Reading: Doctrine of God

Read the following that is included in this session and will be covered in Quiz 2 for Topic 2, the Theology of Addiction.

-Read "Systematic Theology" by Wayne Grudem, pages 109-120. 

Click https://fbcfairburn.com/app/uploads/2015/04/Systematic_Theology_-_Wayne_Grudem.pdf link to open resource.

The Doctrine of God 

Chapter 9 The Existence of God 

How do we know that God exists?

 EXPLANATION AND SCRIPTURAL BASIS

How do we know that God exists? The answer can be given in two parts: First, all people have an inner sense of God. Second, we believe the evidence that is found in Scripture and in nature.

A. Humanity’s Inner Sense of God 

All persons everywhere have a deep, inner sense that God exists, that they are his creatures, and that he is their Creator. Paul says that even Gentile unbelievers “knew God” but did not honor him as God or give thanks to him (Rom. 1:21). He says that wicked unbelievers have “exchanged the truth about God for a lie” (Rom. 1:25), implying that they actively or willfully rejected some truth about God’s existence and character that they knew. Paul says that “what can be known about God is plain to them,” and adds that this is “because God has shown it to them” (Rom. 1:19). 

Yet Scripture also recognizes that some people deny this inner sense of God and even deny that God exists. It is “the fool” who says in his heart, “There is no God” (Ps. 14:1; 53:1). It is the wicked person who first “curses and renounces the LORD” and then in pride repeatedly thinks “there is no God” (Ps. 10:3–4). These passages indicate both that sin leads people to think irrationally and to deny God’s existence, and that it is someone who is thinking irrationally or who has been deceived who will say, “There is no God.” 

Paul also recognizes that sin will cause people to deny their knowledge of God: he speaks of those who “by their wickedness suppress the truth” (Rom. 1:18) and says that those who do this are “without excuse” for this denial of God (Rom. 1:20). A series of active verbs indicates that this is a willful suppression of the truth (Rom. 1:23, 25, 28, 32).¹ 

In the life of a Christian this inner awareness of God becomes stronger and more distinct. We begin to know God as our loving Father in heaven (Rom. 8:15), the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God (Rom. 8:16), and we come to know Jesus Christ living within our hearts (Eph. 3:17; Phil. 3:8, 10; Col. 1:27; John 14:23). The intensity of this awareness for a Christian is such that though we have not seen our Lord Jesus Christ, we indeed love him (1 Peter 1:8). 

B. Believing the Evidence in Scripture and Nature

In addition to people’s inner awareness of God that bears clear witness to the fact that God exists, clear evidence of his existence is to be seen in Scripture and in nature. 

The evidence that God exists is of course found throughout the Bible. In fact, the Bible everywhere assumes that God exists. The first verse of Genesis does not present evidence for the existence of God but begins immediately to tell us what he has done: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” If we are convinced that the Bible is true, then we know from the Bible not only that God exists but also very much about his nature and his acts. 

The world also gives abundant evidence of God’s existence. Paul says that God’s eternal nature and deity have been “clearly perceived in the things that have been made” (Rom. 1:20). This broad reference to “the things that have been made” suggests that in some sense every created thing gives evidence of God’s character. Nevertheless, it is man himself, created in the image of God, who most abundantly bears witness to the existence of God: whenever we meet another human being, we should (if our minds are thinking correctly) realize that such an incredibly intricate, skillful, communicative living creature could only have been created by an infinite, all-wise Creator. 

In addition to the evidence seen in the existence of living human beings, there is further excellent evidence in nature. The “rains and fruitful seasons” as well as the “food and gladness” that all people experience and benefit from are also said by Barnabas and Paul to be witnesses to God (Acts 14:17). David tells us of the witness of the heavens: “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge” (Ps. 19:1–2). To look upward into the sky by day or by night is to see sun, moon, and stars, sky and clouds, all continually declaring by their existence and beauty and greatness that a powerful and wise Creator has made them and sustains them in their order. 

This wide variety of testimonies to God’s existence from various parts of the created world suggests to us that in one sense everything that exists gives evidence of God’s existence. For those who have eyes to see and evaluate the evidence correctly, every leaf on every tree, every blade of grass, every star in the sky, and every other part of creation all cry out continuously, “God made me! God made me! God made me!” If our hearts and minds were not so blinded by sin, it would be impossible for us to look closely at a leaf from any tree and say, “No one created this: it just happened.” The beauty of a snowflake, the majestic power of a thunderstorm, the skill of a honeybee, the refreshing taste of cold water, the incredible abilities of the human hand—all these and thousands of other aspects of creation simply could not have come into existence apart from the activity of an all-powerful and all-wise Creator. 

Thus, for those who are correctly evaluating the evidence, everything in Scripture and everything in nature proves clearly that God exists and that he is the powerful and wise Creator that Scripture describes him to be. Therefore, when we believe that God exists, we are basing our belief not on some blind hope apart from any evidence, but on an overwhelming amount of reliable evidence from God’s words and God’s works. It is a characteristic of true faith that it is a confidence based on reliable evidence, and faith in the existence of God shares this characteristic. 

Furthermore, these evidences can all be seen as valid proofs for the existence of God, even though some people reject them. This does not mean that the evidence is invalid in itself, only that those who reject the evidence are evaluating it wrongly. 

C. Traditional “Proofs” for the Existence of God 

The traditional “proofs” for the existence of God that have been constructed by Christian (and some non-Christian) philosophers at various points in history are in fact attempts to analyze the evidence, especially the evidence from nature, in extremely careful and logically precise ways, in order to persuade people that it is not rational to reject the idea of God’s existence. If it is true that sin causes people to think irrationally then these proofs are attempts to cause people to think rationally or correctly about the evidence for God’s existence, in spite of the irrational tendencies caused by sin. 

Most of the traditional proofs for the existence of God can be classified in four major types of argument: 

1. The cosmological argument considers the fact that every known thing in the universe has a cause. Therefore, it reasons, the universe itself must also have a cause, and the cause of such a great universe can only be God. 

2. The teleological argument is really a subcategory of the cosmological argument. It focuses on the evidence of harmony, order, and design in the universe, and argues that its design gives evidence of an intelligent purpose (the Greek word τέλος, G5465, means “end” or “goal” or “purpose”). Since the universe appears to be designed with a purpose, there must be an intelligent and purposeful God who created it to function this way. 

3. The ontological argument begins with the idea of God, who is defined as a being “greater than which nothing can be imagined.” It then argues that the characteristic of existence must belong to such a being, since it is greater to exist than not to exist.² 

4. The moral argument begins from man’s sense of right and wrong, and of the need for justice to be done, and argues that there must be a God who is the source of right and wrong and who will someday mete out justice to all people. 

Because all of these arguments are based on facts about the creation that are indeed true facts, we may say that all of these proofs (when carefully constructed) are, in an objective sense, valid proofs. They are valid in that they correctly evaluate the evidence and correctly reason to a true conclusion—in fact, the universe does have God as its cause, and it does show evidence of purposeful design, and God does exist as a being greater than which nothing can be imagined, and God has given us a sense of right and wrong and a sense that his judgment is coming someday. The actual facts referred to in these proofs, therefore, are true and in that sense the proofs are valid, even though not all people are persuaded by them. 

But in another sense, if “valid” means “able to compel agreement even from those who begin with false assumptions,” then of course none of the proofs is valid because not one of them is able to compel agreement from everyone who considers them. Yet this is because many unbelievers either begin with invalid assumptions or do not reason correctly from the evidence. It is not because the proofs are invalid in themselves. 

The value of these proofs, then, lies chiefly in overcoming some of the intellectual objections of unbelievers. They cannot bring unbelievers to saving faith, for that comes about through belief in the testimony of Scripture. But they can help overcome objections from unbelievers, and, for believers, they can provide further intellectual evidence for something they have already been persuaded of from their own inner sense of God and from the testimony of Scripture. 

 D. Only God Can Overcome Our Sin and Enable Us to Be Persuaded of His Existence 

Finally, it must be remembered that in this sinful world God must enable us to be persuaded or we would never believe in him. We read that “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4). Furthermore, Paul says that “since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe” (1 Cor. 1:21). In this sinful world, human wisdom is inadequate for coming to know God. Thus, Paul’s preaching came “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:5). We are dependent upon God to remove the blindness and irrationality caused by sin and to enable us to evaluate the evidence rightly, believe what Scripture says, and come to saving faith in Christ. 

QUESTIONS FOR PERSONAL APPLICATION 

1. When the seraphim around God’s throne cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isa. 6:3), do you think they are seeing the earth from a somewhat different perspective than ours? In what ways? How can we begin to see the world more from this perspective? 

2. When is your inner sense of God’s existence strongest? Weakest? Why? In which of these situations are you in a condition more like the one you will have in heaven? In which of these types of situations are your judgments more reliable? 

3. Look at your hand. Is it more or less complex than a wristwatch? Is it logical to think that either one of them just came about by an accidental combination of elements? 

4. Do most people today believe in the existence of God? Has this been true throughout history? If they believe that God exists, why have they not worshiped him rightly? 

5. Why do some people deny the existence of God? Does Romans 1:18 suggest there is often a moral factor influencing their intellectual denial of God’s existence (cf. Ps. 14:1–3)? What is the best way to approach someone who denies the existence of God?

SPECIAL TERMS 

cosmological argument
inner sense of God
moral argument
ontological argument
teleological argument 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

(For an explanation of this bibliography see the note on the bibliography to chapter 1, p. 38. Complete bibliographical data may be found on pp. 1223–29.) 

Sections in Evangelical Systematic Theologies 

1. Anglican (Episcopalian)
1882–92 Litton, 42–58
1930 Thomas, 3–14 

2. Arminian (Wesleyan or Methodist)
1875–76 Pope, 1:233–48
1892–94 Miley, 1:57–136
1940 Wiley, 1:217–40
1960 Purkiser, 39–59
1983 Carter, 1:107–11
 cf cf.—compare
1983- Cottrell, 1:419–42
1987–90 Oden, 1:131–80 

3. Baptist
1767 Gill, 1:1–15
1887 Boyce, 8–46
1907 Strong, 52–110
1917 Mullins, 35–48
1983–85 Erickson, 156–74 

4. Dispensational
1947 Chafer, 1:129–78
1949 Thiessen, 21–42
1986 Ryrie, 25–34 

5. Lutheran
1917–24 Pieper, 1:371–74
1934 Mueller, 143–47 

6. Reformed (or Presbyterian)
1559 Calvin, 1:43–69 (1.3–5)
1861 Heppe, 47–56
1871–73 Hodge, 1:191–334
1878 Dabney, 5–26
1887–1921 Warfield, SSW 1:34–40
1889 Shedd, 1:195–248
1909 Bavinck, DG 41–80
1938 Berkhof, 19–28
1962 Buswell, 1:72–161 

Sections in Representative Roman Catholic Systematic Theologies 

1. Roman Catholic: Traditional
1955 Ott, 13–17 

2. Roman Catholic: Post-Vatican II
1980 McBrien (no explicit treatment) 

Other Works 

Brown, Colin. Philosophy and the Christian Faith. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1968.
Charnock, Stephen. The Existence and Attributes of God. Repr. ed. Evansville, Ind.: Sovereign Grace Book Club, n.d., pp. 11–67 (first published 1655–80).
Clark, Gordon H. Religion, Reason, and Revelation. Nutley, N.J.: Craig Press, 1961.
France, R.T. The Living God. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1970.
Geisler, Norman. Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976.
_______, and Paul Feinberg. Introduction to Philosophy: A Christian Perspective. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980.
Hackett, Stuart. The Resurrection of Theism. Chicago: Moody, 1957.
Hoover, A.J. “God, Arguments for the Existence of.” In EDT pp. 447–51.
Lewis, Gordon R. Testing Christianity’s Truth Claims. Chicago: Moody, 1976.
Mavrodes, George I. Belief in God. New York: Random House, 1970.
McDowell, Josh. Evidence That Demands a Verdict. San Bernardino, Calif.: Here’s Life, 1972, 1979.
Packer, J.I. “God.” In NDT pp. 274–77.
Sire, James. The Universe Next Door: A Basic World View Catalog. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1976.
Van Til, Cornelius. The Defense of the Faith. Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1955.
Yandell, Keith. Christianity and Philosophy. Studies in a Christian World View. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, and Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1984. 

SCRIPTURE MEMORY PASSAGE

 Romans 1:18–20: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 

HYMN 
“THE SPACIOUS FIRMAMENT ON HIGH” 

This hymn, based on Psalm 19:1–4, speaks of the testimony of the sun, moon, and stars to their Creator. The word firmament in the first verse refers to the expanse or open space that is visible to us as we look upward from earth; it is the place in which the sun, moon, and stars exist, and might be translated “sky” or “heavens.” The third verse reminds us that though these heavenly bodies make no sounds that can be heard by our physical ears, they nonetheless proclaim, to all who think rightly about them, 

“The hand that made us is divine.”
The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heav’ns, a shining frame,
Their great original proclaim.
Th’ unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator’s pow’r display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an Almighty hand.
Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the list’ning earth
Repeats the story of her birth;
Whilst all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
What though in solemn silence all
Move round this dark terrestrial ball?
What though nor real voice nor sound
Amidst their radiant orbs be found?
In reason’s ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice;
For ever singing, as they shine,
“The hand that made us is divine.” 

Author: Joseph Addison, 1712 

Alternative hymns: “I Sing th’ Almighty Power of God”; “This Is My Father’s World”; or “Day Is Dying in the West” 

---

 ¹ 1. Some people deny that they have an inner sense of God. But their awareness of God will often make itself evident in a time of personal crisis, when deep-seated convictions of the heart show themselves in outward words and deeds. Several years ago I was a passenger in a car with several friends, including a young woman who in conversation was firmly denying that she had any inner awareness of God’s existence. Shortly thereafter the car hit a patch of ice and spun around in a complete circle at high speed. Before the car came to rest in a large snow bank (with no serious damage) this same woman could be heard distinctly calling out, “Lord Jesus, please help us!” The rest of us looked at her in amazement when we realized that her agnosticism had been disproved by words from her own mouth. 

  ² 2. The stem ont- in “ontological” is derived from a Greek word that means “being.” 

 ed ed.—edited by, edition 
EDT EDT—Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Walter Elwell, ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984. 

---

Chapter 10 

The Knowability of God 

Can we really know God? How much of God can we know? 

EXPLANATION AND SCRIPTURAL BASIS 

A. The Necessity for God to Reveal Himself to Us 

If we are to know God at all, it is necessary that he reveal himself to us. Even when discussing the revelation of God that comes through nature, Paul says that what can be known about God is plain to people “because God has shown it to them” (Rom. 1:19). The natural creation reveals God because he chose to have himself revealed in this way. 

With regard to the personal knowledge of God that comes in salvation, this idea is even more explicit. Jesus says, “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matt. 11:27). This kind of knowledge of God is not found through human effort or wisdom: “in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom” (1 Cor. 1:21; cf. 1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:3–4; John 1:18). 

The necessity for God to reveal himself to us also is seen in the fact that sinful people misinterpret the revelation about God found in nature. Those who “by their wickedness suppress the truth” are those who “became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened...they exchanged the truth about God for a lie” (Rom. 1:18, 21, 25). Therefore, we need Scripture if we are to interpret natural revelation rightly. Hundreds of false religions in the world are evidence of the way sinful people, without guidance from Scripture, will always misunderstand and distort the revelation about God found in nature. But the Bible alone tells us how to understand the testimony about God from nature. Therefore we depend on God’s active communication to us in Scripture for our true knowledge of God. 

B. We Can Never Fully Understand God 

Because God is infinite and we are finite or limited, we can never fully understand God. In this sense God is said to be incomprehensible where the term incomprehensible is used with an older and less common sense, “unable to be fully understood.” This sense must be clearly distinguished from the more common meaning, “unable to be understood.” It is not true to say that God is unable to be understood, but it is true to say that he cannot be understood fully or exhaustively. 

Psalm 145 says, “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable” (Ps. 145:3). God’s greatness is beyond searching out or discovering: it is too great ever to be fully known. Regarding God’s understanding, Psalm 147 says, “Great is our LORD, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure” (Ps. 147:5). We will never be able to measure or fully know the understanding of God: it is far too great for us to equal or to understand. Similarly, when thinking of God’s knowledge of all his ways, David says, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it” (Ps. 139:6; cf. v. 17). 

Paul implies this incomprehensibility of God when he says that “the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God,” and then goes on to say that “no one comprehends the things1 of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:10–12). At the end of a long discussion on the history of God’s great plan of redemption, Paul breaks forth into praise: “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom. 11:33). 

These verses allow us to take our understanding of the incomprehensibility of God one step further. It is not only true that we can never fully understand God; it is also true that we can never fully understand any single thing about God. His greatness (Ps. 145:3), his understanding (Ps. 147:5), his knowledge (Ps. 139:6), his riches, wisdom, judgments, and ways (Rom. 11:33) are all beyond our ability to understand fully. Other verses also support this idea: as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God’s ways higher than our ways and his thoughts than our thoughts (Isa. 55:9). Job says that God’s great acts in creating and sustaining the earth are “but the outskirts of his ways,” and exclaims, “how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?” (Job 26:14; cf. 11:7–9; 37:5). 

Thus, we may know something about God’s love, power, wisdom, and so forth. But we can never know his love completely or exhaustively. We can never know his power exhaustively. We can never know his wisdom exhaustively, and so forth. In order to know any single thing about God exhaustively we would have to know it as he himself knows it. That is, we would have to know it in its relationship to everything else about God and in its relationship to everything else about creation throughout all eternity! We can only exclaim with David, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it” (Ps. 139:6). 

This doctrine of God’s incomprehensibility has much positive application for our own lives. It means that we will never be able to know “too much” about God, for we will never run out of things to learn about him, and we will thus never tire in delighting in the discovery of more and more of his excellence and of the greatness of his works. 

Even in the age to come, when we are freed from the presence of sin, we will never be able fully to understand God or any one thing about him. This is seen from the fact that the passages cited above attribute God’s incomprehensibility not to our sinfulness but to his infinite greatness. It is because we are finite and God is infinite that we will never be able to understand him fully.2 For all eternity we will be able to go on increasing in our knowledge of God and delighting ourselves more and more in him, saying with David as we learn more and more of God’s own thoughts, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand” (Ps. 139:17–18). 

But if this is so in eternity future, then it certainly must be so in this life. In fact, Paul tells us that if we are to lead a life “worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him,” it must be one in which we are continually “increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10). We should be growing in our knowledge of God through our entire lives. 

If we ever wished to make ourselves equal to God in knowledge, or if we wished to derive satisfaction from the sin of intellectual pride, the fact that we will never stop growing in knowledge of God would be a discouraging thing for us—we might become frustrated that God is a subject of study that we will never master! But if we rather delight in the fact that God alone is God, that he is always infinitely greater than we are, that we are his creatures who owe him worship and adoration, then this will be a very encouraging idea. Even though we spend time in Bible study and fellowship with God every day of our lives, there will always be more to learn about God and his relationships to us and the world, and thus there will always be more that we can be thankful for and for which we can give him praise. When we realize this, the prospect of a lifelong habit of regular Bible study, and even the prospect of a lifetime of study of theology (if it is theology that is solidly grounded in God’s Word), should be a very exciting prospect to us. To study and to teach God’s Word in both formal and informal ways will always be a great privilege and joy. 

C. Yet We Can Know God Truly 

Even though we cannot know God exhaustively, we can know true things about God. In fact, all that Scripture tells us about God is true. It is true to say that God is love (1 John 4:8), that God is light (1 John 1:5), that God is spirit (John 4:24), that God is just or righteous (Rom. 3:26), and so forth. To say this, does not imply or require that we know everything about God or about his love or his righteousness or any other attribute. When I say that I have three sons, that statement is entirely true, even though I do not know everything about my sons, nor even about myself. So it is in our knowledge of God: we have true knowledge of God from Scripture, even though we do not have exhaustive knowledge. We can know some of God’s thoughts—even many of them—from Scripture, and when we know them, we, like David, find them to be “precious” (Ps. 139:17). 

Even more significantly, it is God himself whom we know, not simply facts about him or actions he does. We make a distinction between knowing facts and knowing persons in our ordinary use of English. It would be true for me to say that I know many facts about the president of the United States, but it would not be true for me to say that I know him. To say that I know him would imply that I had met him and talked with him, and that I had developed at least to some degree a personal relationship with him. 

Now some people say that we cannot know God himself, but that we can only know facts about him or know what he does. Others have said that we cannot know God as he is in himself, but we can only know him as he relates to us (and there is an implication that these two are somehow different). But Scripture does not speak that way. Several passages speak of our knowing God himself. We read God’s words in Jeremiah: 

Here God says that the source of our joy and sense of importance ought to come not from our own abilities or possessions, but from the fact that we know him. Similarly, in praying to his Father, Jesus could say, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). The promise of the new covenant is that all shall know God, “from the least of them to the greatest” (Heb. 8:11), and John’s first epistle tells us that the Son of God has come and given us understanding “to know him who is true” (1 John 5:20; see also Gal. 4:9; Phil. 3:10; 1 John 2:3; 4:8). John can say, “I write to you, children, because you know the Father” (1 John 2:13). 

The fact that we do know God himself is further demonstrated by the realization that the richness of the Christian life includes a personal relationship with God. As these passages imply, we have a far greater privilege than mere knowledge of facts about God. We speak to God in prayer, and he speaks to us through his Word. We commune with him in his presence, we sing his praise, and we are aware that he personally dwells among us and within us to bless us (John 14:23). Indeed, this personal relationship with God the Father, with God the Son, and with God the Holy Spirit may be said to be the greatest of all the blessings of the Christian life. 

QUESTIONS FOR PERSONAL APPLICATION 

1. Sometimes people say that heaven sounds boring. How does the fact that God is incomprehensible yet knowable help to answer that objection? 

2. How can we be sure that when we reach heaven God will not tell us that most of what we had learned about him was wrong, and that we would have to forget what we had learned and begin to learn different things about him? 

3. Do you want to go on knowing God more and more deeply for all eternity? Why or why not? Would you like sometime to be able to know God exhaustively? Why or why not? 

4. Why do you think God decided to reveal himself to us? Do you learn more about God from his revelation in nature or his revelation in Scripture? Why do you think it is that God’s thoughts are “precious” to us (Ps. 139:17)? Would you call your present relationship to God a personal relationship? How is it similar to your relationships with other people, and how is it different? What would make your relationship with God better? 

SPECIAL TERMS 

incomprehensible
knowable 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

(For an explanation of this bibliography see the note on the bibliography to chapter 1, p. 38. Complete bibliographical data may be found on pp. 1223–29.)

Sections in Evangelical Systematic Theologies 

1. Anglican (Episcopalian)
1882–92 Litton (no explicit treatment) 

2. Arminian (Wesleyan or Methodist)
1875–76 Pope, 1:242–48
1892–94 Miley, 1:137–58
1983- Cottrell, 1:1–47, 306–87
1987–90 Oden, 1:317–74 

3. Baptist
1767 Gill, 2:352–64
1887 Boyce, 8–54
1917 Mullins, 35–48
1976–83 Henry, 2:17–167, 247–334; 5:375–409
1983–85 Erickson, 137–40, 177–81, 268–71 

4. Dispensational
1947 Chafer, 1:179–86
1986 Ryrie, 25–34 

5. Lutheran
1917–24 Pieper, 1:375–81 

6. Reformed (or Presbyterian)
1559 Calvin, 1:33–43 (1.1–2)
1871–73 Hodge, 1:191–202, 335–65
1909 Bavinck, DG 13–110
1938 Berkhof, 29–40
1962 Buswell, 1:29–30 

7. Renewal (or charismatic/Pentecostal)
1988–92 Williams, 1:29–46 

Sections in Representative Roman Catholic Systematic Theologies 

1. Roman Catholic: Traditional
1955 Ott, 17–24 

2. Roman Catholic: Post-Vatican II
1980 McBrien (no explicit treatment) 

Other Works 

Bray, Gerald L. The Doctrine of God. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993.
Charnock, Stephen. The Knowledge of God. The Complete Works of Stephen Charnock. Vol. 4. Edinburgh: James Nichol, 1865. Repr. ed.: Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1985, esp. pp. 3–164.
Frame, John M. The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God. Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1987.
France, R.T. The Living God. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1970.
Packer, J.I. “God.” In NDT pp. 274–77.
_______. Knowing God. London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1973, pp. 13–37.
Piper, John. Desiring God. Portland, Ore.: Multnomah, 1986.
Tozer, A.W. The Knowledge of the Holy. New York: Harper and Row, 1961.
Van Til, Cornelius. In Defense of the Faith vol. 5: An Introduction to Systematic Theology. n.p.: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1976, pp. 159–99. 

SCRIPTURE MEMORY PASSAGE 

(Verse 3 of this passage tells us that God can never be fully known, but the fact that David is praising God and speaking to him shows also that he does know true things about God and does have a personal relationship to him.)

Psalm 145:1–3:
I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name for ever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable. 

HYMN “I WILL THEE PRAISE, MY GOD, O KING” 

Throughout the history of the church Christians have enjoyed rearranging the words of the psalms to fit some poetic meter and then setting these psalms to music for personal or group worship. This is an old metrical arrangement of the words to Psalm 145, set to the familiar melody of the hymn, “Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun.” Stanza 2 speaks of God’s incomprehensibility (“The Lord is great; he praise exceeds; his greatness fully search can none”), and many of the other stanzas speak of various attributes of God that we know from Scripture. It should give us joy to sing this song, knowing both that we are singing absolutely true things about God, and that his greatness far exceeds any praise we will ever be able to sing to him. 

I will thee praise, my God, O King,
And I will ever bless thy name;
I will extol thee every day
And evermore thy praise proclaim.
The Lord is great; he praise exceeds;
His greatness fully search can none;
Race shall to race extol thy deeds
And tell thy mighty acts each one.
Upon thy glorious majesty
And wondrous works my mind shall dwell;
Men shall recount thy dreadful acts,
And of thy greatness I will tell.
They utter shall abundantly
The mem’ry of thy goodness great,
And shall sing praises cheerfully
While they thy righteousness relate.
Jehovah very gracious is;
In him compassions also flow;
In lovingkindness he is great,
And unto anger he is slow.
O’er all his works his mercies are;
The Lord is good to all that live.
Praise, Lord, to thee thy works afford;
Thy saints to thee shall praises give. 

From: The Book of Psalms With Music (Pittsburgh: Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, 1973), Psalm 145 (pp. 350–51) 

Alternative hymn: “O Worship the King” 

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 ¹ 1. So KJV, quite literally translating the Greek phrase τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ. RSV, NIV, and NASB all supply the word thoughts because the parallel expression in v. 11, τὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (“the things of the man”), seems to require that we supply the word thoughts as necessary to the context. But Paul’s mention of “the depths of God” in v. 10 suggests that not only God’s thoughts but all of God’s being is referred to in both v. 10 and v. 12. 

² 2. This is not contradicted by 1 Cor. 13:12, “Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.” The phrase “know fully” is simply an attempt to translate the word ἐπιγινώσκω (G2105) which suggests deeper or more accurate knowledge (or perhaps, in contrast with present partial knowledge, knowledge free from error or falsehood). Paul never says anything like, “Then I shall know all things,” which would have been very easy to say in Greek (τότε ἐπιγνώσομαι τὰ πάντα) if he had wished to do so. 

ed ed.—edited by, edition
NDT NDT—New Dictionary of Theology. S.B. Ferguson, D.F. Wright, J.I. Packer, eds. Leicester and Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1988.
vol vol.—volume