What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. So begins the Westminster Shorter Catechism, a tool that has trained millions in the reformed faith for hundreds of years. This proven, succinct, and accurate explanation of our existence is impossible to top. There's a reason why it has endured for hundreds of years. And yet, I would like to offer up a parallel summary, one that can co-exist with the answer provided by the Westminster divines. The chief end of man is to know God and to make him known.
This, in part, has been my objective with these articles. We're spending our time considering the most important, most significant, most extraordinary being in the universe. There is no better way to spend our time and there are no better thoughts to think than those of our great God. Someone once said, and I think I've mentioned it here, that what comes to mind when we consider who God is and what he's like is the most important thing about us.
Knowing God is one thing, but what is the relationship between knowing God and making him known? The action of making him known is a natural effect of knowing him. Let me explain. We all have a natural tendency to be enthusiastic evangelists for the things we care about and enjoy. We like to share what brings us pleasure. We like to make our joys known. Even the most introverted people can talk for hours about the things they're interested in. Think about the last time you gushed about someone or something or heard someone doing the same. It could be a sport, a hobby, food, a book, a new TV show, or something else. The pleasure you or someone else found in this thing was impossible to contain. The same is true for knowing God and making him known.
Why would we want to supplement glorifying God with knowing God? To get technical for a minute I'll offer up a simple syllogism:
1. God is glorified by being made known.
2. Those who know God make him known.
3. Therefore, those who know God glorify God.
Yes, God can be glorified in other ways, but I would suggest that God receives more glory by those who delight in him and share their delight with others. God warned the prophet Jeremiah against those who boast (i.e. glory) in wisdom, strength, or riches. Rather, "let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth" (Jer. 9:23-24).
So, what does it mean to know God? What type of knowledge are we talking about? Intellectual? Experiential? Intimate? Volitional? Moral? These types of knowledge, or ways of knowing, are all included in the knowledge of God. One author defines the knowledge of God as "the fullness of a faith-relationship that brings salvation and eternal life and generates love, hope, obedience, and joy."
How do we come to possess such knowledge? This knowledge is described as a gift. The Israelites received the revelation of God in ancient times. God made himself known to them as a nation. But Jesus said, "All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Matt. 11:27). The knowledge of God is reciprocal within the Trinity. The Father knows the Son and the Son knows the Father. For us, the knowledge of the Father comes by the Son's choice of revealing him. He is the one who sweeps us up into the knowledge of God. The Son knows the Father and makes him known.
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