Three views here.
Know God through reason.

This a major influence of our age. All arguments about God must filter through our reason. If we think it is logical and reasonable, then we will accept what we hear. If on the other hand we reject what we hear as being unreasonable to us then we refuse what is offered.
Know God through experience

In the 60s Western society began this journey on experience road. Music, lighting, incense, drugs were all used to experience the high of religious life. The invasion of the West by the East had taken place. Our age is filled with people who argue for religious experience to be felt above all things.

Serious flaws in these approaches.

Authority is subjective. No authority outside yourself. So 2 different people from different backgrounds can have two sources of authority that are different.

It’s a kind of Frank Sinatra approach to God. "I did it my way"

Even with religious people these ways are increasingly normal and accepted. It’s what "I think" and what "I feel" that really matters.

Know God through revelation

This is the third way. We can really know God because of what he has told us about himself.

Creation speaks.     God has given to us evidence that everyone must take note of. Before us on every side we have the most enormous visual aid -the creation! It tells us certain things about God. Romans.1:20 expresses it. God’s eternal power and divine nature are evidenced by the creation. People can know that there is a God by what they see. They can know that someone has the might and power to bring all this into being. He is a almighty, eternal being. It also shows us that the one who did all this is really God. Nobody else could do these things.

The creation therefore says to all that there is no excuse. No one can say there is no evidence!

But this is not enough. No one can know God in a saving sense just be acknowledging that there is a God with great power who made the earth and the stars! We need more!

Indeed people have throughout the ages used the creation itself as an object of worship. The have worshipped creation rather than the creator.

God’s Word speaks. This is the second stage of God revealing Himself to us. God is a precise being who has spoken to us by words.

It was very important to God that we should hear and read what he wants to tell us.

How does God view His own Word?

2 Tim.3:16 tells us that God "breathed out" his own word to us. This is important. It is not saying that God interfered in the writings of men to breath in his own word. It states clearly that the Bible is words "Breathed out" by God!

This is clearly seen in the way the phrase "The Lord said" occurs in the first five books alone (the Pentateuch) Reading through the prophets the same phrase repeats.

The term the "Scripture says" relating to God saying.

Gal.3:8 "the Scriptures foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced the Gospel in advance to Abraham, All nation will be blessed through you."

This quote is taken from Gen.12:3. Did Abraham have a copy of the Scriptures? No. Genesis 12 shows us that God spoke to Abraham and yet in Gal.3 it uses the "Scripture" The two things are showing that the Scripture is God’s voice.

Remember in Luke 4 when Jesus read from Isaiah and then said "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." He was saying that the words he read were God’s words! This was the understanding of the Jewish people.

The same argument seen in Hebrews 1:5,6,7,10,13. Uses the term God said and then quotes the Scripture from the Old Testament.

Passages referred to as written by men but authored by the Holy Spirit. Acts 4:25 "You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David." Quote from Psalm 2 follows.

It is clear from these passages that we can consider the Bible as being what God wants us to hear. We can be confident in this matter.

In order to know God therefore we must read and hear what God says to us. Knowing God involves this. Romans.10:14.

So we have said that knowing God involves observing the creation because it speaks about God’s power and nature.

We are also in possession of the very words of God and we can feel confident that what we read now is His own word.

But we still ask the question. How can we know God? Are these two revelations enough?

We need more.

God’s Son speaks     John.5:38 gives us the importance of this. "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life."

It is possible to have a good knowledge of the text of the Bible and fail to see the real message. The Jews read the Scriptures and failed to understand that they applied to Jesus.

.

Let us stamp into our minds that the Jesus we are talking about is the Jesus of the Bible. We cannot make the mistake of removing Jesus from his own context, the Bible.

Jesus came to teach us about God. He came to lead us to God so that we might know Him.

Knowing God is knowing Jesus. It is impossible to know God without knowing Jesus.

Definition time. What do we mean by knowing God?

Knowing who God is. His nature, mercy, holiness, love, grace.

Knowing who we are. Our nature, sinful, rebels against God, independent lives.

Knowing the consequences. To live like that means to accept the responsibility for such a lifestyle. We will die, be judged. He is in control, he has authority over us.

Knowing that Jesus is the Saviour, the one sent to die instead of us.

Knowing that God’s way is the only way!

Knowing that we can really know forgiveness of our sins and a real peace that comes from knowing God in this marvellous way.

I am happy to talk with any to want to enquire more!

Jesus is not a just a prophet or teacher about God. It was He revealed to us who God was, but the record goes way beyond this to show us that Jesus is the path to knowing God. Jesus cannot be separated from His Father.

John.17:2-3 "For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to this you have given him. Now, this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."