Ever wonder how we can know a God and understand his Word when the book we study was written so long ago about a culture so removed from ours? God’s life, character, truth, ways, and purposes never change. We can trust him and therefore know him.
Since our study is on Knowing God, we must understand all three personalities. Yet, if you are like me, you probably spend the majority of your Bible study time focused on Jesus and the Father. I just looked through my library and only found one book focusing on the Holy Spirit and it is called “The Forgotten God”! (I must have given someone my copy of “The Spirit” by Doug Jacoby!). I continue to feel a deeper need to study Him! As Packer observed in 1973, “the work of the Spirit is neglected by the church today.”
What is the most difficult Biblical miracle to believe? The resurrection? Jesus died to take away our sins?
Packer suggests the incarnation. What does incarnation mean? Packer explains this through an exposition on the first few verses of John.
Note: this was not my favorite chapter in the book, though I agree with the premise. Rather than focus on the content from Packer, I have shared below some insights from a recent Men’s Retreat at the Northern Virginia Church of Christ based on the book, “Gods at War: Defeating the Idols that Battle for Your Heart” by Kyle Idleman.
What were we made for? What aim should we set in life? What is the ‘eternal life’ that Jesus gives?
What brings joy, delight, and contentment – more than anything else in life?
There is only one answer to all of these questions: TO KNOW GOD
Jer 9:23 Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight
We can know a great deal about God without knowing Him.
We can be full of theology and doctrine but not passionate in relationship with our Father.
We can know a great deal about godliness without knowing Him: we know how to be a young Christian, an old Christian, how to obey the commands, and how to practice them.
“If you are more passionate in public prayer than in your closet, you have only mastered the art of performance, but you do not know the Master.” - Brett Kreider
This devotional series is based on J.I. Packer’s classic work, Knowing God. There is no greater quest, no more important activity, nothing that should be a higher priority than getting to know God. Too many Christians know about God without making their time with him personal. These devotionals are designed to challenge you to ask questions of yourself, bring these questions before God, make you think, and transform your relationship with God. My prayer is that your study will overflow in emotion, in touching your heart, in connecting with God, and sharing your relationship with others. The book consists of 22 Chapters, thus this series last 22 days. Dig in!
REFLECTIONS ON CHAPTER 1: THE STUDY OF GOD
The Study of God should humble the mind and expand it (Quote from Charles Spurgeon). Your Bible study is not meant to be simply intellectual, but rather personal. Join me in a personal study of God.
What is “righteousness”? I hear far too often that it means "doing the right thing." But I don’t do the right thing. The Bible is clear – “There is no one righteous, not even one.” “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” Only Jesus lived up to the ideal of Christian character. No man is good enough to be a Christian, let alone a leader of Christians.
We’ve heard the stories. A leader falls—adultery, murder, and deceit, followed by public humiliation. Not just the “bad guys.” Even the “good guys” like David, Abraham, and Moses are guilty of the vilest sins. Why, then would the Bible include them in the “Hall of Faith” (Hebrews 11) as “heroes”? Perhaps there is something wrong with our perception of our leaders and ourselves…