Knowing God

6 December 2008

What does it mean to know God? It seems not uncommon for people to substitute “knowing about God” for actually knowing him. I see this fault in myself also; too much emphasis on knowledge, too little emphasis on maintaining communion of spirit and obedience day-by-day.

Before discussing what it means to know God, there are some powerful lessons to be learnt from the negative; from those who claim to know God but do not. I’ve often wondered for instance what the appeal of religion was to the Pharisees. Jesus told them that they were of the devil (John 8:44), so it seems they did not genuinely know God. What joy does religion bring without relationship? What could possibly inspire the spiritually dead religious man to rise from his bed each day?

In his classic book, ‘50 Years In The Church Of Rome’, Charles Chiniquy gives us one powerful insight into the motivation when he says that ‘pride is the daily bread of the priest’. Out of his 25 years experience as a Catholic priest he gives us an insight into the sheer godlessness of most of the priests in Canada and the US at that time. Their motivation had nothing to do with knowing God, but everything to do with living an easy life while being revered and adored as men of God by the faithful. It was the same with the Pharisees. Jesus speaks of this pride when he says:

They love the best places at feasts, the best seats at the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’. (Matt 23:6-7)

Their god was pride. Pride of position. And the pride of being seen as learned, as great teachers, founts of knowledge about spiritual things. The swelling of ego which comes from being called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’.

But I believe there is even more to it than this. Why were the Pharisees intent on adding their own layer of strict interpretations and traditions onto the law? Jesus expresses what they had done this way:

For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. (Matt 24:4)

Notice that he implies that it’s something they do to others. While they appeared the most righteous of all men, like the priests in ‘50 Years In The Church Of Rome’, it’s likely they made no genuine attempt to walk with God behind closed doors. No, whether consciously or unconsciously, their strict approach to religion was not meant for themselves, but really as a measure of control over others. They were not teaching men to obey God, but to obey them. The Rabbinical interpretations and traditions became the rules of Jewish society, and the heart of God’s Law was lost from sight. The keepers of God’s vineyard had rebelled against the owner of the vineyard, taking it for themselves in order to gain wealth and lord it over others. When the rightful heir came, they knew in their heart that they either must relinquish the vineyard or kill the heir. (Luke 20:14). By choosing to kill the heir they proved that their father was indeed the devil, just as Jesus said it was.

From this tragic example we learn some sobering lessons. We see that our desire to serve God can easily be alloyed with more earthly motivations. That endlessly knowing more and more about God provides no certainty that we are growing closer to Him. That knowing, and even teaching, the requirements of God is no substitute for keeping them.

So, should we give up learning about the things of God? Absolutely not! If applied to our life and conscience, and tempered by humility, learning the ways of God can definitely be a big part of spiritual growth. A great plan would be to spend an hour praying for each hour spent learning about God. Prayer is usually where the knowledge in our head trickles down and connects with our heart in the presence of God. Prayer can bring about the following great works in us:

• Honest self examination and repentance
• The peace and stillness that allows us to hear the gentle guidance of the Holy Spirit
• A replacement of worldliness with communion
• The directing of the love that flows from God to us into compassion and prayer for others
• Realigning our natural self focus to care about and serving other people

In all of these things we immediately see some hints of what it means to know God, but let’s look further.

Having his Holy Spirit

If we do not have the Holy Spirit we do not know God. Jesus said to Nicodemus, ‘You must be born again’. In the same passage he also says:

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ (John 3:6-7)

Have we entered into spiritual newness of life, or do we just wear the label ‘born again’? It’s a question each of us can only answer for ourself. How can we assess ourself in this matter? The greatest sign of entering into a spiritual life is that we find within ourself a real desire for spiritual things. OK, we’re human, it’s not always consistent and we are sometimes tempted away, but spiritual life will always come with an abiding desire to partake in spiritual things.

Having his word in our heart

The psalmist says:

Your word have I hidden in my heart, that I may not sin against You. (Psalm 119:11)

When we read and learn about God’s word, in order to make it real we need to take it down into our hearts, apply it there and make it part of ourselves. If we only know it in our mind it is of no use, except to further condemn us as it did the Pharisees who, the martyr Stephen says, received the law by the direction of angels but did not keep it. (Acts 7:53)

Keeping his word

What kind of Christian life does the New Testament teach? Does the church follow it? Do we?

Jesus taught leadership by being a servant, and yet the majority of churches have hierarchal leadership.

…whoever desires to become great among you, let him become your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be yours slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Matt 20:26-28)

Because most churches don’t obey this they often end up repeating the works of the Pharisees, lording over men and teaching men to obey them rather than to follow God in the spirit.

Do we love our neighbor or are we bent on the same selfish pursuit of all this world has to offer as the non-believers are?

It seems that the western church has become good at picking and choosing which of the ways of God to obey. In Ephesians we read:

But fornication and all uncleanliness …, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints. (Ephesians 5:3)

This is in effect how we read this verse, and it is good that most Christians have clear judgment about its need to be obeyed. However, I purposely left out the bit that we seem to leave out of our obedience. Here’s the verse again in full:

But fornication and all uncleanliness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints. (Ephesians 5:3)

Let covetousness not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints. Ouch, that hurts! Lately I’ve been trying to train my heart to want nothing. (It’s made easier by being able to afford nothing). Still, I note three things about trying to hold this state of mind. It’s not the way of the flesh; I’m instantly tempted away from it when I give in to a carnal state of mind. It is however very peaceful and joyous in the spirit, and a great antidote to stress. It is very much at odds with our unspoken Christian culture, which has come to secretly value wealth and success above spiritual things.

It would take a book to write about all those aspects of the Christian life which we don’t commonly follow. In fact plenty have been written, one good one being ‘The Road To Reality’ by K.P. Yohannan. The truth is that a deep connection and walk with God will always be seriously hindered if we’re holding out against God in some way.

No idols in the temple

Material things are not the only kind of idols. The way I see it, an idol is anything that takes the place of God in the temple of our heart. Anything that we inordinately desire, love or hold on to. The person with no “things” can easily accuse the rich Christian of having idols, yet that person may idolize education, their own time, another person, or something else. In this area the human heart is endlessly inventive and requires a great deal of self examination to root out the idols that pollute our temple and prevent full fellowship with the Almighty.

Moment by moment awareness (not departing)

Our greatest enemy may in the end be our lack of consistency. At our best we are godly folk indeed, but it can be patchy. And yet those times when our heart is turned away do us far more damage that we often realize.

Have you ever managed to go through a whole day where the awareness of God is never more than just behind your immediate thoughts? Always there waiting to flood in, like the natural tenant of your consciousness. This only happens by applying our desire for God consistently through the day. Conversely, it is greatly disrupted by failures of conscience or compromise with worldly thinking. For instance, I’ve found that the expected mindset of the corporate world is greatly at odds with maintaining an uncorrupted conscience.

Of the greatest help to maintaining a continual communion is punctuating the day with prayer. Not even necessarily going somewhere and praying; but at least directing our thoughts to God as we walk, as we drive, and in many other moments when otherwise idle thoughts tend to fill our head. God made us, he is our father, Jesus is our high priest and guide. He wants us to talk to him, and to listen for the answers that filter back through our conscience and heart. Sometimes this is barely audible to us, other times Jesus speaks to our heart with force, our mind then interpreting it into words which come strongly and sharply to mind.

The fullness of knowing God

In the book of Ephesians the relationship we enjoy with God is expressed in terms of family connection.

having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself (Eph 1:5)

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance… (Eph 1:11)

It also says that:

…you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption… (Eph 1:14)

Why do we look around at this world? Why do we stray so much? God has brought us into his own family and given us an inheritance with the saints. He has sealed us with his own spirit, our comforter and constant companion in this place of trials. As Christians all that is needed is that we abide in what God has brought us into. This shouldn’t be about effort, but accepting into ourselves the infusion of the spirit and the nature of Christ that God seeks to impart. All those things that seem hard when we view them from a fleshly perspective become natural to us if we simply choose to dwell in the spirit.

Do we need a degree in divinity, or must we perform some great work? No. Sometimes we may torment ourselves that we must achieve some notable thing, yet God just wants us to walk with him and follow his leading, whether he chooses for that to be great or small. Ultimately the peace of communion with God is achieve through laying aside our own desires, even those that relate to our Christian walk, and simply with peace allowing God to do what he will with us each day. In ‘The Imitation of Christ’ Thomas a’ Kempis writes (as though from the perspective of God):

…If I myself be the cause, you will be well content with whatsoever I shall ordain; but if there lurk in you any self-seeking, behold this it is that hinders you and weighs you down… (Bk 3, Ch11:1)

Even Jesus himself set this pattern to follow:

I do nothing of myself; but as my Father has taught me, I speak these things. (John 8:28)