Do I Know God or Just Know About Him?

What a crucial question. Do I really know God? There are so many things we can know about but still not know God.

We can know all the right answers to all the good questions such as, "If you died tonight and stood in front of God and he asked you 'Why should I let you into my heaven?' what would you say?" All sorts of people know how to answer this question the right way. Chritians and Non-Chritians. But do they really believe it with their hearts?

People (including ministers, ministers wives, missionaries, evangelists, deacons, and etc.) go for years thinking they are born again believers in Jesus Christ only to find out that they were not. (How gracious God is to open our eyes). This begs the question, "What does knowing God involve?" What is the difference between knowing God and just knowing about Him?

In the book, Knowing God, J.I. Packer puts forth some points on what it means to know God. (These points will be what I teach on Sunday morning so I will only briefly explain each)

1. Knowing God is a matter of personal dealing. Interaction between you and God. Dealing not just with theology or biblical facts but with God, himself.

2. Knowing God is a matter of personal involvement. This involves the mind, the will and emotions. Personal relationship.

3. Knowing God is a matter of grace. All the initiative is with God. Our knowing God is a consequence of God's taking knowledge of us. We know Him by faith because he first singled us out by grace. (Gal 4:9, Jn 10:14-15, 27-28)

Packer goes on to make a great observation. He says, "What matters supremely is not the fact that I know God, but the larger fact that underlies it--the fact that He knows me."

Take note of these last comments by Packer---

This is momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable comfort...in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me so that no discovery now can dillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disallusioned about myself, and quence his determination to bless me.

How great is our God. He knows us through and through yet still loves us. Think on these things this week and be ready to share with your students your thoughts on Knowing God.