Knowing God is an essential foundation to living this life in Christ—an essential I find many Christians have skipped over unwittingly.
This oversight has led to a tame, compromised church perpetuating a tame, compromised religion instead of a relationship with an untamed, wild, and holy God. Far too many Christians are stumbling and bumbling in an overly busy life pursuing everything but God Himself. I see us (I am most assuredly included and require accountability to keep from continuing to doing so) reacting to life rather than "taking ground" for the Kingdom of God. We are in danger of managing to, as J. I. Packer says, "waste your life and lose your soul." Like lukewarm coffee or unsalted meat, no wonder God promises to spew such out!
Over and over, the Bible tells us to get wisdom: to know God and His ways. From cover to cover—in and out of people's stories—it reminds us that He wants to be our God, He wants us to be His people, and to dwell (in a relationship) with us (known as the Tripartite Promise).
Consider Adam and Eve, who walked with God in the garden. Enoch, who walked with God and never walked back home. Noah, in whom God confided His plans. Abraham, who is later called a friend of God. A slave called Hagar. A nameless servant we think is Eliezar. Moses, who spent time face-to-face and saw the glory of God (though only the backside of it). David, who sings obsessively of "the one thing" he requires—to dwell in the house of the Lord. Paul, who says he counts death as a win-win because then he can see Him again. The great pursuit to know and be known by God is demonstrated by their stories.
Yet so many of us busy ourselves with everything else! "Love the Lord your God with all your heart" we are assured is the greatest commandment, which requires that we spend time with Him, getting to know the one whom we are to love.
And we are not alone: the Bible assures us that "On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’" So, I ask, do we know God?
In last week's blog post, I shared a "formula" of the Christian's walk of deepening intimacy with God that starts with this knowing:
To know Him is to love Him.
To love Him is to trust Him.
To trust Him is to obey Him.
To obey Him is to follow Him.
To follow Him is to die to our self/absolute surrender and walk in abundant life.
This formula is meant to provide signposts on the "good way" to which Jeremiah refers in verse 6:16:
This is what the Lord says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."
It is the "understanding and knowing" to which Jeremiah refers in verses 9:23-24:
Thus says the LORD: 'Let not the wise man boast in what he knows, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.'
The study of God, His character, and His ways are called theology proper or Paterology. Indeed, all of theology is the study of religious faith, practice, and experience; especially the study of God and of God's relation to the world (Merriam-Webster's Dictionary).
But the study of God comes with a warning: "To be preoccupied with getting theological knowledge as an end in itself, based on a desire to know all the answers is the direct route to a state of self-satisfied self-deception." (J. I. Packer in Knowing God) Knowing about God and knowing God are two fundamentally different things. As Tozer says in The Pursuit of God, "it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearer finds God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth."
"This is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."—John 17:3
Knowing who God is and knowing who we are in Him—both as the ones in need of redemption and the ones who have been redeemed—transforms us. It transforms us either like Pharaoh, whose heart was hardened, or like our heroes who responded in humble obedience.
As you seek Him, you will find Him—this is a promise you can count on. When you find Him, don't brush past Him to tell everyone what you've seen or heard or felt or known. Instead, practice staying in His presence to be transformed. Worship Him for who He has revealed Himself to be. Gather these revelations and experiences, like knotted beads on a string. Meditate on them, fingering them with your heart like a Catholic prays the rosary. Then, repeat the process.
Grace makes God known.
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Resources for knowing God:
Knowing God, J. I. Packer
Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer
The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence
Experiencing The Depths Of Christ, Madame Jeanne Guyon
Names of God: https://bible.org/article/names-god