Knowledge of God

Hosea 6:6, For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

What is our understanding of God? How we answer this question directly affects how we live our lives. Some people flee from God because they want freedom, some crumble under the weight of His rules and regulations, some become so engrossed with His love that they loose sight of God’s holiness. A balanced view God is critical and shapes how we view ourselves in His plan. A major problem in Christianity today is that most people focus on one area of God’s character and shape their religion around this focus. This causes us to become one-sided and ineffective – both in how we live our lives and in how we reach others for Him. God’s character is not one-sided. If any area of His character is missing from our understanding, our image of God becomes skewed and our doctrine misguided. My prayer is that this sermon will help you get a more complete picture of God.

God is unsearchable. A well-quoted atheist by the name of D’Holbach explained why God does not exist. He said that in order for God to exist, there must be some understanding of God’s nature. He complained that Christians say that God is incomprehensible to man and we cannot fully understand the magnitude of God while at the same time Christians do not hesitate to assign attributes to God. How can the thing which is most important to man be so impossible to conceive? It seems more rational that God doesn’t exist at all.

Interesting analogy. Give me a definition of mathematics. Before you come up with a definition, consider the magnitude of mathematics. Aside from the standard adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying, there are many other areas far beyond this limited scope. Math progressively goes deeper and more encompassing. There is algebra, geometry, calculus, trigonometry, physics, etc.. Each area of science is founded on equations and calculations. Some mathematicians spend their entire lives trying to resolve one set of equations. Just look at a simple number line that you probably saw in grade school. It is simple and basic. It starts at zero and goes up, or the negative side goes down. What is the highest number you can reach on that number line? What is the lowest negative number you can reach? Just picture the space between 0 and 1. How many times can you divide this? You can break it into 1/5ths, then tenths, 100ths and continue to infinity. Then you can take your 100ths and break them into an infinite number of fractions. It is incomprehensible the magnitude of a simple number line. Each number and each fraction is incomprehensible in itself. About 5 years ago a mathematician made headlines when he found another prime number that was previously unknown. A prime number is a number that can only be divided by itself and 1. He spent years running super computers just trying to find prime numbers. I haven’t even touched on the complex equations of physics, thermodynamics and a plethora of sciences that are all founded upon math. My point is that even a mathematician is specialized to one area of focus and cannot comprehend all that mathematics encompasses.

Based on D’Holbach’s analogy, it would be rational if we concluded that math does not exist. Or perhaps it may be more rational to conclude that we have a very real, very complex and very unsearchable God. If we can’t comprehend the endless depth of a number line, how can a rational ‘thinker’ put God inside of a limited definition? Since the invention of the Hubbell telescope, scientists have said that we have not known the magnitude of the universe. The stars seem to go outward in each direction for infinity. One report said that the life in one teaspoon of soil contains more bacteria than the equivalent number of the entire human population on earth. Another report said that microscopic life is smaller than previously believed. What was previously thought of as the smallest known organisms are now only the beginning of the microscopic world all around us. Since the invention of the electron microscope, science also proves that we may never know how small life gets. The problem is that our technology limits our exploration. An electron microscope requires a vacuum. Air particles cause interference so a vacuum is required and this kills most life. Creation is unsearchable in every area. How does chlorophyll in green plants create sugar from sunlight? Unknown; we know it happens, but we don’t know how. If a leaf on a plant, a spoon full of dirt and life in a drop of pond water is unsearchable, how much more unsearchable is our God?

Indeed attributes have been given to the incomprehensible God. Hopefully the attributes we identify are only those provided by God in His word. I believe it is important to look at all that God has revealed about Himself. A relationship with God is reduced to a lop-sided religion when we zone in on a particular idea of who God is and ignore the rest. We can’t view the justice and judgement of God without seeing God’s mercies. We also can’t look only at God’s mercies and ignore justice. I want to look at what I believe is a balanced look at God. I want to cover three main areas in this study.

 

God is holy and just. A common argument I hear is that ‘God is love’ and ‘God doesn’t judge’ or ‘God is all merciful’. Indeed God is love and very merciful. However, the love and mercy of God cannot be understood without understanding the holiness of God that demands justice and judges that which is not holy. Look at 1 Peter 1:15-17:

15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy.
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.

The Bible tells us that God is merciful but in Gen. 6:3 God said, “I will not always strive with man.” God extends His mercies to us and God clearly states that it is His desire that every man be saved and come to the knowledge of God, but God has a limit. Isaiah warns of God’s wrath when the day of account comes. Isaiah 13:9, 11-13:

9 Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it.

11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, a man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts and in the day of His fierce anger.

Jesus also makes it clear that there will be a day when every person will stand before Him. Jesus came to offer mercy, forgiveness, salvation and to show us how to live. When He returns, He will not be the meek servant, but will be Lord of Lords and King of kings. He will also call His own and reward those who have a personal, obedient relationship with Him. Entering heaven is based solely upon your relationship with Jesus Christ. Look at what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23:

21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Jesus makes it very clear that salvation is not automatic; it is not based on saying the right words; it is not based on works and good deeds. It is solely based on a relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus said that people will show Him their good deeds and He will call them lawless. That is why the Bible says in Isaiah 64:6 that all of our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. Our deeds do not change our hearts. Only Jesus can change our hearts and our nature. The Bible deals with the judgment of God throughout the Old and New Testament, but judgment is not the main focus of the Bible. It can’t be ignored because the warning is real and clear. But judgment is not God’s first choice. Judgment only comes when we refuse God’s grace and His mercies. We refuse by demanding our own way. The only way to get God’s mercies is by submitting to God’s will. If we want to be the god of our destiny and the sole authority of our own life, God will allow us to do so. But there will be a time to account for our choice.

God is our teacher and counselor. Jesus told us the Holy Spirit would teach us all things. Look at John 14:26:
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Those who have never accepted Jesus as savior do not have this promise. This is why they do not understand the Bible. That is why 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us that the natural man does not understand the things of God because they are spiritually discerned. It is the Holy Spirit that lives within us that teaches us the things of God and opens our eyes to the scriptures.

God gives wisdom by His Spirit. James 1:5 says that if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God. We should ask God for wisdom each day. My own wisdom is lacking. I sometimes make bad decisions; I react to people based on my human emotions and knee-jerk reactions. The wisdom of God directs me and gives me the confidence that I am doing the right thing and going the right direction. The problem is that most people either don’t ask of God, or they don’t listen when wisdom directs. Look at Proverbs 1:24-26:
24 Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,
25 Because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes…

Don’t ask and then refuse the counsel of God. Trust God and follow His lead. Consider the advice of Proverbs 3:5-7:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil.

Ask for wisdom, trust in God’s wisdom instead of your own understanding, let your ways acknowledge God’s direction and He will direct your paths. When someone commits to following God’s lead, we have the promise of Isaiah 30: 21, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it’, whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.”

When we are God lead, our words will honor God. In Matthew 12:34 Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Proverbs 16:1 says, “The preparations of the heart belongs to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.” We prepare our hearts by seeking God and knowing His word and God will call to mind His word in the time of need. Jesus emphasized this principle when He was warning his disciples that they would have to stand for their faith. Matthew 10:19-20:
19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak;
20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

God’s grace and mercy. Corrie TenBoom said that there is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still. Corey suffered for her faith in the Nazi work camps. Sometimes the depth of God’s love is overlooked until we are tried and have to totally depend on God. Don’t mistake suffering and trials as being judgments from God. They are not the same. God walks with us through trials and gives the promise that all things work for our good. Leaning upon God’s grace is a part of trusting God and walking by faith. A common comment I get from those who do not want God is, “You are just using God as a crutch.” To that I say, “Absolutely.” What they don’t realize is that if you don’t need a crutch, you are going the wrong direction. Who struggles to go downhill? I need a crutch because the mountain is steep and I can’t climb on my own. God indeed is there to help me, but God will not carry me. God will challenge me, but He will not let me fall. The challenge is, do I trust enough in God to hold on to Him even when the climb is steep or will I let go and take the easy way downward? Sometimes the climb takes its toll and God is there to comfort and restore with His tender mercies. Psalm 34:17-19,
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Hard times will come. Struggles are a part of life. We aren’t in heaven yet so we can’t expect a carefree life. God delivers His own. Psalm 23 is a short chapter that everyone should commit to memory. When I am exhausted, He restores my soul. God doesn’t leave me in the green pasture beside the quiet waters. He lets me be restored and then He leads me through the hard times. As I go with Him, I am comforted by His presence, not by my own abilities. God has a plan for your life, but you can’t live that special plan out without following the Lord.

I love Lamentations 3:22-25:
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
24 The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I hope in Him!
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.

God’s mercies never fail! God loves to show mercy and goodness to us but He will never sacrifice His holiness to do it. Numbers 14:18 gives us a balanced perspective: ‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’ God is patient and desires to give forgiveness and mercy, but if we refuse God’s plan of salvation, He will not clear our guilt. The offer is extended. He is God and we don’t have the right to choose our own way of salvation. God made the supreme sacrifice and saved us through His own suffering and paid our debt with His own blood. When God chose to die for our sins, how can anyone say that other ways are just as good and all religion is the same? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me.” He also said that His commands are not grievous. His burden is not heavy and His yoke is light. 2 Peter 1:1 spells it out clearly, “To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.”(NIV) Our faith is founded solely through Jesus Christ.