I have tried in parts 1-3 to show we cannot really know God because of His infinite nature. Mathematically, God would be less than infinite if we could really understand Him, not unlike the person who tries counting to infinity. If he makes "progress," he is in fact not counting to infinity at all, and if we achieve knowledge about God, then it is not really God we are discovering.
But this is where the great surprise comes along -- God writes and controls the laws of mathematics, just like He authors unconditional love, perfect holiness, and total sovereignty! And if the infinite God controls, and is in fact the source of, these infinite wonders, then He can transcend His own incomprehensible nature to allow us to see and hear and know and love Him. Indeed, only an infinite power who is beyond understanding can create a portal, so to speak, by which finite creatures even have a chance to recognize His infinite nature.
By the way, just to differentiate between the infinity of God and of the numerical continuum, numbers have no power to reveal their infinite nature to us -- and have never done so. They and their nature exist just because God lets and wills them to exist. But God can and has bridged the gap of knowledge versus ignorance about Himself.
How can we know this? The Bible offers many answers. Recall my first post in this series. Passages on the "knowledge of God" include the following:
~ Proverbs 2: "Search for [wisdom] as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God." Now, I have long been trying to figure out what exactly "the fear of the the LORD" is, but suffice to say that gaining wisdom + fearing God = having knowledge of God.
~ Hosea 6: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." Though we can never know God without His help, He does desire to be known!
~ Romans 11: "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!" This passage practically summarizes this entire four-part series. He is so far beyond us, yet -- or maybe therefore -- knowing Him (through His grace, as other parts of Paul's writing amply demonstrates) benefits us beyond measure.
~ 2 Corinthians 10: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." The world and the powers of darkness would not directly attack the knowledge of God unless it felt threatened by them, which happens anytime anyone pursues or acquires such knowledge.
~ And Colossians 1, which relates Paul's prayer "that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." These verses show that it is both possible and advisable to grow in our understanding of God. They also go on to say that this happens through Jesus, "in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins."
What does this look like? Consider how the Bible describes several of God's saints, or His interactions with them. 2 Chronicles 20 and James 2 call Abraham God's "friend." In Exodus 33, God and Moses conversed "face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." David was "a man after [God's] own heart," explains 1 Samuel 13 and Acts 13. Jesus Himself calls His disciples "friends" in John 15. And Romans 8 explains that whoever is led by the Spirit of God "are children of God, and if children, then heirs -- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." These designations are reserved for those who know God. One cannot be a friend, a son, or an heir if he has no knowledge of the other party.
That is it: God is too great to be known at all; yet He has made Himself known to whomever repents of their sins and follows Him. He has made the impossible possible through the improbable! It is much like salvation in general. While we were "still sinners" and "enemies," Romans 5 says, "Christ died for us" and "reconciled" us to God. God bridged the infinite gap between His holiness and our sin, through the least likely path of all.
I do not know the entire answer to the title question. But looking into the future via Revelation 3 provides an amazing glimpse: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. (Note God's initiative.) If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."
Now, that is knowledge!
But this is where the great surprise comes along -- God writes and controls the laws of mathematics, just like He authors unconditional love, perfect holiness, and total sovereignty! And if the infinite God controls, and is in fact the source of, these infinite wonders, then He can transcend His own incomprehensible nature to allow us to see and hear and know and love Him. Indeed, only an infinite power who is beyond understanding can create a portal, so to speak, by which finite creatures even have a chance to recognize His infinite nature.
By the way, just to differentiate between the infinity of God and of the numerical continuum, numbers have no power to reveal their infinite nature to us -- and have never done so. They and their nature exist just because God lets and wills them to exist. But God can and has bridged the gap of knowledge versus ignorance about Himself.
How can we know this? The Bible offers many answers. Recall my first post in this series. Passages on the "knowledge of God" include the following:
~ Proverbs 2: "Search for [wisdom] as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God." Now, I have long been trying to figure out what exactly "the fear of the the LORD" is, but suffice to say that gaining wisdom + fearing God = having knowledge of God.
~ Hosea 6: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." Though we can never know God without His help, He does desire to be known!
~ Romans 11: "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!" This passage practically summarizes this entire four-part series. He is so far beyond us, yet -- or maybe therefore -- knowing Him (through His grace, as other parts of Paul's writing amply demonstrates) benefits us beyond measure.
~ 2 Corinthians 10: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." The world and the powers of darkness would not directly attack the knowledge of God unless it felt threatened by them, which happens anytime anyone pursues or acquires such knowledge.
~ And Colossians 1, which relates Paul's prayer "that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." These verses show that it is both possible and advisable to grow in our understanding of God. They also go on to say that this happens through Jesus, "in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins."
What does this look like? Consider how the Bible describes several of God's saints, or His interactions with them. 2 Chronicles 20 and James 2 call Abraham God's "friend." In Exodus 33, God and Moses conversed "face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." David was "a man after [God's] own heart," explains 1 Samuel 13 and Acts 13. Jesus Himself calls His disciples "friends" in John 15. And Romans 8 explains that whoever is led by the Spirit of God "are children of God, and if children, then heirs -- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." These designations are reserved for those who know God. One cannot be a friend, a son, or an heir if he has no knowledge of the other party.
That is it: God is too great to be known at all; yet He has made Himself known to whomever repents of their sins and follows Him. He has made the impossible possible through the improbable! It is much like salvation in general. While we were "still sinners" and "enemies," Romans 5 says, "Christ died for us" and "reconciled" us to God. God bridged the infinite gap between His holiness and our sin, through the least likely path of all.
I do not know the entire answer to the title question. But looking into the future via Revelation 3 provides an amazing glimpse: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. (Note God's initiative.) If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."
Now, that is knowledge!
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