Through the Bible, and sermons by Paul Washer and Jonathan Edwards, I have become increasingly cognizant of the importance and necessity of true knowledge of God.
It is my purpose to show 1) that this knowledge is intellectual, 2) that it is experiential, and 3) that it is productive.
1. A true knowledge of God is intellectual. The nature of God must be sought after with the mind, and it must be sought after diligently through what is given to all men: Scripture. Why was the Bible given to men? What is its purpose? It is to teach us, through various means, the nature of the One who gave us life. It was not given as simply interesting reading or helpful advice on morality and religion; it was given so that the glory and surpassing excellence of God might be known by us and by all nations. And only through long hours before that book, searching diligently, can our finite minds even begin to chase down the marvelous character of an infinite God. But surely no more desirable task has ever been given.
2. This knowledge is much more than intellectual, it is experiential. Though it often flows from truths grasped with our mind, is far above that type of knowledge; it is an experience of God. It is God overwhelming you with His power and revealing to you the beauty of His character. Jonathan Edward, in his sermon A Divine and Supernatural Light, said: “There is a difference between having a rational judgment that honey is sweet, and having a sense of its sweetness. A man may have the former, that knows not how honey tastes; but a man cannot have the latter unless he has an idea of the taste of honey in his mind.” You may believe in God’s power and His grace, but there is an experience of them that is supernatural and a knowledge that sees Him as awesome. We can never truly know God unless we taste Him. And the little that I have tasted out of this jar leaves me with an insatiable desire to drain it to the bottom.
We can have this knowledge only from God. His glory is His to reveal, and He reveals it when and to whom He chooses. The subjects of that revelation are merely subjects of the unmerited grace of God. But do not despair of ever receiving this gift; He “will not forsake those who seek Him.” Indeed God delights to give it to His children. He did not deliver you from His wrath and your sin so that you could serve Him; God does not rely your efforts to accomplish His purposes. But He saved you in order to display His glory to you and make known to you the riches of His grace. And then, as He does that, you can do nothing but serve Him, and be used to proclaim that glory to the ends of the earth.
3. True knowledge produces those things that should be most earnestly sought after by the Christian. Worship is the highest goal of the church and of every believer. Because God’s chief end is to glorify Himself, it should be ours as well. And this end is best accomplished in authentic worship. But authentic worship comes only from true knowledge. If we really knew God for who he is, our only rational response would to spend the rest of our lives in attempt to bring Him honor. But because our knowledge is weak, our worship is also. Likewise, love for God increases with knowledge of God. We can only love to the extent that we know loveliness. You cannot love some one any more than you think that they are worthy of being loved. And you will not love God any more than you know Him to be worthy of it. But, as more and more of His loveliness is discovered to you, you will be unable to prevent yourself from loving Him to the degree that you know His excellence. And again, with knowledge of God comes a desire to proclaim what you have found. If we really knew the depth and beauty of His character, we could not but herald it to the ends of the earth so that all nations will worship Him.
The best thing we can do is fall on our faces before God and plead with Him to show us His.
