The quote “What have we not known or heard” comes from Isaiah 40:28 in the Bible, which says “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” This verse points to the vastness of God’s knowledge and wisdom compared to our limited human understanding.
There are several key reasons why recognizing the limits of our knowledge matters:
1. It humbles us
Admitting that there are things we do not and cannot know humbles us before God. It reminds us that we are finite creatures with limited perspective, while God is infinite and all-knowing. Recognizing the gaps in our knowledge keeps us from arrogance and Pride.
2. It leads us to awe and worship
When we ponder the mysteries of God’s creation and purposes that surpass our understanding, it should fill us with awe and reverence for God. His wisdom and ways are higher than ours, which is cause for worship and praise.
3. It motivates us to learn and grow
Grasping that there is so much more to know about God and the world He made inspires us to be lifelong learners. We can keep pursuing greater knowledge, wisdom and insight through studying Scripture, observing nature, and seeking godly counsel.
4. It prompts us to trust God’s plan
There are many things in life that do not make sense to us – suffering, unanswered prayer, the prosperity of the wicked. Knowing that God understands what we cannot should lead us to trust Him even when His ways are beyond our comprehension.
5. It keeps us dependent on God’s revelation
Since we are limited, we need God to reveal truth to us through His Word and Spirit. Admitting our lack of knowledge shows our dependence on God’s revelation to know anything with certainty, especially His plan of salvation.
In summary, recognizing the limits of human knowledge and the unsearchable depths of God’s understanding helps shape a humble, worshipful, trusting, and learning posture before God. Though we cannot grasp it all, what God has chosen to reveal is for our good and growth in wisdom.
1. Our Limited Human Perspective
As human beings, our knowledge and perspective is very limited compared to the infinite God. We are constrained by our finite minds, short life spans, imperfect senses, and limited vantage points. Even with advanced education and technologies, there is so much we do not know or cannot comprehend from our limited human perspective.
We cannot fully grasp the extent of the universe or the natural world. Many mysteries about human consciousness, psychology, and physiology remain unsolved. Our knowledge of God is limited to what He has chosen to reveal about Himself in Scripture. Even then, there are aspects of God’s nature, like His triune existence, that boggle our finite minds. We cannot comprehend the full scope of God’s sovereign purposes and plans across history.
From our limited vantage point, we cannot see how all the pieces fit together or discern God’s reasons and motives behind all events. We do not know all the factors God considers in answering or not answering certain prayers. Our knowledge is limited to what we can directly see, experience and deduce – which is only a tiny fraction of all there is to know.
2. God’s Infinite Knowledge and Wisdom
In contrast to humanity’s limited perspective, God’s understanding and knowledge has no bounds. Scripture describes God’s knowledge and wisdom as unfathomable, unsearchable, and beyond tracing out (Psalm 139:6, Romans 11:33, Job 5:9). He knows all there is to know – past, present, and future – with total accuracy and infinite comprehension.
God knows the number of hairs on every head and when each sparrow falls (Matthew 10:29-30). His understanding extends from the vastness of the universe down to the smallest details. God knows our thoughts and motives even better than we know ourselves. His ways and purposes surpass our ability to understand fully (Isaiah 55:8-9).
God has perfect knowledge of all creatures and creation because He made them all. He comprehends the complex interconnectedness of ecosystems and guiding principles behind all nature and science that humanity can only scratch the surface of understanding. God needs no counsel or instruction – He is all-wise and the source of all wisdom (Romans 11:34-36).
3. Putting Our Limited Knowledge in Perspective
When we stop and compare our limited human perspective to the unlimited depth of God’s knowledge and wisdom, it should humble us greatly. Any knowledge we manage to accumulate in our short lives is only a small drop in the ocean compared to God’s infinite understanding.
There are many things we do not know – mysteries about God, the universe, and even ourselves. There are likely many more things we are ignorant of than things we know. Even the smartest human experts have huge blindspots.
Much of what we think we know is partial, biased by limited experience and culture, or distorted by sin. We need humility to admit that our knowledge and comprehension – even collectively as a human race – is quite limited and frail in light of God’s infinite and untainted perspective.
4. Embracing Childlike Humility
Recognizing the limits of our knowledge should cultivate humility and childlike trust in God. Children are quick to admit what they do not know and sincerely ask questions. Jesus taught that we must become like little children in order to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 18:3-4).
Children appropriately depend on their parents’ greater wisdom and knowledge. Similarly, we must humbly acknowledge our dependence on God’s greater understanding. Our posture should be marked by wonder, curiosity, and openness to instruction – rather than pride in our limited knowledge.
We do not abandon efforts to learn and grow in knowledge. But we hold our understanding loosely, in humility and faith that God’s knowledge is perfect and His ways are right – even when they surpass our fallen comprehension.
5. Growing in Awe, Worship and Trust
Recognizing the limits of our knowledge should also cultivate deeper awe of God, fuel worship, and prompt greater trust in God’s wise plan. The wonders and mysteries we get glimpses of should point us toward worshipping the all-knowing, infinite God.
As God reveals aspects of His character and ways in Scripture, we should respond in adoration, even if we cannot fully comprehend everything about Him. For example, grasping even edges of God’s holiness, justice, sovereignty and wisdom should inspire reverence, praise and declarations of His surpassing greatness (Psalm 96:4, Psalm 99:3).
When God’s ways are hard to understand, we can still choose to trust His perfect knowledge and wise plan based on what Scripture reveals about His loving, just and faithful character. We walk by faith, not sight – trusting God’s purposes even when we cannot trace the reasons behind circumstances.
6. Embracing Mystery and Tension
Because of our finite perspective, we should expect to encounter mystery, paradox, and apparent contradictions when it comes to our knowledge of God. We need to become comfortable dwelling in the tension of truth that our minds cannot fully reconcile.
For example, we cannot fully grasp how God can be both completely transcendent and separate from His creation yet also immanent and personally involved. Or how God can be utterly sovereign yet humans are morally responsible. Scripture affirms both sides of these pairs even if we cannot fully resolve the tension.
Often God reveals truth in Scripture using opposing images or concepts held in tension – light and darkness, lion and lamb, justice and mercy. We need humility to trust both sides rather than demanding resolution. God’s knowledge reconciles what seem like contradictions from our perspective.
7. Hungering for God’s Revelation
Since our knowledge is so limited, we desperately need God to take initiative to reveal truth to us. We should have an insatiable hunger to keep growing in understanding God’s truth revealed in Scripture through diligent study and help from the Holy Spirit (Psalm 42:1, Psalm 63:1).
We should pray for discernment, wisdom and revelation that only God can provide. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 9:10). Scripture promises that if we incline our ear to wisdom and cry out for insight, we will understand the fear of the Lord and find knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:2-6).
God invites us to call to Him and promises He will show us great and mighty things we do not know (Jeremiah 33:3). We access these treasures only through humble dependence on God to reveal what we could never know through human effort alone.
8. Embracing Mystery
Because God’s ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9), we should expect mystery in our walk with God. Some questions will go unanswered. Some circumstances will remain confusing. Certain tensions in Scripture defy complete resolution. God’s ways will sometimes differ from our expectations.
Rather than demanding full explanations from God, we can choose to trust in the midst of mystery. We can cling to what we do know of God’s faithful character even when we do not understand His methods. Just as God told Job, we were not present for creation and do not have God’s divine perspective (Job 38-41).
Often our understanding only comes later, in retrospect. For now, we see dimly as through a mirror (1 Corinthians 13:12). One day, in glory, God promises we will know fully, even as we are fully known. Then we will marvel at the goodness of God’s plan from start to finish.
9. Persevering Through Uncertainty
Because our understanding is limited and imperfect, we will face times of uncertainty, doubt and perplexity in this life. Our knowledge cannot provide all the answers or give us certainty about every situation.
We may feel perplexed about why God allowed something to happen or did not answer a certain prayer. We may have doubts and honest questions about aspects of our faith. At times like these, recalling the limits of our knowledge can keep us from despair.
We can persevere by clinging to what we do know of God’s wise, faithful character shown in Scripture – even when we lack full explanations. We can keep praying, studying Scripture, and seeking wise counsel even while living with unresolved questions. God invites us to keep seeking Him in faith until greater understanding comes.
10. Hope in God’s Final Purpose
Our limited knowledge now makes hope in God’s final purpose critical. One day, when Christ returns, we will fully know as we are fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12). In glory, all mystery will disappear and God will reveal the full story of His wise plan.
With infinite knowledge and perspective, we will finally comprehend all the ways of God that seemed confusing in this life. We will understand the reasons behind everything God allowed and see how it worked perfectly toward His good purpose.
Until then, we can find hope in knowing that a day is coming when we will fully understand and praise God for the perfection of His sovereign plan. Though now we only see dimly, we can trust that one day we will know fully the goodness of God’s wise purpose for all things.