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The path to true understanding

Since time immemorial, humankind has sought spiritual fulfillment and self-realization. Countless legends and accounts recount how people attempted incredible feats to draw closer to God or make Him tangible. This article explores this path from a Christian perspective.

What we know or can recognize about God is only possible because of revelation. That is why Christianity is also called a revealed religion. For God is hidden from humankind. Hidden in the sense that the natural person cannot see or touch Him. With our natural senses, it is impossible for humans to perceive God. Yet the Creator has placed within us the need to worship Him, whether we are consciously aware of it or not.

This fact raises a logical question: If man cannot perceive God, what possibilities does he have to make a seemingly hidden God comprehensible and experienceable for himself?

God in creation

From the key verse of this edition (cf. Romans 1:19-20) we can see that God describes himself through creation. He has left us an imprint of his power and his being. Thus, by simply observing nature, it is possible for humankind to recognize that a creative, generative force lies behind everything. An intellectual being capable of creating systems and structures that humanity still cannot fully comprehend. The greatest scientific minds in our history were professing Christians (e.g., Isaac Newton, to name just one).

When we stand by the sea on a warm summer evening, watching the gentle play of the waves as the sun slowly disappears on the horizon, it is easy for us to see the creative power and ingenuity of our God in the face of such beauty. But what about when we look out the window on a cold and gray November afternoon and see hail mercilessly pelting the earth? Isn't it more difficult for us to recognize divine power and wisdom in that?

And rightly so. It stems from the fact that we live in a fallen world, corrupted by sin. Yes, in creation we see the wisdom of God, but also the consequences of human disobedience. Furthermore, creation provides us with information indicating that there must be a higher, more intelligent being who created it all. The problem, however, is that it leaves us in the dark about who this Creator is. It tells us nothing about His moral compass or His will. It reveals nothing regarding humanity's role in creation and the Creator's desire for a relationship with creation, especially with humanity.

 

God in His Word

Therefore, it is perfectly understandable and logical that there must be a revelation from God. We received the greatest revelation from God in the appearance of His Son, Jesus Christ, here on earth. His life and ministry are recorded in writing, and we can still read these writings today. But not only the divine appearance on earth, but also God's work with humanity and His eternal plan are found in the Bible.

If one considers the origin of the Bible itself, one sees time and again how the divine hand intervenes and ensures that His spoken word is written down (cf. Rev 1:19) and that people are given access to it.

But history has shown that even the Word of God alone cannot lead people to a deep and true knowledge of God. People may be able to glean knowledge and information from Scripture, but they are incapable of knowing God. Let us not forget that the people who possessed the greatest and most comprehensive knowledge of the Bible were the very ones who ultimately crucified their Creator and promised Messiah. Yet another man, Pilate, completely ignorant and likely never having read a single page of the Bible, wanted to set Him free.

And that brings us to the Bible passage to which I mainly want to refer.

In 1 Corinthians 2:9, the Apostle Paul introduces a wonderful thought with a quote from the prophet Isaiah: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no human heart has conceived, the things God has prepared for those who love him.”

Which means: All human ability, intelligence, or human capacity is incapable of comprehending what God has prepared for those who love Him. As mentioned at the beginning: The human ear cannot hear it, the human eye cannot perceive it, and the human mind cannot comprehend it. But how then can we know?

God in our knowledge

Verse 10 from the same chapter clarifies this: “But God has revealed it to us through the Spirit.” Simply studying and grappling with God’s word does not bring about a deeper understanding of God. Verse 10 tells us that we must turn directly to the Holy Spirit if we wish to receive divine revelation. Only He can reveal God’s thoughts and nature to us. He is the one who opens God’s nature and thoughts to us.

Please don't misunderstand me here. The Word of God itself calls us to constantly engage with it (cf. Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1), and there is no arguing with that. However, many people have tried, and still try, to grasp the Bible with human intelligence. Even today, older members of the Christian community who experienced the persecution of Christians in the USSR can recount how certain individuals in the KGB sometimes knew the Bible better than some Christians and had memorized entire passages with the aim of leading believers astray. But they were unsuccessful. For what the Christians had received in the Word of God had been revealed to them by the Holy Spirit, and it was not mere knowledge; they were willing to give their lives for this understanding.

Today, zealous Christians attend Bible schools and theological seminars, buying and reading many expensive books in the hope of gaining a deeper understanding of God. However, this often amounts to little more than knowledge, which, while useful and certainly valid, has its practical applications. It is no guarantee of a deeper understanding of God.

But verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 2 makes it so clear: “But God has revealed it to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s own spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given to us by God.”

If we desire to understand God's thoughts, then we must turn to the Holy Spirit. We must acknowledge that we cannot discern God's thoughts simply by reading Scripture. For only the Spirit of God knows God's thoughts. We must ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth about God to us in His Holy Word. And we must ask the Holy Spirit to interpret and explain the Holy Scriptures for us. Every regular Bible reader will be familiar with this blessed phenomenon that they encounter time and again: No matter how often one has read and even immersed oneself in a particular text or verse, a new, previously unknown aspect always becomes valuable upon rereading. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.

A similar thing happened with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles, when Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, rose, addressed the people of Israel, and began to quote from the Old Testament. Luke aptly summarizes it: "They were deeply moved." The passages they had so often read and quoted struck them this time and brought about a change in their hearts. This is the work the Holy Spirit accomplishes.

Today, more than ever, we must turn to the Word of God in humility and simplicity and allow the Holy Spirit to accomplish His work, so that the prayer of the Apostle Paul in the Letter to the Ephesians may be fulfilled: “That you may be able, together with all the saints, to comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:18-19). This will mean that we can count ourselves among those of whom the Apostle John writes in his letter: “I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning” (1 John 2:13).

Alex Keller

City of Berlin