Knowing God
Written by Grace Mwaura on April 15, 2024
How do we know God? Is there a thing like knowing God? Hillsong sings, “I Surrender, I want to know you more.” So, what does it take to know God more, and can we fully know God? To know can be defined as having information, understanding, or having a clear and complete idea of something. It can also be to be aware of, realize, or be sure of something. Lastly, it is to have met and talked to someone or to be acquainted, familiar with, and identify or recognize someone or something.
In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul writes, what is more, considers everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ( Philippians 3:8). Paul expresses that the best life has to offer is nothing compared to knowledge or knowing God. He was admitting that he hadn’t arrived and was pressing toward the goal of knowing God more. Looking at Paul, a man so full of the Spirit still, he wants to know God more. Who are we not to follow him in this pursuit of knowing God more?
What is more, considers everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ( Philippians 3:8)
In our relationships, one person cannot simply desire to know another. There must be a willingness on the part of another to open up about themselves. Knowing God takes more than a lifetime; it is for eternity. God wants to be known by us; he desires that we may know him more. He wants us to be well acquainted with the many different aspects of who he is. There are two main ways to get to know anyone. One way is to hear about them from someone else. The other is to hear from them yourself and walk with them. The advantage of developing our knowledge of God is that he tells us about himself in the scriptures.
How do we get to know God? The first thing is by studying his word. God reveals himself to us in his word. From Genesis, that is creation: he shows us his supreme power and authority over all. God will walk with men and demonstrate his love for us by sending his Son, Jesus, to die for us. He then tells us of eternity with him as the world ends and brings us to glory with him. The second thing in knowing God is to engage in prayer. The whole point of a prayerful life is to be close to God and to have a deep, solid, and unshakeable relationship with him. Prayer allows us to align with the Lord by communing and communicating with him daily.
The third thing is to walk with him daily and trust him in all circumstances. To know God is to surrender to him and have our personal life swallowed up in his. It may mean we never have answered our troubles or said yes to his will before we even know what it means. Surrender to God comes before we even have intimacy with him.
In his book Knowing God, J. I. Packer writes that Knowing God requires that we diligently explore the multifaceted ways in which God has revealed himself in scripture. It involves a close study of God’s attributes and actions, which bears the fruit of fellowship with God and passionate adoration and celebration of who he is and what he has done. He continues to say What makes life worthwhile is having a great objective that catches our imagination and holds our allegiance, and this is what the Christian has in a way no other person has. What higher, exalted, and more compelling goals can there be than to know God?
It’s through the knowledge of God that we can receive all things that pertain to life and godliness. He has already given them. Knowing God allows us to partake of his divine nature, receive all his great and precious promises, and escape the corruption of this word. God is the real goal. May we desire to know him more.
