But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. Jeremiah 9:24
Can anyone know and understand God? There are two ways to know God; one is the only one that allows us to understand Him. We refer to the religious way and the spiritual way; the religious way adds knowledge but does not teach us to understand God, the spiritual way is based on the Revelation of His Word and is the only one that teaches us to understand Him,
Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. Deuteronomy 4:6
Of course in our study we discard all religious explanations to know God, and establish Revelation alone as the only means to know and understand God. Many have come to know and understand God; the expression “friend of God” (φιλος θεου)[1] declared to Abraham is not a symbolic title, it is the divine declaration of the degree of knowledge and understanding of God that Abraham attained in his walk with Him.
Enoch is another example, the expression “Henoch walked with God” (ευηρεστησεν δε ενωχ τω θεω. Septuagint)[2] is not only the historical reference to Henoch’s relationship with God, but more, Henoch’s level of knowledge and understanding about God, so much so that the biblical reference to him is that he disappeared because God took him.[3]
And so, we could continue to cite cases such as Elijah, whom God took to him in a whirlwind;[4] Elisha, who knew what to do and what to say in every situation;[5] David, who lived in a messianic revelation long before Jesus was manifested;[6] Peter in the New Testament, that even by his shadow the sick were healed,[7] and many others quoted in the epistle of Hebrews of which it is said that through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.[8]
All of them knew and understood God, and it was precisely by the knowledge of Him that they had that they achieved such victories and gained renowned as men and women of faith. They are no exception; they are the general rule to which we are all called. The prophet Jeremiah proposed that this is the spiritual achievement to which every man and woman of God is to turn: let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me. The apostle Paul also wrote along these same lines, and established the rule of life in Christ:
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
And a little later, he wrote:
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, Philippians 3:13
Someone might ask, and even object, Why is it difficult (not to say impossible) for many today to know and understand God?
According to the Epistle of James, the reason why it is difficult for many to know and understand God is because of the friendship with the world, and the dependence they have established on it,
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. James 4:4
To know and understand God, the first thing that God’s man and woman have to do is to renounce friendship with the world; this is the proclamation of the Gospel that the apostles established as the doctrine of Christ:
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Acts 2:40
It is not a new message, it is the same prophetic message of which all the people knew very well, but very few were willing to obey, prophesied so much by the prophet Isaiah,
Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD. Isaiah 52:11
also prophesied by the prophet Jeremiah,
My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD. Jeremiah 51:45
The apostle Paul proclaimed this same message and presented it as the preaching of the cross,
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 2nd. Corinthians 6:17
The apostle John established it as the cornerstone of life in Christ,
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. 1st. John 2:15-17
Only he who is willing to renounce the world and dependence on it, is the one who can be above circumstances,
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 1st. John 5:5
This is the foundation for supernaturally operating in all situations and circumstances; those who maintain alliances with the world establish circumstantial forms of operation and cannot operate supernaturally. Abraham was able to defeat with three hundred men four kings that in previous battle other five kings had not been able to defeat them.[9] Gideon defeated with three hundred men an innumerable army of Midianites and Amalekites who were stationed ready to attack Israel.[10]
To know and understand God constitutes the man and woman of God into men and women of the breaking of the forces of darkness, as it is prophetically written in the Law of Moses,
And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. Leviticus 26:8
Moses reiterates it as God’s natural way of operating supernaturally on behalf of those who know and understand him,
How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up? Deuteronomy 32:30
There is much religious knowledge in our time that has silenced God’s Revelation. It is necessary that the generation of the Sons of God arise, the generation of those who know and understand their Lord, and establish on earth the Will of the Almighty, as it is done in heaven.
Do you want to know your Lord? Go, and renounce friendship with the world and let go of all the covenants that you have made with it,… and follow the Lord.
Well, you realize that life in Christ depends on knowing God; life in Christ is not a religious life, it is not even a church life, in fact, many churches do not teach their parishioners to know God. So, the task before each of us is to learn to know God.
All biblical quotations are taken from the King James Version.
Pastor Pedro Montoya
Twitter: @pastormontoya
https://earthenwarevessels.com
[1] James 2:23
[2] Genesis 5:22
[3] Idem 5:24
[4] II Kings 2:1-11
[5] Idem 6:11-12
[6] Acts 2:30
[7] Idem 5:15
[8] Hebrews 11:33-34
[9] Genesis 14:9-16
[10] Judges 7
Treasure in Earthen Vessels 