Knowing God

God desires that everyone should have the knowledge of Him, an experiential knowledge. The knowledge of God is the key to become and perform all that He wants of us. From Genesis to Revelation as we see God’s dealings with the Patriarchs, Prophets and His People, we see Him creating opportunities for humanity to connect with Divinity.

As young people our greatest asset in life is the knowledge of God. David, an example of someone who walked with God from his youth said:

For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth - Psalm 71:5

O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works - Psalm 71:17

David, through his relationship with God had seen a lot of possibilities and from his words, we can see a resolve to stay with God, trust God as his hope and even extend the knowledge of God’s wondrous works to others.

Youth is the most appropriate time to decide to have a lifelong relationship with God. The Bible says, Remember thy God in the days of your youth. Ecclesiastes 12:1. This is the time we can have less distraction and entanglement. It is the time we make critical decisions that affect our future. It is the period we have time on our hands.

Indeed, there is time for everything and every purpose under heaven. Making a commitment to know God while we are young will afford us a secure future filled with a sense of fulfillment because we will be led in the paths of righteousness (Psalm 23: 3)

What it means to know God?

It means to be well acquainted with Him.
It means to understand and experience dealings from Him.
It means to be in a daily, practical and working relationship with God.
It means a current and consistent relationship with God.
It means knowing both His ways and acts

Salvation: The foundation of knowing God

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent (John 17:3).

Other texts: 1 John 2: 12-13, Acts 20:21, John 14:6; Romans 10:9, 10

Our salvation experience is based on a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. No one comes to the Father except through Christ. This confirms that there is no other way of salvation except through our Lord Jesus.

God has made provision for our salvation through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross of Calvary. Anyone who repents of his/her sins and believes in Jesus will be saved.

Salvation is the beginning of knowing God. It is the foundation of our Christian experience. No one can claim to know God or serve God acceptably without this foundation.

Salvation gives us entrance into the kingdom of God. We become a part of God’s family (John 3:3, 5). Only attending church without being born again means such are not yet in the kingdom.

It is dangerous to postpone your salvation because anyone who continues to sin is under the bondage of the devil and is in danger of eternal damnation (2 Peter 3:9).

Growing in grace and the knowledge of God

1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18; Luke 2:40, 52; Daniel 11:32b; Matthew 13: 23; Hebrews 4:16; Acts 20:32; Jude 20; Galatians 5:16, 25; Proverbs 27:17

There is a possibility of growth in the kingdom of God. We can know God more and more everyday. We are encouraged to grow in the grace we have come into at salvation and in our knowledge of God.

In the scriptures above, we see the means of grace made available for us to grow deeper in our walk with God.

The Word of God - It is food for our spirit man. It forms the building blocks of our spiritual house. We can wax stronger in our spiritual lives as we receive more of the word of God into our hearts and intentionally put them into practice.

Prayer - You can build yourself in the faith by praying in the Holy Ghost. This refers to praying according to the will of God and the direction of the Holy Spirit. The word of God is the will of God and our needs in prayer should align with God’s will.

Furthermore, in prayer, we need to receive insights through the Holy Spirit on specific things we should pray about. This kind of praying births results that greatly advance our faith and spiritual growth.

Fellowship - This refers to ensuring you surround yourself with believers who can impact you positively in your faith. It takes fire to ignite a fire. Water quenches fire. You need to be in fellowship with people of like faith and like minds who will sharpen your iron so that you can constantly be awake and in form to live for God and serve Him effectively.

Walking in the Spirit - The Christian life is a journey. It is a walk. The path to pleasing God and not fulfilling the desires of the flesh is by walking in the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit will empower you to walk daily in the will of God. He produces fruit of the Spirit in us as we yield to Him daily. He also provides us with direction (Romans 8:15, 16)

Also, walking in the Spirit is imperative for an effective service to God. The baptism in the Holy Spirit empowers the believer to be a witness of Christ. Walking in the Spirit in serving God means that we function in the anointing and the gifts of the Holy Spirit as we do kingdom work.

Benefits of knowing God

The benefits of knowing God are so much to encourage us to seek God. St. Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” Knowing God is at the core of our existence. That is how we get to know ourselves. It is the path to knowing how we can properly present Him to the world. Oswald Chambers said, “We slander God by our eagerness to serve Him without knowing Him”.

Knowing God is the path to eternal life - John 17:3
Spiritual strength – Daniel 11:32
Proper representation of the True God – Exodus 3:13, 14
Victory in life and ministry – Psalm 78:9, 10
Kingdom exploits – Daniel 11:32 Heaven at last – John 17:3
The greatest antidote for ungodliness – I John 2:3, 4; 2 Peter 1:2-4; Jeremiah 9:23-24; Jeremiah 31:33, 34
It is our weapon for establishing and enthroning righteousness in our generation – 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Daniel 11:32; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2-3