Lesson 2
20 minKnowing God is not an academic exercise, but a path of transformation that opens before every believer the majestic prospect of becoming like the Creator. This lesson reveals three foundational truths that can change how we understand the Christian faith.
Christian theology begins with the fundamental question of God's existence and nature. Holy Scripture does not engage in philosophical proofs of God's existence, for the truth about God is presented as self-evident reality. Psalm 14:1 states: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works; there is none who does good” (NKJV). The denial of God is viewed not as an intellectual position, but as spiritual insanity, since the reality of Divine presence permeates all creation.
The source of actual knowledge of God is Jesus Christ, of whom it is said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6, NKJV). Christ does not merely point the way to God—He Himself is that way. As “the life,” He testifies to the eternal Creator and opens the possibility of partaking in eternity. The promise of eternal life for those who come to Christ points to the eternity of God Himself and humanity's calling to immortality.
The Gospel of John affirms:
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him
God's invisibility does not mean He is abstract or lacks personal qualities. On the contrary, Christ's manifestation in human flesh demonstrates the concreteness and individual character of Deity. The inability to see God is due not to His unwillingness to reveal Himself, but to human nature's incapacity to withstand the fullness of Divine glory. The story of Moses shows that an encounter with God in His unveiled glory is fatal for humanity in its current state.
The central truth of Christian theology is that God is a person, not an impersonal force or cosmic mind. He is not a philosophical abstraction or an energy field, but a living, conscious Being capable of relationship. Humanity is created in God's image and likeness, meaning that humanity's personal nature reflects the Creator's individual nature. If creation possesses personal self-consciousness, how much more does the Creator possess it?
The atheistic worldview contains an internal contradiction: while acknowledging themselves as rational persons, atheists simultaneously try to reduce God to an impersonal principle. However, the logic of creation requires admitting that the Source must surpass its product. Personality cannot originate from the impersonal; reason does not arise from nonsense. Consequently, acknowledging one's own personhood must lead to recognising the Creator's personhood.
The paradox of knowing God is that “no one has seen God at any time” (1 John 4:12, NKJV), yet He is knowable through Christ. The incarnation of the Word solves this problem: in Jesus Christ, the invisible God becomes visible, the incomprehensible becomes comprehensible, the inaccessible becomes accessible. Christ does not merely teach about God—He manifests God in action, in relationships, in concrete deeds and words.
According to John 17:3, eternal life is defined as knowledge: “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (NKJV). Knowing Christ becomes knowing the Father. By studying the Gospels, the believer sees not just a historical figure, but the revelation of God's character, God's purposes, and God's attitude toward humanity. Every word of Christ is a word of God; every deed of Christ is a demonstration of God's will.
This knowledge has a practical continuation: God desires to manifest His person not only through Christ but also through every believer. Christians are called to be carriers of God's presence, living testimonies of God's reality. When a believer fully dedicates themselves to God, God's personality is manifested through their life, making the invisible God visible to others. This is not a mystical dissolution of human personality, but its transformation and filling with Divine presence.
To determine if a being is a person, one must identify the presence of three components: knowledge (intellect), feelings (emotions), and will (the capacity for conscious choice). Idols worshipped by pagans lack these qualities—they do not know, feel, or respond. In contrast, the Bible repeatedly testifies that God possesses all marks of personhood.
Jeremiah 10:10 proclaims: “But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King” (NKJV). The living God is contrasted with dead idols. In Acts 14:15, the apostles call pagans to “turn from these vain things to the living God” (NKJV). First Thessalonians 1:9 recalls the conversion of believers: “how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (NKJV).
God's knowledge is boundless. Second Chronicles 16:9 testifies: “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (NKJV). Psalm 94:11 states: “The LORD knows the thoughts of man” (NKJV). God's omniscience encompasses not only external events but also the depths of the human heart, hidden intentions, and thoughts.
God's feelings are manifested throughout Scripture: God loves, rejoices, grieves, becomes angry, and has compassion. God's will is active in history: He seeks, calls, judges, and saves. These actions are impossible for an impersonal force—they testify to a living, active, personal God.
In defining God's nature, Scripture uses two fundamental characteristics: God is spirit, and God is love. John 4:24 proclaims: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (NKJV). Spiritual nature means God is not composed of matter, is not limited by physical laws, and is independent of space and time. He does not have “flesh and bones,” as Christ confirms after His resurrection:
Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have
However, God's spirituality does not mean He is abstract or unreal. On the contrary, spirit is more real than matter, since matter is temporal and subject to change, while spirit is eternal. Christ, appearing to the disciples after the resurrection, showed that a glorified body combines spiritual nature with tangible reality. This body was not subject to physical limitations (it passed through closed doors) yet remained concrete and recognisable.
Christ's resurrection in a glorified body opens a perspective for humanity's future. Believers will receive similar bodies—spiritual, yet concrete; incorruptible, yet personal. First Corinthians 15:51-52 proclaims: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet” (NKJV). The transformation of human nature will occur regardless of physical death—all will receive glorified bodies corresponding to the new creation.
These bodies will possess perfect beauty, the removal of all physical defects and limitations. But most importantly, they will be able to withstand the presence of God's glory. First Timothy 6:16 says of God: “who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see” (NKJV). Current human nature is not adapted for direct contemplation of Divine glory, but transformed nature will receive this capacity.
In the resurrection, temporal institutions, including marriage, are abolished. Christ explains: in the resurrection, “they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:30, NKJV). This is not an impoverishment of human experience, but its enrichment. The fullness of communion with God and the saints will fulfil needs satisfied in earthly life through marriage and other relationships. The presence of God's glory so surpasses any earthly joy that former desires seem insignificant in the light of revealed reality.
The first quality necessary for Deity is eternity or immortality. Psalm 90:2-3 proclaims: “Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (NKJV). The phrase “from everlasting to everlasting” indicates the absence of beginning and end, existence outside temporal frameworks. Psalm 102:25-28 continues this theme: “Of old You laid the foundation of the earth… But You are the same, And Your years will have no end” (NKJV).
First Timothy 1:17 doxologizes: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen” (NKJV). God's eternity means He existed before creation and will exist after its completion. Moreover, He exists outside the categories of beginning and end—these concepts apply only to the created world, not to the Creator.
An analysis of Genesis chapter 1 reveals a profound truth: the first thing God created was time. Genesis 1:1 presents a general statement: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (NKJV). This is the heading for the entire subsequent narrative, not a description of the first action. Verses 2-5 reveal the process: “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep… Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light… God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day” (NKJV).
The process of creating light involves several stages: creating light, evaluating it, separating light from darkness, naming them day and night, and establishing the cycle of evening and morning. This sequence makes the very concept of time: the alternation of periods, the measurability of processes, the orderliness of events. Without the division into day and night, without establishing the “first day,” there would be no timeline.
Time is necessary for the material world for several reasons. First, it provides the sequence of events and the possibility of cause-and-effect relationships. Second, time facilitates processes of development: growth, change, and maturation. Material objects exist in a state of becoming—a seed becomes a plant, a child becomes an adult. These processes are unthinkable without a temporal dimension. Third, time establishes boundaries for material existence, emphasising its created, dependent character.
The second creative act is described in Genesis 1:6-8: “Then God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’… God called the firmament Heaven” (NKJV)—the creation of the firmament establishes spatial categories: up and down, distance, boundaries, and measurability.
Space is necessary for the material world because matter occupies place, has extension, and obeys the laws of physics. Without space, the ordered existence of physical objects is impossible. Gravity, which holds planets in orbits and prevents chaotic movement, operates within spatial coordinates. The spiritual world does not require space, since spiritual beings lack physical mass and are not bound by location.
The second attribute of Deity is immutability. Malachi 3:6 proclaims: “For I am the LORD, I do not change” (NKJV). First Samuel 15:29 confirms: “And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent” (NKJV). James 1:17 adds: “with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (NKJV).
God's immutability does not mean staticness or indifference. It points to the absolute reliability of God's character, the faithfulness of His promises, and the constancy of His purposes. God does not change His decisions under the influence of circumstances, does not revise His principles, and does not waver between different positions. This quality makes God worthy of trust and worship.
Believers are called to reflect God's immutability in their character. Psalm 15:4 describes the righteous as one who “swears to his own hurt and does not change” (NKJV). A person who knows God must possess firmness of word, faithfulness to commitments, and constancy in principles. When a Christian makes a promise, they must keep it, even if keeping it proves disadvantageous or difficult. This is the reflection of God's nature in human relationships.
The third attribute is omnipotence. Job 42:2 confesses: “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You” (NKJV). Jeremiah 32:27 asks: “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” (NKJV). Genesis 1 demonstrates omnipotence in action: God creates by His word, His will is immediately embodied in reality, and no opposition hinders His plans.
God's omnipotence has practical significance for believers. Philippians 4:13 proclaims: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (NKJV). Christ teaches: “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23, NKJV). Knowing the omnipotent God opens believers' access to His power, to overcoming human limitations, and to doing the impossible through faith. This is not a magical power, but participation in Divine power through obedience and unity with God's will.
The fourth attribute is omnipresence. Psalm 139:7-10 asks: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there” (NKJV). Jeremiah 23:23-24 confirms: “‘Am I a God near at hand,’ says the LORD, ‘And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?’ says the LORD; ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the LORD” (NKJV).
Ephesians 1:23 describes Christ as “the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (NKJV). God's presence is not limited by space; He is simultaneously present everywhere in His fullness. This is not pantheism (identifying God with creation), but a transcendent presence—God dwells in creation without being identified with or limited by it.
God's omnipresence opens the possibility of spiritual omnipresence for believers. Through prayer, intercession, and the Holy Spirit's action, Christians can be spiritually present in various places, influence events at a distance, and participate in God's work throughout the earth. This is not physical omnipresence, but spiritual participation in God's dominion over creation.
The fifth attribute is omniscience. First Chronicles 28:9 instructs: “for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts” (NKJV). Job 42:2 acknowledges: “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You” (NKJV). Isaiah 40:28 glorifies: “His understanding is unsearchable” (NKJV).
God's omniscience encompasses the past, present, and future; the manifest and the hidden; actions and intentions. Nothing is hidden from God's sight; no thought escapes His attention. This omniscience is not a mechanical knowledge of facts, but a living, personal understanding of each creature in its uniqueness and potential.
Believers are called to grow in knowledge through the Holy Spirit's action. First Corinthians 2:16 proclaims: “But we have the mind of Christ” (NKJV). The gifts of the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom provide access to Divine knowledge in specific situations. Through studying Scripture, prayer, and spiritual discernment, Christians grow in understanding God's will and God's ways.
Studying the doctrine of God is not an academic exercise, but a path of transformation. By knowing God, believers discover their true calling and potential. Each attribute of Deity is reflected in the lives of His children: eternity opens the perspective of immortality; immutability forms firmness of character; omnipotence gives strength for ministry; omnipresence expands the boundaries of influence; omniscience deepens understanding.
The goal of theology is not the accumulation of information about God, but transformation into His likeness. Second Corinthians 3:18 describes this process: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (NKJV). Knowing God leads to becoming like God; studying His nature forms Christian character; contemplating His perfections transforms human personality.
Quiz
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen
For I am the LORD, I do not change
Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?
“Am I a God near at hand,” says the LORD, “And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the LORD; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the LORD
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord
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