Believing in God and Knowing God: What Is the Difference?

October 28, 2026

 

 

It is one thing to believe that God exists, and quite another to know Him. A person may spend years hearing about God, reading about Him, and studying what others have said about Him, and yet remain far from Him. The Holy Fathers insist that there is a difference between knowing things about God and truly coming to know Him.

St. Nikolai of Serbia offers a simple illustration. If someone wishes to form an idea of the pyramids of Egypt, he must either trust those who have been in their immediate vicinity or approach them himself. There is no third possibility. In the same way, a person may form an impression of God. He must either trust those who have stood, and continue to stand, in close proximity to God, or make the effort himself to attain that closeness. Nevertheless, even the testimony of those who have drawn near to God cannot convey to us the experience itself.

St. Basil the Great expresses this more profoundly. Just as it is impossible to describe in words the sweetness of honey to someone who has never tasted it, so too the goodness of God cannot be clearly conveyed through teaching unless we ourselves are able to enter into the goodness of the Lord through personal experience. Therefore, the question is not simply, “What do I know about God?” The deeper question is whether I am truly drawing near to Him. And what is remarkable is that this closeness does not depend on wealth, education, fame, or power.

St. Silouan the Athonite writes that many wealthy and powerful people would pay dearly to see the Lord or His Most Holy Mother. God, however, reveals Himself not through wealth, but to the humble heart. Even the poorest person can be humble and come to know God. To know God, one needs neither money nor fame, but only humility. Thus, the journey begins not by becoming great, but by becoming humble. Humility, however, must become a way of life.

St. Silouan continues: No matter how much we study, we cannot come to know God unless we live according to His commandments. For God is known not through scientific knowledge, but through the Holy Spirit.

Many philosophers and learned men came to believe in the existence of God, yet they did not come to know Him. For it is one thing to believe that God exists, and quite another to know Him. The Saint then presents us with the evidence of this knowledge. If someone has come to know God through the Holy Spirit, his soul will burn day and night with love for God, and he will be unable to become attached to anything earthly. Here, knowledge becomes life. The person who truly seeks God begins by learning to remember that God is already near him.

St. Gennadios of Constantinople says: “Always have the fear of God in your heart, and remember that God is always with you, everywhere, whether you are walking or sitting.” This remembrance transforms our daily lives. God is present not only during moments of prayer or worship, but also when we walk, when we sit, when we work, when we speak, and when we face the things that ordinarily occupy our minds. And when we remember His presence, our hearts are called to place their trust in Him.

St. Barsanuphius the Great says: “Having God, fear nothing, but cast all your cares upon Him, and He will take care of you. Believe without doubting, and God will help you according to His mercy.” This means that the things which trouble us need not become the things that rule over us. We can entrust our cares to God, turn to Him before fear overwhelms us, and trust in His mercy even when we cannot see what lies ahead. Trust in God, however, does not mean withdrawing from other people.

St. Maximus the Confessor points out the proper order. “You must love every person with all your soul, but place your hope in the one God and serve Him alone. Love every person, hope in God, serve Him, and remain under His protection, knowing that, as long as He protects us and our friends, the angels help us, and our enemies, the demons, cannot do us harm.”

St. Seraphim of Sarov then explains why this trust must become a constant way of life, rather than a response that arises only in times of need. “If someone takes no thought at all for himself, for the sake of love for God and the performance of good works, knowing that God cares for him, this is true and wise hope. But if someone attends to his own affairs and turns to God in prayer only when calamities befall him that are beyond his strength, and only then begins to hope in God, such hope is vain and false. True hope seeks only the Kingdom of God.” The heart cannot find peace until it acquires such hope. This hope brings tranquility to the heart and gives birth to joy within it. Thus, the practical question becomes very specific: Where does our hope truly lie? Is God the One to Whom we turn only when we have no other recourse, or have we begun to entrust our entire lives into His hands? This trust becomes easier when we learn to recognize His providence.

St. Basil the Great teaches us not to say, “This happened by chance, while that came about of its own accord.” In all that exists, there is nothing disorderly, nothing indeterminate, nothing without purpose, nothing accidental. How many hairs are there on your head? God will not forget even one of them. Do you see, then, that nothing, not even the smallest thing, escapes the sight of God? Ilias Miniatis says the same thing on a broader scale. It is an indisputable truth that the supreme divine providence governs the whole of creation. God foresees all things and cares for everything. This is the divine, fatherly care of which the blessed Apostle Peter speaks: “Cast all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you.”

God's providence, however, has a purpose that transcends our personal comfort. St. Maximus the Confessor tells us that the purpose of divine providence is to unite, through right faith and spiritual love, those who have been separated because of evil. It was for this purpose that the Savior suffered on our behalf, so that He might gather together into one the scattered children of God. Therefore, to trust in divine providence also means to participate in the work of reconciliation that He accomplishes. Thus, the spiritual life becomes manifest in the way we perceive things and in the way we live.

St. John of Kronstadt writes that a person becomes spiritual to the extent that he lives a spiritual life. He begins to see God in all things, to discern His power and might in their every manifestation. Always and everywhere, he sees himself as abiding in God and depending upon Him for everything. Conversely, to the extent that a person lives a carnal life, he concerns himself with carnal things. He sees God in nothing, not even in the most wondrous manifestations of His divine power. In everything, everywhere, and at all times, he sees only the body and matter. God is not before his eyes.

The world may remain the same, but the eyes through which we behold it can change. And when the soul begins to know God in this way, St. Silouan describes something even more profound: “When the soul comes to know the love of God through the Holy Spirit, it clearly feels that the Lord is our own Father, the closest, the dearest, the best of fathers. And there is no greater happiness than to love God with all one's mind and heart, and one's neighbor as oneself. When this love dwells within the soul, then all things bring it joy.”

But what if we do not feel this love? St. Silouan gives us no reason to despair. “Do not be troubled if you do not feel the love of God within yourself. Rather, remember the Lord and that He is merciful. Guard yourself against sin, and the grace of God will teach you.”

Remember the Lord and guard yourself against sin. Continue the spiritual struggle, and the grace of God will teach you. And this teaching takes place through practice.

St. Simeon of Dajbabe offers a striking illustration. When you place a nail in the fire, it heats up and begins to glow like the fire itself. In the same way, when you listen to the divine teachings and live according to them, you too will become like God. Listen and live according to what you hear. Remain close to the fire, and little by little, the life of faith becomes an experience of the soul.

The soul that has come to know God fully no longer desires anything else, nor does it become attached to anything earthly. Even if you were to offer it a kingdom, it would not desire it. For the love of God bestows such sweetness and joy upon the soul that not even the life of a king can offer it comparable sweetness.

 

SOURCES:

St. Nikolai of Serbia — Thoughts on Good and Evil

St. Basil the Great — Homilies on the Psalms, 29

St. Silouan the Athonite — Writings, I.11, 21; VIII.3; IX.13; IX.15; IX.16

St. Gennadios of Constantinople — The Golden Chain, 14

St. Barsanuphius the Great — Teachings, 166

St. Maximus the Confessor — Four Hundred Texts on Love, IV.17; IV.95

St. Seraphim of Sarov — Works, 4

Ilias Miniatis — Sermon for Great Lent, 1

St. John of Kronstadt — My Life in Christ, I.5

St. Simeon of Dajbabe — Sayings, 26

 

Greek source: https://entoytwnika1.blogspot.com/2026/10/blog-post_58.html