That We May Know Him

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”-John 17:3

One question, as believers, that we all must ask ourselves is, “How much time do I spend in God’s word?”  This answer to this question is vital.  It is vital because it is from the Scriptures that we come to know God more intimately.  It is from the Scriptures that God has revealed Himself to man and has also revealed what He requires of man.  Why is this important?  God has saved us, purchased us, and gathered us to be His own possession.  He has bestowed His grace upon us when we deserved nothing less than His justice. This God, the only true God has revealed His very nature, His attributes to us by means of the Scriptures.  God has certainly revealed Himself through the medium of creation, but creation can only reflect certain attributes of God: His eternality, omnipotence, and omniscience to name a few.  Creation is limited in what knowledge of God that can be conveyed to mankind; however, the Scriptures reveal our Lord on a much deeper level.

It is from the Scriptures that we learn of the grace and mercy of God.  From the Scriptures we learn of God’s love, justice, goodness, and, especially, His holiness.  God’s holiness is emphasized all through the Bible.  The Lord says numerous times in Leviticus, “For I am holy.”  The Book of Isaiah calls the Lord “The Holy One of Israel.”  It was Isaiah who saw the Lord sitting high upon His throne and the train of His robe filling the temple.  Isaiah saw the Seraphim flying before the Lord covering their feet and faces with their wings and crying out, “Holy, holy, holy.”  Upon seeing this vision of the Lord, Isaiah was immediately aware of his sinfulness as He stood in the presence of the Holy One.

Others, also, were immediately aware of their own sinfulness as the stood in the presence of God.  The apostle Peter upon the seeing glory of the Lord manifested through the miracle of Jesus in Luke 5:6-10 cried out, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”  Our God is the epitome of purity.  In Him dwells no sin.  He is uniquely perfect in every aspect of His being.  Knowing this, we should be in awe that the Holy One would allow us into His presence.  We know we are unrighteous, and yet, God chose to reveal Himself to us, save us, and give us the privilege to enter into a loving relationship with Him!  He gave us grace rather than justice, love instead of hate.  How could we not desire to know Him more?  How could we not desire render greater praises to His name?  If we indeed desire to render Him worship that is worthy of Him, then it is vital that we know the Scriptures.  It is from the Scriptures that we gain an even greater understanding of who God is.  The deeper our knowledge of God, the higher our worship will be. Beloved, make certain that you spend adequate time in the word getting to know the One who bestowed His grace upon you and granted you salvation.

Writer Bio

Joshua Banks is senior pastor and founder of Shepherd’s Rock Bible
Church in Kingsport, TN.  He holds a Bachelors degree in Ministry from
Luther Rice University, a Master of Arts in Theological Studies, and a
Master of Divinity both from Liberty University.  Joshua and his wife
Amanda, along with their 5 children, reside in Gate City, VA.