Title: Knowledge of God ②
Contents
In last week's sermon, I studied that when we know God, 1) spiritual growth begins, 2) we can obtain eternal life (John 17:3), 3) we gain wisdom and understanding (Proverbs 9:10). continues....
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4) Grace and peace come from knowing God (2 Peter 1:2,3) “Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus. 3 By his miraculous power, all things pertaining to life and godliness has been given to us, through the knowledge of him who called us by his glory and virtue.”
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The Bible says that when we come to know God, grace and peace increase. Knowing God here does not mean knowing God in terms of information, but full knowledge, that is, knowing experientially about knowing. Although we know the President, we only know it for information, and without a personal meeting, I and the President do not know each other. Likewise, we cannot claim to know God from what we know as omnipotent, omnipotent, Creator, and doctrinally. To truly know God, only those who accompany him in life and have personal fellowship on a regular basis can be confident that they know God fully. What happens when we fully know God experientially?
1) Grace abounds.
“Grace” is the gift (gift) of God's voluntary, unrestricted love for man. Grace is the desire and the ability to do God's will and the desire to do God's will. Let's see what kind of work will happen when we receive this grace. 1 Peter 5:10 “The God of all grace, who called you in Christ to his eternal glory, after you have suffered for a little while, will himself restore you, make you strong, and establish you.” is said to be the God of God is the source of grace and comfort, the giver of grace in abundance. Therefore, grace is always abundant in God and always overflows. That is why Peter refers to him as “the God of all grace.” This expression provides great hope and comfort to the suffering saints, and it means that God gives grace through special help among all the sufferings the saints face. Through this grace, the saints are made whole, made firm, strong, and established.
“Grace” means that the weak long for God's grace in their heart, and the broken heart arouses a burning desire to be rebuilt and strengthened. And grace also empowers us to repair what is broken and to build on what is weak, so that we are made whole, made firm, strong, and solidified. That we have received grace means that these things happen to us.
2) Peace abounds.
“Peace-shalom” means peace, peace, peace. It is used as the opposite concept of war and refers to the state of mental, material, and physical freedom, complete and ideal sufficiency. The peace spoken of in the Bible is that we are not affected by any circumstance around us. A person who has received the peace of God as a gift is not shaken or afraid by the circumstances no matter what circumstances they are in. Rather, the saints are not controlled by the environment, but overcome the environment. He actively manipulates the environment (John 14:27). In the book of Philippians, Paul, who was imprisoned in prison, is rather comforting those outside the prison (Philippians 4:4-7). Like Paul and Silas, like Daniel and three friends, like Peter, they can be thrown into the night, thrown into the lions' den, into the fire, into the prison. Even in this kind of situation, if we know and depend on God, we can win more than enough. You can triumph in the Lord without giving in to circumstances. People who don't know God tend to blame others, complain, and become discouraged in this situation. But those who fully know God will overflow with peace.
We need this kind of grace, this kind of peace for us living today. God sees our reaction and sometimes envy drives us into the storms of life to see our attitude. Typhoons can also be created through various events and people. God gives us typhoons and pays close attention to how we overcome them and maintain peace. God wants understanding, tolerance, forgiveness and love in our lives. There is peace when we know God (2 Peter 1:2).
Grace is already in me. But God's grace is experienced only by knowing God. Peace is already within me. But only when you know God will that peace be mine. So, knowing God is the most important thing for us. We should devote all of our time to getting to know God. If we only want to know God, God will reveal Himself to us. The Lord says, “If you seek me and seek me with all your heart, you will find me” (Jeremiah 29:13). The Lord reveals Him when we meditate on His Word. God also reveals Himself through the brothers who are close to me. The Lord uses everything we have to show Himself. If you enter the lion's den of life, your experience is useless, your age, education, and status are of no use. Only those who know God have grace and peace.
When a crisis comes to me, it is a time to measure how much I know God. Even in times like these, those who know God have grace. There is peace and victory. I hope that you will enjoy spiritual growth, spirituality, grace, and peace abundantly by knowing God fully. (2005.2.6.)