Session 1: How can we know God?

I want to take us through an 8-week series of "Meeting God in Jesus" and I want us to look at the Father through Jesus.

Why? Because Jesus is God in our human form.

Starter Question: Why do you think God chose to reveal Himself this way?

[Pick one student] "If you had to explain who your best friend is to someone who's never met them, how would you do it? What would you say?"

Follow-up Questions:

How did you get to know your friend?

Is reading their social media the same as knowing them personally?

What's the difference between knowing about someone and knowing them?

One thing that makes Christianity unique is that God is not just Someone we figure out if we try hard enough. The Bible says “only God knows God, so only God can make God known.” What we’re talking about in these eight weeks isn’t a research project—it’s an exploration of a relationship that God Himself invites us into.

Main Discussion

The Challenge

Question: Why do you think it's challenging to know God?

Possible Answers:

God being invisible

Feeling distant from God

Different religious claims

Scientific perspectives

Great thoughts about how seeing God could be challenging. Did you know that even Moses—the greatest Jewish prophet—was told 'you cannot see my face'? It's almost like God wants us to know we're limited. Why do you think that is?

Scripture Discovery

Read John 1:18 (CSB): "No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father's side—he has revealed him."

Discuss:

What does this verse tell us about knowing God?

There's at least 2 of them (Son and Father)

Not gods, but 1 being: 3 persons (Trinity)

He has to be "revealed"

God is not knowable without someone revealing Him

This isn't just doctrine—it's the structure of how we actually know God. We know the Father through the Son by the Spirit. It's relational knowledge because God IS relational in His very being.

What problem does this verse identify?

"No one has seen" God.

In verse 17, John mentions Moses, but still says “no one has seen,” even though Moses asked.

Even Moses, who spoke with God 'face to face' (Exodus 33:11), was still told he couldn't see God's face and live (Exodus 33:20). This shows us that even the greatest Old Testament revelation was incomplete compared to what we have in Jesus.

What solution does it offer?

We need God Himself to reveal Himself.

Jesus is the revealer of truth.

What does this same chapter say earlier?

John 1:10: "He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him."

Who is the Word? JESUS.

Key Truths:

"Only God knows God and so only God can make himself known."

Our knowledge of God is a gift, not an achievement.

For it is God who shows Himself to anyone.

So anytime you look at Jesus, you're actually looking at the Father.

John 14:9—Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

This is why Christians say Jesus is the 'exact imprint' of God's nature (Hebrews 1:3). Not just a representative, but God Himself making God known.

This verse says no one has ever seen God…but then says the Son makes Him known. According to Christian theology, this is because Jesus isn’t just another prophet—He’s God Himself, making God known not by information, but by sharing His own relationship with the Father.

Deepening Discussion

If Jesus shows us what God is like, what do these gospel stories tell us about God?

Jesus with the Children (Mark 10:13-16)

TAKE TIME FOR THEM TO EXPLORE THE STORE

Jesus takes, loves, and cares for the most vulnerable of society.

Is that not how the Father sees us?

Jesus weeping at Lazarus's tomb (John 11:32-35)

TAKE TIME THEM TO EXPLORE THE STORE

Jesus, and therefore the Father, are deeply moved by suffering.

He does feel deep emotions (He is not emotionless).

He has friends and cares for them.

The authors say Jesus reveals not just THAT God is powerful, but HOW He uses that power—in love, humility, and even tears.

So What? Why Are These and the Gospels So Important?

How is knowing God through Jesus different from just knowing facts about God?

Knowledge VS. Information

If it was just about information then it could have been a statement "God is real" and that's it, dont need to see jesus life.

yet we have detailed sotries of his conception, birth, life, death, and resurection

they are more then just moral stories

We see it as knowing that Jesus who is God, feels the pain of death of his friend and weeps, and then raises him to life, compared to just saying "God is all powerful."

Some theologians warn that talking about God without Jesus leads to ‘abstraction’—even idolatry. Martin Luther said, "Apart from Jesus Christ, it is impossible to know the difference between God and Satan." That's how essential Jesus is for knowing God truly.

What might it look like to know God rather than just know facts about God?

It's experiential, not just facts.

It's relational, not just intellectual.

It's transformative, not just academic.

Christianity claims that knowing God isn't preparation for salvation—it IS salvation. There's no such thing as neutral knowledge of God. If we truly know Him, we're changed.

John 17:3 “3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

If knowing God is more than information, how might this change:

How we pray

How we read the Bible

How we worship

If God meets us like this—with tears, with children, with love—what does that mean when we're stressed, grieving, or feeling alone?

Closing

What's your biggest takeaway from our discussion?

Has this changed how you think about knowing God?

Remember, every week we'll see how the Christian God isn't a puzzle to solve but a Person who wants to transform us through relationship. Our goal isn't to answer every question, but to get swept up in knowing—personally—the God Jesus reveals.

I hope as we look at Jesus, and through him at the Father, that the many facets that make him who he is, you will gain a greater love and appreciation for the Father, Jesus, and the Spirit.

Next week: We’ll be looking at “the holy love of God in Christ.”

[Tip: Keep John 14:9 handy for extra emphasis if needed: "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father."]

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