Originally published on Feb 17, 2014

“What were we made for? What aim should we set ourselves in life? What is the best thing in life, bringing more joy, delight, and contentment than anything else? The answer to all these questions is the same: Knowing God!” (from Knowing God by J. I. Packer).

Listen to a young Charles Spurgeon on the subject of knowing God:

“It has been said by some one that ‘the proper study of mankind is man.’ I will not oppose the idea, but I believe it is equally true that the proper study of God’s elect is God; the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father. There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity. … No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God. … But while the subject humbles the mind it also expands it. He who often thinks of God, will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe. … the most excellent study for expanding the soul, is the science of Christ, and him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity. Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity. And, whilst humbling and expanding, this subject is eminently consolatary. Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief; and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore. Would you lose your sorrows? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead’s deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead” (from The Immutability of God, a sermon by C. H. Spurgeon).

There truly is no greater objective in life than knowing God, but how is that experiential knowledge of God attained?

The first question we need ask is this: Is God is willing to be known? Is God knowable in a personal sense, in the same way that we know one another? Some say, No, that is not possible. God is too great to be known by man. Deism, theism, and Islam are all views of God that put Him beyond our ability as human beings to know, at least in any personal, meaningful sense. However, the Bible presents us with a God who can be known and actually desires to be known.

Listen to God Himself speaking on the subject:

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer 29:13 ESV).

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant … I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. … for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest …” (Jer 31:31, 33-34).

“For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings” (Hos 6:6).

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true …” (1 Jn 5:20).

So we see clearly from God’s Word itself that God is knowable.

In fact, bringing men and women into personal fellowship with God is the chief objective of the Gospel. Jesus said this in prayer to the Father, “You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as you have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:2-3).

Since God has made a relationship with Him possible, we need to be daily pursuing this wonderful knowledge.

What does that look like, you might ask? Let me suggest three things:

1. Gleaning from those who know God better than we do.

a. Get to know and spend time with older, more mature Christians. Talk to them, ask them Bible questions, ask them about their experiences with the Lord.

b. Make sure your are being taught the Word through the gifted pastors and teachers that God has given to His church for the building up of the body of Christ.

c. Read good books that will help you to better understand God’s Word and His ways.

2. Spend quality time alone with the Lord.

“When the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, one of the things it means is, now, so to speak, Jesus is loose and at large, so that anyone anywhere can enjoy the same kind of relationship with him as the disciples had in the days of his flesh. The only differences are that, first, his presence with the Christian is spiritual, not bodily, and so invisible to our physical eyes; second, that Jesus’ way of speaking to us now is not by uttering fresh words, but rather by applying to our consciences those words of his that are recorded in the Gospels, together with the rest of the biblical testimony” (from Knowing God by J. I. Packer).

3. Listen intently and seek understanding.

What do I mean by that? Reading and meditating on the Word of God.

“Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God. It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God. It is a matter of talking to one’s self about God and one’s self” (from Knowing God by J. I. Packer).

This all begins with meeting the Lord.

Have you met the Lord? Jesus is the one through whom we come into this relationship with the Father. To as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the children of God. Receive Him if you haven’t. Simply ask that He forgive your sins and take charge of your life.

Are you pursuing a deeper relationship with the Lord? Are you getting to know Him better and better? The chief end of man is to know God and to glorify Him forever.

Let me end with one final quote from J. I. Packer’s Knowing God:

“Once you become aware that the main business you are here for is to know God, most of life’s problems fall into place of their own accord. … The world today is full of sufferers from the wasting disease known as absurdism (‘life is a bad joke’), and from the complaint (‘nothing taste’). These disorders blight the whole of life: everything becomes at once a problem and a bore, because nothing seems worthwhile. But these are ills from which, in the nature of the case, Christians are immune, except for occasional spells of derangement when the power of temptation presses their minds out of shape- and these, by God’s mercy, do not last. What makes life worthwhile is having a big enough objective, something which catches our imagination and lays hold of our allegiance; and this the Christian has in a way that no other person has. For what higher, more exalted, and more compelling goal can there be than to know God?”

There is much debate about who Jesus is. Some believe he was a good man or a great prophet. Others claim he was an angel or a god among other created gods. Still others say he was a legend, liar, or lunatic. The Bible, however, tells us that He is God. This means He is the second Person of the one, triune God; eternal and uncreated; holy, sovereign, and supreme; all-powerful, all knowing, and everywhere present at the same time; the maker and sustainer of all created things; worthy of all worship, devotion, and obedience. With this said, here are 6 reasons from the Bible why I believe Jesus is God:

1. THE BIBLE CALLS JESUS “GOD”

Isaiah 9:6, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, MIGHTY GOD, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
John 1:1, 1:14, “In the beginning the Word (Jesus) already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was GOD … the Word became human and made his home among us.”

Colossians 1:15, “Christ (Jesus) is THE VISIBLE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.” 1 John 5:20, “And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the ONLY TRUE GOD, and he is eternal life.”

2. JESUS CLAIMED TO BE GOD

John 5:16-18, “So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. But Jesus replied, ‘My Father is always working, and so am I.’ So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby MAKING HIMSELF EQUAL WITH GOD.”

John 10:30-33, [Jesus replied] “The Father and I are one.” Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?” They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, CLAIM TO BE GOD.”

3. JESUS’ RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD AFFIRMS THAT HE IS GOD

Romans 1:3-4, “The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be THE SON OF GOD when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”

4. JESUS POSSESSES THE UNIQUE TITLES OF GOD

In the Old Testament, God claims to be the only Savior who saves sinners from sin (Isaiah 43:11), and He alone is worthy to be called “the first and the last” (Isaiah 41:4, 44:6, 48:12). In the New Testament, Jesus possesses both titles. In John 4:42, He is called “the SAVIOR of the world”, and in Matthew 1:21, He is announced as the one who will save His people from their sins.

Jesus claims to be “the First and the Last”: “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, THE FIRST AND THE LAST, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:12-13)

5. JESUS POSSESSES THE UNIQUE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

God is eternal (Psalm 90:2), unchanging (Malachi 3:6), everywhere present (Psalm 139:7-12), all knowing (Job 37:16, Psalm 147:5), and all-powerful (Jeremiah 32:17).

These attributes belong to God, and Jesus possesses them all.
• Jesus is eternal: Colossians 1:17, “He existed before anything else,
• and he holds all creation together.”
• Jesus is unchanging: Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
• Jesus is everywhere present: Matthew 28:20, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
• Jesus is all knowing: Colossians 2:3, “All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him.”
• Jesus is all-powerful: Matthew 28:18, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.”
Also, Colossians 1:16, “Everything was created through him and for him.”

6. JESUS PERFORMS THE UNIQUE WORKS OF GOD

He created all things: John 1:3, “All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.” He sustains all things: Hebrews 1:3, “The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command.” He forgives sin: Mark 2:7, “Only God can forgive sins”, and Colossians 3:13, “even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

He will judge the people of the world: Romans 14:10-12, “We will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the LORD, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance praise to God.’” Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.”

Compare this with Philippians 2:9-11: “God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

I love the way Jesus used questions:

But who do you say that I am? (Luke 9:20)
Do you believe this? (John 11:26)
Do you not yet understand? (Mark 8:21)

When I was young, I’m certain I asked many questions. Children simply do. We are innately born seekers, longing to grasp what we do not yet understand.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped asking some of the good and necessary questions. I became so convinced I was right and bold in my “right thinking” that I lost patience with wandering thoughts.

I have been rediscovering the importance of asking the right questions.

While sharing dinner with friends, I flipped through one of their books and found this one: “When we say Jesus ‘paid the price’ for our sins, who did He pay it to? God? Satan? Someone or something else?”

I was stumped. Here is a phrase I have spoken, sung, shared, and used. At 32 years old, for the very first time I was asking myself: What in the world does it mean?

Sidebar: This is a legitimate and important question. I’m reading and exploring it, and the implications are massive. If you’d like to discuss it further, please contact me, and I will send you some of the books I’m now reading on the topic.

In exploring this question, I’ve discovered more of the grace and holiness of God. I’m learning more about His holy wrath, more about His healing love, more about the eternal nature of a God who, “In Christ was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

My personal walk with Christ will be richer for wrestling through this question. My proclamation of the Gospel will be more accurate because of the research it requires. My awe at the character of my God is deepened because of the right questions.

Equally, I sat earlier this week with a pastor in London I love and respect. He kindly said to me (about another issue):

“But Sarah, that’s the wrong question.”

I received it. As I reflected on that statement, it created a clear division between the kinds of questions we ask.

There are the good, honest, Christ-centered questions that draw us more into His Scriptures and presence.

Too often, I am guilty of asking the critical, cutting “prove me right” kind of questions. No one wins with these. Even if I do prove myself right, I’ve cut and damaged in the process. Many authors, speakers, and individuals are wrestling with hard questions, which is important. But I find too often, the kindness and redemptive grace of God are missing in these discussions.

I am the first to say that I have been guilty of the same. As I walk daily in a country that is far from God and with a culture that sees no need for His presence, I pray that the questions I ask would reveal only the beauty of His love. I pray that I would be faithful in asking the questions that lead to Christ and build up my brothers and sisters. Those are the ones worth asking, all eternity long.

For, “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant to our fathers?”-Malachi 2:10