Well, there are limits to 'knowing' anyway. Can anyone ever know you completely and perfectly, aside from God? I don't think so. But knowing is an intellectual function. Experiencing is where emotion, intellect and will all fuse to be reality. Can a person fully experience God? My belief is yes. Christ is the model and example. The first fruits, as it were.

In the way God created us, each of us is also infinite. That's because we are more than our individual selves. Is there any other human being who interacts with the unlimited universe and with God in the exact same a manner as me? No. Therefore, each human also has unlimited potential.

I agree with your last statement, but I see it as more nuanced. Firstly, what is the purpose of Creation? The purpose of creation is for God to be able to dwell within his children and experience the universe through them and with them. The separation between God and man is a result of the fall, and of human beings never fulfilling their created purpose (until now). The providence of God is a providence of restoration, to restore humans to the level at which we fell, and then for us to be liberated to complete the original process.

This is why Christ is required; Christ is simply what all humans would have become naturally, if Adam had not fallen. The providence will be completed when we are reborn not just spiritually, but also physically (meaning our bodies/vessels are also returned to God's sovereignty, which is not the case yet).

Thus, as we move towards experience, we interact and connect with God through relationship, and this requires knowledge.

The question is, how can we know God's nature? Who IS our creator? What is his nature? what is NOT his nature (i.e. what is our fallen nature, that we need to separate from)?

We do this by observing the creation. The nature of the author is revealed in his book, his writings. The nature - the character, personality, experiences - of the artist is revealed in his artwork. The nature of the chef is expressed in his dishes.

Paul wrote: For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. (Rom 1:20)

We learn about God's nature by observing his Creation. We learn about his qualities and characteristics by observing human beings, and all other created beings. This is because the cause is reflected in the result. This universe, and us, are the result of God, the first cause.

We can know these things about God: God is a principled being; the universe operations via natural laws and spiritual laws. So the nature of law is part of God, as God is the cause. God has personality, because we do, and we are a result of God. God has emotion, intellect, will. God's original emotion, intellect & will are expressed in individual form in an individual human.

God's nature thereby contains both a universal aspect and an individual aspect. This is also reflected in human beings. We have universal characteristics, such as a human has a head, body, limbs. Our faces have eyes, nose, ears, etc. But each person has an individual aspect as well. Each of us is unique.

We can thereby know that God is a harmonized being of both universal and individual nature.

Fundamentally, God's nature is love, and all the other attributes of God are expressions of that nature. Emotion, intellect and will are all expressions of heart, which is the capacity to experience, to give and receive love.

However, because God is the transcendent being, God is one, and all God's attributes are one. God is eternal, unchanging, absolute, and unique. However, when these attributes of God become manifest in his creation, at that point, yes, they are expressed in limited ways. That's because the very act of creation is God's extending or manifesting His own nature into a relative, developmental, creation.

So while I agree with your final statement, I do not think that this means we cannot or should not seek to know God and unite with God. But to engage with God in a real, meaningful way, we need to acknowledge that we are inherently limited and that our view or understanding of God will be limited, until the point where we fully experience God and thus manifest His nature fully and perfectly.

A blind person cannot fully understand or grasp the descriptions of color that a seeing person might offer, no matter how much the description. Thus, any description is limited.

As long as one appreciates the absolute and unlimited nature of God, then I think it actually behooves one to seek to understand and recognize God's nature, because you cannot fully know yourself without knowing where you come from, who created you. As you come to understand God's nature, you will begin to recognize it within yourself, and that is the beginning of a relationship of true unity with God.

Anyway, that's how I understand it, at this point.

I also think this: The experience or perception of God by millions and billions of individuals are all unique in some ways. However, the closer we come to God, in a living relationship, the more we will also experience universal aspects of God we all recognize. If we remain aware of this fact, then we can embrace the reality that each of us will perceive God and experience God in unique ways, and then it becomes a blessing of discovery, to learn about God through my brother's or sister's eyes, as well.

In that vein, thanks for sharing this discussion, fren!!!