Relationship With God

Do We Know God?

CGG Weekly by Pat Higgins

Jesus emphasizes that eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ, not merely through intellectual understanding, but through a close, intimate relationship with Him. Our future is to be the Bride of Christ, and He desires a Bride who shows enthusiasm to develop this relationship now, before the marriage. Christ is serious about having a Bride whose relationship with Him is built to last for eternity, as seen in His warnings to the foolish virgins and the Laodiceans who misjudge their connection with Him. Not caring enough to create a close bond now is a dangerous sign that He does not take lightly. To build a relationship of such intimacy that God and Christ know it will endure forever, we must turn to prayer. Through much prayer, we can come closer to God and the spiritual things, as any good relationship results from many conversations. Prayer is talking to God, and we are encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find help in time of need. God and Christ want us to know Them intimately and personally, providing prayer as the means to achieve this eternal bond. Like David, whose soul thirsted for God with passionate longing, and Daniel, for whom prayer was a life-and-death priority outweighing even the fear of lions, we must seek this relationship with fervor and dedication.

Fully Accepting God's Sovereignty (Part Three)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Eternal life, as Jesus describes, is to know God, not merely in duration but in the quality of life that mirrors the way He lives, thinks, and acts. The only way to truly come to know Him is through a close, personal relationship, which is essential for understanding His character and personality. Merely believing in His existence will not foster closeness or inspire love and submission; only a warm and loving relationship can cultivate the necessary qualities that grow from such intimacy. Our responsibility, following conversion and the establishment of this relationship, is to live by faith, as it is the only path to knowing Him. We must seek Him diligently to discover His nature and imitate His qualities, studying His Word to learn His will and applying it in practice. By engaging in these activities, we demonstrate our desire to be His partner for eternity, even if our efforts are initially awkward, as growth comes with experience. Seeking God involves symbolically ingesting His Word, allowing it to nourish us spiritually, transforming us to become like Christ. This process requires effort and discipline, as faith comes by hearing His Word, whether through sermons or personal study. Hearing, in the biblical sense, means grasping an understanding, which is essential for faith and salvation. Without this, we cannot truly know Him or conduct ourselves as He would. God urges us to seek Him, promising an everlasting covenant that extends beyond past agreements, aimed at those who will come later. This covenant, tied to the sure mercies of David, remains in the future and calls us to live by faith, continually seeking to be like Him while allowing His sovereignty over our lives. This relationship is not fully complete until we are in His Kingdom, serving as a stern reminder to cooperate with Him by living by faith. The opportunity to know Him is enhanced for those under the New Covenant through gifts and promises not present in earlier covenants, such as forgiveness of sin, access in prayer, and the Holy Spirit, all of which enable us to overcome and grow closer to Him. Hearing His Word is crucial, as it leads to understanding and strengthens faith, pleasing both the Father and the Son, with Christ as the central figure through whom our relationship with the God family is facilitated. The fear of God, a fruit of accepting His sovereignty, is not dominated by dread but by worshipful admiration, wonder, and warm approval of His attributes—intelligence, creativity, generosity, wisdom, kindness, patience, and mercy. These qualities are only recognized through an abiding relationship and experiences with Him, drawing us toward Him rather than repelling us in terror. This fear, not natural to the carnal mind, must be learned within a relationship given to the called and converted, serving as a foundation for a life lived by faith. Humility, another fruit of accepting His sovereignty, emerges from comparing our lives to His greatness, fostering admiration and appreciation. Seeing Him, even in our mind's eye through understanding, produces a profound sense of our own insignificance and draws us to humble ourselves before Him. This vision of God, gained through living by faith and studying His Word, instills a desire to be with Him and not to displease Him. Ultimately, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of the knowledge of God, opening the pathway to understanding His sovereignty. As He becomes greater in our understanding, it removes barriers to the growth of godly fear and humility, essential for truly knowing Him. Those who know Him intimately, who hear Him, and who never want to be far from His presence, are positioned to do great exploits, whether great or small, by making the best use of the relationship He has made available through seeking Him.

Fully Accepting God's Sovereignty, Part Three: The Fruits

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Our relationship with God is central to enduring the challenges ahead and becoming like the eternal, spiritual God. We must know and understand His will, for it is impossible to be formed into the image of Jesus Christ without His Word in us. We must voluntarily cooperate with Him in His purpose, as His truths set us free from ignorance, the power of evil, the wiles of Satan, and human nature. Knowing God promotes the fear of Him and humility before Him, thus fostering obedience. Not knowing Him, however, breeds irreverence and disobedience. Fully accepting His sovereignty provides the proper perspective to make right choices, leading us to praise Him for the glory of what He is—our salvation. This understanding drives us to humble ourselves before Him to glorify Him and to choose to submit to His will. Each act of submission to His instruction is an act of humbling ourselves before Him. As we come to see God, His Word becomes the only standard that truly meets our approval. This awareness of our littleness compared to Him creates a childlike attitude and a sense of dependency, opening our minds to how much we need contact with Him. Without submission to Him and His purpose, there is no salvation. We must give our whole-hearted submission to Him, remembering that we are the clay and He is the Potter, shaping us according to His purpose. This relationship yields valuable fruits: the fear of God, humility, submissiveness, and uncomplaining endurance.

Relationship With God

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