Knowing God (Co. 1:1–14)
We have all felt the difference between knowing something and really knowing something. It’s one thing to know that something exists, but it’s entirely another to truly know it, to understand it, to comprehend it.
People are a great example of this. When you first meet someone, they might give you some basic information like their name, what they do for a living, where they live, that kind of thing. At first, it might be hard to retain all of that new information, particularly if you don’t see them again for a while. You’ll also make some mental observations without even trying: what they’re wearing, their facial features, their body language. Our brains can’t help but make some assumptions about a person based on what we see. There’s nothing wrong with that, mind you—it’s how our brains work.
Let’s say you come across this person a handful of times. You have discovered a common interest or just enjoy catching up, so you make the point of seeing each other more often. You have each other around for a meal, go out and do things together, whatever it might be. Now you’re starting to really get to know them. You’re learning how this person works, what is important to them, how they tick. Once you get to that point, you’ve formed quite a solid relationship with this person and start to anticipate what they will say or do.
We understand quite well what the difference is between a close friend and an acquaintance, knowing someone compared to really knowing someone. The same goes for events or experiences, too. We know about the floods occurring in New South Wales at the moment through national news coverage. We could study the stats and hear the figures about flood levels and the financial losses, but we can’t really know what’s going on unless we’ve been there, seen it happening in front of us, and felt its impacts. Only then can we truly empathise with the people in the affected areas.
Our knowledge of God is not unlike our knowledge of experiences, events, or people in many ways. We can know about God at a basic level—his story, the words he speaks, what other people say about him—but how can we know God more deeply and intimately? How do we develop a relationship with God?
Know his Word
The first and foremost way that God gives us to get to know him more closely is his Word, which we access primarily in the written Scriptures, the Bible.
There is a practice called “Dwelling in the Word” which is an excellent way to spend intentional time in God’s Word. In a group of at least four people, a selected Bible passage is read aloud very slowly. As the text is being read, those listening will take note of things that strike them as particularly important or interesting, or any questions it raises for them. Once the text has been read and a bit of time has been given to write down some thoughts, the group splits into pairs and each person reports their findings to their partner. After a few minutes of sharing, the whole group comes back together. The twist is that you don’t report your own findings to the whole group, but your partner’s findings. This makes Dwelling in the Word a very helpful listening exercise.
We practiced Dwelling in the Word at Church Council this week as our opening devotion, using today’s gospel reading, the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
It’s amazing what you can learn about the Word when you listen to what other people pick up. Most of us probably feel that we know that particular parable pretty well. It’s a lesson in how to love your neighbour, even when it’s not culturally the right thing to do. We frown at the priest and the Levite who should’ve done better.
When we dwelt in this passage, one of our council members wondered whether the disappointing actions of the priest and the Levite might actually be Jesus’ main point. Maybe Jesus is calling us to love the people who don’t show a lot of love to others. Maybe he wants us to consider how to love the priest and the Levite in our own lives.
You might think you know God’s Word quite well (and many of you probably do), but think again. I can speak from experience when I say that the more time you spend in the Word, the less you realise you truly know it. There is no better way to know God’s Word than to spend time in it and talk about it with other people.
How do we measure our knowledge of the Word? How do we know that we’re getting somewhere with it and getting to know it better?
Knowing the names of people and places and books of the Bible, the many stories in the Old Testament, the best quotes of Jesus from the gospels, the most important memory verses from the epistles all contribute to knowing the Word. But even if you can memorise the whole thing from start to finish, you cannot truly know God’s Word until it has changed your life.
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
The Word of God is written and spoken but it is also living and active. When the Word of God is read, heard, preached, and spoken, it does things. It pierces souls, divides joints and marrow, discerns thoughts. It stirs things up in us that cause us to change.
When was the last time the Word cut deep into your conscience and changed something, gave you a new perspective, motivated you to act, moved you to the point of tears?
Know his Son
The Word doesn’t cut deep just for fun. It doesn’t create emotions and motivate to action for no reason. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” we read in John 1. The Word is Christ, and Christ is the Word. All of Scripture points to Jesus and his saving work. Everything culminates and is fulfilled in him, the only Son of the Father.
The function of the written Word is to remind us of and point us to the incarnate Word. It does so because “[God] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Delivered isn’t a strong enough translation. Because of sin, we were destined for eternal punishment and death. Nothing sinful can enter heaven—only holy things can come into the presence of a holy God. But God rescued us, saved us, snatched us away from death. By sending his Son, God has not only rescued us but transferred us into his kingdom. That’s what redemption means.
All of this has only been achieved because of the forgiveness of sins. When our sins are taken away, we are made pure and holy, acceptable to God and worthy of entering into his presence. In baptism we are washed clean with water which only has power because of the Word. In baptism, our sins are forgiven and we are rescued from certain eternal death. In baptism, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ in the sense that we all obtain a share of the inheritance: the hope of eternal life, which is being safely stored in heaven for us for when we arrive.
But, as we know and experience, baptism is only the start of a chain reaction in our lives.
Every time we hear the words of absolution, your sins are forgiven.
The Word does what it says.
Every time you eat and drink Christ’s body and blood, your sins are forgiven.
The Word does what it says.
Luther says in his explanation of the Lord’s Supper that “where there is forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation.” In other words, in the forgiveness of sins, we have everything. The Christian faith is simple, as Pastor Deane told us last week, but we do a very good job of complicating it.
In the same way, the Christian church is a very simple thing: God’s people gathering together to receive the forgiveness of sins. That’s it. That’s all the church is. That’s the point of us being here. It’s incredibly easy for us to forget our sole purpose when we get distracted by everything else the church is to us: the institution, buildings, schools, politics, rosters, property, money, community, events…
The forgiveness of sins is why we do any of it. We have years and years of history and we have dreams for our future, but remember why we do all of this. We are here because God forgives our sins. In that forgiveness, we have life. In that forgiveness, we have salvation.
Know his will
“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy…” Col 1:9–11
We started by comparing knowing God with really knowing God. We get to know God more deeply and intimately by spending time in his Word. That Word points us to Christ, who brought about redemption in the forgiveness of sins.
The gospel, which is in essence the forgiveness of sins, bears fruit. When you were washed clean of your sin in your baptism, the gospel became yours. When you hear those words of absolution and receive them into your heart, you can’t help but be changed. With every encounter with Jesus’ body and blood, you will come to know him better and better as he forgives your sin again and again. It’s the forgiveness of sins that empowers us to love and serve, it strengthens us to endure and persevere with joy in our hearts, and it grows our knowledge of God so that we become more and more like him.
Like a relationship with a person: as you get to know someone more and more, some of their traits might start to rub off on you. As we grow closer to God by dwelling in his Word and interacting with his sacraments, his goodness and mercy and grace and love will show itself in us.
Following God’s will for your life is not about working harder or trying more. It’s about listening to his Word and being forgiven your sins. He’ll do the work in you and through you by his Holy Spirit. Having already been transferred into his kingdom, all there is to do now is praise and thank our gracious heavenly Father.
