Is Human Language Adequate to Describe God?
If you’re a theologian or a devoted Christian, you’ve wondered if we can truly know God. God’s transcendence distinguishes him from earthly beings. Existing outside time, he possesses ultimate power and knowledge of eternal nature.
He also embodies perfection, the moral benchmark for everything. We finite humans find him difficult to grasp, yet aspire to emulate him. But how are we to be certain that our limited minds and methods of description are adequate to describe and understand him?
Because human language is confined within the created order, it suffers from the same limitations and imperfections as everything else. Sin further diminishes the already confined. Thus, modern language is less effective at describing God’s essence than in the past.
But to assume that we can’t know God at all isn’t sound. I hope to show that, while our understanding of God is limited, language can still help us develop a relationship with Him.
God Made Language
God designed language as part of creation. Genesis shows its purpose was to enable Adam’s communication with God.
The serpent’s speech and Adam and Eve’s calm reaction hint at speaking animals throughout the Garden. Or the serpent was a seraphim (heavenly throne guardian), showing humanity’s capability to interact with spiritual beings. Either way, the picture conveyed is one where the whole of creation, material and immaterial, could commune.
That communion allowed language to grow in complexity and meaning congruently with the relationship between God and creation. Speech was and is a tool for relational and cognitive development allowing for maturity between and among sentient beings.
Now animals do not speak, and we do not encounter the direct presence of spiritual entities (often). Post-Eden, Adam’s curse meant the earth would no longer cooperate with him or his descendants. He would have to labor hard for meager rewards. And even after his toil, he would often receive only thorns and thistles, both intended to represent death and destruction. But he retained communion with his wife and constrained communion with God.
Continuity of relations was an act of divine providence. Created in God’s image, humans were the apex of creation. Consequently, they received the gift of language. Ongoing languages, divinely permitted, show God’s enduring faith in humanity and our critical role in improving the fallen order.
There Was Only One Language
Prior to Babel, a single language existed. Humans disobeyed God’s command to spread and multiply, resulting in multiple languages.
Scholars can only guess at that first language. The Ancient Hebrews believed the Hebrew language was a derivative of that tongue. Traced back far enough, all known languages are derivatives of the original. It’s possible other forms would have splintered from the first language over time. However, God accelerated the process and caused humans to forget the first language because of their disobedience.
Fragmentation resulted in linguistic division and other consequences. Spreading into new locales and needing to adapt led to genetic alterations, resulting in diverse cultures and populations. The lack of the ability to communicate caused them to disregard their prior universal affiliation.
They all went their separate ways, but in a manner against their design. Their inability to communicate destroyed their unity, confining them to smaller, ethnic groups. Relational interactions stem from language. How we use language may produce social cohesion or irreparable disparity.
The best interface for scheduling, analyzing, interacting, and building on X. Take your X game to the next level today!
Language is a Primary Mode of Revelation
Language reveals. A primary attribute. Genesis describes creation resulting from divine utterance, ex nihilo. Heaven and earth emerge and form from his voice.
After creating everything, God revealed himself to Adam by approaching him and conversing. Adam’s naming of the animals demonstrated his own God-given authority over them, confirming his role as God’s image and steward.
After Moses, God communicated through speech. A consequence of humanity’s sinfulness, which lessened God’s physical presence.
God’s withdrawal resulted in a succession of prophets assigned to remind the people of Israel about God’s identity and deeds. Prophetic revelation pointed them back to his intention for them to be a holy nation of priests to the world. But even with their best efforts, God knew their sinfulness would prevent success. Therefore, he promised a Messiah.
Hence, it is significant when John describes Jesus as the Word of God. Giving him such title implies that Jesus is both the power and person of God in the flesh, the walking revelation of Yahweh. John mirrors his first words on the initial statements of Genesis. He traces back to creation, where the Word made flesh and blood. He sees correlation in the Word become flesh and blood. Though roles switched, love persists. Yahweh revealed humanity as his bride and treasure. Jesus, God incarnate, rescued them from sin and restored that marriage. Promise transformed into tangible manifestation.
Put It All Together And…
While insufficient to describe God, language allows us to connect with and experience Him. Language originates from him and serves as a tool for communication between sentient beings. It unveils the unknown.
Scripture suggests language helps us communicate more deeply, fostering closer relationships with each other and God. But those unions are only temporal and partial. Hope for more is yet to come.
Paul’s clearest statement, found in 1 Corinthians 13, explains our current partial understanding will soon become complete. For now we know in part. Soon we will know in full.
But even in eternity, God may leave us with mysteries. Divine knowledge is inexhaustible. Nevertheless, we’ll one day grasp him within the limits of our comprehension. Our restricted communication methods require diversification to improve comprehension. Because God designed all things, including humanity, to interact with and grow in him, limitation and growth are inherent in the original creation.
Conclusion
Saying God can’t be known through language is simply wrong. God communicates through language, encouraging us to further our knowledge of him through linguistic interactions.
Yet, language isn’t the goal. It’s a single path amongst many toward knowing God, insufficient to offer complete divine revelation.
Christ embodies that revelation. The Son of God present in the beginning during the speech-act responsible for creation, his very coming in the flesh reiterates that creative endeavor. He reestablishes what was lost through the act of restoring personal access to Yahweh. The Bible (written language) records the story, making it easily accessible to everyone.
One Final Apologetics Thought
The relationship between language and our understanding of God is significant. Ask anyone who disagrees to attempt wordless thought. You’re trying, but you cannot. The human mind requires descriptors to process information, meaning without language thought would be impossible.
Language equals thought. It’s the internal and external expression of thought and forms the communal basis for consciousness.
Random chance is improbable given language’s structure. It points rather to an intelligent and intentional design, requiring a Maker. If language arose from random chance, we couldn’t assign it any coherent meaning. Thoughts become unreliable without a stable foundation.
Therefore, a creator exists, regardless of biblical accounts; otherwise, intelligence wouldn’t exist. So without God, how can anyone trust their own thinking? They could not. Original thinkers are the source of all ideas.