In a recent sermon, Pastor Peter compared accurate knowledge about God (a kind of so-called ‘belief’ that even the demons have, James 2:19) with a saving faith that necessarily produces fruit. This got me thinking about how the Holy Spirit moves people like us toward the latter.
One of the primary purposes of Scripture is to reveal God to us so that we might truly behold, know, and believe in him on this deeper level. A generation of Israelites who grew up after the time of Joshua were described as those who "did not know God" (Judges 2:10). Paul attributes the past sinful patterns of the Galatian believers to the fact that they "did not know God" (Galatians 4:8).
But it's not enough to simply know facts about God. Paul describes those caught in sin this way: "although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Romans 1:21). Maybe they knew who God was and that he deserved their worship, but they hadn't truly known him well enough to allow him to transform their lives.
Many passages in Scripture help us see what it means to know God in a deeper way than those described in Romans 1. In Jeremiah 22:11–17, we see an accusation against a particular king of Judah that gives us some insight into God's heart. Jeremiah exposes the self-centered nature of the king's heart as evidenced by his behavior. He contrasts this with the righteous reign of the king's father, Josiah, which is the focus of the question in verse 16: "Is not this to know me? declares the Lord."
Doing justice and righteousness, judging the cause of the poor and the needy (v. 15, 16)—this is to know God, for it reveals eyes and heart that look beyond self to protect the innocent, avoid oppression and violence (v. 17), and count others more significant than self (Philippians 2:3). This is the sacrifice Micah called Israel and us to make (Micah 6:8). It reveals the way of God's kingdom with its attitudes and priorities (Matthew 5:3-12) that are so often at odds with our natural instincts and the direction our culture tries to move us in.
And this is why Christ came to earth. This is why we anticipate his return. Even those of us who are not kings realize that we have power to do justice and righteousness in our own contexts. And yet, there are wrongs that can only be made right by the Prince of Peace. So we wait for him. We long for his perfect justice, knowing that, apart from his sacrifice in our place, we would be on the receiving end of his perfect wrath. As he calls his people to put an end to evil, correct oppression (Isaiah 1:17), and defend the rights of the poor, needy, and marginalized (Proverbs 31:8-9), we eagerly wait for him to do this more completely and permanently (Revelation 21:4). Come, Lord Jesus!