Knowing God Deeply Part 1

As my seminary classmates and professors can attest, I am not fluent in Koine Greek (the language of the New Testament).  In fact, if I am being honest with myself, I know just enough to be dangerous.  That being said, I do believe that it is very important for seminary educated pastors to regularly work with the Biblical languages.  My Hebrew is very poor now, but I do try to work on my Greek regularly. [Here is an unpaid endorsement for a wonderful Greek tool to help pastors get back on the Greek bandwagon--and then to stay sharp: http://www.amazon.com/Devotions-Greek-New-Testament-Reflections/dp/0310492548/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408569690&sr=1-1&keywords=devotions+in+biblical+greek]

1 John 4:8 reads, “oJ mh\ aÓgapw◊n oujk e¶gnw to\n qeo/n, o¢ti oJ qeo\ß aÓga¿ph e˙sti÷n” which I translate as, “The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  This is a statement that Christians across the theological divide readily confess. Of course God is love, we love to profess to one another (and to ourselves!), but do we really know what this statement means?

A professor in seminary regularly began his classes by stating, “We cannot love God deeply without knowing God deeply.”   This statement, along with the 1 John passage translated above, points us to the knowledge of God in order to love God.  The place where the church has regularly confessed coming to know and encounter God is in Scripture.  This is a significant concern to pastors today because biblical illiteracy is reaching critical levels.  People no longer know that God is love because Scripture proclaims this truth.  Rather, they assume that God is love, forcing their own biblically uninformed worldview onto their faith, and so, their knowledge and understanding of God.

Sadly, it isn't only the laity that are becoming more and more ignorant of the faith in which they have been raised.  I am astounded by the number of pastors I meet who do not spend time in the Scriptures daily, and worse, are not able to articulate the story of salvation.

If we truly desire to know God, and so love God, we must go to where God reveals himself to us.  We need to read Scripture spiritually, study it communally, and pray it devotionally.  We must hear it preached and proclaimed.  It must be taught and received with eager hearts.  Put simply, the way to alleviate the problem of biblical illiteracy is to cultivate an environment of enthusiasm for, and love of, the Word of God.  The Scriptures reveal gospel—the good news of Jesus; that the light has come into the world and the darkness could not, cannot, and will not ever overcome it.  The gospel is centered on the foundational teaching that a loving, creative God sent his Son into the world—to give fully of himself by dying on the cross—that humanity/creation might be reconciled back to him.  That is very good news! 

If Christians are not getting this good news from the Bible, then where are they finding it? If the Scriptures are not the place to find gospel, where does it come from for millions of people today who sincerely believe that they are Christians yet can’t coherently explain their faith in a biblical manner?