The Knowledged of God Is Innate

The lips of the righteous know

what is acceptable,

But the mouth of the wicked

what is perverse.

Proverbs 10:32

     As the above Scripture so states, both the righteous and the wicked have knowledge. It is how that knowledge is applied in one's life. God is the Sovereign judge and will judge both the righteous and the wicked: "I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever, nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him. That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been; and God requires an account of the past" (Ecclesiastes 3:14-15).  God knows the end from the beginning, He knows all things, yet He will require of us that which we have done in this life. No one is without the knowledge of God, as has been stated, some refuse to acknowledge that there is a God. So, is it true that all men have the knowledge of God and that knowledge is innate, therefore they are without excuse? 

     Before we begin we must understand the term, innate and what is meant by innate knowledge. Innate knowledge is that which is due to our constitution, as sentient, rational, and moral beings. What does that exactly mean? It is not founded upon experience or obtained by ab extra instruction, or acquired by a process of research and reasoning. Just to make clarity, constitution refers to our physical body, our makeup and or composition, our psychological character. 

     How do we know that there is such knowledge? It cannot be doubted that we are so constituted that we can see certain things to be true immediately in their own light. They need no proof. There is no need to be taught that those things we perceive to true are true. We call these immediate perceptions: intuitions, primary truths, laws of belief, innate knowledge, or ideas. This is important, no matter what it is called, we must recognize what is meant by those terms. Are we born with such knowledge so as it to be applicable to our conscious exercise of the Mind. No! The Doctrine of innate knowledge does not imply such to intuitive truths. How can that be? Knowledge is a form is to be found in state of intelligence, and intelligence is a state of consciousness, therefore, knowledge, that is in the sense of acting bust be a matter of consciousness and cannot be innate. A baby has no conscious knowledge of the existence of God. Sometimes the word is used passively, that is the action of the verb is expressed passively even though written as present, i.e., "The letter was written yesterday." You see, a man knows what lies dormant in his mind and most of our knowledge is in that state. An example, all the facts of history are stored in the memory and are out of the domain of consciousness until we recall or turn our minds to them. Therefore in is not inconceivable that we come into this world with stored primary truths which lie dormant in the mind until they are awakened by some occasion. But this  is not what is meant by innate knowledge. The word innate only indicates the source of that knowledge. So, what is that source? It is our nature, that which we are born with. The doctrine of innate knowledge does imply that the mind is born with ideas, such as patterns, or notions, such as creations of our imaginations. They, innate knowledge, is not formed by nature with abstract ideas, or principles, or general truths. All that is meant is that the mind is so constituted that it perceives certain things to be true without proof and without instruction. 

     This is a bit heavy, somewhat hard to grasp so I will take it slowly, and stop here and continue tomorrow. This beginning may at first be difficult by will be the ground for the argument that men are without excuse and that the knowledge of God is innate. It is a fact that God is Sovereign and that He has equipped men in such a way that they can know Him even though He is unseen. We have studied faith, saving faith, and that is what this Sovereign God gave freely to some and not to others, and this by His own economy, and dispensation. We find it hard to understand, but those who have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the gift of grace, saving grace, will innately know that there is a God, who is supreme and can be known as He has revealed Himself. We do not judge God as to His manner operating in this world for God is Good, and has all knowledge and has determined to save some people, not because He needed to save people, rather that from His love and mercy He does not destroy sinners but calls some, draws them to Him and enables them to know Him and by our innate constitution we are able to know Him and believe upon Him and His Son Jesus Christ, and that our sins have been paid for by the death and resurrection of Christ, that we can place our faith. As we come to know what God has revealed to His Children our faith will mature and grow, and upon that last Great Day, we will see Him as He is and we will be as He is, this is all God. Therefore, we must come to acknowledge Him and know Him and this we can do through innate knowledge.

But when it pleased

     God,

who separated me

    from my mother's 

     womb

and called me through

    His grace.

                         Galatians 1:15

Be of Good Comfort and One Mind

Richard L. Crumb