Do You Know God? Having knowledge of does not equate to knowing. There is a big difference and one that requires further study. Let’s look at this verse from Daniel:
Daniel 11:32 (ESV)
“He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.”
How well do you know God? Throughout Scripture there are verses about the importance of knowing Him (c.f. Psalm 25:14; Proverbs 2:1-6; John 14:21, 17:3; Colossians 1:9, 2:6; Galatians 4:8-9; Ephesians 1:25-23; Philippians 3:8-14); yet truth be told for most of us, learning about God is relegated to a couple of hours on Sunday and that’s it. But knowing is much more than just learning. To know someone requires intimacy; learning about someone can be accomplished without the other person even being around.
It is through prayerful communion that we can develop an intimate relationship with God and it is through a diligent study of His revelation that we can grow in our knowledge of Him. Knowledge strengthens love, and love strengthens faith. Knowledge opens the door, a door that gives us a glimpse of our Savior. For if we do not know much about Jesus, how can we profess love for Him?
Knowledge strengthens hope. We cannot attain our hope in eternity without knowing the Redeemer Himself, the One who will sustain us in the eternal presence of our Creator. But once we have fastened on the glory of hope, we then begin to understand the role patience plays in our sanctification.
We learn to understand the trials of life are there not to help us become more self-reliant, but to learn to kneel to the One who can carry us through the difficult times. We see trials then as James would teach us (James 1:2-7). When we understand the patience of God, we can then learn to apply this same patience to those around us, friend or stranger.
And as Daniel wrote above, when we truly know God, we can withstand the enemy and the ways of the world which strive to tear us away from Him. Our feet stand firm in our convictions because we know what it means to serve a holy God who cannot tolerate sin and wants us to remain in Him in all situations.
We also know that in those times when our flesh overpowers our spirit, God will be faithful to forgive if only we confess our trespasses against Him (1 John 1:9). For without such knowledge we will stay trapped in our sins and the consuming guilt, unable to forgive ourselves as well as those who have hurt us.
Knowledge, you see, equals freedom.
There is a marvelous book by J.I. Packer on this subject I highly recommend!
