We've been looking at the knowledge of God from several different angles over the last few months. The aspect of the knowledge of God that I would like to spend some time on this month is the moral implication of the knowledge of God. There is an ethical component to our knowledge of God.
God is known by all of his creatures. All people know of God's existence, even those who deny it (Romans 1:18-32). This knowledge is not saving knowledge though. It only makes God angry because they reject the knowledge they have which brings about his just judgment. Even the demons believe that God is one (James 2:19), but this knowledge is only good enough to make them tremble in fear of him. This knowledge does not mean that they are on God's side somehow secretly working for him while plainly being in opposition to him. Such an arrangement would be ludicrous to the God of truth and light.
What I mean by saying the knowledge of God has an ethical component ties in with the concept that the knowledge of God is a saving relationship, one that cleans our slate of crimes committed against him and creates a new life of obedience. Remember that this knowledge "generates love, hope, obedience, and joy" (J.I. Packer). How can we know God, the only God, and continue a life of rebellion against him? The biblical answer to that question is that we can't. God has done such a gracious work in revealing himself to us, of forgiving us all our sins and trespasses, of giving us new spiritual life, and all those other new covenant blessings, that our lives will inevitably be transformed. This is what I mean by saying that the knowledge of God has an ethical component. It can lead to nothing less.
The apostle John frequently connects the knowledge of God and obedience in his first letter. Let's look at a few examples. "By this we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says 'I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:3-4). "If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him" (1 John 2:29). "No one who ever keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him" (1 John 3:7). "Whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love" (1 John 4:7-8). "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 5:20).
That is quite a litany of passages that combine knowing God with obedience. The impression we can get from these passages is that obedience always happens in the lives of those who know God. They "keep his commandments" and "practice righteousness" and continue a life of love and not one of practicing sin. Rather than being a description of some sort of Christian perfectionism, I think these passages help us to see the new trajectory of lives that have been and are being transformed by the grace of God. By stating them in an absolute sense, the apostle John forces us to examine our lives to see if we have been truly transformed. He clearly still expects that Christians will sin and warns against those who claim not to have any sin (1 John 1:8-10). The question for us is whether or not our lives have been transformed by the grace of God. If we claim to know him, then do our lives support that claim? Or would our lives point to a knowledge of a god that is different than the God of the Bible?
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