“Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” This little rhyme not only affirms the simple and personal truth of God’s pure love – but it also grounds our knowledge of God’s love in the Bible. It’s one thing to believe that God loves me, but it is another thing altogether to know that He does – and such knowledge is made possible by God’s Word. Ultimately, I know God loves me because the Bible tells me so. The Bible is a reliable source of knowledge on God’s character and on all matters to which it speaks.
Such a statement about the Bible is certainly out of academic fashion these days. There are two reasons for this. First, it is now generally believed in the institutions of our culture that knowledge about God does not exist. I witnessed this first hand during my years at college. Individuals were permitted their “personal faith” – as long as it was understood that these were “your beliefs”, not something that you knew (or could know) to be true. “Who are you to say what is true for someone else?” was a common charge in discussions about God. Such questions were never asked about math.
Second, and itself the reason for the first, is that science is now seen as the only discipline that generates knowledge. Any claim to knowledge today will only be considered as knowledge if it can be supported by empirical and scientific data. Claims that fall outside of science (such as the penalty for sin was paid by Christ on the cross) fall into the category of subjective belief. In other words, science forms the dividing line between what can be for sure known and what can only be believed. And this, in the eyes of the world, is precisely where Christian faith lies – not in the realm of objective knowledge, but in the realm of “personal belief.”
So, where does knowledge come from? Is knowledge possible outside science? Has God revealed Himself and, in doing so, given us knowledge about Him and us? The apostle Paul teaches us that spiritual warfare is essentially a battle of over ideas (2 Corinthians 10:3-5), and this, I believe, is one of the major spiritual battleground questions of our time. And to this question the Bible speaks directly and clearly. It is in Jesus Himself that are hidden “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). And Luke tells us that we can know with certainty the things we have been taught (Luke 1:4). The Bible itself teaches us that it is a source of knowledge.
Is this circular reasoning? Certainly it is. But reasoning is always and necessarily circular at the foundation of knowledge. Everyone has a starting point. The question “How do you know?” cannot be answered forever. At some point you stop – and it is there you have reached the starting point for how you know what you know. And in this world God created, His Word is the starting point and foundation for all knowledge (Proverbs 1:7).
I know that my Redeemer lives and I know that in the end He will stand on the Earth. How do I know this? The Bible tells me so.