Knowing God

Knowing God I. In the midst of Athens’ idolatry was “...an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD...” (ACT 17:23). A. It is not that God is unknowable, but unknown to those in ignorance. Paul then declared the true God unto them in succinct fashion. ACT 17:24-31. B. God can be known. JER 9:24. C. The ability to know Him is life eternal. JOH 17:3 ct/w 2TH 1:7-8. II. The knowledge of God's existence and power is evident in His creation. PSA 19:1-3; ACT 14:17; ROM 1:18-20. A. In the face of the obvious, sinful man rejects this knowledge of God. ROM 1:21, 28. 1. For someone to affirm that there is no God, he must claim that he has knowledge of all things, places, experiences and possibilities so as to eliminate the possibility of God. Since he cannot do this, God remains a possibility and since God is a possibility, it is impossible to declare His existence an impossibility. 2. The tacit claim on infinite knowledge is omniscience, an attribute of God. The atheist unwittingly makes himself God. B. There is ignorance, and then there is wilful ignorance. 2PE 3:3-6 c/w PSA 9:16. C. The creation reveals only a small portion of the Creator. 1. His genius and power are evident. 2. But His character and His will for man remains relatively cloaked. 3. Fallen man by investigating a cursed creation (ROM 8:20) cannot come to a proper knowledge of God. JOB 11:7-9; ROM 11:33-34. 4. To discover God by interpreting the creation is to end up where all paganism ends up: creature worship, idolatry and uncleanness. ROM 1:22-25. 5. Apart from Jesus Christ, God cannot be known. MAT 11:27; 1JO 5:20. III. God has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ. A. God was manifest in the flesh. 1TI 3:16. 1. manifest: Clearly revealed to the eye, mind, or judgment; open to view or comprehension; obvious. 2. To see the Creator God, one needs only look to Jesus Christ. JOH 14:8-9; 12:44-46; 1:18; COL 2:2-3, 9. B. God has spoken to men through Jesus Christ. HEB 1:1-2. C. The knowledge of God through Christ was delivered to men chosen for the purpose of its dissemination in the earth. JOH 15:15; 17:25-26; HEB 2:3-4. D. By the word of Christ's apostles, God is declared and may be known. 1JO 1:1-4; EPH 3:1-4. E. Where the gospel is presented, it is not for lack of light that men do not know God. It is for lack of sight. JOH 1:5; 3:19-21. IV. God having revealed Himself in Christ, we must seek to know the true Christ. A. There are false Christs. MAT 24:24. B. The true Christ is known by His person and work. ISA 7:14; MAT 16:13, 16; JOH 4:34; 5:36; 10:37-38. C. A christ who is not the virgin-born “God with us” son of God that died, arose and lives or who did not do the works of the Father is NOT a christ by which the true God may be known! Knowing God 8-25-24 Page 1 of 2 V. No man may truly know God unless He is known of God. JER 31:33-34; JOH 17:2-3. A. There is a special intimate knowledge of God known only in election. JOH 10:11, 14, 27-28; 2TI 2:19 c/w MAT 7:23. B. God gives His elect the Holy Spirit to enable them to know Him. 1CO 2:11-12. C. The operation of that spiritual ability itself is regulated by God first knowing men in opening doors of understanding. AMO 3:2 c/w GAL 4:8-9; LUK 24:16-31. VI. Consider the importance of knowing Christ and God. A. Worship is hindered or even unacceptable where offered contrary to true understanding. MAR 7:7; JOH 4:20-24; 1CO 8:5 c/w 1JO 5:20-21. 1. The Ethiopian eunuch, Cornelius and Lydia before conversion awkwardly worshipped God. ACT 8:27; 10:1-4; 16:14-15. 2. If all that they had been doing was sufficient to please and honor God, there was no need of the gospel of Christ Who is God and by Whose knowledge of God men may truly know God to give Him proper glory. B. Misunderstanding God has grave consequences. JOH 15:21; 16:2-3; ACT 13:27. C. Knowing and understanding God in truth is the only way to abundant living. COL 1:9-12. Knowing God 8-25-24 Page 2 of 2