Jesus reveals that eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ, not merely through intellectual understanding, but through a close, intimate relationship akin to that of a husband and wife. Our future is to be the Bride of Christ, and He desires a Bride who shows enthusiasm to build this relationship before the marriage. Christ is serious about having a Bride whose relationship, when married, He knows will last for eternity. Not caring enough now to create this closeness is a dangerous warning sign, as seen in the foolish virgins who hear, "I do not know you," and the Laodiceans who are rejected for being lukewarm. How can we build a relationship of such intimacy that God and Christ know it will endure forever? The answer lies in prayer. Through much prayer, we come closer to God and the spiritual things, as any good relationship grows through many conversations. Prayer is talking to God, coming boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find help in time of need. We must prioritize this contact with God, as Daniel did, for whom losing connection with Him even for part of a day was a greater risk than facing lions. Like David, whose soul thirsted for God and who sought Him early with longing, we should pursue this relationship with passion. God and Christ want us to know Them intimately and personally, and They have given us the means through prayer. We must take full advantage of it to make ourselves ready as the Bride for the Bridegroom.

Many people claim to know God, but the more pressing question is whether God knows them. Jesus warns in His parables that not everyone who calls out "Lord, Lord" will be recognized by Him. He declares to some, "I never knew you," despite their claims of familiarity, because they practice lawlessness and unrighteousness. To know God is to experience Him intimately, as depicted in the imagery of a husband and wife, or the bridegroom and bride, reflecting the deep relationship between God and His people. This intimacy means understanding His character, cherishing Him, and being obedient to His commandments. God reveals Himself as a being of lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness. He exercises mercy, compassion, and steadfast love, while maintaining justice, fairness, and unyielding standards. These traits define who He is, and knowing Him requires aligning with these qualities. To truly know Him, and for Him to know us, we must practice righteousness, exercise lovingkindness, and uphold proper judgment. We must strive to mirror His nature, growing in His love and refusing to compromise with His laws. Jesus emphasizes that those He does not know are workers of iniquity, highlighting that obedience is essential to this relationship. If we love Him, we must keep His commandments. By practicing righteousness and striving to reflect His character, we can confidently affirm that we know Him, and more importantly, that He knows us. This intimate bond is sustained through continuous effort to walk in His ways, ensuring we are among the few chosen to enter through the narrow gate.

Under the New Covenant, as foretold in Jeremiah 31:33-34, the Lord declares that He will place His law within the inward parts of His people and write it upon their hearts. He promises to be their God, and they shall be His people. No longer will they need to teach one another to know the Lord, for all shall know Him, from the least to the greatest, as He forgives their iniquity and remembers their sins no more. This access to Him, opened through the New Covenant, allows His people to move beyond merely knowing about Him to knowing Him intimately. In John 17:3, Jesus emphasizes that eternal life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. This intimate knowledge is vital, as the New Covenant removes the barriers that once made God seem distant and unapproachable. Furthermore, in Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus warns that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of His Father. Many will claim to have done great works in His name, yet He will declare, "I never knew you," to those who work lawlessness, showing that knowing God is a mutual relationship requiring obedience and shared standards. The process of knowing God mirrors the way two strangers come to know each other before marriage. It begins with learning about Him, but it must not end there. Continuous seeking deepens the understanding of His awesome nature as a person. Experiencing life with Him transforms mere knowledge into heartfelt faith, as illustrated by Job's realization when he said to God that he had only heard of Him before, but now his eye saw Him. God desires not just for us to know about Him, but to be in familiar acquaintance and loving communion with Him. As David writes in Psalm 34:8, we are invited to taste and see that the Lord is good, to experience life in communion with Him. This tasting represents taking Him into our being through study, prayer, meditation, and obedience, all aimed at knowing Him and intensifying our community with Him, never forgetting that He is a person of incredible character, genius, artistry, and power beyond imagination.

Knowing God is essential to achieving an undivided mind and becoming one with Him. His mind is wholly unified, complete, and unchanging, with no division or confusion. He is always constant, never uncertain about what to do, and consistently headed in the same direction to fulfill His purpose. It is impossible for Him to act in any way that is not wise and loving simultaneously. His sovereignty, love, grace, omniscience, judgment, mercy, and wrath are inseparable, demonstrating His perfect unity under every circumstance. He desires for us to be like Him, to be one with Him, whole, complete, and undivided in mind. This requires our cooperation, as our minds are often scattered and easily distracted compared to His. He calls us to live as He lives, to imitate Him, and to walk in His steps. By seeking Him with passionate desire, we can defragment our minds and align them with His. He instructs us to turn from our divided ways and live as He does, assuring us that this path leads to life. Seeking Him involves prayer, study, meditation, obedience, and occasional fasting, driven by thankfulness for His calling, forgiveness, and Spirit. A thankful heart recognizes the benefits and sacrifices made on our behalf, while desire fuels the pursuit to make good use of what He has given. This passionate longing to be with Him and to be like Him is what unites us to His purpose. He responds to our efforts, promising that if we seek Him, He will be found, and He deals with us as we deal with Him, offering blessings in far greater measure. Ultimately, He is the desire of all nations, embodying the solutions, wisdom, power, understanding, vision, and love that humanity yearns for. By seeking Him now with all our heart, we prepare to become just like Him, achieving the oneness of His mind and avoiding the failures of division. Our calling is to show gratitude and to pursue Him passionately, that we may know Him and be transformed into His image.

Many people struggle with doubts about God when tragedies occur, revealing a lack of truly knowing Him. Almost everyone in America possesses some knowledge of God, yet it is often so superficial as to be disheartening. God declares in Hosea 4:6 that His people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. We desire that doubts about His judgment, love, goodness, and wisdom do not arise in His children's minds. Though our understanding may never be complete, there should be enough to recognize that what He allows is not only right but will ultimately result in good. It is impossible for God to act without love, for He is love, and it drives His personality and character, present in every thought, attitude, word, plan, and judgment, manifesting in acts of goodness. Even in anger, His perspective remains unskewed, His conduct always righteous and in the best interest of all. His wisdom far surpasses human understanding, knowing the end from the beginning, always aware of what to do with exquisite timing. As Paul writes in Romans 11:33, the depth of the riches of both the wisdom and knowledge of God is unsearchable, His judgments and ways beyond finding out. God is in control of His creation, fully aware of where He is headed, and it is part of His character to act decisively when circumstances demand it. We are comforted by the fact that He is always present, even in the midst of tragedy, guiding with purpose toward His Kingdom.

Knowing God is central to the quality of life that He Himself lives, a quality worth living forever. Eternal life, as Jesus states, is to know God, which means living in the same manner of thinking and acting as He does. The only way to truly come to know Him is through a close, personal relationship, not merely by believing in His existence, as this will never foster closeness or a desire to love and submit to Him based on His character and personality. To know God, we must seek Him to discover what He is like and imitate His qualities by studying His Word, learning His will, and putting it into practice. Without living by faith and seeking Him, we will not hear Him, and thus, will never truly know Him. This relationship requires effort, not happening by accident, and is costly in terms of how we live our lives, becoming a living sacrifice through faith in the One who redeemed us. Hearing God's Word is essential to knowing Him, as faith comes by hearing, and hearing leads to understanding. Without this, salvation is impossible, for hearing in the biblical sense means grasping an understanding, not just perceiving sound. We hear through sermons or personal study of His Word, and if we believe and practice it, it becomes part of us, helping us conduct ourselves as He would. Seeking God and living by faith allows us to be created in His image, an opportunity greatly enhanced for those under the New Covenant through the gifts He provides. Knowing Him with intimacy, not otherwise possible, comes from fully accepting His sovereignty over our lives, producing positive qualities that bring us closer to His true image. Those who know Him respect and reverence Him, never wanting to be far from His presence or to disappoint Him, and they are the ones who hear Him. The fear of God, a fruit of accepting His sovereignty, is not dominated by dread or terror but by worshipful admiration and appreciation of His intelligence, creativity, generosity, wisdom, kindness, patience, and mercy, all within His overwhelming yet subdued power. These qualities are only recognized through an abiding relationship and experiences with Him, as merely knowing of His existence is insufficient. The fear of God draws us toward Him, impelling us to submit to His every wish as expressed in His Word, and it is a necessary foundation for a life lived by faith. Without His Word in us, we cannot draw close to Him, and without study, we lack the knowledge and understanding of His will needed to be formed into His image. God's truth sets us free from ignorance of Him and His purpose, and we must know that He is close, loving, wise, and powerful over every circumstance in our lives. As we come to know Him through His Word and experiences, humility emerges as another fruit, gained from comparing our lives to His greatness, further drawing us to Him. Knowing God requires concentrated effort, focused listening, and meditated understanding, producing a vision of Him in our mind's eye that humbles us and instills a desire to be with Him and not displease Him. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of the knowledge of God, opening the pathway to understanding His sovereignty, removing barriers for the growth of godly fear and humility, and paving the way for a deeper relationship with Him.

The beauty, harmony, balance, and providence evident throughout the earth are witnesses of the wisdom, unity, harmony, and love in which He always acts. How important is it to know God? Eternal life is knowing Him, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. He implies an intimate relationship with Him that matures over a lifetime, where each party knows the other as familiarly as marriage partners. We shall know, if we follow on in the path of obedience to know the Lord. Our God has every good quality to the ultimate degree, with every attribute working in perfect and faithful harmony. Studying God in His wholeness should teach us humility, caution in speech and action, and a deep reverence of Him. Human life is a beginning, as God made us in His image and is transforming us into the image of His Son. In bringing us to His perfection, He reveals His whole nature so we can know it and allow Him to reproduce it in us.

Knowing God is essential to our spiritual journey and preparation for the times ahead. We must firmly understand where we stand in relation to Him and His purpose, for without this knowledge, our human nature will resist conforming to His will. We must recognize that He is close, that He is love, that He is wisdom, and that He holds power over every situation in our lives. Not knowing God promotes irreverence and disobedience, as it fosters a reliance on self and boasting. Conversely, knowing God promotes the fear of Him, humility before Him, and thus obedience. Understanding His sovereignty removes every ground for man to depend on himself, leading us to praise Him for the glory of what He is, acknowledging that He is our salvation. This understanding drives us to desire salvation for the purpose of humbling ourselves before Him, that we might glorify Him, and compels us to submit to His will. As we come to see God, His Word becomes the only standard that truly meets our approval. Being enabled to see Him leads to an awareness of our littleness compared to Him, creating a childlike attitude and a sense of dependency. This opens the eyes of our mind to how much we need contact with Him. Without submission to Him and His purpose, there is no salvation, and it dawns on us that we must give our whole-hearted submission to Him. Fully accepting His sovereignty provides the proper comparisons to make wise choices and produces valuable fruits: the fear of God, humility, submissiveness, and uncomplaining endurance.

Seeking God is the main occupation for a Christian during the sanctification process. It does not truly begin until after He reveals Himself to us and we make the covenant with Him. Despite having made the covenant, many fail to translate what they know about Him into everyday living or becoming like Him, often just drifting along with the times. God urges us to seek Him, emphasizing that we may live, indicating that eternal life is not merely endless existence but a quality of life. The responsibility to seek a truer conception of God falls on those who have made the covenant with Him. We are required to seek out intimate details regarding His nature, purpose, and character. This involves understanding what He is like, His attributes, His character in any given situation, what it takes to please Him, how we may glorify Him, how we can become like Him, and how He lives His life. A right concept of God is a Christian necessity because a wrong notion of Him is the very foundation for idolatry, which is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. God Himself declares that a basic, foundational understanding of Him is available to virtually everyone. However, those who know Him but do not glorify Him as God, nor are thankful, become futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts are darkened. They fail to put their knowledge into action, letting their imaginations run wild and worshipping things apart from what God has revealed of Himself, leading straight into idolatry. From God's perspective, the knowledge of Him and His purpose is by far man's most important glory, surpassing any human, material riches an individual might labor to obtain. The power of a covenant people to keep their side of the agreement lies in their relationship with God. When they sincerely seek Him, things go well, but when their seeking relaxes and eventually stops, sin increases, morality decreases, and contact with God ceases. We must continue to seek God and His way after He has led us to repentance, never resting on a shallow knowledge of Him, for demonstrating that He is unimportant to us risks spiritual decline.

The question of who the true God is remains paramount across every nation and era. True knowledge of the Eternal God has been hidden from the world, leaving many with only a superficial understanding. While some may cite that God is love or the Creator of the heavens and the earth, such responses, though accurate, fail to capture His full nature. A more profound insight comes from God's self-description in Exodus 34:6-7, where He reveals Himself as merciful, gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, yet also just, not clearing the guilty and visiting iniquity upon generations. This portrays a God of both soft virtues, like love, and hard edges, often overlooked, showing that He loves and hates, makes peace and war, shows mercy and demands justice, blesses the obedient, and curses sinners. The Bible further illustrates this complexity in Malachi 1:2-3, where God declares His love for Jacob and hatred for Esau, revealing a character far different from simplistic caricatures. This same multifaceted nature is evident in Jesus Christ, who is both gentle and lowly, offering rest to souls, and fiercely confrontational, condemning the Pharisees and driving money changers from the Temple. Defining God too narrowly is a grave error, as He is far too complex for finite minds to fully grasp. Limiting Him to human comprehension, as warned in Psalm 50:21, leads to the dangerous assumption that He is like us, fostering rebellion against His way. Instead, we must recognize God as holy, pure, and transcendent, infinitely greater than what the Bible reveals, and walk in humility before Him, submitting to His Word.

Knowing God is essential to living by faith and glorifying Him in this world. Eternal life, as stated in John 17:3, is to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. This knowledge is not merely about His existence or attributes as Creator, but an intimate, personal understanding gained through daily experiences with Him. It encompasses specific insights into His character, attitudes, patterns of thinking, and the depths of His loving kindness and grace, as well as His trustworthiness, patience, and individual awareness of us. The challenge of drawing close to Him arises from the influences of this world and our own human nature, yet examples like Moses in Hebrews 11:27 show the importance of enduring as if seeing Him who is invisible. Faith, described in Hebrews 11:1 as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, supports a life lived in conviction of the invisible God. Without sufficient knowledge of His sovereign greatness, closeness, and awesome grace, living by faith becomes difficult. God has already revealed enough of Himself to initiate a relationship, though more is needed to deepen our understanding and reverence as He desires. The failure of Israel, as noted in Hebrews 3:12, stemmed from an evil heart of unbelief, preventing faithful submission and leading to disobedience. Despite witnessing powerful acts, they did not truly know Him because they did not seek Him, highlighting that merely believing in His existence is insufficient for salvation. This historical lesson applies to us, emphasizing the necessity of a personal relationship with Him for our spiritual journey. Similarly, many today, though aware of God, lack the depth of knowledge that impacts their conduct, revealing a disconnect in being answerable to Him. Jesus Christ, as our unchanging Example and Savior, remains faithful to His character and purpose, regardless of our personal responses, as affirmed in II Timothy 2:11-13 and Hebrews 13:8. We are urged to strive for the same faithfulness, recognizing that God loves and gives generously to His children, yet also judges, requiring us to live up to standards that glorify Him and His Family. The urgency of hearing His voice, as in Hebrews 3:15, calls us to grasp and understand His teachings daily, reinforcing that faith comes by hearing the word of Christ, as stated in Romans 10:17. This active, concentrated listening and understanding is vital to increasing faith and living by it, thus pleasing God.

The journey to knowing God begins with a deep reverence, a fear of the Lord that is not a terror driving us away, but a magnetic draw pulling us closer to Him. This fear, rooted in admiration and respect for His magnificent qualities, is the foundation of godly knowledge, as stated in Proverbs 1:7, where the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Such knowledge is not mere human understanding but is cultivated within an intimate relationship with Him, requiring us to prioritize Him above all else in our lives. This relationship demands active pursuit, as emphasized in Proverbs 2:1-7, where we are urged to seek wisdom and understanding as one would search for hidden treasures, promising that we will then understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. It is a progressive journey, not instantaneous, building ever more valuable fruit as we grow closer to Him. God initiates this relationship, seeking us out first, for without His call, we would not know what to look for. Once initiated, our responsibility shifts to seeking Him, not to find Him, but to imitate Him, to be in His image, and to grasp as much of His character as possible. The absence of this knowledge is evident in the unconverted, as seen in Romans 3:10-18, where there is no fear of God before their eyes, leading to a world that neither understands nor seeks after Him. Conversely, knowing God transforms us, setting the stage for godly knowledge, understanding, and wisdom to grow within us through His Spirit and the better choices we begin to make. This knowledge humbles us, as illustrated by Pharaoh's ignorance in Exodus 5:2, where he admits, "I do not know the Lord," resulting in prideful disobedience, while Moses and Aaron, knowing God, submitted with humility despite their fears. Understanding God's sovereignty removes any ground for self-reliance or boasting, revealing the vast difference between us and Him. As we grow in this knowledge, humility emerges as a product of right self-evaluation against His greatness, leading us to praise Him for who He is and for being our salvation. This awareness compels us to submit to His will in obedience, recognizing that salvation is entirely of the Lord, by grace through faith. Through this relationship, we come to see God more clearly in our mind's eye, understanding why we must seek Him continually to reflect His image and glorify Him in our lives.

In a world that often views God as an absolute mystery behind a forbidding iron curtain, many rationalize His nature as real or imagined, fearsome or affable, self-serving or merciful, driven by carnal nature and the spirit of this world. Yet, God has revealed enough of His mysteries, making plain His invisible nature, attributes, and eternal power through creation, so that all are without excuse for not recognizing Him. Despite this, the world often sees Him as vague and capricious, a powerful enigma to be dealt with through human reasoning. By the grace of God and a precious calling, we are measured by a higher standard for knowing Him, far beyond merely recognizing Him through creation. We have the extraordinary privilege of understanding who and what God is, what They are doing, and carrying out Their unchangeable plan and purpose for mankind in the specific order They have determined. We are given not only the revealed mystery of God but also the opportunity to have the very mind of Jesus Christ, striving to become holy as God is holy. Though not all mysteries are unveiled to us at this time, His actions are not a riddle wrapped in a mystery, but a clear revelation to His elect. God should not be absolutely mysterious to anyone, as His revelation extends from creation to the indwelling mind of the Creator Himself, requiring tender care and continuous cultivation with reverential awe, learning and living the life of Christ together. He remains unchanging, as He declares, "I am the LORD, I do not change," ensuring we are not consumed. Those who fear Him speak often to one another, and He listens, recording their reverence in a book of remembrance, promising to spare them as His jewels. We must hold fast to our hope without wavering, drawing near with true hearts in full assurance of faith, considering one another to stir up love and good works, and not forsaking assembling together. This intimate relationship with Jesus Christ is vital for maintaining a clear picture of God, exhorting one another in the fear of the Lord based on thoughtful consideration of what God is and what the Father and Son are doing. Judgment begins with the household of God, and we are carefully selected as His precious treasure, with every thought, word, and action being judged to reflect an abiding respect and fear of our holy, revealed God. Do we fully appreciate the great God who has revealed the Father, the Son, the plan, and the purpose for our lives, uniting us through the Holy Spirit? If we do, we will live the mind of Jesus Christ in all relationships, striving to embody the Word of God in every aspect of life because we greatly fear the God we know. This fear is not of an ominous mystery, but of a known God to whom we submit with reverence, growing in grace and knowledge as we live as He lives in us. Our intimate knowledge of what others see as an absolute mystery must be tenderly cultivated in relationship with our brethren, lest we become as blind as the world.