If you went out and started asking random people,

“Do you know God?” They would have many answers.

 Some might say, yes, I’ve heard about God.  Or Sure I know about Him.. Or I know of Him.. But they, and we, are often confused about what it means to know someone. You might be introduced to the Governor, and then you might say, Yes I know the Governor, even though you have only met once . But with a single meeting you cannot honestly say you know a person. Saying you truly know someone, suggests a closer, intimate relationship.

To truly know someone means you have some kind of special bond that sets the relationship apart form just a casual acquaintance.

With God, Knowledge and love are both perfect. When He created the world and everything in it He said it was good, but when He then created man in His own image, He said it was very good. Created in God’s image, human beings enjoyed a perfect relationship with the Creator and lived in harmony. Since they shared the perfect love and knowledge of God Adam and Eve really had nothing else to want for.

But even the fall into sin was related to knowledge, wasn’t it? In a crafty way, Satan told eve that God didn’t want them to know good and evil. He led Adam and Eve to believe their lives could be even more complete. They then wanted to seek knowledge without the responsibility that goes with it,  and their pride brought sin and disaster to the world. Adam and Eve regularly walked with God in the garden in harmony, but after the fall into sin, when they heard God walking in the garden, they hid. That was the first time they even knew what fear was. The intimate relationship they had with God was shattered!

Even today our sinful nature causes us to be afraid of God. Our conscience, and the Word tells us that all, and yes, we have fallen short of God’s demands. So we want to be good in order to make him forgive us, or make us feel we are good enough. Even with the limited knowledge we have of God, we sinful people know there is something wrong with our relationship. It is really not even about believing in God or even Jesus either, Is it? After all, that is the kind of knowledge the devil has! The Apostle James tells us in (James 2:19) “You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder” Most all people strive for knowledge. Human pride makes us all place a lot of value on knowledge doesn’t it?

Even as little children you might remember taunting your friends, or siblings with your knowledge of something. I remember hearing it and maybe even saying it. “I know something you don’t know, I know something you don’t know….. anyone remember that? As adults we sometimes Act in the same childish ways. We often see this in social media now, right?

Let’s hear what St Paul wrote to the Corinthians about certain knowledge.

This is 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Now about food sacrificed to idols:  We know that “We all possess knowledge.”  But knowledge puffs up,  while love builds up. Those who think they know something, do not yet know as they ought to know.    But whoever loves God is known by God.  So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

But not everyone possesses this knowledge.  Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food, they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak,   it is defiled.  But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.   For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols?  So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.   When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

Wow!  Our example in life is very important, isn’t it?

As people, we have gained amazing knowledge in the last century. Yet some of the same basic questions get asked over and over.

How does the most basic living cell come into existence?

How does life come from non-life?   

Even these basic questions make scientists look on in awe of God’s marvelous creation. Even when they don’t want to admit it is God. As soon as a great discovery is made in this area, They soon realize they have even more unanswered questions that they had before!

Did you know There are about One Hundred Quinvigintillion atoms in the observable universe. That incredible number is 10 to the 80th power. That’s a 10 with 80 zero’s after it. A pretty big number right?

But listen to this,

The odds of just one most basic living cell coming together randomly in our entire universe is roughly 1 in 10 to the 90,000th power. Yes, that has 90,000 zero’s after it. It is a number so large there is no known name for it.

    Just for a little perspective on the ridiculously small chance that is.

the odds of claiming the jackpot in a Powerball drawing are 1 in 292.2 million. Thas is 292 with 6 zero’s after it.  

I bet a cell is forming by itself without God every day, right?

Sure! And you will also win the Powerball jackpot billions of times every second too!  

Does that seem reasonable to you?  No, and it shouldn’t sound reasonable to anyone.

Some people say we are dumb to believe in our Creator.

Well, I have news for you,  and for the people that are too smart to believe in the Creator God.

This mathematical stumbling block, that is impossible to overcome, is why it takes more blind faith to believe in evolution than to believe in our God.

That is why the Holy Spirit of God also inspired Paul to write in (Romans 1:18-23)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made…..   So they are without excuse. For 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. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

All through history people have been trying to increase their understanding of God. There are some who think there may be a God or many gods, but they don’t know Him. They usually think they are “good people” so God will surely let them into heaven, or at least they are “good enough” so God would never send them to hell.

But there is a problem for many of God’s people as well. We may find ourselves trying to gain enough knowledge so that we can please God…… even in some small way. So that maybe He will look down and say “well done! You now deserve salvation! However, that effort to achieve salvation through our knowledge or our goodness is the focus of most of the world’s cults, and sadly, many sects of organized religion. All of that “good work” will be of no benefit! As soon as we begin to think our goodness is enough, we begin to make ourselves our own god and we begin to cancel out God’s grace that is freely given to us.

St Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians that true knowledge is to be known by God.  

Remembering verse 3 from the letter?

“But whoever loves God is known by God.”

God reveals something about Himself, not only through our consciences, but also through the glorious revelation of the universe!

For we no as it is written in Psalm 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky aboveproclaims his handiwork.

As we look at the beauty of the mountains and lakes and watch in awe as the smallest of seeds become incredible trees, plants, and food to sustain us, we ought to realize that there has to be a designer and builder of all things….
But that is only part of the picture!

Trying to understand God from the world around us is like overhearing a conversation in a noisy place. You may hear bits of the conversation, but not the whole thing. Not enough to hear the whole story, but enough to make it very interesting and capture your attention. But while you try to fill in the rest of the conversation, you are usually wrong! You may not even know the point of the conversation or the reason for it.

What we gain in knowledge of God from the world alone is like that. We may get bits and pieces of the story, but we are not really introduced to His love and mercy except through His revelation to us, that is given in Holy scripture. We must depend on God’s Word to tell us about our sinful condition.

Sure, our conscience tells us something is not right, but only through the scriptures do we realize just how hopeless our condition really is. The Law of God in the scriptures reminds us that self-help books, and all efforts carried out by our flesh,  don’t work in spiritual matters.

Praise be to God that the story doesn’t end there!

Through His gospel we receive the good news that salvation has already been accomplished for us! This is good news that God wants everyone to know! Through His Word he has shared the greatest story with us. The story of salvation!

Isn’t it amazing that God’s love for us was so great that He was willing to sacrifice His own Son for us,

Isn’t it amazing that He did that so that we are again able to live in harmony with Him like it was in the Garden of Eden.

Isn’t it also amazing that believers will also live in perfect harmony with each other and with Him for eternity!

In verse 8 of the reading Paul reminded us that there is “but one Lord, Jesus Christ”. 

There is only one who created,

There is only one who perfectly loved

There is only one who redeemed.

And only one in which we now live.

There is no life without God.        

To know that,

To really know that

 is faith…..      and through that faith is salvation…

In (Romans 1:6) St Paul also professed;

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 

The Word gives us more than brain knowledge. The Holy Spirit works through that Word to bring about conversion. The Holy Spirit even brings faith through Baptism as Peter said in (1 Peter 3:21) Baptism now saves you, and then later in (Acts 2:38)  he said  “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”.

In (1 John 5:13) John said “ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. This assurance is a spiritual knowledge,  and that is only possible because God knows us.

Many human relationships are joined together by love. But many people do not want more than an acquaintance, and sadly, that is not a real relationship, but a distant one. If you truly love, it always feels like there is a risk of being hurt, or of your love not being returned.

God took that risk in loving us!

He gave His only begotten Son to die so that we may live.

When St Paul talks about us being known by God,  he is speaking of a knowledge that is a friendly, loving, fatherly, intimate, and caring knowledge. That is a knowledge that brings about our love in return.

Paul’s message is also one that urges us to be concerned, and care about someone other than ourselves. The culture that was dominant in the time of Paul’s letter was maybe even worse than ours today with regard to the idolatry that invaded every aspect of life. You could go to a family,  social or even a business dinner and you could be eating meat that was offered to a pagan Idol. There were two schools of thought at that time. One would go eat the meat even offered to pagan gods because they knew they were meaningless anyway,   and because Christians were free, there was no harm in it. and another would go without eating, rather than eat that meat offered to idols. Those that would avoid it were also concerned about the impression it would give to others,   who were not yet strong in faith.

Paul’s teaching on this was that it could not be handled from the knowledge of the mind,   but that we must approach it with love for the neighbor and for the weaker brothers and sisters in faith. We would not want to do anything that may cause others to sin. Though we are free in Christ because we know the false gods are meaningless, we should not be so proud that we brag about, or flaunt our strong faith, and Christian freedom. by what we watch on television, or with regard to alcohol use, or anything else that could lead someone else who is weaker in faith to temptation.

Paul says that we sin against our brother by harming their conscience if they even think they are sinning. And if we do that, we ourselves are sinning against Christ. With Christian wisdom, we should try to avoid showing the knowledge of our freedom in a boastful way.

We continue to study God’s Word, and as we gain more knowledge, we also find out that the closer we get, just like the scientists studying the origin of life, the more unanswered questions we have, and we realize just how much knowledge we still lack. No. we are not masters of the universe either.

We know that when we earnestly study God’s Word, we must accept that it is not our brilliance, but the Holy Spirit that is bringing about miraculous change through the power of His Word. We see these miraculous changes in men, women, and children. It is not a change that is limited by the academic achievement someone has gained in school, but the change excels in one whose relationship with God is special and unique because they let the Holy Spirit speak to them through His Word.

In (2 Timothy 3:17) Paul encouraged Timothy to use the scriptures

 “so he may be equipped for every good work”

When we are equipped for this good work, we become anxious to share this good news with others.

In (John 3:11) Jesus told Nicodemus that “we speak of what we know”

As we have learned, to know about Jesus is one thing, But to know Him and to be known by Him,    brings us to want to share the wonderful message of redemption.

From God’s Word we receive the Good News of the love of Jesus Christ. And we are prompted to share it.

Throughout the year in church, we are reminded that we are special. Why? Because of God’s love and His willingness to enter into human history on our behalf. You and I can be certain of our victorious Christian life, and the freedom we enjoy because of the final victory of Jesus over death. His death is the price paid to redeem you, and I, to purchase our salvation. His resurrection was the proof that His work on the cross was sufficient and acceptable to our Heavenly Father.

Because we have come to know this truth, we can have the greatest joy possible. We have God’s love. And we can’t keep quiet about it. We want others to be changed as God changed our lives don’t we?

We are changed because God knows us by name, And we want God to know everyone.