Knowing God

"For this reason, because I have heard of you faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him," (Ephesians 1:15-17)

Many people in our world today know about God. Many people have their own opinions of Him, also. Some of these opinions are positive and some are negative. Some are fact and others are fiction. There are many misconceptions and misunderstandings of the nature, personality, aspects, and actions of God. Some question His goodness, fairness, love, and even His very existence. Nothing sparks more conversation amongst more diverse crowds than the topic of God, in its very generic form.

Christians are no different than non-Christians in a variety of ways. We debate among ourselves the nature, personality and actions of God. We study, we analyze, and we debate. Millions of books have been written about God, how to learn about God, and how to experience God. So many Christians, know so much about God, yet if you watched their lives, it would seem that they do not know God. That's what Paul is asking of God for these believers in Ephesus. That they may know God. That He would reveal Himself to them and that they would not only grow in the knowledge of and about God, but that they would know Him personally.

So what does it take to know God personally? What does it take to experience intimacy with the Creator of the Heavens and Earth?

First, it takes action on the part of God. It is His grace, that allows us to hear and perceive His calling to us. It was grace that called Peter, Andrew, James and John from their nets. It is and always will be an act of grace that we know anything at all about God. This is the same idea that Paul is conveying earlier in this chapter, in verses 3-14. All of the blessings that believers have received have come because of the "riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us," (Eph. 1:7-8). So, the first way to know God is for Him to extend His grace to us.

Second, we must empty ourselves of ourselves. Humility on our part is the way to know God. The bible tells us that we are enemies of God. Our ways are not His ways. Paul prays that God will give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation. We try to use our earthly wisdom to figure out who God is. But the wisdom that can know God is the wisdom that He bestows upon those who set aside their own understanding and are willing to be powerless and foolish before God. "And because of Him(God) you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord'" (1 Cor. 1:30-31)

In closing, my prayer for you is that you will be given a spirit of wisdom and revelation and that you will know God. His grace has been extended to you. He has saved you from destruction and has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. He will reveal Himself to those who seek Him and who will humble themselves before Him.

For Christ and His Kingdom,

Rickey Dees