“Before knowing God you must first know yourself.”
How is it even possible that the creator of this entire universe is subject to the knowledge of “I” first? You can’t know God if you are not aware of yourself. Everything else is just an object but you, the seer, are not.
While the seen may be there or not it’s just subject to you being aware of yourself.
In this regard, an Apple is comparable to the concept of God: both of them comes after you are aware of yourself.
The only thing that comes with “you” is the consciousness. Therefore, consciousness is what creates the world and not the world existing apart from it.