How Do You Know God?

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

Ephesians 1:17

Do you know God? If so, how? On the basis of what would you say that you know God?

Our world suggests many different paths to knowing God better. Of course, there is a growing chorus these days that says knowing God is impossible or silly. But the vast majority of people still believe we can and should know God. And many of these people are happy to tell you how.

Some gurus would encourage us to look within ourselves because God is fully present there. Self-examination is the key to knowing God. Others would urge us to look far and wide at the world’s religions, picking and choosing that which we want to believe about God from a wide array of options. Others would claim that the only way to know God is through intellectual inquiry. Philosophy is the only reliable path to the knowledge of God. Still others would tell you that the only clear path to knowing God is paying attention to your feelings. Your emotions will reveal God to you if you feel them strongly and trust them confidently.

What all of these ways of knowing God have in common is an assumption that you can know God on the basis of yourself: your experience, your effort, your wisdom, your reason, your feelings. If you want to know God better, you can make it happen.

Ephesians 1:17 disagrees. That comes as no surprise if you know the Bible. The whole Scripture bears witness to the fact that knowing God is not something you can do on your own. Rather, it depends on God. You can know God truly only if God chooses to make himself known to you. The good news of the Bible is that God has already revealed himself in profound ways: in creation, in history, in his people, in Scripture, and most of all in Jesus Christ. Moreover, God has given us his Spirit and placed us in the community of his people so that we might know God deeply, accurately, and intimately.

Thus, if you want to know God better, don’t start by looking into yourself or choosing from the buffet line of world religions or hiding away in the library reading philosophy or getting in touch with your feelings. Rather, pay attention to how God has revealed himself. And then, join the Apostle Paul in asking God to give you wisdom and revelation through the Spirit.

I’ll have more to say about how we can know God better in next week’s devotions. For now, let me encourage you to consider the following questions.

Something to Think About:

In what ways do you know God? How has God made himself known to you in your life?

Do you want to know God better?

What are you prepared to do in order to know God more intimately and truly?

What are you prepared not to do in order to know God more intimately and truly?

Something to Do:

Take time to reflect on the various ways God has made himself known to you. Give thanks for these gifts. If you’re in a small group, share what you’ve found with others.

Prayer:

Gracious God, thank you for making yourself known to us. Thank you for not leaving us on our own, forced to figure out who you are through our own efforts. Thank you for revealing yourself in creation, in history, in your people, in Scripture, and in Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh.

Help me, Lord, to grow in my knowledge of you. Make yourself known to me more clearly and truly through your Spirit. Amen.

Explore more at the Theology of Work Project online commentary:
What Helps You Pay Attention to How You’re Living? Part 5