KNOWING THE TRUE GOD (Part 1)

What do these verses say about God?

Psalm 102:25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

Psalm 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their
host.

Isaiah 45:12 I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and
I commanded all their host.

Acts 17:24-25 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does
not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since
he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

Rev.4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things,
and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (KJV)

Gen.1:26-27 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the
earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in his own image, in
the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (ESV)

Point 1: Our fundamental relationship with God: He is our , we are His .

 God made us in His image means we have the capacity to know and worship God. We were made for
relationship ultimately with God (and with others) - we have the privilege of learning something very
intimate about God (Jer.9:24).
 This happens only because He Himself will do it “I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the
Lord” (Jer.9:27 NIV). With the ability of a nature that reflects the divine image comes the responsibility
to fulfill our chief end/purpose as God’s creatures: to glorify God and enjoy Him forever (Westminster
Shorter Catechism Question #1).
 While the Fall has marred the image of God – shattering the righteousness and holiness in which we
were first made – God sent His Son Jesus Christ to redeem His elect (the gospel in Gen.3:15) and
restore the image of God in true righteousness and holiness Eph.4:24 …the new self, created to be
like God in true righteousness and holiness (NIV))

Point 2: The Creator rights of God over what He has made

1. To know God

Hosea 6:6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

 God desires that we know Him

Jer.9:24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who
exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the
LORD. (NASB)

 God delights in our knowing Him, His character and His works

Job 22:21-22 Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good will come to you. Receive,
please, instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.(NKJV)
 God wants us to be acquainted with Him; God has revealed Himself to us in His word

 Our knowledge of our Creator informs and motivates our worship, and without true knowledge of
God our worship cannot please our Creator.
 The true priority for everyone was, is, and ever will be to learn to know God in Christ. (Geoff
Thomas)
Hosea 4:6 My people perish for lack of knowledge…

What is our goal in knowing God? That we may have a right view of God leading to a high view of God,
thereby fulfilling the chief end of man which is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever .
 One important theme in the book of Hosea centers around what it means to “know” or
“acknowledge” God (2:20, 4;1, 5:4, 6:3,6, 13:4). Israel failed to acknowledge the Lord as their God
(Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring
against you who live in the land: "There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in
the land.(NIV)).
 The book teaches that true knowledge of God is not merely the possession of correct information
about Him but includes intimacy evidenced in worship, lifestyle and loyalty to the covenant Lord.
(Reformation Study Bible)

2.To acknowledge God’s sovereign rights over His creatures

Rom.11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all
your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Rom. 1:28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do
what ought not to be done

3. To worship and serve God

Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered him, "It is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall
you serve.'"

Rom.1:25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature
rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!

4. To have a joyful relationship with God

Psalm 100:2-3 Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD,
he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

5. To bring honor, glory and thanks to God

1 Cor.10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Rev.4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things,
and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (KJV)
by Your will they existed and were created (ESV)

Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

Rom.1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their
thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (NIV)

 God is mindful of His glory¸ therefore, it is man’s duty to glorify God in all his life
 Jesus Himself, though induced by a desire to save men, was primarily motivated by a longing to
glorify His Father. John 17:4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave
me to do.
 The gospel of Jesus Christ begins with God and His glory. Apart from clear understanding of God,
there can be no personal approach to God, and ‘personal Savior’ becomes a hollow phrase.
(Walter Chantry)

6. To be God-like in character

Isaiah 43:7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.
The Good News
Why did Hosea say in Hosea 4:6 “My people perish for lack of knowledge?”

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
Thou hast sent.
 God’s sending of His Son illustrates God’s love to the fullest degree

Rom.5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us
(NIV)

1 John 4:14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

1 John 5:9-13 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony
of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in
himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony
that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this
life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have
eternal life. (ESV)

 This eternal life is not mere conscious and unending existence, but a life of acquaintance with God
in Christ

To those who believe, Jesus is “wisdom from God” (! Cor.1:30). Because of Christ, there is no need for
anyone to be destroyed for lack of knowledge, except those who reject knowledge and reject Jesus Christ
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col.2:3)
(gotquestions.org)

Isaiah 66:1-2 Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house
that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so
all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble
and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

Main Reference: Sow Your Seed, by Noel Espinosa