I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. — Ephesians 1:17
It’s interesting that the word for “know” that the Apostle Paul uses here in the original language of the New Testament means “to know intimately.” It literally means to get right up on the object of our attention and get as close as possible and examine it from every angle. One word study reference says, “It refers to a knowledge laying claim to personal involvement.”1
I want to personally get involved with God like that. I want to know all about Him that’s humanly possible, not only as He has revealed Himself in His creation and in His word, and in the person of His Son Jesus Christ, but I want to experience Him and His power intimately—and it’s going to take more than one more Bible study, or one more memory verse, or one more theological doctrine, as good as all of these may be.
Here’s how I plan to do it. Maybe you’d like to join me. Charles H. Kraft, in his challenging book, Confronting Powerless Christianity, reminds us that “There are at least three kinds of knowledge: intellectual, observational and experiential.”2 In order to receive the intimacy of truth, especially when it comes to God, our goal should be all three. It’s like a three-legged stool; it’s more stable, functional, and reliable than one with only one leg—or two. Here’s why:
When I read or hear a promise from the Bible, I have been trained to believe it—intellectually. In my head I know it’s true because other scriptures tell me God’s word is true. But being in my mind doesn’t prove to me that it’s always accurate because that’s only one leg of knowledge. That’s intellectual truth.
However, when I observe that promise from God’s word happening in someone else’s life, through their testimony, that confirms for me the truth that I know intellectually. Now I know it’s true—at least for someone else. That’s observational truth.
But, when I personally experience that intellectual truth that I have observed in others, because it happens to me—then I know it’s absolute and I don’t care what anybody else says about it ever again. It’s a done deal. That’s experiential truth.
In other words, when I receive truth, observe it working in someone else, then experience it for myself—then I know, that I know, that I know! I want to personally experienced God that way—in everything. That’s my goal for the rest of my life. How about you?
Pastor Don
1Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary, World Bible Publishers, p. 624.
2Charles H. Kraft, Confronting Powerless Christianity, Evangelicals And The Mission Dimension, Chosen Books, p. 71.
