How Can I Know God?

There is a huge difference between knowing about God and knowing God. Knowing about God is nice, but it can't change my life.

God makes exclusive claims for His way.  There is only one way back to God.

As I come to know God more intimately, that changes my life even more than being born again.

That’s why God gave so much beyond just being born again.

Everyone who believes in Christ is born again. That doesn’t mean they will ever grow up in Him, though. When Christians stunt their growth by living a worldly life, this is not only a tragedy for the rebellious child of God who never grows up.  It also casts a bad light on Jesus Christ and all His called out people.  It gives fuel to the scoffers and abusers of Christ.

We get to know God by spending time with Him and respecting Him and loving Him. The word, "fear," in the King James Bible, means respect. If we love Him, we keep His commandments and they aren’t grievous to us. They are enjoyable. (1 John 5:3)   The Holy Spirit, flowing through us, makes them enjoyable.

God has given us the Holy Spirit so that we can have a changed life and walk in holiness.

It is the Holy Spirit Who enlightens the Christian to the fact that the Bible is the Word of God, without error or contradiction.  And all that can be observed in the physical realm shouts, "Amen!"  Though that enemy of our souls always brings many lying accusations to the contrary, the Scripture cannot be broken.  (John 10:35)

The Holy Spirit, through the Scripture and what we can easily observe shows us that God created the world, and it was good.  There was no death or sorrow.  (Genesis 1:31, Genesis 3:22)  Then, mankind fell short of God’s plan by obeying Satan rather than God.  That brought slavery for mankind—slavery to Satan.  (Romans 6:16) This was the introduction of sin, which brought death.  So death is the result of sin.  All the trouble and evil in the world is the result of mankind’s own rebellion.

How can a human being come into Holiness? God has a plan.

When a Christian is born again, they believe, and the only reason they are able to believe is because the Father draws them to believe in Jesus and to come to Jesus. (John 6:44-47) When a Christian has been born again, they have the Spirit of God with them. (John 14:16-20) They are immediately changed into a new person, seated with Christ in heavenly places.  (Ephesians 2:5-6)  When a Christian goes under the waters of baptism, they are burying the old sinful self and when they come up out of the water, they are rising in newness of life. (Romans 6:2-14) In the same way, when a Christian receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they are endued with power from On High. (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-8, Acts 8:14-17, Acts 10:34-48, Acts 19:2-6) The Christian receives gifts of the Spirit by the laying on of hands by a group of elders who are called to that purpose. (1 Corinthians 12, 1 Timothy 4:14, 2 Timothy 1:6)

As the Christian gives himself or herself to the gifts that have been given through prophecy and the laying on of hands, the ministry grows from those gifts. The gifts are the beginnings of the manifestation of the sons of God. They are an unveiling of the Christ within. The gifts of the Spirit are the weapons of our warfare.  They are the tools that the ministry needs if it is to operate.

The gifts and ministries are used in the church, and there is an order for everything. The orders of God are simply the manifestation of the Christ who has been born in God’s people.

We get to know God by learning to submit to His glory and walk in the glory of His Spirit.  The Spirit of God is always orderly and leads in orderly way.  God never leads us into sin or disorder.

There is an order for the home. (Ephesians 5:21-33) There is an order for the worship service. (1 Corinthians 14, Colossians 3:18-21) There is an order of elders and deacons in the local church. (1 Timothy 3:1-13 & 5:17, Titus 1:5, James 5:14-15) There is an order for apostles and deacons to the apostles. (Acts 6:5-6, Acts 8:14-20, Acts 15:2-16:4, 1 Corinthians 1:10-4:2, 1 Corinthians 4:9, 1 Corinthians 12:28, 2 Corinthians 11:13-14, Ephesians 2:19-22, Ephesians 3:1-5)

This is the hope of the church and the hope of the world.

In obeying the Spirit of God, we are drawn closer. The flesh dies. We are built up in Christ. (Romans 6, 7, and 8)  Our senses are exercised by reason of use.  (Hebrews 5:14)  The human mind, which was never created to be used outside of a submissive relationship with God, comes into submission to the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 8:3-14, Romans 12:2, James 1:8, 2 Corinthians 8:12, Ephesians 4:23, Philippians 2:5-7, 2 Timothy 1:7, Hebrews 8:10, 1 Peter 4:1, 1 Peter 5:2)  God is looking for a company of people who will speak His words and think His thoughts and do His acts as He flows, by His Spirit, through them, enduing them with power from on high.  These are the first fruits of the Kingdom of God. 

Anything else falls short of the glory of God.

The Church is part of this process, and we are built up by that which every joint supplies. (Ephesians 4:15-16, 1 Corinthians 14) Each of us is only a part. God chose to make us interdependent by dividing His gifts among us in such a way that we must walk into the Kingdom of God together in love. (1 Corinthians 12)