Knowing God

John 17:3 (ESV)  And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Knowing God?  What a concept to not just learn about God but to have a personal intimate relationship with Him – God!  An awesome privilege.  But how can we really know God and be intimate with Him?

We can study the Bible all our lives and never know God.  Did you know that?  Jesus Himself tells us this:

John 5:39,40 (ESV)  “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”

So, we can study as much as we want, and we should study, but that’s not the way we know God

As someone who is compelled to study God’s word, I find it strangely comforting that we don’t need to study as a condition for our salvation.  And it’s through our salvation that we come to know this wonderful God.  The moment we receive Christ, we become a part of God’s intimate family, His child.

John 1:12,13 (ESV)  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

To go back to John 17:3 for a moment, let’s look at what it means to know God.  “Know” is the same Greek word, ginosko, as in Genesis 4:1 in the Septuagint.  There we’re told Adam knew his wife Eve.   The Greek word means more than just an introduction to someone.  Ginosko means to study that person in order to better understand who and what they are.

In May of 1968, I met the young woman who would become my wife.  As we courted and then married, we learned more and more about each other.  The Bible tells us to actually study our spouses to know them better.  Some of that is finding out how they think, how they act, and their likes and dislikes.  But there is something in all our successful marriages besides just knowing about our spouse.  There’s a first person involvement we can’t define.  We become part of one another.  It’s more than just love.  This is a greater connection.  It’s something we experience but can’t explain.  God tells us we actually become one, and I believe it.

This is the same relationship we want with God.  We want to look at something He’s done and say “Isn’t that just like Him?”  The more we get to know God the more often we find ourselves saying that.

Why is this important?

Christians try to please God.  We work hard to “help Him out.”  We study beyond what is expected to get God’s attention.  We pray all day to seek His acceptance.  These aren’t bad things until they’re taken to extremes.

Luke 10:40-42 (ESV)  But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

There’s a time to work, don’t get me wrong.  But, there’s a time to sit at Jesus’ feet to get to know Him better.  When we get too busy pleasing God, we get too busy to spend time hearing God, getting to know Him better.  No matter how much we work to know Him, though, there will be a day when we shall know Him fully.

1 Cor. 13:12 (ESV)  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.