There is so much in Scripture that transcends the imagination. Turn to Ezekiel 1, a passage describing Ezekiel’s vision of the heavens and of God. His description contains numerous metaphors and analogies that give us a hint of what he saw, but we can only begin to imagine the glory of God described (vv. 26–28).
In one sense, God is incomprehensible to us. We cannot fully understand Him, and we cannot get to know Him on our own terms. He has to be the One to reveal Himself to us.
Jesus as the Revelation of God
Left to our own devices, we try to reduce God. We want to understand Him, and we want a God we are comfortable with. As a result, we tend to ignore His majesty and think of Him in simple terms. But He has made Himself known through Scripture, and not only through Scripture, but also through His Son.
Jesus is the “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). He is the revelation of God. If we want to know what God the Father is like, then we need to walk with Jesus and know Him intimately. We must study His life in Scripture and rely on the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and our minds to Him. This knowledge of God through Jesus involves relationship–pure reason is not enough to know Him. We must walk with Him in faith and trust Him.
The more you know God, the more you realize He is worthy. All that is beautiful, good, and true come from Him. He is the wellspring of all good gifts (James 1:17).
Knowing God to Glorify God
As you learn more about God, you will love Him and trust Him. As you trust Him, you will obey Him. When you obey Him, you abide in Him. Abiding in Him results in bearing good fruit, and bearing good fruit glorifies God. This chain of events is true both ways: the more you glorify God, the more you will bear good fruit, abide in Him, obey Him, trust Him, love Him, and know Him.
This chain is a call to full discipleship. Merely knowing God through head knowledge is not enough to glorify Him. Instead, we know Him in relationship with Him. We listen to His Word, we receive what He has for us through the Holy Spirit, and we seek to honor Him.
Part of the difficulty with knowing and glorifying God is that the world is too much with us. We may read Scripture briefly or occasionally think about God, but our hearts are not in it. The pursuit of God to know Him is a pursuit that involves the whole being.
As you seek to know God and glorify Him, trust in the Father, abide in the Son, and walk by the Spirit.
Want to know Jesus better? Read Jesus in His Own Words: A Layman’s Perspective.
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This study is based on A. W. Tozer’s book The Knowledge of the Holy and J. I. Packer’s Knowing God.
