Bible Studies

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Hi people, today I will be writing about our relationship with God. Let me talk about something common in all our lives. Now if I were to ask you how well do you know a particular person (Lets call him Mr X), those of you who have interacted with him or just seen him around, may be describe him as tall, dark, nice guy, sincere, hard working & so on. This would be the general opinion, you know him but only as an acquaintance. Now how would a friend of Mr X know him? He would know him by knowing where he stays, what are the matters that concern him, know his family in person, know what he likes and dislikes, where does he like being in his free time, where does he work & other things like that. Of course you would only know him so well if you like spending time with him.

Along these lines, is also how well do we know God? Now let us see how the people in the times of the Old Testament knew God? They knew he was their rescuer from all trouble, the conqueror of their enemies, they knew the promises he made to them, they knew they were His people but knew very little about God. Unlike the above scenario God knew all there was to know about his people. Let me quote some supporting scripture. These are the solemn words of Agur son of Jakeh, here he raises questions on how well do we know God, his unique identity & what all God can do.

Proverbs 30:4
4 Who has ever mastered heavenly knowledge?
Who has ever caught the wind in his hand?
Or wrapped up water in a piece of cloth?
Or fixed the boundaries of the earth?
Who is he, if you know? Who is his son?

As you can see, Agur raised his questions asking the people of that time that if you know God then who is He? & who is his Son? Now the people of the Old Testament knew little about the identity of God. God never revealed who he was until Jesus came. Let me give you some proof

• When God wrestled with Jacob at Peniel (Genesis 32:22-32), God did not even reveal his name to Jacob even on asking but blessed Jacob & named him Israel.
• When God called Moses to go into Egypt to rescue his people from slavery, this was part of their conversation.
Exodus 3:13-15
13 But Moses replied, “When I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ So what can I tell them?”
14 God said, “I am who I am. This is what you must say to them: ‘The one who is called I AM has sent me to you.’

{Note: I am who I am...I AM; or I will be who I will be...I WILL BE. “I am” sounds like the Hebrew name Yahweh, traditionally transliterated as Jehovah. This name is represented in this translation by “the Lord” in capital letters, following a usage which is widespread in English versions.}

15 Tell the Israelites that I, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have sent you to them. This is my name for ever; this is what all future generations are to call me.

As you may notice, the people of the Old Testament, knew little of their God & this is how God kept it till Jesus came. Let us now move to the New Testament to show you that God reveals himself to his people through his Son Jesus.

Matthew 3:17
Then a voice said from heaven, “This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased.”

Matthew 17:15
While he was talking, a shining cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased — listen to him!”

Matthew 16:15-17 (Apostle Peter’s conversation with Jesus)
15 “What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 “Good for you, Simon son of John!” answered Jesus. “For this truth did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven.

As you can see from verse 17 Apostle Peter spoke these word through a revelation from God the Father.

Now I would like to jump back to my previous quotation from scripture (Proverbs 30:4) of Agur asking about the identity of God. “Who is he, if you know? Who is his son? ”, from this piece of scripture you can understand that you need to know God first & only then comes knowing who is His Son.

So my friend as I have shown you God revealed who He was through his Son Jesus. We know His Son, which is the later part of the question so shouldn’t this mean that the first question has been automatically answered? Any ways we shall move on. I am sure some of you will be thinking, well God revealed his Son to us but he did not reveal himself. Why is that? Don’t worry, I have an answer in scripture for you. Here is Apostle Philip’s conversation with Jesus.

John 14:8-11
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father; that is all we need.”
9 Jesus answered, “For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I have spoken to you,” Jesus said to his disciples, “do not come from me. The Father, who remains in me, does his own work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If not, believe because of the things I do.

Consider what Jesus says in John 10:30
The Father and I are one.”

Also consider where God the Father refers to his Son Jesus as God in Hebrews 1:8,
About the Son, however, God said: “Your kingdom, O God, will last for ever and ever! You rule over your people with justice.

So you see my friends with the coming of Jesus, we come to know God at a personal level. We come to learn that God exist as One in the Father Son & Holy Spirit. Knowing Jesus, is knowing God as your own friend. Here is some scriptural support for you. This was how we disciples are to Jesus. Below is what Jesus says to his disciples.

John 15:15
15 I do not call you servants any longer, because servants do not know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.

So you see the privilege of knowing Jesus, it is as though you are in His arms because he calls you friend. This is something the people of the Old Testament would never even dream of & this is the privilege that you would have with God only in Jesus. As I mentioned in the start of the post, you no longer know God as an acquaintance but as a friend. This is how close you are to God.

I would like to close by saying, having a friend in Jesus is a relationship not a religion. The difference is that a relationship is a bond between real people. In a relationship there is 2 way communication & reactions to actions, that is what knowing Jesus is, you talk with him, which is prayer (no scripts), you complain to him, sometimes grumble sometimes laugh but most of all you acknowledge what he has done to save you from the wages of your sins. This is very different from religion because religion consists of rituals, you follow the rut (same thing time after time) not matter where you are or which situation you are in. Sometimes religion also presents you with a code of how you should externally present yourself in society. This is difference between a relationship & a religion.

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