Can One Know God?

Text: Job 11:1–12 (NASB 1995) Sermon Title: “Can One Know God?” Theme: Humanity’s varied responses to the knowability of God—from denial to personal testimony.

Imagine for a moment four blindfolded men trying to describe an elephant by touching it. One holds the trunk and says, “It’s a thick snake!” Another touches the ear and insists, “It’s a giant leaf!” The third wraps his arms around a leg and says, “Clearly a tree!” And the fourth, touching the tail, argues, “It’s nothing more than a rope!” Each man believes he has the full picture, yet all fall short.

That’s the modern world’s view of God—varied, conflicting, and sometimes even denying the very existence of the Elephant in the room.

We live in a time when the question, “Can one know God?” is answered in drastically different ways. For some, the question is foolish. For others, it is fascinating. For still others, it is foundational.

In Job 11, Zophar rebukes Job, saying, “Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?” (v. 7). While Zophar’s intent was more accusatory than theological, the question he raises is profound. And humanity has been wrestling with it for millennia.

Today, we’ll explore four responses to that question—four worldviews represented by four types of people:

The Atheist, who says: “No. There is no God to know.”

The Agnostic, who says: “Maybe. But we can’t know Him.”

The Paul man, who says: “Yes. I know whom I have believed.”

The Job man, who says: “My Redeemer lives—and I shall see Him.”

So, let’s walk through these four answers together and ask ourselves: Do I know God? And if not, what’s keeping me from Him?

I. The Answer of the So-Called Atheist

(Job 11:7–8; Psalm 14:1; Romans 1:20–22)

The atheist says, “No—because there is no God to know.”

Let’s begin here, because this is the loudest voice in modern Western culture.

A: The Fool Denies What’s Obvious

Psalm 14:1 says plainly, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” In Scripture, “fool” doesn’t mean unintelligent—it means morally rebellious. The Hebrew word נָבָל (nabal) implies someone who denies God’s rule over his life because of a hardened heart, not because of lack of evidence.

Romans 1:20 confirms this: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes… have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

The stars declare His glory (Psalm 19:1). The human conscience hints at His law (Romans 2:14–15). The intricacy of DNA, the beauty of a sunset, and the ache for justice all point to a Creator. Yet the atheist suppresses that truth.

Illustration: It’s like a man wearing noise-canceling headphones in a concert hall and saying, “There’s no music playing.” Just because you refuse to hear doesn’t mean the music isn’t real.

Application: Many deny God not because they can’t believe in Him, but because they don’t want to be accountable to Him. Atheism is often not a matter of intellect—it’s a matter of the will.

B: The Arrogance of “No God”

Romans 1:22 delivers a sobering statement: “Professing to be wise, they became fools.”

Zophar’s mocking words in Job 11:12 echo this sentiment: “An idiot will become intelligent when the foal of a wild donkey is born a man.” That’s the ancient Hebrew version of saying, “Don’t hold your breath waiting for that guy to get it.”

Humor: Atheists sometimes remind me of a man who insists, “I don't believe in air, and I’m going to prove it—by holding my breath!” In his effort to win the argument, he loses his life.

Illustration: Famous atheist Bertrand Russell was once asked what he would say if he met God after death. He quipped, “I’d say, ‘Sir, why did You not give me more evidence?’” But the evidence is already there—for those who will see it.

The real problem isn’t intellectual darkness; it’s spiritual blindness. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving…”

Application: Church, don’t be intimidated by atheism. It may wear the cloak of sophistication, but underneath, it’s just the ancient rebellion of Genesis 3: “Did God really say?”

Let us remember: The first step toward knowing God is acknowledging that He is—and that He is not silent.

II. The Answer of the Agnostic

(Job 11:7; Acts 17:22–23; Isaiah 55:8–9) The Agnostic Says: “Maybe There’s a God—But We Can’t Really Know Him.”

Zophar’s question in Job 11:7 rings loudly for the agnostic: “Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?”

To the agnostic, the answer is no. Not necessarily because they think God doesn’t exist, but because they believe God is unknowable—like a distant star too far to reach or a voice too faint to hear.

They live with a kind of spiritual shrug: “Maybe there’s a God, but who’s to say?” And in doing so, they settle into a passive spiritual fog—neither rejecting God outright like the atheist, nor embracing Him fully like the believer.

A: The Shrug of the Skeptic

Zophar isn’t wrong to say that we can’t comprehend the fullness of God. Isaiah 55:8–9 agrees: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.

But here’s where the agnostic errs: they confuse the incomprehensibility of God with the unknowability of God. There’s a difference. We may never fully understand the depths of God’s being—but we can truly know Him, because He has revealed Himself.

Illustration: It’s like being married. My wife is a beautiful mystery—I’ll never fully comprehend her. (Amen, fellas?) But I know her. I know her laugh, her love, her favorite ice cream. Knowing someone isn’t the same as knowing everything about someone.

God is not a math equation to be solved—He is a Person to be known.

The agnostic, however, stalls out in uncertainty. They often cloak their doubt in humility: “Well, who are we to say?” But that question, left unanswered, becomes a spiritual escape route. It gives the illusion of reverence while enabling spiritual avoidance.

Humor: Agnosticism is like standing in the kitchen and saying, “I don’t know if there’s a refrigerator… but I’m not going to look.” Meanwhile, your stomach’s growling, and everyone else is eating ice cream.

Application: Many people in our pews are practical agnostics. They attend church. They believe “something’s out there.” But they live as if God can’t be known. No prayer life. No Scripture engagement. No personal walk. They may say, “I believe in God,” but they don’t know God.

Friend, God hasn’t left us in the dark. He has spoken through creation, conscience, the canon of Scripture, and most of all, Christ.

B: Paul’s Mars Hill Response

In Acts 17, Paul enters Athens and finds the city full of idols. But one altar catches his attention—it’s engraved, “To An Unknown God.”

Paul doesn’t scoff. He seizes the moment: “What you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.” (Acts 17:23)

God, Paul says, is not far from each one of us (v. 27). He is not hiding behind a veil of mystery. He wants to be known. He’s not a shadowy deity playing cosmic hide-and-seek. He has stepped into history in the person of Jesus Christ.

Illustration: Imagine receiving a letter from someone who says they love you, but they never give you a name, address, or photo. That’s not love—that’s confusion. But now imagine they show up at your door and say, “I am the one who wrote.” That’s what God did in Christ.

Colossians 1:15 says that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God.” John 1:18 says, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

In other words, Jesus is God translated into human terms.

Humor: A little boy once drew a picture during Sunday School. The teacher asked, “What are you drawing?” He said, “I’m drawing God.” The teacher smiled, “But no one knows what God looks like.” The boy replied, “Well, they will when I’m done!”

That’s exactly what Jesus did. He finished the picture. He didn’t erase God’s mystery—but He revealed enough for us to know Him personally.

Application: You don’t have to live in spiritual uncertainty. If you want to know God, look to Jesus. Open His Word. Listen to His voice. The question is not “Can we know God?” but “Will we seek Him?”

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

III. The Answer of the Paul Man

He talked with Jesus. He trusted Jesus. He suffered for Jesus. And even in prison, awaiting execution, Paul remained absolutely confident in Christ.

Humor: If Paul were around today, some Christians would call him “too radical.” He’d be the guy at your church who volunteers for everything, shares the gospel in line at Chick-fil-A, and keeps quoting Scripture during staff meetings. But Paul wasn’t overboard—he was overwhelmed by the One who saved him.

Application: Many in our churches know what they believe—but do they know whom they believe? If your faith is just in a creed, it will crack under pressure. If it’s in Christ, it will hold firm in the storm.

Paul’s confidence came not from knowledge about God, but knowledge of God. That’s the difference between religion and relationship.

B: Knowing God Through Christ and in Suffering

In Philippians 3:8–10, Paul takes it further:

“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord... that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.”

Paul was a scholar, a Pharisee of Pharisees. But once he met Jesus, he gladly traded in his résumé for a relationship.

He longed to know Christ in resurrection power and in suffering. He wanted not only the mountaintop but the valley. Not only the crown but the cross. That’s deep knowing.

Illustration: Have you ever noticed how suffering deepens relationships? Two soldiers who go through battle together form a lifelong bond. A couple who walks through cancer comes out closer. That’s how Paul felt about Jesus. He had suffered with Him. He had served Him. And now, he longed to see Him face to face.

Colossians 1:15 says that Christ is “the image of the invisible God.” If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. He is God in the flesh—approachable, relatable, and real.

Jesus Himself said in John 17:3, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Eternal life is not merely living forever—it’s living in relationship with God.

Humor: If you think heaven is just floating on a cloud with a harp, you’re going to be bored. But if heaven is an eternity of deepening intimacy with the One who made and redeemed you, now that’s thrilling. That’s what Paul was looking forward to!

Application: Paul didn’t know about God. He knew God. He walked with Him. Trusted Him. Served Him. And so can we.

The same Christ who met Paul on the road can meet you right where you are—in your doubts, in your mess, in your questions. The real question isn’t “Can God be known?” but “Have you taken the time to know Him?”

Paul’s testimony shouts across the centuries: Yes! You can know Him. And it’s the greatest joy of your life.

IV. The Answer of the Job Man

(Job 19:25–27; Job 42:1–6; John 14:9; Hebrews 1:1–3) The Job Man Says: “Yes—I Know That My Redeemer Lives!”

If Paul’s answer was confident, Job’s answer is courageous.

Remember, Job isn’t speaking from the comfort of a pulpit or the success of a missionary journey. He’s speaking from the ashes. His health has collapsed. His family is gone. His wealth is destroyed. His friends have turned against him. His questions outweigh his answers.

And yet in Job 19:25, he declares:

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth.”

What a powerful contrast to the voices around him. While others debated doctrine, Job spoke of a Redeemer. While others questioned God’s fairness, Job clung to God’s faithfulness.

Job didn’t understand everything that was happening to him—but he knew the One who was still holding him.

A: Faith in the Living Redeemer

Job uses the Hebrew word גֹּאֵל (go’el)—the kinsman-redeemer. This was the one who would step in to rescue a relative in trouble, restore their name, and avenge their loss. It’s the same term used of Boaz in the book of Ruth.

Job didn’t have a complete New Testament theology, but by faith, he knew that one day God Himself would stand on the earth to make things right. His hope was not in explanation—but in redemption.

That’s remarkable, isn’t it? In the middle of intense suffering and divine silence, Job knew his Redeemer lived. He looked beyond the pain to the Person. Beyond his suffering to his Savior.

Illustration: It’s like standing in a dark room and still believing the sun is shining because you’ve felt its warmth before. Job couldn’t see God clearly—but he had known Him before, and he trusted that knowledge would be vindicated.

This kind of faith is rare. It doesn’t just praise God in the light—it clings to Him in the dark. It’s a faith that says, “Even if He slays me, I will trust in Him” (Job 13:15).

Humor: Job could’ve written the first Southern Gospel song: “I know my Redeemer lives, and I ain’t even got a cow left to prove it!” But he still sang through the tears.

Application: Many people think knowing God means never suffering. But Job shows us the opposite: sometimes we come to know God most deeply through suffering.

When everything else is stripped away—your money, your reputation, your health—what’s left? For Job, the answer was: God.

B: From Hearing About God to Seeing God

Fast forward to the end of the book. After God confronts Job with a whirlwind of rhetorical questions in chapters 38–41, Job responds in Job 42:5–6 with humility and awe:

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.”

This is one of the most beautiful transformations in all of Scripture.

Before the trial, Job had heard of God. He had theology. He had tradition. He had reverence. But after the trial—after the valley, the silence, the arguments, and the anguish—he now sees God.

Suffering opened his eyes to the majesty of God’s sovereignty and the mystery of His wisdom. Job realized that knowing God isn’t about controlling the outcome or understanding the plan—it’s about encountering His presence.

Illustration: It’s like watching a blurry photo come into focus. At first, you can only guess what you’re looking at. But slowly, as the image sharpens, you realize: “It’s Him. He’s been here the whole time.”

Hebrews 1:1–3 tells us that Jesus is the “exact representation” of God’s nature. In John 14:9, Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

Jesus is the Redeemer Job longed for. He’s the visible image of the invisible God, the final answer to Job’s longing question.

Humor: Job didn’t need a five-point sermon, a seminar on suffering, or a TED Talk from his friends. He just needed to see God—and when he did, all the noise stopped.

Application: Have you moved from hearing to seeing? From knowing about God to knowing Him deeply—even when life doesn’t make sense?

Job teaches us that the knowledge of God doesn’t eliminate pain—but it does transform it. It redeems it. It re-centers us on eternal hope.

And one day, like Job, we too will see Him—not just through the lens of faith, but face to face.

Conclusion:

Let’s return to our central question—“Can one know God?”—and consider the four responses we’ve explored:

The Atheist says: “No. There is no God to know.”

The Agnostic says: “Maybe. But He’s unknowable.”

The Paul man says: “Yes. I know Him, and He holds me.”

The Job man says: “Yes. I know my Redeemer lives.”

These answers aren’t just theological—they’re personal. Every person in this room is living out one of them right now.

You may wear the face of a churchgoer, a pastor’s kid, a deacon, a long-time member—but if you’re being honest, maybe you’re still in that agnostic fog or that atheistic rebellion. Or maybe, like Paul and Job, you’ve come to know Him through grace, through faith, through Christ.

The question is not “Can we know God exhaustively?” Of course not. He is infinite. We are finite. But the real question is—Can we know Him truly, relationally, and redemptively? The answer is yes—and it is found in one Person: Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 makes it clear:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Jesus doesn’t just point to the truth—He is the Truth. He doesn’t just reveal the way—He is the Way. He doesn’t just give life—He is Life. To know Jesus is to know God.

Final Illustration:

There’s a story of a little girl who got lost in a big city. A policeman found her crying and asked where she lived. Through sobs, she said, “I don’t know the address.” He asked her parents’ names, her street name—nothing. Finally, he asked, “Is there anything near your house that you remember?”

She brightened and said, “Yes! There’s a big church with a cross that can be seen from the road.”

He said, “If I take you there, can you find your way home?”

She nodded through her tears and replied, “Yes. If you can get me to the cross, I can find my way home.”

That’s the answer today.

If you can get to the cross… if you can see Jesus… if you can place your faith in the Redeemer—you’ll find your way home to God.

Invitation: Know God Today

So I ask you plainly:

Are you still living in denial like the atheist?

Are you content to drift in uncertainty like the agnostic?

Or are you ready to say like Paul, “I know whom I have believed”?

Are you able to cry out like Job, “I know my Redeemer lives”?

If you’ve never come to know God through Jesus Christ, today is the day. Eternal life isn’t found in your works, your background, or your good intentions. It is found in a living relationship with a living Redeemer.

Romans 10:9 says,

“That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

You can know God—not just as a concept, but as your Creator, Redeemer, Father, and Friend.

Call to Response:

If you already know Him, rejoice like Paul. Worship like Job. Rest in His unshakable character.

But if you don’t know Him—really know Him—don’t leave today uncertain. Don’t walk out the door shrugging your shoulders like the agnostic or suppressing the truth like the atheist.

Run to the cross. Meet the Redeemer. Find the God who has already made Himself known.

Today, through Christ, you can know God. Not just for a moment… but for eternity.

Amen.