be understood. COL 2:2; EPH 1:3-6 c/w EPH 3:1-4.

III. Since God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, we must seek to know the true Christ. A. There are false Jesus Christs. 2CO 11:3-4; MAT 24:24. B. Since there are other spirits, the spirits must be tried (proved, tested). 1JO 4:1-6. C. The true Christ is known by His Person and His work. MAT 16:13, 16; JOH 4:34; 5:36, 19-21; 17:2-4; 10:37-38. D. The true Christ is God, virgin-born, sinless, Who completed all tasks assigned Him of the Father to save sinners, Who did save them by His death, burial and resurrection, Who ascended alive back to the Father to reign over all and is the express (truly depicted, exactly resembling) image of the Godhead (HEB 1:3), as the Scripture declares.

IV. It is of paramount importance to know the true God as revealed in and by the true Christ. A. Knowing God is vital for worship. JOH 4:22-24; PSA 47:7; 1CO 8:5-6; 1JO 5:21. B. Consider the state of those in ignorance. 1TH 4:5; ACT 13:27 c/w JOH 15:21; 16:3. 1. Where God has revealed Himself and men still choose to deny Him or insist that He is unknowable and incomprehensible, they do only fulfill the Scripture. JOH 1:5; 3:19-21. 2. Knowing God is an article of the Judgement. 2TH 1:8. C. The ability to know God is life eternal. JOH 17:3. D. It is not arrogance to boldly declare “I know God” when you know God through Jesus Christ via the Scripture. 2TI 1:12; JER 9:23-24. E. Declaring, “I know God” is one thing. Knowing of a truth that you know God is another. 1CO 15:34; TIT 1:15-16; 1JO 2:3-4; 4:7-8.