Week 5 – Knowing God

Nov 26, 2010 Gary Henry B - Right Relationship

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

In sin, we’re cut off from God. As sinful beings, we can’t “know” our Creator. Thus our most important concern in life is to seek God that we may be set free from our sin and come to know the God from whom we’ve been estranged. Eternal life means knowing God, partially right now and completely in heaven.

Sometimes we confuse knowing God with knowing “about” Him. The two are related, of course. We can’t know God without the truthful information that’s been revealed to us about Him. But, as we’ve seen in a previous lesson, God is a “personal” being. When we deal with God, we’re not just shuffling ideas around or playing with interesting information. We’re dealing with a Person: God Himself. God desires to have a personal “relationship” with us. In the Bible this “fellowship” (1 John 1:3) is based on the truthful communication that takes place between us, but it also requires that we deal with God as a real Person. Having obeyed the gospel, we come to know God when we (1) listen to Him (in Bible study), (2) communicate to Him (in prayer), and (3) share the experiences of daily life with Him. As with any other personal being, when we communicate and share experiences, we come to know the other person, in this case God.

If we’re serious about coming to know God, we’ll grow in our knowledge of Him. Our knowledge will become richer, deeper, and more “real.” We’ll pass from theoretical information to practical knowledge and wisdom. We’ll go from having heard about fellowship with Him to the actual experience of that fellowship. Our confidence and certainty of God’s trustworthiness will become more solid and stable. Could there be a more exciting prospect than that of actually knowing the God who made us? This is the stuff that real life is made of!

When all is said and done, knowing God ought to be our highest priority and our most valued treasure. “Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:23,24).

“Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart” (Psalm 36:10).

Monday: Psalm 79:6

Key Idea: The wicked do not know God.

1. On whom is the wrath of God to be poured out? In the last part of this verse, what expression is parallel to “do not know You” in the first part?
2. What kind of “generation” arose in Israel, according to Judges 2:10.
3. Romans 1:28 speaks of those who “did not like to retain God in their knowledge.” Look at the context of this passage in 1:18-28. Isn’t it the willful ignorance of God that constitutes wickedness? In considering this, think about the difference between Samuel and Eli’s sons in 1 Samuel 2:12 and 3:7.
4. In 2 Corinthians 10:4,5, what does human wisdom “exalt” itself against?
5. In 2 Thessalonians 1:8, on whom will the Lord’s vengeance be taken? Can we know God without having obeyed the gospel and received the forgiveness of our sins?

Tuesday: Psalm 76:1

Key Idea: God’s people are those who have begun to know Him truly.

1. According to this verse, among whom is God known? Today, what group of people constitute the “commonwealth of Israel” (Ephesians 2:11-13). On “Judah,” see Romans 2:28,29.
2. In 2 Chronicles 30:22, what was it that the Levites “taught”? When we truly seek wisdom, what is it that we will find, according to Proverbs 2:1-5?
3. Although we can’t know God completely, we can know Him truly, can’t we? How are we to worship God, according to John 4:23,24? What did Paul say to the Athenians in Acts 17:22,23?
4. Read Romans 11:33. Nothing can be known of God except what He reveals to us. In 1 Corinthians 1:21, what is the world unable to know by means of its own “wisdom”? Consider also 2:11.
5. Read John 8:19 and 14:7-9. Where has God made the complete and final revelation of Himself to mankind? What does Hebrews 1:1-3 say about the revelation of God through His Son? Compare John 1:18; 2 Corinthians 4:6; 1 John 5:20; etc.
6. If it’s so important that we come to know God through His Son, Jesus Christ, where can we go to learn about Jesus? What did Jesus say in John 5:39?
7. In Jeremiah 31:31-34, what did Jeremiah say about the “new covenant”? Consider also 24:7.
8. Look at Philippians 3:8. What is the thing that Christianity is all about, the thing that’s worth giving up everything else in life to enjoy? In 2 Peter 3:18, in what are we to grow?
9. In Ephesians 4:17-21, how does Paul describe the difference that Christianity had made in the lives of his readers?

Wednesday: Psalm 100:1-3

Key Idea: If we know God, we will be gratefully reverent toward Him as our Creator.

1. The more deeply we know God, what changes do you think will take place in our attitude toward God and our feelings about Him? Consider Isaiah 6:1-8.
2. What are we urged to do in Psalm 46:10? What did the Psalmist say he knew about God in Psalm 135:5?
3. In Exodus 14:4,18, what were God’s mighty deeds intended to teach?
4. In Romans 1:21, what mistake was made by certain ones who “knew” God?

Thursday: Psalm 9:9,10

Key Idea: If we know God, we will put our trust in Him.

1. According to v.10, what is the basis of our trust in God? What has proven to be true about God over and over again in this world?
2. Trusting God is more than a “feeling,” isn’t it? Don’t those who know God have to consciously and deliberately choose to put their trust in Him, based on the evidence of His trustworthiness?
3. What trust or confidence was expressed by the Psalmist in 119:75?

Friday: Psalm 143:8

Key Idea: One important part of knowing God is knowing and following the path He wants us to take.

1. In this verse, what “way” did David pray God would help him to know? Compare this verse to Psalm 5:8. What “understanding” is prayed for in Psalm 119:125?
2. Concerning the knowledge of God, what was the problem of those mentioned in Romans 10:2,3?
3. Think about the relationship between “knowledge” and “obedience.” What do James 1:22-25 and 4:17 say? Do you agree that those who know God (1) seek to learn all they can about God’s will for them, and then (2) obey all that they learn? In Titus 1:16, what were some said to do?
4. What does God “desire,” according to Hosea 6:6? In Jeremiah 22:15,16, what did God say that knowing Him consisted of?

Putting It All Together

Obeying the gospel and knowing God are the principal concerns of human life. Through Jesus Christ, God offers us real fellowship with Him. This means that we can not only know truthful things about Him, we can actually live our daily lives conscious of His real presence with us. As we come to know Him more fully, we’ll rejoice in our knowledge of the path He wants us to take in our lives.

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com