How can I know God is real?
Last updated: 2026-07-23
You can know that God is real because He has made His existence plain through the created world, which acts as a clear witness to His power and divinity, and through His Word, which reveals Him savingly to the heart. While all creation points to a Creator, only the Holy Spirit working through the Scriptures brings a person to a personal, saving knowledge of the living God.
🌏 The Witness of Creation
The Reformed tradition consistently teaches that the natural world provides an undeniable witness to the Creator. The Belgic Confession Art. 2 describes the universe as an 'elegant book' where all creatures serve as characters revealing God's power. This is not mere speculation but a reality grounded in Scripture, where the Apostle Paul declares that the invisible attributes of God are clearly perceived in the things that have been made (Romans 1:20). Even those who do not yet know God personally are confronted by this evidence, which is sufficient to render all people without excuse.
Sources: Romans 1:20 Belgic Confession Art. 2
📖 The Sufficiency of the Word
While creation makes God's existence manifest, it is the Holy Scriptures that make Him savingly known. The Westminster Larger Catechism Q.2 clarifies this distinction: the light of nature declares that there is a God, but only His Word and Spirit sufficiently and effectually reveal Him for salvation. This knowledge is not meant to be cold intellectual speculation but a vibrant reality rooted in the heart. As the Institutes of the Christian Religion notes, God draws near to us through His works, inviting us to stop prying into His incomprehensible essence and instead behold Him in the mirror of His creation and the clarity of His Word.
Sources: Westminster Larger Catechism Q.2 Institutes of the Christian Religion 1.5.9 Institutes of the Christian Religion
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