Knowing God… Not Just Knowing about Him

In one of the most striking verses in the New Testament, James reminds his readers, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” (James 2:19). James goes on to discuss the relationship between faith and works (and how true faith will lead to good works), but the point is that even demons have good theology! When we read the Gospels, we read that it is the demons who consistently recognize who Jesus is (e.g. Mark 1:24). These verses illustrate that fact that you can know about God without actually knowing him.

Now, obviously, knowing about God is a good thing in and of itself. The Bible consistently affirms this, e.g. “the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:5). In many places in the Bible, God rebukes his people for not knowing truths about him that they should have known (e.g. Isaiah 5:13: “my people go into exile for lack of knowledge;” Hosea 4:6: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge”). Critically, however, this knowledge is not enough and was never meant to be the ultimate goal.

Biblically speaking, to know God properly results in a transformed life. You can see the starkest failure of knowing God in the demons. They know about God, but their lives are the very opposite of what God wants.

We will explore what knowing God looks like in the following three points:

Knowing God means loving God

In Hosea, God declares (6:6) “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” This is an example of Hebrew parallelism. You can see that in the second half of lines where sacrifice is paralleled with burnt offering, but you can also see it in the first half of the verse: steadfast love is paralleled with the knowledge of God. To know God means to love him. This is developed in the NT. John in his first letter says, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8). God is love and so if we are not loving one another, and loving God it shows that we do not know him.

Knowing God means obeying God

Sometimes, as modern Christians, we put a wedge between love and obedience. But Jesus taught that love is seen in obedience when he told his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). So, it is no surprise to see the New Testament connect knowing God and obedience. Paul says this negatively, when he speaks of those who “profess to know God, but they deny him by their works” (Titus 1:16). But he also exhorts the Colossians to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10).

Knowing God means being known by God

As important as it is to know God, in some ways the more fundamental aspect is to be known by God. Paul makes this clear in a couple places: “if anyone loves God, he is known by God” (1 Cor 8:3; cf. Gal 4:8–9). Ultimately our knowledge of God depends on God making himself known to us. As John puts it, “no one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18). We can only know God because he has chosen to reveal himself to us. But wonderfully, he has done it for us through Jesus.

Conclusion

So how do I know God and not just know about him?

We know we know God if we love him, and we know we love him if we seek to obey his word. But practically, we can also make sure we keep his word hidden deep in our hearts. The late British theologian, J.I. Packer wrote a book entitled, Knowing God. It would be a great book to read if you want to grow in your knowledge of God. At the beginning of the book, he gives a great piece of practical advice:

“How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each Truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God.”

That is a great way to make sure that God’s word hides in our hearts and does not just stay in our heads – that we truly know God and not just know about him.