Knowing God Because He Has Made Himself Known

“May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself through his marvelous glory and excellence.” – 2 Peter 1:2–3.

I think one of our issues as followers of Jesus is that too many people know about God without really knowing Him. The danger is we may know Him in our heads but not our hearts. It is possible to be steeped in the Bible or theology or history while having little or no intimacy with God. Certainly, there is no shortage of materials to fill our minds about God – many different Bible versions, sermons online, and on and books by the hundreds – but that does not necessarily translate into a heartfelt experience of God.

The good news is that God wants to be known. So while God can never be exhaustively understood, He can be known truly, personally, intimately, and sufficiently. We can obtain a genuine, compelling, and accurate knowledge of God. God has shared with us the secret of who He is in scripture. God has revealed Himself to us with the most clarity and detail in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the living, breathing, flesh-and-blood, human presentation of God: “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” (John 1:14).

The signs and wonders Jesus performed revealed the glory and power of God. The way He lived, the miracles He performed, and His teachings and parables all demonstrated how much the Father cares for us. The way to know the Father and have a relationship with Him is to know the Son.

The best way we have to know Jesus is through the Word of God. The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself and His purposes throughout history. Jesus Himself taught that the Scriptures reveal who He is: ”You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!” (John 5:39)

The Bible presents us with eyewitness testimony of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ: “ For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:16–19)

Discussion Questions:

What does it mean to you to “know” God?
What can we do in the short term to better know God?