August 15 I Sunday

Psalms 91-93

Romans 15:1-13

“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you for ever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.”  —John 14:16-17

Agnosticism is the belief that God cannot be known. An agnostic is someone who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence of God or the nature of God. Yet, Scripture encourages us with the reality that we can know God. John tells us, “…the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true” (1 John 5:20). We did not have to work it out or start on a search to find out about God; the operative thing is Christ came to give us understanding.

      In Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians, he writes, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better” (Ephesians 1:17). We can glean two things from Paul’s prayer. Firstly, we can ask for wisdom and revelation from God in order for us to know God better. Secondly, God grants wisdom and revelation to us through the Spirit. We cannot come to know God simply by some human mental activity. To know Him is ultimately the work of the Spirit that reveals God to us.

      Later in Paul’s letter he writes, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power…to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge…” (Ephesians 3:17-19). When we think of the line, “to know this love that surpasses knowledge,” it sounds contradictory. How can we know this love if it surpasses knowledge? There are some things that surpass knowledge humanly, but with the power of God at work within us, we can know God.

      While God can be known in some way and to some extent, it is, however, impossible to know God exhaustively and say to our neighbour, “Let me tell you everything about God.” Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent” (John 17:3). We must realize that Jesus is not speaking of intellectual understanding or knowledge of God. Why? James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” Knowing God intellectually does not make us a Christian, because even demons know something of God. Rather, eternal life is about experiencing God.

      Are we seeking to know God as an intellectual pursuit? Or are we seeking to know God through experiencing Him as His Spirit reveals Himself to us?

Prayer: Lord God, I ask for Your Spirit of wisdom and revelation to reveal more of You to me. May I experience Your workings in my life, and grasp a deeper knowledge of You. Thank You, Lord.