Prolegomenon
In Genesis 3:5, the serpent speaks a deceptive truth to Adam and Eve, who are eager to listen and act on it: “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5).[^1] This statement, though partially true, ignites their curiosity and self-interest, fostering overconfidence in their own understanding and skepticism of God’s role, design, and provision. From that moment, sinful skepticism has fueled a contemporary chaos that celebrates uncertainty, undermining our relationship with God and others.
A pervasive modern cultural attitude asserts that individual empirical experiences define meaning. Reality and understanding are reduced to personal impressions and existential moments, making subjective perspectives the basis for cultural disunity as individuals compete for dominance. This mindset, rooted in the Fall and amplified during the Enlightenment, centers on self-reliant relativism. René Descartes’ philosophy, encapsulated in “I think, therefore I am,” has snowballed into a cultural presupposition where personal thoughts and perceptions are the only reliable truths. This skepticism prioritizes the self, placing the individual at the center of existence.
The primary flaw in this perspective is human sinfulness. A myopic, subjective worldview places an imperfect person in control, dismissing everything beyond personal opinion as irrelevant. This leads to a cultural attitude of survival of the fittest, where the most powerful or belligerent subjective paradigm prevails. Such self-reliant skepticism defines reality not by a loving, just Creator but by the individual or group with the most influence. The original sin in Genesis 3 continues to taint history, driving modern cultural conflicts through skepticism that denies meaning beyond personal understanding.
Yet, Scripture offers reprieve: “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).[^2] God’s objective revelation of His love, demonstrated through Christ’s person and work, counters the chaos of subjective skepticism. This truth redirects our focus from self-insistence to the God who sustains all things. As Hebrews states, “In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Heb. 1:2).[^3] God’s supremacy, not ours, underpins reality. The objective reality of God’s revelation in Christ establishes the foundation for true knowledge, enabling us to interpret rather than originate meaning.
John Calvin articulates this: “For by a kind of mutual bond the Lord has joined together the certainty of his Word and of his Spirit so that the perfect religion of the Word may abide in our minds when the Spirit, who causes us to contemplate God’s face, shines; and that we in turn may embrace the Spirit with no fear of being deceived when we recognize him in his own image, namely, in the Word.”[^4] God’s sustaining power, through Christ’s redemption and the Spirit’s work, makes reality knowable. Scripture, self-authenticating and testified by the Holy Spirit, reveals foundational truths about God’s authority, design, and plan for humanity and creation. As the Creator and sustainer, the triune God is the objective reality that makes knowledge possible.
By analogy, existence is not a puzzle we assemble with subjective perceptions, giving it meaning. Rather, God has crafted the puzzle, and true knowledge lies in discovering His design. Without this objectivity, there is only subjective chaos and meaninglessness. With Christ at the center, even the worst tragedies and sinners find restoration, purpose, and resolution through the cross. This knowable reality, revealed primarily in Scripture, grounds our understanding. Only through God’s revealed magnificence do we find true knowledge. His omnipotence ensures a knowable universe, and while His full wisdom may remain veiled, the objective truth of His provision in Christ gives value to our existence, thought, and purpose.
[^1]: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), 7.
[^2]: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), 1418.
[^3]: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), 1497.
[^4]: John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960), 1.9.3.