Knowing God

The rainbow is a sure sign that God is there.
But how do we find Him? And how can we really know Him?
The good news is that God is looking for people who are seeking God

First: Which God are we Trying to Know?

Looking at world faiths, the situation is confusing to say the least. Consider some major religions:

PANTHISM: Pantheists do not believe in a supernatural deity, a personal god. They believe that the universe, earth, and nature are divine i.e. man is god, and that everything is interconnected, link.

BUDDHISM: is sometimes called an “atheistic” religion, since it is commonly claimed there are no gods in Buddhism. It is considered a non-theistic and non-polytheistic religion because it doesn’t take a stance on whether deities exist.

HINDUISM: Unlike Buddhism, Hinduism is polytheistic – it has many gods (the trimurti). Hindu philosophy claims that a personal god can be reached through Yoga, but it is claimed the supreme Hindu god, Brahman, cannot be fully known or understood. 

ISLAM: Islam is monotheistic. There is just one supreme god, Allah, but he is “one and indivisible”, “unknowable” and “impersonal”, link. The Quran states that humans are unable to see god and his attributes.

JUDAISM: Like Islam, Judaism is a strictly monotheistic religion, meaning God is the sole creator of everything, and, as in Islam, god has no partner or equal. But, unlike Islam, Jews claim they can come to know god through observing the world he created, and by observing his laws. Jews see prayer as an important way to develop their relationship with God, link.

CHRISTIANITY

While most of the religions of the world believe that god is an impersonal being, the God revealed in the Bible is a personal God. That is, a Deity who can be related to as a person, link. In fact, “knowing God” as a person appears to be the primary goal in life:

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 (Jeremiah 9:24)

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

Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord … increasing in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10)

The English word know in John 17:3 is a translation of the Greek word ginosko, which here means an experiential knowing, not simply an intellectual understanding. The opening chapters of Genesis paint a beautiful picture of Adam and Eve enjoying a personal relationship with God. God even brought animals and birds to Adam to see what Adam would name them (God seemed to enjoy this relationship). Later chapters reveal a personal trinitarianism, where God is three persons in loving relationship: the Father, Son, and Spirit.

So here are the three holy persons to get to know: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Knowing is two-way

It is helpful to bear in mind that we are not the only one’s doing the knowing;  “knowing” is two-way. Whilst we are seeking to know this mysterious and awesome Being – the One who counts the stars (Psalm 147:4) – at the same time God is seeking to know us!

The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek God (Psalm 14:2)

The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers (John 4:23)

These texts imply that God wants a dialogue with people; He wants to know us. Recall that Abraham was called “the friend of God” (James 2:23), and Jesus calls us His friends if we keep His commandments (John 15:14). Friends interact and converse! In Job 40:6,7 God expected a response from Job, and God knew Jeremiah and David before they were even born:

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you (Jeremiah 1:5) . . . You covered me in my mother’s womb … Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed (Psalm 139:13,16)

The same is true today; God knows abut us but really seeks those who want to know Him. We are created to seek out and to communicate with God. Here are some psalms describing the interaction between individuals and God:

God to Man: Psalm 17:3 – 18:20 – 32:8 – 33:13,15 – 34:15,17 – 37:23 – 40:1,2 – 41:3 – 53:2 – 66:10

Man to God: Psalm 14:2 – 18:3,6 – 25:4,5 – 34:4,17 – 37:3 – 40:1

There is a caveat to knowing, or rather not knowing, God. It is possible to go through life claiming to know God but in reality such people do not know God. They are never really “born again” through belief in Christ. To such Jesus said:

I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:23, emphasis added)

This warning concentrates our thoughts! It is one of the scariest texts in the Bible.

What does it mean “to know God”?

Following John 17 verse 3, it is natural to ask, “how do we really get to know God personally?” After reading the Bible we will know something “about” God, but “knowing” God as a person is a whole new quest. In fact, as John 17:3 says, it is an eternal quest!

Whilst Godly men of the past (Noah, Moses, Abraham, the prophets, Peter, Paul . . . ) clearly knew God as God intervened in their lives, the pathway to knowing God has now changed. The path to reconciliation with God has been clarified and simplified. When Jesus came He took the place of the “sacrificial lamb” used in the Old Testament. When John the baptist saw Jesus he exclaimed:

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

Jesus claimed that the pathway to God was, from now on, only through Himself. He said:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6)

This fundamental claim is controversial. For instance, Islam rejects the idea that Jesus was divine or the Son of God. Jesus was a prophet and messenger of God, but not divine. That said, the claim is both exclusive and inclusive. It rejects other ways to God (as in Pluralism), but it includes all who by faith believe in the risen Christ to be the Son of God.

By accepting Christ’s sacrifice, a believer is reconciled to God the Father and can start to get to know Him. (Hebrews 10:19). In fact, Jesus said that whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). So we might start by getting to know the risen Jesus. Bear in mind that even Paul, near the end of his life, still had a hunger for God. His greatest passion was “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). 

The Helper

A believer and follower of Jesus Christ is not alone in their seeking God; they have supernatural help. After all, how can we on our own ever conceive of getting to know a God who counts the stars and names each one (Psalm 147:4)? Jesus promised a spiritual Helper:

the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you (John 14:17).

Jesus said the Spirit will guide the believer into all truth (John 16:13). Seeking God involves seeking truth. So it is impossible to know God without the indwelling Holy Spirit. Reject any claimed pathway to God which ignores the Spirit of God.

Ways to know God

Consider our friends on earth; how did we come to really know them? Often it happens naturally, over a period of time. Or perhaps we deliberately sought them out and spent time with them. We converse with them. We learn to trust what they say and to rely upon them. In time we feel able to share our deepest thoughts and concerns with them, and to listen to their concerns too. In time we learn to love them as good friends. We learn to enjoy their company. And when they need help we want to be in there with them.

It’s the same when it comes to knowing God. We could:

Knowing God through the Hebrew Scriptures

As discussed, of the major religions just mentioned, it seems only Judaism and Christianity offer any real hope of relating to a personal God. These faiths “take it as read” that a personal, interactive God is there to be related to – there is so much biblical and modern-day support for a personal God.

The concept of a personal God is deeply embedded throughout the twenty-four books of the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh (the Christian “Old Testament”). In the books of The Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) we find the first examples of God talking to man and man talking to God. In the books of The Prophets (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel . . .) we find God using individuals to speak to nations. And in the books of The Writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Job . . . ) we find God again speaks on a personal level.

Here’s a few Old Testament examples of God speaking to man:

• Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” (Genesis 4:9)
• And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud” (Exodus 19:9)
• So the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend (Exodus 33:11)
• The Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer” (2 Chronicles 7:12)
• The Lord said to Job:  “I will question you, and you shall answer Me” (Job 40:6,7)
• “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you”, says the Lord (Jeremiah 29.11)
• “Call to Me, and I will answer you” (Jeremiah 33:3)

Knowing God through the New Testament Scriptures

When it comes to the New Testament we find God communicates to man in radical new ways. Jesus claimed to speak for God the Father, and after He had risen, the Holy Spirit spoke (and still speaks) for God. Some accepted these new ways, but many, particularly the Jews, questioned them. Nevertheless, this is what Christians believe:

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds (Hebrews 1:1,2)

Here’s a few New Testament examples of God speaking to man:

•  And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11)
• Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again” (John 12:28)
• He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4)
• The Holy Spirit said, “Set Barnabas and Saul apart for Me” (Acts 13:2)
• The Lord said to Paul by a night vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking” (Acts:18:9)
• I heard behind me a loud voice, saying, “Write on a scroll what you see” (Revelation 1:10)
• And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true” (Revelation 22:6)

These biblical texts underscore the fact that God is a personal God and speaks to people. Moses, Job, Solomon, Paul and John would have had no doubt that God is a person and wants to communicate. They knew God, not just something about God because they experienced God.

Knowing God through Prayer

Jesus Christ never taught His disciples how to preach, but only how to pray (D. L. Moody)

Our best model is of course Jesus. Usually He wanted to be alone when He spent time with His Father in prayer, and that should be our model too:

“He went off to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12)

Do we feel the need to spend long periods of time alone in prayer to our Father in heaven? What would happen if we did? Here’s what happened to some who did spend many hours in prayer:

Well-known Prayer Warriors

John & Charles Wesley and George Whitefield were present at the beginning of Evangelical Revival. “It was a Pentecostal season indeed” said Whitefield. Sometimes whole nights were spent in prayer. John Wesley would rise up at 4 am every day to seek God for the first four hours of the day. In later years Wesley was known to spend up to 8 hours in prayer. He once said: “God does nothing except in response to believing prayer”. Subsequently around 25% of the population gave their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Evan Roberts received an overwhelming burden for the soul of his nation – Wales. After seeking God 13 years for revival, he prayed: “Lord, the altar is built, the sacrifice is laid upon. We await the fire from heaven to ignite the flames of revival.” During the Spring of 1904 he was repeatedly awakened at 1:00 am and he met with God in prayer until 5:00 am. He began asking God for 100,000 people to be saved. Subsequently, during the 1904-05 Welsh Revival, over 150,000 people were converted and added to churches and chapels in Wales. “You must put yourself entirely at the Holy Spirit’s disposal” he once said.

The Hebridean Revival: In 1949, on the Hebridean island of Lewis, two old women were greatly burdened because of the appalling state of their parish. Not a single young man or young woman went to the church. They spent their day perhaps reading or walking but the church was left out of the picture. These two women were greatly concerned and made it a special matter of prayer. A verse gripped them:

I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground (Isaiah 44:3)

The results of their prayers were astonishing! See the videos:

1949-52 Hebridean Revival - Duncan Campbell

Hebridean, Welsh and Wesley Revivals

Clearly, God heard all these determined prayers and answered beyond their requests. They experienced a personal God!

Knowing God today

Here are a few real-life examples of how God interacts with people today:

• A Christian couple were travelling on a fast and busy road near London. Suddenly the car hit a metal object in the road and burst a tyre. They quickly pulled off the road into a nearby access road for a supermarket. At the unloading bay a smartly dressed man stood and beckoned them to bring the car to him. The stranger then helped them change the wheel and gave them the address and location of a nearby garage who could help them (which they did). The stranger then vanished! Was he an angel sent from God?
• A Christian radio station was being set up in a UK city, but the timescale for it’s official launch was too tight. Some final testing had to be done first, but there was a lack of engineering support. At a large public meeting the launch date was announced anyway. After the meeting a stranger came up to the technical team and gave them the address and details of a local professional engineer who could help in the commissioning. The stranger then disappeared into the crowd. The deadline was then met. Did the Lord know the need and send His angel?
• A Christian man had an inner feeling that he should go and pray with someone – a lady from church suffering from severe backache. He met the lady and her husband at their house and they were about to pray for healing when the local church minister also arrived. The four prayed for the lady’s healing. Suddenly she stood up and said “it’s gone”! The backache had been healed. God had heard the prayers of faith.

Correcting our Path in Life

• A man was faced with a difficult decision one Sunday morning. He had an offer of two excellent jobs and had to make a decision by Monday. So in the church service he was desperately seeking God’s guidance (claiming rightly that God promises to guide us). He then heard an English voice saying “you are in the right place”, implying “stay in the present position and take the promotion offered”. Another Christian man, not knowing the job predicament then announced to the church that “God had just spoken to someone”.
• Sometimes people are head-hunted to fill certain jobs. That happened to a man who was suddenly offered a very attractive salary to go and work in a senior position in the Middle East. This was a big career move and the man and his wife prayed earnestly about it. He accepted the position, but almost immediately a friend advised him not to take the position. So instead he accepted an alternative (less lucrative) position in another country. Was this a real-life example of God’s word: “Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21)?

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