How can I come to really know God?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

As believers, coming to know God starts at the moment we receive salvation when we are made spiritually alive in Christ (Colossians 2:13). The pursuit of getting to know Christ on a deeper level is a response to His love for us (Colossians 3:17). With our newfound relationship with Christ, we have the ability to abide in Him, which helps us understand Him on a deeper level as we strengthen relational intimacy (Matthew 12:33). The invitation to know Jesus is open (Luke 11:9-10; Hebrews 4:16) and we are encouraged to love Him with our whole beings (Mark 12:30). Along with studying the Bible to learn more about who God is, one of the key ways we get to know God better is by obeying Him (John 15:4, 14, 16-17). As believers, we are not alone in our spiritual journey. We have the Helper, the Holy Spirit living inside of us (John 16:13) and we are also adopted into God’s family (Romans 8:15-17). We can learn more about God’s nature through studying and living out the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Ultimately, although we won’t come to know God in His fullness during this lifetime (1 Corinthians 13:12), we can know Him and live a life that pleases Him by earnestly seeking Him now (Hebrews 11:6).

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Abraham’s story (Genesis 12–22) shows that knowing God grows through trusting His promises and walking in obedience, even when the path is unclear.
• Exodus 34:6 reveals God’s nature as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Knowing God means coming to understand who He truly is.
• Psalm 1 and Psalm 119 highlight the importance of meditating on God’s law and finding joy in His instruction. We can know God through His Word.
• King David, in Psalm 19:4-11, expresses his desire to know God through His Word.
• Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Reverence for God opens the door to understanding Him.
• Knowing God begins with a sincere desire to pursue Him (Jeremiah 29:13).

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• When we know God, we begin to understand His desires and experience the blessings He has for us because His commands are meant for our good. Abiding in God is how we come to know Him (John 15); and when we do, our attitudes and actions will begin to reflect God's character (Matthew 12:33).
• We must have faith to believe in God and then we must understand His character – that He has good things in store for us. As we seek Him earnestly, we must remember that we are called to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).
• Jesus invites us to approach Him: "And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened" (Luke 11:9-10).
• We come to know God better by obeying Him. After calling His followers to abide in Him, Jesus says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you. …You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another" (John 15:4, 14, 16-17).
• Believers have been given the Holy Spirit so that we can make sense of God's Word and perceive the things He reveals to us (John 16:13).
• As children of God, we are made part of His family and get to know Him better through that familial relationship (Romans 8:15-17).
• Though we cannot fully know God in this lifetime (1 Corinthians 13:12), we can know Him. He has revealed certain things about Himself to us that help us understand Him.
• In Galatians 5:22-23, we learn about the fruits of the Spirit, which are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, (and) self-control…” As we learn more about these attributes of God, we will have a better understanding of His good, holy, and perfect nature.
• Truly knowing God begins with accepting His salvation. Without the sacrifice of Jesus, we are dead in sin (Colossians 2:13).
• Knowing God is a life response to His love for us. As we engage daily life, we do so with God in our hearts and in our minds (Colossians 3:17).
• We have been invited to seek God. We can do so boldly (Hebrews 4:16).
• Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) sums up the key to truly knowing God: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

After salvation, getting to know God begins by listening to what He reveals about Himself. Along with reading Scripture, we can engage in prayer, fellowship, and worship. God desires to have a personal, intimate relationship with us, and we nurture that relationship as we would any other – through time, conversation, and sharing our hearts. A person who is spiritually dead cannot raise himself to life to know anyone. However, when we accept the gift of Christ through faith and are made spiritually alive, we can truly begin to know God. The wonder of salvation is that we are not only saved out of an eternity in hell but also called to a life in Christ. We should start to get to know the God we will spend eternity with now.

UNDERSTAND

• Knowing God starts with salvation through faith in Jesus.
• We grow to know God by seeking Him through obedience, Scripture, prayer, and the Holy Spirit.
• Though we can't fully know God now, He has given us enough about Himself to really know Him today.

REFLECT

• Where are you at in the process of coming to know God
• How are you actively seeking to know God more deeply each day?
• What is one area of your life where obeying God could help you grow in intimacy with Him?

ENGAGE

• What does it look like for us to “abide in Christ” in practical, everyday life?
• How does the presence of the Holy Spirit help us truly know and understand God?
• Why does God want us to seek Him, even though we can’t fully know Him in this life?