BELIEVING IN GOD YET NOT KNOWING HIM
" Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." ( 1 John 4:8)
Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable (Job 36:26).
It is a great thing to know God. Blessed are those who knows God, they will walk in His statutes and obey His commandments. Blessed are those who knows the Lord of Hosts; who command all heavenly, earthly and satanic forces. What a great privilege and grace to know the Almighty God, who does marvelous things without number ! (Job 5:9)
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." “Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the Lord.(Jeremiah 9:6) What a great tragedy that befall such fool! He refuse to accept the being of Almighty God nor His works. Even the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork (Psalm 19:1). The earth belongs to Him , and everything that dwells therein (Psalm 24:1). He created everything and the fool couldn't acknowledge God's providence.
There is no excuse for not believing in God because of the testimony of creation (Romans 1) and the testimony of conscience (Romans 2). People intuitively know what is right and wrong: do not murder, do not steal, do not commit adultery, honor parents… ... Because “God has written His law on our hearts”.
No wicked man knows God, and every man that doesn't know God is wicked.
Many people who believe in God are so occupied with their daily activities that they neglect to serve Him.
IGNORANCE IS NO EXCUSE
The eternal power and deity of God are observed by all.(Romans 1:20) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Romans 1:18-21).
We will briefly look at the categories of people who acknowledge the existence of God but refuse to know Him:
1. TOTAL IGNORANCE OF GOD
The person who has no light of the knowledge of God must be wicked and walk in darkness.
2. FALSE /ERRONEOUS KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
Wrong knowledge is a kind of ignorance. God has declared himself to be known, yet they don't know Him. Those who have total ignorance of God(who are in total darkness) as well as those who have an unsound knowledge(who are in false light) are numbered with the wicked. Those who have false principles cannot have a right frame of heart towards God. "Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which do not know You, and upon the kingdoms which do not call upon Your name" (Psalm 79:6)
3. PRACTICAL IGNORANCE OF GOD
They know God but act contrary to their knowledge of Him, they have a right notion and their understanding is not wrapped up in error. " They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good." (Titus 1:16). This knowledge is practical ignorance.
"But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves." (Jude 10). They do not live according to natural principles, as they speak evil of things they do not know, and do evil in those things which they know. Their knowledge is according to the light of nature, but their actions are against the light of nature. They know things as beast do, naturally, but they act contrary to this knowledge; beasts don't do this. Now as wicked man corrupts himself in those things that he knows by nature, so he may corrupt himself in that which he knows by doctrine or instruction. He is brutish in his knowledge (Jeremiah 10:14) though he have a higher knowledge than a beast. To have notions according to knowledge, and actions according to ignorance , is to be brutish in knowledge.
"Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame." (1 Corinthians 15:34) - This speaks to those who have erroneous knowledge of God, or rather, of those that live in ways of unrighteousness against their knowledge. They don't have the knowledge of God that keeps them to the rule of righteousness. This is a practical ignorance of not knowing God.
The Old gentiles provoked God to give them up to vile affections and to a reprobate mind, "because when they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (Romans 1:21); and because (though they had a knowledge of God in them, yet) they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, or to acknowledge God (Romans 1:28). They were punished for sinning against that light which the creature sheds forth concerning God (Romans 1: 23-25).
What will be the punishment of those who know God in His word but not in their works?
4. STUDIED IGNORANCE OF GOD
We ought to know God fully, but some people study to be ignorant of God, and to keep out the knowledge of holy things. They do this to enable them have liberty to sin; "they say to God, depart from us, we do not desire the knowledge of your ways" (Job 21:14). Thus as some people oppose the good which they know, so others refuse to know what is good, so that they may freely practice evil. They follow on to be ignorant of God; and at last is willing to believe the wrong notion that there is no God. He that doesn't care about what God says, will not care much to say, there is no God. Atheism rises from profanes; and the person that blaspheme the word of God daily in his conversation, will at last blaspheme the being of God in his opinion. The affected ignorance of God will quickly cast those that doesn't know God among the sons of men.
"This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." ( Ephesians 4:17-19)
CONCLUSION
The person that knows God will give an experimental taste and relish of the goodness of God, that God is good but a fool will hinder his own proficiency in the knowledge of God to enable him do evil to his satisfaction.
God doesn't know the wicked man, as he doesn't know Him. Wicked men do not know God obediently , and God does not know wicked men favorably. As men are said not to know God when they do not love and reverence Him, when they do not fear and obey Him; so God is said not to know those men, whom he does not love nor approve. "Depart from me you workers of iniquity, I know you not" (Matthew 7:23)
The man who knows God, loves Him. " If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me" (John 14: 23-24) . Those that do not know God, does not love Him nor keep His commandments.
It is eternal life to know God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent(John 17:3). It is a holy life to know God, which will give us a happy life.
Knowing God gives eternal life while ignorance of God leads to eternal death.
Wickedness and Ignorance grow up together; ignorance is the mother of profanes.
If you do not want to be weak and live a useless life, let your heart cry ...."That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Philippians 3:10)
"Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" (2 Thessalonians 1:6 - 9)
WORK CITED
1. " An exposition with practical observations on the book of JOB" by Joseph Caryl.
James Dina
jodina5@gmail.com
1st October 2020
