Back To homepage
Back to Complete Table of
Contents
(Blue entries in the meditation
are links; clicking on them will take you to the verse(s) in the New
International Version; to see the verse
(s)
in another translation, on that page under 'passage results' where the
current entry is 'New International Version' click on the down arrow and select another English
version; then click on 'update'. Occasionally links on my page are to another file
of mine. On this page entries in
reddish brown are the words of Scripture
(NIV).
July
2007
To Be Surrounded by God's
Knowledge Is The Greatest Privilege
BY
CAMERON PAINE
Introduction
God
knows the end from the beginning. “I
make known the end from
the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.”
(Isaiah
46:10)
Comparing himself to any other
being God says, “Declare what
is to be, present it-- let them take
counsel together. Who foretold this
long ago, who declared it from the
distant past? Was it not I, the
LORD? And there is no God apart
from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but
me.“ (Isaiah 45:21)
“The days of the blameless are known to the
Lord, and their inheritance will endure
forever.“ (Psalm 37:18)
In
another verse we read the clear statement,
“The Lord knows those
who are his,” (2 Timothy
2:19
)
These
phrases contain jewels of truth. When understood in the context
of what the Bible says about God’s relationship to his people (to
believers) these words are indescribably heart-warming. These
statements of God are not bald assertions about certain facts which
God’s ‘intellect’ contains as we might say (even with great
admiration) about a child—that ‘he
knows the multiplication tables’ or ‘he knows how
high
Mt.
Everest
is’.
These
statements about the ‘knowledge of God’ contain more truth than that God has
an intellectual consciousness or awareness of the state of
affairs and of his people in ‘the end of history’. It is the purpose
of this meditation to bring out this truth about the ‘knowledge of God’ so
that whenever a believer reads or hears
about God’s ‘knowledge’ of his people,
God’s knowledge of the ‘future’ on earth and in eternity, the
comfort, the treasures in these words may be felt.
What
the ‘knowledge of God’ is and what it isn’t
Does
the concept and expression, ‘the knowledge of God’ mean nothing
more than that God is cognizant of, or aware of, a person’s presence as
we would mean if we said,
‘I know Mr. Smith is in the courtroom
because I saw him come into the courtroom’. To set forth the
contrast that this meditation is trying to bring out we would ask, is
the concept or the expression ‘the knowledge of God’ the
equivalent of what common English expressions usually mean,
expressions such as God ‘noticed’, or God ‘observed’, or that
God ‘is aware of, or conscious of’, certain facts like the height of
Mt. Everest or that the world is round or that Eskimos live in
Alaska? The answer is ‘No’.
The ‘knowledge of God’ or what 'God
knows' does not refer exclusively to intellectual content like
mental photographs or images of objects or ‘facts’.
Over
and over again in Scripture the full significance of God’s relationship to his
people is shown to be not one of remoteness or indifference or
as one of purely intellectual apprehension but as a concerned
beneficent and loving one.
For example, when the Israelites were suffering
greatly in
Egypt
we read the
words of God. To Moses he said, “And
now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have
seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.” God’s
response is not one of indifference any more than a mother
observing someone beating up her child is. So God says to Moses,
“So now, go. I am sending
you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out
of
Egypt
." (Exodus 3:9-10)
A few verses before that we read,
“God heard their groaning and he remembered his
covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God
looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.” (Exodus
2:24-25; see also Exodus 16:12 which refers to another
(later) occasion when God heard the grumbling of the Israelites.)
Perhaps a quote from a pastor (James M. Harrison[1])
in an article about the term ‘foreknowledge’ sums up the issue
beautifully: “…we find that
‘foreknowledge’ consists of not merely precognition, but
speaks of a relationship with an individual in God's eternal present.
Thus, the word "foreknew", as
used
here [Romans
8:29
], is understood to be
equivalent to ‘foreloved’ - those who were the objects of God's love, he
marked out for salvation. This use of the
term is
prevalent throughout the Scriptures.”
THE MANY DIFFERENT ASPECTS THAT
ARE CONTAINED
IN THE 'KNOWLEDGE' OF GOD
The many different aspects that
are contained in the ‘knowledge’ of God is revealed by the many different
ways God’s connection to, and involvement with, his
people is referred to in the Bible.
The
various translations of Exodus 2:25 bring out some of these
differences aspects of God’s ‘knowledge’.
Exodus
2:25
is a record of the
relationship of God to his people at a time
when the
Jews who were descended from Jacob (a grandson of
Abraham)
were
being severely oppressed in Egypt. This was shortly
before God
delivered those people from their slavery and bondage (the
‘Exodus’)
Now what
does the verse say?
25 "and God
looked upon the children of
Israel
, and God acknowledged them."
DARBY
25
"And God saw the children of
Israel
, and God took knowledge of
them." AMERICAN
STANDARD VERSION
25
"God saw the Israelites and took knowledge
of them and concerned Himself about them [knowing all, understanding,
remembering all]." AMPLIFIED
VERSION
25 "God saw the people of
Israel
—and God knew."
ENGLISH
STANDARD VERSION
25 "And God looked upon the children of
Israel
, and
God had respect unto them."
KING
JAMES VERSION
25
"God saw the sons of
Israel
, and
God took notice of them." NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE (1995 UPDATE)
25
"So God
looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them." NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION
The
complete verse of Isaiah 46:10 (part of which was previously
quoted) brings out this
connection or overlapping of ‘knowing’ and ‘having
a concern
for’ what is known. In the first part of the verse God said, “I make
known the end the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to
come. However, in the rest of that verse God says, “My
purpose will stand, and
I will do all that I please.” (Isaiah 46:10; see also Daniel
4:35) God’s
knowledge includes his concern, his attachment, his involvement.
That
God’s purpose includes his plans for his people is stated very
clearly:
Moses said to the Israelites who had been delivered from Egypt
(the
Exodus) “Know
therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the
faithful
God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of
those who
love him and keep his commands.” (Deuteronomy
7:9)
Many
years later
the
leader of the Israelites pointed out the ‘connection’
between
God’s words and his deeds. Joshua said to them, “Now
I am about to go
the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul
that not
one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has
failed.
Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” (Joshua
23:14)
The Israelites would not be privy to the fact that God’s actions
were
‘fulfilments’ unless they remembered God’s promises, unless they
had heard
the earlier words of God who “make(s)
known the end the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come. (whose) purpose
will stand, and
I will do all that I please.” (To see some of those
promises see Joshua
21:45; Exodus 23:27-30; Deuteronomy 28:3-8)
What
God’s knowledge of his people means includes so much more than God having an intellectual awareness of them (as if God were a machine
that had
recorded and stored up mental images or aerial photographs of them).
There
are many terms or phrases by which God’s word communicates the fact
that God has deep concern for his people, his “treasured possession”
(Deuteronomy 7:6) that is more than a mental observation.
Over and
over again the way God describes his relation to his people
reveals
that there is an ‘emotional’ dimension to it. Another way of
describing
this ‘emotional dimension’ in the relationship would be to say
God has a
personal interest and involvement in it.
A
small selection of the many different terms or phrases in the Bible
which point
to God’s loving relationship with his people, with his
‘treasured
possession’ are:
God
‘cares for them’--
God
‘takes notice of them’--
God ‘has
regard for them’--
God ‘is
concerned about them’--
God
‘magnifies them’--
God
‘protects them’—
God
‘keeps them’
God
‘watches over them’ or their ways--
To
immerse yourself in a few of the many, many, verses in which each of
these
expressions is used see the following section. ("A SAMPLE...")
A
SAMPLE OF VERSES IN WHICH GOD'S CONCERN FOR HIS PEOPLE IS DESCRIBED
.
God
‘cares for them’--
"I
cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat."
Many
modern English translations of this verse use the Hebrew verb, ‘to know’ and
speak of God
‘knowing you’ in the desert.
(Hosea
13:5)
"Those
who know your name will trust in you, for
you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”(
Psalm 9:10)
"Cast
your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous
fall.” (Psalm
55:22)
"For
he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.” (Psalm
95:7)
"O
Lord, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him?" (Psalm
144:3)
"The
Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him." (Nahum
1:7)
God
‘watches over’ them or their ways--
“For
the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will
perish.”
(Psalm 1:6)
"The
days of the blameless are known to the Lord, and their inheritance will endure
forever."
(Psalm 37:18)
God
‘takes notice’ of them’—
God’s
words to the patriarch Jacob—“And
behold, I am with you and will keep (watch over you with care, take notice of)
you wherever you may go, and I
will
bring you back to this land; for I will not
leave you until I have done all of which I have told you.” (Genesis
28:15) (Amplified
Bible)
“Lord,
what is man that You take notice of him? Or [the] son of man that You take
account of him?“ (Psalm
144:3)
(Amplified)
The
Bible records a time when Jonah, a Jewish prophet who had refused to obey God
was on a sailboat and the sea was very stormy. The captain went
to him (to
Jonah) and said, “How
can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and
we will not perish.”
(Jonah 1:6)
God
‘has regard’ for them’ or looks upon them with favor—
“But
Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord
looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he
did
not look with favor.“
(Genesis
4:4-5)
“(The
Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself
was highly regarded in
Egypt
by Pharaoh’s officials and by the
people.)
(Exodus
11:3)
“Surely
the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the
scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
(Isaiah
40:15)
“Before him all the nations are as
nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.“
(Isaiah
40:17)
“Why
do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
(Isaiah
40:27)
”All
the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He (God)
does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No
one can hold
back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?”
(Daniel
4:35)
“The
Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to
fear, he is the one you are to dread“
(Isaiah
8:13)
“
‘I
will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and
I will keep my covenant with you.“
(Leviticus
26:9)
“But
the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them
because of his covenant with Abraham, and Jacob. To this day
he has been
unwilling to destroy them or banish them from his presence.“
(2
Kings
13:23)
God
is faithful to keep his promises to his people
“Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart
and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has
failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.“ (Joshua
23:14)
“No
temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And
God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.
But when you
are
tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand
up under it.“
(1 Corinthians
10:13)
“By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was
barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who
had
made the promise.“ (Hebrews
11:11)
God ‘keeps them’—
“For
it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you
carefully;“
(Luke 4:10)
“It
is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are
continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.” (Deuteronomy
11:12)
We have looked at a small sample of verses in which particular
expressions
are used to describe God’s burden for his people.
But like
many
different telescopes all pointing at the same truth
each one
reveals another aspect or dimension of God’s relationship
to his people.
Added
together the occurrences of the various expressions which speak
of God’s connection with his people total into the
thousands. They
constitute a theme in the Bible
that, like
a thread in a tapestry, holds it together. That God has a
personal
interest in the welfare of his people is a
truth constantly
being
restated. God’s knowledge of his people
means much more than
he is aware of their presence or existence.
It includes
all these
aspects like the many colors that make up a rainbow.
Each
of these terms or phrases refer to God’s ‘attitude’
toward, or
relationship to, his people are referring to what is
meant by,
or included in, the expressions
‘knowledge of God’ or
‘that he
(God) knows’.
A
very clear biblical expression that sets forth the underlying truth
of the
Lord’s personal relationship to his people is found many times in the
Old
Testament.
Moses addressed
the descendants of Abraham, saying, “For you are a
people holy to
the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you
out of
all the
peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his
treasured possession. The Lord did not set his affection on you and
choose you because you
were
more
numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest
of all peoples. But it was because the Lord
loved you and kept the
oath he swore to your
forefathers
that he brought you out with a
mighty hand and redeemed you from the land
of slavery, from the
power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.“ (Deuteronomy
7:6-8; see also Psalm 135:4)
“For
the LORD's portion is his people, Jacob (a frequently used name for
the
Israelites who were delivered out of
Egypt)
his
allotted inheritance. In a desert
land
he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He
shielded
him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye,”
(Deuteronomy
32:9-10)
The prophet Isaiah speaks of God’s relationship to his
people this way, saying, “But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created
you, O Jacob,
he
who
formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I
have
summoned you by name; you are mine….Since you are precious
and honored
in my sight,
and because I love you, I will give men in
exchange
for you, and people in exchange for your life.’
” (Isaiah 43:1, 4)
“For
I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will
help you. Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little
Israel,
for I myself will help you,’ declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of
Israel.”
(Isaiah 41:13-14)
In
the book of the prophet Nahum we read, “The Lord
is good, a refuge in times of
trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.” (Nahum 1:7)
In a different
translation of that verse we read: “The
Lord is good, A stronghold
in the day of trouble, And He knows
those who take refuge in Him.” (NASB95)
These
are the words that God addressed to the people of
Israel
through the
prophet Amos: “You only have I chosen of all the
families of the earth;
therefore I
will punish you for all your sins.”
While the New International Version
translates this verse (Amos 3:2) as just shown many English
translations
of this verse use some form of the verb ‘to know’. For
example,
“You only have I known (chosen, sympathized
with, and loved) of all the
families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you all your
wickedness
and punish you for all your iniquities.” (Amplified Bible; see
also DARBY,
AMERICAN STANDARD, ENGLISH STANDARD, KING JAMES
VERSION, NEW KING JAMES VERSION, REVISED STANDARD
VERSION)
New Testament Repetition and Development(?)
of the
meaning of 'the
knowledge of God'
That the concept of the
‘knowledge of God’ (i.e., knowledge which he has), that
God ‘knows’, is more than a mental perception; that the concept of
the ‘knowledge of God’, that God ‘knows’ is a way in which the
Bible
refers to the presence of a benevolent relationship that exists
between God
and his people is not only set forth in the ‘pre-Christ’ revelation
of God as we have seen; it is also clearly expressed in the
New
Testament.
How did Jesus describe his mission?
-
He
said, “I am the good shepherd; I know my
sheep and my sheep know
me.” This is stated as a contrast to the truth stated in
the
preceding verses: “The hired hand is not the shepherd who
owns the
sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons
the sheep
and runs away. …13 The man runs away because he
is a hired
hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” (John
10:14;12-13)
-
”My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and
they follow
me.”
(John
10:27)
-
Because
God knows his own he will never cease to protect them. Jesus
said, ”
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no
one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has
given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch
them out of
my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." (John
10:28
-30; see also 1 Peter
1:5)
There is more to the knowledge of God, there is more
to the eternal purposes and ways of God than the sharing of ideas or values. The
irresistible
purpose of the unchanging God who “make(s) known
the end the
beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. (whose)
purpose
will stand, and (and who) will do all that I
please” (Isaiah 46:10) is more
than the sharing of ideas and values.
What
God has purposed for his people affects, even transcends,
our very
existence as we know it.
-
“Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he
is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come! (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Many,
many, verses in God’s word speak of the new and
unbelievable
status God has conferred on believers through the
actions of
God himself ; verses in which the Bible speaks of
believers
as being identified with Christ—being chosen in Christ
before time
(Ephesians 1:4,11), being in Christ
(1
John 5:20), being
raised from the dead the same way Christ was raised
(Ephesians
2:6; Romans 6:4; 8:11; Colossians
3:1) being a fellow heir
with Christ (Romans 8:17; Galatians
3:29); being made
perfect for all time by Christ’s sacrifice (Hebrews
10:14).
The inheritance
which God promised to, and earned for, believers was not an
earthly inheritance. It was not an inheritance which makes life in our present
body more pleasant but one which relates to 'life' beyond
the death of
the body. The promised inheritance—eternal life (Psalm 16:11) is
life in a realm where there is no crying or death, where
the light
of God takes the place even of the sun. (Revelation
21:4, 23)
What
the loving God of the Bible has done for his people
(believers)
goes way beyond an intellectual awareness of their
condition.
What is included in the knowledge of God, that is, the
‘knowledge
which God has of believers, is what he has purposed
for
believers, his people and what he brought about for them--
-
“according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in
Christ
Jesus our Lord.” (Ephesians 3:11)
-
It was God
who “made him (Jesus) who had
no sin to be sin for us, so that
in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2
Corinthians
5:21)
-
”It
is because of him (God) that you (the
believers being addressed)
are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom
from
God--that is, our righteousness,
holiness and redemption.
Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the
Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:30-31)
Why did Christ come? To do what sinners, even the
most obedient, could not do. He
came because the obedience of any sinner--which by
definition
includes the Jews--was not enough to earn what God had
promised.
Jesus the Christ came to earn for God’s people the promises
God had
made to his people (Ephesians
3:11); it was the substitution of
Christ’s
perfect obedience in life and sacrificial death that accomplished
this. Jesus
the Christ came not to destroy the Law (of God) but to fulfill
it.
It
was because God knows the power of
sin—that before the sacrificial death of Christ its dominion was complete
(Galatians 3:22)--; It is because of his knowledge of sin and what is in the
heart of human beings that he knew
human beings, sinners, were incapable of keeping the law of God perfectly, therefore
he provided the solution—the solution of how to be just and holy and, at the same
time, to be the justifier of his people (Romans 3:23,
25-26).
-
“For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending
his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he
condemned sin in sinful man.” (Romans 8:3)
-
Why did Jesus the Christ come?—to fulfill the law--
“in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in
us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.”
(Romans 8:4)
-
Jesus
said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not
come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven
and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen,
will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”
(Matthew 5:17-18)
-
“Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone
who believes.”
(Romans 10:4)
Many of the verses which speak of the objective of
the Christian life describe that objective in terms of ‘knowing God.
-
Speaking
of believers’ knowledge of God, Jesus says to his
disciples,
“If
you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From
now on, you do know him and have seen him."
(John
14:7)
-
Jesus
said to his disciples, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give
you another
Counselor to be with you forever--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
14:17)
-
“We
know also that the Son of God has come and has given
us
understanding, so that we may know him
who is true. And we are in him
who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He
is the true God
and eternal life.“
(1 John 5:20)
-
What
was the reason that the risen Christ chose some individuals “to
be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists,
and some to
be pastors and teachers”
(?) Answer:
“to prepare God's
people for works of service that
the body of Christ may be built up
until
we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge
of the Son
of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of
the fullness of Christ.”
(Ephesians 4:13; see also
Romans 8:29)
-
“For
this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not
stopped
praying for you and asking God to fill you with the
knowledge
of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
And we pray this in order that you may live a
life worthy
of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing
fruit in
every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”
(Colossians
1:9-10)
-
“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
demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up
against the
knowledge of God, and we take captive every
thought
to make it obedient to Christ.
“(2 Corinthians 10:5)
-
In
Jesus own prayer to his Father in heaven Jesus said,
“Now this
is eternal
life: that they may know you, the only true God, and
Jesus
Christ, whom you have sent.“ (John
17:3)
While in the preceding verses the expression
‘knowing
God’ or ‘knowledge of God’ is referring to the knowledge believers
have of God, not the ‘knowledge’ God has of us, it is still true that each
verse brings out the fact that there is more to both God’s knowledge
of
us and our knowledge of him than mental or intellectual perception
Also
the line between God’s knowledge of us and what the
believer’s
knowledge of God brings about sometimes becomes hazy because there is
an
‘interaction’ or an ‘intertwining’ of the two truths that defies our
understanding.
The Bible says that it is “through our knowledge of
him who called us by his own glory and goodness“ that God has bestowed on
us “everything
we need for life and godliness.“
The Bible
also says it
is by knowing God, by knowing God’s “great
and precious
promises” that believers may “may participate in the divine nature and
escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires“ (2
Peter
1:3-4; see also Ephesians 4:13; Romans 8:29)
Perhaps one of the clearest statements recorded in
the New Testament of what
God’s statement ‘I know you’ means is God’s negative statement
‘I never knew you’. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus warned the people
about false
prophets—about individuals who were not what they seem.
"Not
everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but
only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will
say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name, and
in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'
Then I
will tell them plainly, `I never knew you.
Away from me, you evildoers!' (Matthew
7:21
-23; see also Luke
13:27
; 1
John 2:4)
God who knows what is in
the heart is not fooled by appearances as human beings may be. Jesus
could say
with authority and certainty--“I
know you. I know that you do not have the
love of God in your hearts.“
(John 5:42; see also 1 Samuel 16:7)
That
God took action reveals that God’s ‘knowing who were
his people (2
Timothy
2:19) was not a purely intellectual
observation. --“God
made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might
become the
righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) The translation
of this
verse points to the synonymousness of Christ’s ‘knowing’ and ‘having’
sin. Many modern translations of this verse use some form of the
verb for
‘knowing’ (KJV, NKJV, AMPLIFIED, NAS, NRSV, DARBY, ESV,
NASB95,
WILLIAMS, BECK, RHEIMS, MLB) perhaps because the Greek
uses that
verb. But in our culture and language the meaning can
be expressed
by other verbs such as ‘having’.
Of
course, in this world we do not comprehend all of God’s ways.
“Do
you not know? Have you not heard?", says the
prophet Isaiah, “The Lord is the
everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will
not grow
tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
“ (Isaiah 40:28) The greatest
‘theologian’ in the New Testament, the apostle
Paul, said this about God’s ways--“Oh, the depth of the riches of
the wisdom
and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments,
and his
paths beyond tracing out!” (Romans 11:33; see also 1Corinthians
13:12)
Even
though we do not comprehend all God’s ways, we who are his
people can count on God’s knowledge and favor.
-
As
the Bible says: "Never
will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
-
The apostle Paul addresses the believers
in Galatia, saying, "But now that you know God--or rather are known by God--how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? " (Galatians 4:9)
-
What
does the Bible say about God’s solid foundation? It says,
”God’s
solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord
knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Everyone who
confesses
the name of the Lord must turn away from Wickedness.’
” (2 Timothy 2:19)
-
"The man who loves God is known by
God." (1 Corinthians 8:3)
-
"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I
am fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12)
-
To
repeat the words of Jesus the ‘good shepherd’ concerning his
‘sheep’,
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know
them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can
snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has
given them
to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out
of my
Father's hand. I and the Father are one.” (John
10:27
-
30)
Since when and until when are Believers surrounded
by the
‘knowledge of God’
God’s
relationship to believers was surrounding
them (you)
before the creation of the world
God’s relationship to believers was in existence
before the creation of the physical world.
-
What does the Bible say about when God exerted his power
to save his people? Not only did we believers have nothing to do with God’s
choice or
action which “saved us and called us to a
holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose
and grace” but “this
grace
was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time”
-- before even the world was created.
(2 Timothy. 1.9)
-
“a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of
eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised
before the beginning of time"
(Titus
1:2)
-
But we ought always to thank God for you,
brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved
through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
(2 Thessalonians 2:13)
-
"For he chose us in him (in Christ) before the
creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he
predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance
with his pleasure and will…. In him we were also chosen, having been
predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity
with the purpose of his will, …Having believed, you were marked in him with a
seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance
until the redemption of those who are God's possession—“ (Ephesians1:4-5,
11, 13-14)
-
“He (Jesus Christ) was chosen before
the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified
him, and so your faith and hope are in God.“ (1 Peter 1:20-21)
-
“All inhabitants of the earth will worship
the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging
to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world."
(Revelation 13.8)
God’s
knowledge/care of believers was
surrounding
them before they were born
-
To
the prophet Jeremiah God said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew
you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the
nations." (Jeremiah 1:5)
-
The
apostle Paul said, “But when God, who set me apart from
birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so
that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, (Galatians. 1:15-16)
-
“The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an
everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” (Jeremiah
31:3)
God’s
knowledge/care/protection of believers (you)
is
unceasing; it surrounds you now and forever
-
"For
the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people,
because
the LORD was pleased to make you his own."
(1 Samuel 12.22;
see also Titus
2:14)
-
“God
has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.": So we
say
with confidence,
'The Lord is
my helper; I will not be afraid. What
can
man do to me?'" (Hebrews
13.5-6; see also Isaiah 51:12)
-
What
has Christ done for his people? God protects them until salvation-- ”He
has given us new birth into a living hope through
the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead,
4 and
into an inheritance that can never perish,
spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, 5 who
through faith are shielded by
God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to
be revealed
in the last time.
“ (1 Peter 1.3-5)
-
The
heart of the Gospel is the message that death has been overcome.
“When the
perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the
mortal with
immortality, then the saying that is written (in God’s word-the
Old
Testament, Isaiah 25:8) will come true: "Death has
been swallowed up in
victory."
(1 Corinthians 15:54)
-
The
apostle Paul described the situation of believers, saying,
“For while we
are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we
do not wish
to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
so that
what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who
has made us
for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a
deposit,
guaranteeing what is to come.” (2
Corinthians 5:4-5)
What
did Jesus say about his people, his ‘sheep’—“I
give them eternal life, and
they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out
of my hand. My
Father, who
has given them to me, is greater than
all; no one can
snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father
are one."
(John
10:28-30) God’s
protection does not end either in time or eternity; God’s
promises
don’t become inoperative or meaningless when the
body disintegrates (dies). Unless Christ returns to earth before the
bodies of
God’s people disintegrate it is after that event (commonly called 'death) that
believers enter the stage in their life when the promised
inheritance
becomes a 'current reality'. As it says in the Bible, only
then will
believers fully participate in and enjoy the ‘life’ that is
truly life
(1 Timothy
6:19)
-
"If only for this life we
have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than
all men. But
Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the
firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians
15:19-20)
-
”I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened
in order
that you may know the hope to which he has called you,
the riches
of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably
great power for us who believe. That power is like
the working
of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ
when he
raised him from the dead and seated him at his right
hand in the
heavenly realms,
(Eph 1.18-20)
What is Christianity if it is not "a
faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not
lie, promised before the beginning of time"
(Titus
1:2; see also 2
Peter 3:3-13)
Was Jesus the Christ misinformed or lying when he said, ”
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no
one can snatch them out of my hand. My
Father, who has
given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch
them out of
my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." (John
10:28
-30)
?
CONCLUSION
We
have heard or read over and over again in the Old Testament and in
the New
Testament how God’s attitude towards, or involvement with, his people is
described not as one of remoteness or indifference or as one of purely
intellectual apprehension but as a beneficent and loving one
What
God’s ‘knowledge’ includes—his promises, his power/ability to
protect his
chosen people, his power/ability to keep his people from
falling,
his power/ability to transform them from glory to glory, his
power/ability
to present them faultless and blameless in his presence, in
his
kingdom. (Romans
8:32-35) A distant and detached collection of intellectual
observations
or perceptions is not what is meant by the ‘knowledge of
God’.
”In
him (in
Christ) we were also chosen, having been predestined
according
to the plan of him who works out everything
in conformity with the purpose
of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in
Christ,
might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included
in Christ
when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
Having
believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy
Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the
redemption
of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his
glory.” (Ephesians 1:11-14)
How
wonderful it is to be surrounded by God. What an amazing comfort
it is when believers remember that they are--have always
been--always
will be surrounded
by the knowledge of God, enveloped by the knowledge of
Him
who knows--purposed--planned the end from before time began."
And we
know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have
been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he
also justified; those he justified, he also glorified."
(Romans
8:28-30)
