The Knowledge of GOD
In Jeremiah 9, 23-24 God said, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord , exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the Lord ."
God through prophet Jeremiah makes known that He desires all men to understand and to know Him. In fact, knowing and by extension understanding God are the very essence of eternal life and the reason we have been created. Jesus in John 17, 3 said “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” What did you think we would be doing with so much time in eternity? Besides, living "normal" lives like we already do on earth now, of course without the sinful aspects, the core of the life in eternity is knowing God, progressing in knowing Him, and by extension understand the mysteries of His creation. Paul in Acts 17, 26-27 said “And He [God] has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;” God has made mankind to know and seek Him eternally for the good pleasure of His will, this is our eternal calling. Moreover, God doesn’t only desire to be known and understood by men, but also that such knowledge and understanding be the very epicenter of men’s joy and boast.
God wants people to glory or shine, be vocal about Him and delightful for knowing Him. However, our society has marginalized the knowledge of God, its inhabitants don’t boast in the knowledge of God, instead they boast in wealth, technological advancement, worldly wisdom and knowledge, and so many temporal things. Those are not the kinds of boasting that pleases the Lord, God said, “...let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord” Jeremiah 9, 24. Jesus’ warning for the inhabitants of our society is similar to the one He issued to the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3, 17-18, He said, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.”
It is worth noting that if our society is devoid of the knowledge of God it is not because such knowledge is not available, rather it is because we deliberately choose to suppress the truth or reject it. The bible says, “... what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.” Romans 1:19-23.
​​
​Every man is without excuse for creation bears witness of a creator as a "painting alludes to a painter, a building to a builder, and a writing to a writer" (Ray Comfort). God purposely fashioned the world in a way that His characteristics, qualities or attributes that are invisible to us would be clearly seen and comprehended through the observation of the things He created. For instance, the goodness of God can be seen through the way He provides and cares for His creatures. The bible says, "... for He [God] makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45. Moreover, Job 38:39-41 says “Can you hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, When they crouch in their dens, Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait? Who provides food for the raven, When its young ones cry to God, And wander about for lack of food?”
On the other hand, the omnipotence of God can also be seen in the things he created. It takes energy, a lot of energy, to get certain processes going. For instance, the amount of energy necessary to instantaneously alter earth’s topography on a large scale is so great that only activities such as volcano’s eruption, earthquakes, tsunamis, bomb explosions, etc. are able to achieve it. Now, imagine how much energy or power it took to create the whole world and give form to it, but God did it all in a matter of days. God is powerful and creation bears witness of it. The bible says, “But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.” Jeremiah 10:12.
The natural laws and order in the universe alludes to His faithfulness, sovereignty, and other characteristics. For instance, Genesis 1:14-18 says, “Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.” God is faithful! He said that the greater light, that is the Sun, would rule the day and the lesser light, the moon, would rule the night, and still today we see this happening because God said so. Moreover, in Genesis 8:22, God said, “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease,” again still today we see this happening - the farmer plants seeds and then harvest comes, we have different seasons and climates, and day and night do not cease to show up.
God is faithful and this attribute of His as well others can be seen in His marvelous creation. God did all of these so men would be without excuse “so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;” Acts 17: 2.