HOW CAN I KNOW GOD?
Knowing God: A Quest for Joy
Did you know that God commands us to be glad? "Delight
yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."
(Psalm 37:4)
Six Biblical Truths
1) God created us for his glory
Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth,... whom
I created for my glory. (Isaiah 43:6-7)
God made us to magnify his greatness - the way telescopes magnify stars. He
created us to put his goodness and truth and beauty and wisdom and justice on
display. The greatest display of God's glory comes from deep delight in all
that he is. This means that God gets the praise and we get the pleasure. God
created us so that he is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in
him.
2) Every human should live for God's glory
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of
God.
(1 Corinthians 10:31)
If God made us for his glory, it is clear that we should live for his glory.
Our duty comes from his design. So our first obligation is to show God's value
by being satisfied with all that he is for us. This is the essence of loving
God (Matthew 22:37) and trusting him (1 John 5:3-4) and being thankful to him (Psalm 100:2-4). It is the root of all true obedience,
especially loving others (Colossians 1:4-5).
3) All of us have failed to glorify God as we should
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
What does it mean to "fall short of the glory of God?" It means that
none of us has trusted and treasured God the way we should. We have not been
satisfied with his greatness and walked in his ways. We have sought our
satisfaction in other things, and treated them as more valuable than God, which
is the essence of idolatry (Romans 1:21-23). Since
sin came into the world we have all been deeply resistant to having God as our
all-satisfying treasure (Ephesians 2:3). This is an
appalling offense to the greatness of God (Jeremiah
2:12-13).
4) All of us are subject to God's just condemnation
The wages of sin is death... (Romans 6:23)
We have all belittled the glory of God. How? By preferring other things above
him. By our ingratitude, distrust and disobedience. So God is just in shutting
us out from the enjoyment of his glory forever. "They will suffer the
punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of his might" (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
The word "hell" is used in the New Testament twelve times - eleven
times by Jesus himself. It is not a myth created by dismal and angry preachers.
It is a solemn warning from the Son of God who died to deliver sinners from its
curse. We ignore it at great risk.
If the Bible stopped here in its analysis of the human condition, we would be
doomed to a hopeless future. However, this is not where it stops...
5) God sent his only son Jesus to provide eternal life and joy
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners... (1 Timothy 1:15)
The good news is that Christ died for sinners like us. And he rose physically
from the dead to validate the saving power of his death and to open the gates
of eternal life and joy (1 Corinthians 15:20). This
means God can acquit guilty sinners and still be just (Romans
3:25-26). "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for
the unrighteous, to bring us to God" (1 Peter
6) The benefits purchased by the death of Christ belong to those
who repent and trust him
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out (Acts
3:19). Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved (Acts
"Repent" means to turn from all the deceitful promises of sin.
"Faith" means being satisfied with all that God promises to be for us
in Jesus. "He who believes in me," Jesus says, "shall never
thirst" (John 6:35). We do not earn our
salvation. We cannot merit it (Romans 4:4-5). It is
by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is a
free gift (Romans 3:24). We will have it if we
cherish it above all things (Matthew 13:44). When we
do that, God's aim in creation is accomplished: He is glorified in us and we
are satisfied in him - forever.
Does this make sense to you? Do you desire the kind of gladness that comes from
being satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus? If so, then God is at
work in your life.
What should you do?
Turn from the deceitful promises of sin. Call upon Jesus to save you from the
guilt and punishment and bondage. "All who call upon the name of the Lord
will be saved" (Romans
The best news in the world is that there is no necessary conflict between our
happiness and God's holiness. Being satisfied with all that God is for us in
Jesus magnifies him as a great Treasure.
By John Piper. © Desiring God Ministries
www.desiringGOD.org