How We Already Know

Think about it... Why does anything exist rather than nothing? For some people, the only answer they can give to this question is simply, “I don’t know.” But for others, the obvious answer may simply be that “God created something rather than nothing.” Whatever your answer may be, that question is one philosophers and scientists have wrestled with for centuries trying to answer.

If you don’t know why something exists rather than nothing, then ask yourself (or allow me to ask you), why don’t you know? Why don’t we know the reason for why things like a universe, light, matter, water, plants, dogs and cats, bacteria and humans with brains that can build space craft, exist? Can we know?

I believe we can and here’s why...
We already know there is a Creator, that God exists. We know that, because if God did not exist, there would be no ultimate cause for why things (including us) exist, which would mean that there would be no ultimate reason for existence. Then our intelligence would be a product of a causeless, reasonless world. If we claimed to know anything apart from the existence of a Creator, we could know no more than if we knew nothing, because we could never know everything all at once. We would simply have no reason to trust our own reasoning. Why should we trust the unchanging laws of logic, if everything is subject to change, with no intelligent Creator upholding those laws? Yet if we do acknowledge the existence of a Creator, then we have a reason to trust our ability to know, and to reason, because what we do know is what our Creator has made us to know. In short, we know what we know, because God has given it to us to know.

(Please note: I am not saying that those who do not believe in God cannot, or do not know anything. Clearly they do. But that is not because our existence is purposeless or without an ultimate cause and ultimate reason. The reason believers and unbelievers know what we know, must be because we were designed to have the ability to know things. If we were not, we would have no reason to trust our own mental capabilities, or the truth or falsehood of any belief. The only reason we can have knowledge, is because God made us to have knowledge.)

Also notice that I did not say we know everything there is to know. Only that what we do know, we know it because God made it known to us. This is called “revelation”. Revelation is God communicating things to humans so that we may know things about Him. We can know that God is great and powerful, since He created the stars and galaxies and put our planet in perfect orbit around the sun. We can know that God cares about His creation, because we receive rain and sunshine to provide us with food. We can know that God is creative and that His glory is splendid, because we can see it in all of creation. We also know God is intelligent and that He communicates, because He designed humans to have certain intellectual abilities and the power to communicate. We also can know God, because we were created by Him. That may sound strange, but think about it first, if we were created by God, then it is possible He has made us to know that we are created, that we are His creatures. This is, in fact, what I believe to be the case.

The Bible is made up of a collection of the best attested historical writings in the world. It speaks of these very things that you have just spent a few moments reading and thinking about. The Bible says (in regard to the fact that we know God as a result of His revelation), “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them” (Romans 1:19 ESV). In other words, we can know God, because God has plainly shown things about Himself to us.

Consider what else the Bible says about this, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20 ESV). This verse of the Bible is saying that we have no excuse for not knowing God, because His invisible attributes of power and divinity are clear through nature.

Far from being an old irrelevant book of the past, the Bible deals with very crucial questions, providing very acute answers. It speaks of our world in very real terms. It speaks of evil and suffering, providing the very answer to those problems. It also tells of the miraculous and prophetic manifestation of Jesus Christ as “God with us”, God in human form. The Bible provides a way to know God more personally than knowing He exists, it speaks of reconciliation to peace with God through Jesus.

So think about it, if God is our Creator and we are His creatures, then we should know Him already, and if the Bible is His special revelation, then we should be able to know that as well. While the Bible has a remarkable history, and has a mountain of proof in its favor, it should be enough for us to be able to read it for ourselves, knowing we know God, and knowing that He is able to communicate His will to us through His own special revelation. If this is so, we could know it. I believe we do know it, and I hope you will move from reading this short tract to something far greater...

Consider what the apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:16-21 concerning the Bible:
“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:16-21 ESV)

That is to say, that God has revealed His word to eye-witnesses through His Son, Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are His revelation to us, given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We will do well to pay attention to the Bible, as to a lamp that brings light to a dark room, like a great star that gives bright light to our hearts.