Want to know God?

Eastside Baptist Church, Birmingham

This is a distinctly Christian question. By asking, it is presumed that God can be known. This Christian perspective is unique to the world’s religions. However, the Christian faith does not merely state that God can be known but that He wants to be known and in fact, has made Himself known through the person of Jesus Christ. God wants a relationship with us. Jesus referred to God as Father and taught His disciples to do the same. This signifies the close relationship God wants with us.

There is a barrier that must be overcome to appropriate or realize the fullness of this knowledge and relationship. That barrier is sin. This sin is both individual acts of transgression against God and the state of sin. Jesus begins the Beatitudes with “Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 5:3). “Poor in spirit” means spiritual bankruptcy. We cannot in and of ourselves be righteous. So “sin” is not merely the breaking of God’s commands but a hopeless “state” in which we find ourselves. According to Scripture, it is a common experience of every person. Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This acknowledgement is fundamental in coming to know God. This humility and admission that we are “poor in spirit” is the first step to knowing God and overcoming the barrier that separates us from God.

Sin has a consequence — spiritual death — but it can be overcome by God’s gift of eternal life in and through His Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 5:11–12; Rom. 6:23). This gift can be received if we place our faith in Christ by believing in His name. Through the receiving of this gift, we receive spiritual rebirth (1 John 5:1). We are no longer spiritually bankrupt because God lives in us. This is the second step to knowing God.

Finally one knows God by walking daily with Him. His passion is for His creation — people. We come to know God more fully when we commit to obeying and following the teachings of Christ. James 2:20 states, “faith without works is dead.” If we say we believe in God, it is shown through our actions.