Knowing God — A Matter of Grace

Reading late J.I Packer’s classic, ‘Knowing God’ has been a tremendous help in recent months. Packer deals headlong with the myth that knowing about God equals knowing God.

There is an inherent danger in measuring our spirituality on the basis of our outward commitment and ‘what we do for God’ in public.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Are you knowing God or about God?

In response to whether He was the promised Messiah, Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” — John 10:27

Knowing God is a lifelong experiential relationship, not made possible by us but firstly by God.

What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact that He knows me — J.I. Packer. Click To Tweet

We do, however, have a duty to sustain this relationship by a daily cultivation of personal intimacy in the place of devotion and obedience.

Church attendance and engagement are good but they are a skewed measure of spiritual growth.

We can continue to multiply church activities and messages but until people have a deep, personal encounter with Christ, there can be no lasting transformation.

That transformation is not the product of church events but the work of the Holy Spirit. And we cannot take His place. We must allow people room for personal reflection, assimilation and application of the word.

It’s disingenuous if we are only satisfied to show up, do the needed spiritual routine in public, but we fail to pay attention to the trajectory of our relationship with Jesus.

We are not called to know about God but to pursue deep intimacy with Him. Church events and titles can’t save us. God does. And we must keep seeking to know Him for who He is.

Knowing God is a matter of personal dealing

Packer echoed the danger of growing wide (public platform) but not deep (personal devotion).

Knowing God is more than knowing about Him and the width of our knowledge of Him is not the appropriate measure for how deep we know Him.

This re-emphasises my earlier point — you cannot lay claim to knowing God on the basis of your outward service; you know God on the basis of a personal, bi-directional dealing with Him.

Don’t be a second-hand believer whose faith is primarily lived out on the basis of another man’s beliefs and convictions.

Get to know the God you have believed for yourself.

You cannot outsource your spiritual growth. Press in to a deeper and personal walk with God. Click To Tweet

Knowing God is a matter of grace

Sometimes, we fall into the error as believers and assume our good deeds keep us saved. That’s not true.

We are saved by grace. We are kept by grace. Any capacity for righteous deeds in us must spring from the enabling grace of Christ in us — Philippians 2:13.

Outside grace, we are finished. Let’s acknowledge with Apostle Paul in Galatians 2:20 — “It is not I, but Christ who lives in me”.

Cast off the garment of religiosity and NEVER neglect the truth that we are not saved because we are good, but because we were sinners.

It is on the basis of His grace alone that we can pursue intimacy with Him.

Photo by Julia Weihe on Unsplash.