“I delight
in…the knowledge of God
more than burnt offerings”
(Hosea 6:6):
in…the knowledge of God
more than burnt offerings”
(Hosea 6:6):
God delights
in our knowing Him;
therefore,
He wants us
to “pursue knowing Jehovah”.
in our knowing Him;
therefore,
He wants us
to “pursue knowing Jehovah”.
Our knowledge of God
is more important
than our service to God:
is more important
than our service to God:
We should not merely serve God
without pursuing knowledge of Him.
without pursuing knowledge of Him.
Our service to God
is based on
our knowledge of Him.
is based on
our knowledge of Him.
We need to have
the consciousness of God
and the full knowledge of God:
the consciousness of God
and the full knowledge of God:
The consciousness of God
is the consciousness of
one’s relation to God,
indicating that one is living in
an intimate fellowship with God,
having and keeping
a good and pure conscience toward God:
is the consciousness of
one’s relation to God,
indicating that one is living in
an intimate fellowship with God,
having and keeping
a good and pure conscience toward God:
Our regenerated spirit
has a keen sense toward God,
a God-consciousness
to deal with God
and sense the things of God.
has a keen sense toward God,
a God-consciousness
to deal with God
and sense the things of God.
To have the consciousness of God
is to live in the spirit
according to God.
is to live in the spirit
according to God.
The full knowledge of God
is an experiential knowledge of God:
is an experiential knowledge of God:
The full knowledge of the Triune God
is for our participation in
and enjoyment of
His divine life
and divine nature.
is for our participation in
and enjoyment of
His divine life
and divine nature.
In 3:18
the knowledge of the Lord
is equal to
the truth,
the reality of all
that He is;
hence,
to grow in the knowledge of the Lord
is to grow
by the realization of
what Christ is,
the realization of
the truth.
the knowledge of the Lord
is equal to
the truth,
the reality of all
that He is;
hence,
to grow in the knowledge of the Lord
is to grow
by the realization of
what Christ is,
the realization of
the truth.
“Please
let me know now
Your ways”
(Exo. 33:13a);
“He made His ways
known to Moses”
(Psa. 103:7a):
let me know now
Your ways”
(Exo. 33:13a);
“He made His ways
known to Moses”
(Psa. 103:7a):
To know God’s ways
refers to
knowing the principles
by which He does things.
refers to
knowing the principles
by which He does things.
God’s ways
are the ways
in which He
deals with us;
His ways
are higher than our ways.
are the ways
in which He
deals with us;
His ways
are higher than our ways.
The ways of God
are what He
wants to do
concerning us;
His ways
are the choices
that He makes
concerning us.
are what He
wants to do
concerning us;
His ways
are the choices
that He makes
concerning us.
We must learn to know
the ways of God,
the methods
by which He
deals with us:
the ways of God,
the methods
by which He
deals with us:
If we
learn to acknowledge the Lord
in all our paths,
we will acknowledge
His ways.
learn to acknowledge the Lord
in all our paths,
we will acknowledge
His ways.
A great problem
among God’s people
is their wanting everything
to revolve around them
and to serve
their interests.
among God’s people
is their wanting everything
to revolve around them
and to serve
their interests.
A great need
among believers today
is to learn
the lesson of
knowing God’s ways
and embracing them.
among believers today
is to learn
the lesson of
knowing God’s ways
and embracing them.
God Himself
can be known
only by revelation,
and God’s ways
can be known
only by submission:
can be known
only by revelation,
and God’s ways
can be known
only by submission:
Without an unveiling of God
to us,
we cannot accept
God’s ways.
to us,
we cannot accept
God’s ways.
We must first have
a revelation
before we
can accept His ways.
a revelation
before we
can accept His ways.
In order to know and accept
His ways,
we need to know God
not only as our Father
but also as our God:
His ways,
we need to know God
not only as our Father
but also as our God:
It is one thing
to know God
as the Father,
and it is a different thing
to know Him
as God.
to know God
as the Father,
and it is a different thing
to know Him
as God.
Those who have seen God
know that He is God;
a day will come
when God opens our eyes
to see Him as God
and know Him as God.
know that He is God;
a day will come
when God opens our eyes
to see Him as God
and know Him as God.
We need to see
that we
are not only God’s children
but also His slaves .
that we
are not only God’s children
but also His slaves .
If we have
a revelation of God
and meet Him as God,
we will worship Him
and accept His ways.
a revelation of God
and meet Him as God,
we will worship Him
and accept His ways.
Our entire spiritual future
hinges on our ability
to worship the ways of God:
hinges on our ability
to worship the ways of God:
All true worship
comes from knowing God
and receiving a revelation from God.
comes from knowing God
and receiving a revelation from God.
To accept the ways of God
is to worship the ways of God.
is to worship the ways of God.
We must worship God,
and we must accept the ways
in which He deals with us.
and we must accept the ways
in which He deals with us.
Our heart
must be brought by God
to the point of
bowing down before Him
and saying,
“I worship You
for what You choose
and for what You have ordained
for me.”
must be brought by God
to the point of
bowing down before Him
and saying,
“I worship You
for what You choose
and for what You have ordained
for me.”
“That I may know You”
(Exo. 33:13):
(Exo. 33:13):
Eternal life
is the divine life
with a special function,
that is,
to know
God and Christ:
is the divine life
with a special function,
that is,
to know
God and Christ:
To know the divine person,
we need the divine life.
we need the divine life.
Since the believers
are born of the divine life,
they can know
God and Christ:
are born of the divine life,
they can know
God and Christ:
On the one hand,
knowing God
gradually increases
with our inward growth of life;
the more
the divine life grows within us,
the more
we know God.
knowing God
gradually increases
with our inward growth of life;
the more
the divine life grows within us,
the more
we know God.
On the other hand,
this knowing
causes the life within us
to grow.
this knowing
causes the life within us
to grow.
“They shall
by no means
each teach his fellow citizen
and each his brother,
saying,
Know the Lord;
for all
will know Me
from the little one
to the great one
among them”
(Heb. 8:11):
by no means
each teach his fellow citizen
and each his brother,
saying,
Know the Lord;
for all
will know Me
from the little one
to the great one
among them”
(Heb. 8:11):
In this verse
to know God Himself
is to know the nature of God;
when we touch the nature of God,
we touch God Himself
and know God Himself.
to know God Himself
is to know the nature of God;
when we touch the nature of God,
we touch God Himself
and know God Himself.
By imparting His divine life into us,
God puts
the highest law, the law of life,
into our spirit,
whence it
spreads into our inward parts,
such as our mind, emotion, and will,
and becomes several laws:
God puts
the highest law, the law of life,
into our spirit,
whence it
spreads into our inward parts,
such as our mind, emotion, and will,
and becomes several laws:
By the function of
the law of life,
we know God
in the inward way of life.
the law of life,
we know God
in the inward way of life.
We know God
not merely according to
outward, objective knowledge
but in the inward, subjective consciousness
by the sense of life.
not merely according to
outward, objective knowledge
but in the inward, subjective consciousness
by the sense of life.
Our inward knowledge of God
comes by two means:
comes by two means:
One is
by the law of life,
which comes from the life of God,
and the other is
by the teaching of the anointing,
which comes from
the Holy Spirit of God.
by the law of life,
which comes from the life of God,
and the other is
by the teaching of the anointing,
which comes from
the Holy Spirit of God.
The law of life
primarily causes us
to know the nature of God,
which is
the characteristic of His life;
the teaching of the anointing
primarily causes us
to know God Himself.
primarily causes us
to know the nature of God,
which is
the characteristic of His life;
the teaching of the anointing
primarily causes us
to know God Himself.
The Son of God
has come and has given us an understanding
so that we
might know
the true One,
the genuine and real God:
has come and has given us an understanding
so that we
might know
the true One,
the genuine and real God:
Know in 1 John 5:20
is the ability of the divine life
to know the true God
in our regenerated spirit
through our renewed mind,
enlightened by the Spirit of reality.
is the ability of the divine life
to know the true God
in our regenerated spirit
through our renewed mind,
enlightened by the Spirit of reality.
In 1 John 5:20
Him who is true
—or the true One—
refers to God
becoming subjective to us,
to the God
who is objective
becoming the true One
in our life and experience:
Him who is true
—or the true One—
refers to God
becoming subjective to us,
to the God
who is objective
becoming the true One
in our life and experience:
The true One
is the divine reality;
to know the true One
means to know the divine reality
by experiencing, enjoying, and possessing
this reality.
is the divine reality;
to know the true One
means to know the divine reality
by experiencing, enjoying, and possessing
this reality.
This indicates
that the divine reality
—God Himself,
who was once objective to us—
has become
a subjective reality
in our experience.
that the divine reality
—God Himself,
who was once objective to us—
has become
a subjective reality
in our experience.
The word this
in verse 20
refers to the God
who has come through incarnation
and has given us the ability
to know Him
as the genuine God
and be one with Him organically
in His Son Jesus Christ.
in verse 20
refers to the God
who has come through incarnation
and has given us the ability
to know Him
as the genuine God
and be one with Him organically
in His Son Jesus Christ.
This refers to
the true God
and Jesus Christ
in whom we are;
it includes the fact
that we are
in this One, the true One,
and that we
know the true One.
the true God
and Jesus Christ
in whom we are;
it includes the fact
that we are
in this One, the true One,
and that we
know the true One.
“The people who know their God will show strength and take action” (Dan. 11:32): Knowing God strengthens us; our strength depends on the degree of our knowledge of God. Only those who know God will show strength and take action: Those who know God will be strong to take action in order to expand their horizons, extend their boundaries, and break new ground for God. On earth today God needs those who know Him in this way.
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7 replies on “Knowing God and His Ways”
Prophecy note, 11 September 2016
…the knowledge of God
more than burnt offerings”
(Hosea 6:6):
our knowing Him;
therefore,
He wants us
to “pursue knowing Jehovah”.
is more important
than our service to God:
without pursuing
knowledge of Him.
is based on
our knowledge of Him.
the consciousness of God
and the full knowledge of God:
is the consciousness of
one’s relation to God,
indicating that one is living in
an intimate fellowship with God,
having and keeping
a good and pure conscience toward God:
has a keen sense toward God,
a God-consciousness
to deal with God
and sense the things of God.
is to live
in the spirit
according to God.
is an experiential knowledge of God:
is for our participation in
and enjoyment of
His divine life
and divine nature.
the knowledge of the Lord
is equal to
the truth,
the reality of all
that He is;
hence,
to grow
in the knowledge of the Lord
is to grow
by the realization of
what Christ is,
the realization of
the truth.
let me know
now
Your ways”
(Exo. 33:13a);
“He made His ways
known to Moses”
(Psa. 103:7a):
refers to
knowing the principles
by which He does things.
are the ways
in which He
deals with us;
His ways
are higher than our ways.
are what He
wants to do
concerning us;
His ways
are the choices
that He makes
concerning us.
the ways of God,
the methods
by which He
deals with us:
learn to acknowledge the Lord
in all our paths,
we will acknowledge
His ways.
among God’s people
is their wanting everything
to revolve around them
and to serve
their interests.
among believers today
is to learn
the lesson of
knowing God’s ways
and embracing them.
can be known
only by revelation,
and God’s ways
can be known
only by submission:
of God to us,
we cannot accept
God’s ways.
a revelation
before we
can accept His ways.
His ways,
we need to know God
not only as our Father
but also as our God:
one thing
to know God
as the Father,
and it is
a different thing
to know Him
as God.
know that He is God;
a day will come
when God opens our eyes
to see Him as God
and know Him as God.
that we
are not only God’s children
but also His slaves .
a revelation of God
and meet Him as God,
we will worship Him
and accept His ways.
hinges on our ability
to worship the ways of God:
comes from
knowing God
and receiving a revelation
from God.
is to worship the ways of God.
and we must accept the ways
in which He deals with us.
must be brought by God
to the point of
bowing down before Him
and saying,
“I worship You
for what You choose
and for what You have ordained
for me.”
(Exo. 33:13):
is the divine life
with a special function,
that is,
to know
God and Christ:
we need the divine life.
are born of the divine life,
they can know
God and Christ:
knowing God
gradually increases
with our inward growth of life;
the more
the divine life
grows within us,
the more
we know God.
this knowing
causes the life within us
to grow.
by no means
each teach
his fellow citizen
and each his brother,
saying,
Know the Lord;
for all
will know Me
from the little one
to the great one
among them”
(Heb. 8:11):
to know
God Himself
is to know
the nature of God;
when we touch
the nature of God,
we touch
God Himself
and know
God Himself.
into us,
God puts
the highest law, the law of life,
into our spirit,
whence it
spreads into our inward parts,
such as our mind, emotion, and will,
and becomes
several laws:
the law of life,
we know God
in the inward way of life.
not merely according to
outward, objective knowledge
but in the inward, subjective consciousness
by the sense of life.
comes by two means:
by the law of life,
which comes from the life of God,
and the other is
by the teaching of the anointing,
which comes from
the Holy Spirit of God.
primarily causes us
to know
the nature of God,
which is
the characteristic of His life;
the teaching of the anointing
primarily causes us
to know
God Himself.
has come
and has given us an understanding
so that we
might know
the true One,
the genuine and real God:
is the ability of the divine life
to know the true God
in our regenerated spirit
through our renewed mind,
enlightened by the Spirit of reality.
Him who is true
—or the true One—
refers to God
becoming subjective to us,
to the God
who is objective
becoming the true One
in our life and experience:
is the divine reality;
to know the true One
means to know
the divine reality
by experiencing, enjoying, and possessing
this reality.
that the divine reality
—God Himself,
who was
once objective to us—
has become
a subjective reality
in our experience.
in verse 20
refers to the God
who has come
through incarnation
and has given us
the ability
to know Him
as the genuine God
and be one with Him organically
in His Son Jesus Christ.
the true God
and Jesus Christ
in whom we are;
it includes the fact
that we are
in this One, the true One,
and that we
know the true One.
who know their God
will show strength
and take action”
(Dan. 11:32):
strengthens us;
our strength
depends on
the degree of
our knowledge of God.
who know God
will show strength
and take action:
will be strong
to take action
in order to expand their horizons,
extend their boundaries,
and break new ground
for God.
God needs those
who know Him
in this way.
Day 6
And with his smooth words
he will cause those
who act wickedly
toward the covenant
to be profane.
But the people
who know their God
will show strength
and take action.
That He would grant you,
according to the riches of His glory,
to be strengthened
with power
through His Spirit
into the inner man.
in 1 John 5:20
that we are
in the true One
and in His Son Jesus Christ.
Doctrinally,
the true One and His Son Jesus Christ
may be considered two.
But when we are
in the true One
and in Jesus Christ experientially,
They are one.
For this reason
John uses this
to refer both
to the true One
and to His Son Jesus Christ.
who is
not in the true One and Jesus Christ,
They are two.
But when we
are in Them experientially,
They are one.
We have seen
that to be in the true One
is to be in His Son Jesus Christ.
This means
that in our experience of
being in Them,
They are one.
when we are
in the true One and Jesus Christ,
They are
our true God
and also our eternal life.
First,
John speaks of
the true One
and His Son Jesus Christ,
and then
he speaks of
the true God.
Here
there may be some distinction
between the true One and the true God.
When we are
in the true One and His Son Jesus Christ,
the true One
is called the true God,
and His Son Jesus Christ
is called eternal life.
This means
that first
They are
the true One and His Son Jesus Christ.
But when we are in Them,
They become
the true God and eternal life.
a clear understanding of
what this
in 1 John 5:20
refers to.
The word this
refers to the very God
who has become experiential to us
through our being in Him.
No longer
are we outside of this God.
Rather,
we are
in this God,
and we are
in the true One,
in His Son Jesus Christ.
Because we are in Them,
God and Jesus Christ
are no longer objective to us,
and in our experience
They are
no longer two.
When we are in Them,
They become one to us.
Therefore,
John says
that “this” is the true God,
and “this” is eternal life.
Who is “this”?
“This” is
the very God
and the very Jesus Christ
in whom we are.
We may also say
that “this” includes
the condition of our being
in God and Jesus Christ.
Hence,
the true God and eternal life
include
our being in
the true One and His Son Jesus Christ.
in the true One
and in Jesus Christ.
Now in our experience
this true One
becomes the true God,
and Jesus Christ
becomes eternal life.
Where are we now?
Are we
outside the true God
and outside eternal life?
No,
we are
in the true God
and in eternal life.
The word this
includes this fact of
our being in
the true God and eternal life.
Hallelujah,
this is
the true God
and eternal life,
and we are
in this God
and in this life!
We know
that we are
in the true God
and in eternal life
because we are
in the true One
and in His Son Jesus Christ.
says that the Son of God
has come
and has given us an understanding
so that we
may know the true One,
and we are
in the true One,
which means
that we are
in His Son Jesus Christ.
When we are
in the true One and Jesus Christ,
this,
including the fact
that we are in Them,
is the true God.
Verse 20
indicates strongly
that we
are now experiencing
the true God,
and we are experiencing Him
by being in Him.
We experience, enjoy, and possess Him
by being in Him.
This, to us, is
the true God and eternal life.
can strengthen us.
Many times
we are weak
because we do not know God.
Our strength
depends on
the degree of our knowledge of God.
Only those
who know God
will show strength
and take action.
To take action
means “to expand.”
Those who know God
will be strong
to expand their horizons
and extend their boundaries
and break new ground
for God.
On the earth today
God needs those
who would know Him
in this way.
Day 5
And we know
that the Son of God
has come
and has given us
an understanding
that we
might know Him
who is true;
and we are
in Him
who is true,
in His Son Jesus Christ.
This is
the true God and eternal life.
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory,
may give to you
a spirit of wisdom and revelation
in the full knowledge of Him.
John speaks of
knowing the true One.
Here the word know
actually means
experience, enjoy, and possess.
Therefore,
to know the true One
is to experience, enjoy, and possess
the true One.
In this universe
only God Himself
is the true One.
that we have received the divine life,
for we have been born of Him.
Just as a child
can know his father
because he has the father’s life,
so we can know God
because we have God’s life.
Having the divine life,
we have the ability
to know God.
Because we
have the life of God,
we are able to experience God,
enjoy God,
and possess God.
has come through incarnation
and through death and resurrection
and has given us
an understanding, the ability
to know the true God.
This understanding
includes our enlightened mind,
our quickened spirit,
and the revealing Holy Spirit.
Because our mind
has been enlightened,
our spirit
has been enlivened,
and the Spirit of reality
dwells in us,
we have
the ability
to know God,
the ability
to experience, enjoy, and possess
the true One.
John twice speaks of “Him
who is true.”
A better translation
would be “the true One.”
To speak of God
simply as God
may be to speak
in a rather objective way.
However,
the term the true One
is subjective;
it refers to
God becoming subjective to us.
In this verse,
the God who is objective
becomes the true One
in our life and experience.
the meaning of the expression
the true One?
In particular,
what does the word true mean?
Here the Greek word translated “true”
is alethinos, genuine, real
(an adjective akin to aletheia,
truth, verity, reality—John 1:14; 14:6; 17), opposite of false and counterfeit.
Actually,
the true One
is the reality.
The Son of God
has given us an understanding
so that we may know
—that is, experience, enjoy, and possess
—this divine reality.
Therefore,
to know the true One
means to know the reality
by experiencing, enjoying, and possessing
this reality.
that God has become
our reality in our experience.
The Son of God
has come through incarnation
and through death and resurrection
and has given us an understanding
so that we
may experience, enjoy, and possess
the reality,
which is God Himself.
Now
the God
who once was objective to us
has become
our subjective reality.
John says
that we are
in the true One.
We not only know the true God;
we are also in Him.
We not only have
the knowledge of Him;
we are
in an organic union with Him.
We are one with Him organically.
When John says
that we are in the true One,
he is making a crucial point.
Not only do we
know the true One,
and not only do we
experience, enjoy, and possess
Him as the reality,
but we are
in this reality.
We are
in the true One.
to consider the last part of verse 20:
“This is
the true God and eternal life.”
This refers to the God
who has come through incarnation
and has given us the ability
to know Him as the genuine God
and be one with Him organically
in His Son Jesus Christ.
All this is
the genuine and real God
and eternal life
to us.
This genuine and real God
is eternal life to us
so that we
may partake of Him
as everything
for our regenerated being.
to the word this.
In 5:20
John does not say,
“He is”;
he says,
“This is.”
This is
the correct translation of the Greek.
Furthermore,
John uses the word this
to refer
both to the true God and to eternal life.
By this
we see
that the true God and eternal life
are one.
Day 4
And you have an anointing
from the Holy One,
and all of you know.
And as for you,
the anointing
which you have received from Him
abides in you,
and you have no need
that anyone teach you;
but as His anointing teaches you
concerning all things
and is true
and is not a lie,
and even as it
has taught you,
abide in Him.
there is…
the function of the law of life
by which we know God
in the inward way of life.
Hebrews 8:11 says,
“And they shall
by no means
each teach his fellow citizen
and each his brother,
saying,
Know the Lord;
for all will know Me
from the little one
to the great one
among them.”
There is
no need
for the outward teachings,
because we know the Lord
by the sense of life.
Some today oppose us
for saying
that we no longer need the teachings.
…However,
it is the Holy Bible
that says
that we do not need the teachings
because we have
the inner sense of life.
two Greek words
are used for know:
the first is
ginosko,
which signifies
the outward, objective knowledge;
the second is
oida,
referring to
the inward, subjective consciousness.
In John 8:55
the Lord Jesus
told the Pharisees
that they have not known (ginosko)
God the Father
(even in the outward, objective knowledge),
but He knows (oida)
the Father
(in the inward, subjective consciousness).
is by two means:
one is
by the law of life,
which comes
from the life of God;
the other is
by the teaching of the anointing,
which comes
from the Holy Spirit of God.
Because we have
these two means
of knowing God within us,
our knowledge of God
can be in two phases.
The law of life
primarily causes us to know
the nature of God,
which is
the characteristic of His life.
Whenever His life
works and functions in us
to express this characteristic,
it naturally manifests
the nature of God
to us
and causes us to know it.
The teaching of the anointing
primarily makes us know
God Himself.
This is
because the teaching of the anointing
comes from the Holy Spirit,
and the Holy Spirit
is the embodiment of God Himself.
When the Holy Spirit
anoints and works in us,
He always anoints God Himself
into us,
thus causing us to know
God Himself.
The law of life
and the teaching of the anointing
cause us to know
from within
the nature of God and God Himself.
This is
what we call here
the inward knowledge.
John says
that the Son of God
has given us
an understanding
so that we
may know Him
who is true,
or know the true One.
This understanding
is the faculty of our mind
enlightened and empowered
by the Spirit of reality
to apprehend the divine reality
in our regenerated spirit.
In 1 John 5:20
to “know”
is the ability of the divine life
to know the true God
in our regenerated spirit
through our renewed mind,
enlightened by
the Spirit of reality.
the Son of God,
has come
and has given us an understanding
that we might know
the genuine and real God.
He has come to us
by the steps of
incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection.
He accomplished redemption for us,
and when we repented and believed in Him,
we received Him.
Now that we
have believed in Him
and received Him,
our sins
have been forgiven,
our darkened mind
has been enlightened,
and our deadened spirit
has been enlivened.
Furthermore,
the Spirit of reality,
who is the Spirit of revelation,
has come into our being.
This means
that the Spirit of reality
has been added
to our quickened spirit
and has shined into our mind
to enlighten it.
Now
we have
an enlightened mind
and a quickened spirit
with the Spirit of reality,
who reveals spiritual reality
to us.
As a result,
surely we have
an understanding
and are able to know the true One.
Before we were saved,
we did not have
this understanding.
But the Son of God
has come to us
and has given us
this understanding
so that we
may know God.
Day 3
And this is
eternal life,
that they may know
You,
the only true God,
and Him
whom You have sent,
Jesus Christ.
And they shall
by no means
each teach his fellow citizen
and each his brother,
saying,
Know the Lord;
for all
will know Me
from the little one
to the great one
among them.
it is easy
to worship God
while we are gathered
here in the meeting
because there is
no price to pay.
But let me repeat
that all true worship
comes from
knowing God
and receiving a revelation of God.
Thank God,
I know Him;
therefore,
I fall before Him,
saying,
“Everything You have done
is right.
You are never wrong.”
This is the way
to accept the ways of God.
step by step.
If we want to learn to walk
before God,
we will have
no future
unless we can learn to worship
the ways of God
—not just to worship God.
Our entire spiritual future
hinges on our ability
to worship the ways of God.
Thus, all who know God
must be brought to
the point of saying,
“I worship the ways of God.
I worship the things
that God has ordained for me.
I worship the things
God has done to me.
I worship God
for what He
is pleased
to do in me.
I worship God
for the things
He strips from me.”
We must worship God,
and we also must accept the ways
in which He deals with us.
we see
that eternal life
has the ability
to know God:
“Even as You
have given Him authority
over all flesh
to give eternal life to all
whom You have given Him.
And this is
eternal life,
that they may know
You, the only true God,
and Him whom You have sent, Jesus Christ.”
Eternal life
is divine life with a special function
—to know God.
In order to know
God, the divine person,
we need the divine life.
have been born of the divine life,
we are able to know God.
In order to know
a certain living thing,
you need to have
the life of that thing.
…The Lord has given us
eternal life, the divine life, the life of God.
The life of God
certainly is able to know God.
Therefore,
the life of God,
which has been given to us,
has the ability to know
God and the things of God.
His Spirit, containing His life,
enters into us
that we may have
the capability of
knowing Him from within.
This knowing of Him,
on the one hand,
gradually increases
with our inward growth of life,
and, on the other hand,
it also causes
the life within us
to grow.
Because God
has given us His life,
we can know Him.
The more
His life grows within us,
the more
we know Him.
The more
we know Him,
the more
we will experience Him
as our life,
enjoy Him,
and allow Him
to live out through us.
Thus,
we may say
that all the growth
of our spiritual life
depends on
our knowledge of God.
Let us pray
that God
may give us
a spirit of wisdom and revelation
so that we
may really know Him
and be “growing
by the full knowledge of God”.
is to know the nature of God.
As soon as we
are regenerated
and receive the life of God,
we have the nature of God.
Through the life of God within us,
we can touch
the nature of God.
When we touch the nature of God,
we touch God Himself;
in other words,
we know God Himself.
Such knowledge
is different from
the first two steps of
knowing God’s doing and His ways
from without.
This is
knowing God Himself
from within.
we receive of God
is the highest;
therefore,
it has
the highest law,
the law referred to
in Hebrews 8:10.
By imparting His divine life
into us,
God puts this highest law
into our spirit,
from whence it spreads
into our inward parts,
such as our mind, emotion, and will,
and becomes several laws.
Day 2
Now therefore
if I have found favor
in Your sight,
please let me know now
Your ways,
that I
may know You,
so that I
may continue to find favor
in Your sight.
Consider also
that this nation
is Your people.
He made His ways
known to Moses;
His acts,
to the children of Israel.
refers to knowing the principles
by which He does things.
When Abraham pleaded for Sodom,
he recognized
that God is righteous,
and that He will never act
contrary to His righteousness.
Therefore,
Abraham spoke to God
according to the righteousness of God.
This means
that he knew the ways
by which God does things.
the ways of God?
The ways
in which God deals with us
are His ways.
His ways
entail what He wants to do.
The ways of God
are the choices
He makes concerning us.
These are
the ways of God.
His ways
are higher than our ways.
He has
His own ordinations,
and there is
no room
for our choice.
He deals with this person in this manner
and with another person in that manner.
His ways
are what He deems best.
The ways of God
imply that God acts
according to His desire and choice.
are His choices.
The ways of God
are what He wants to do.
He wants to do things
this way,
and He wants to deal with us
in that way.
He wants to accomplish this matter
but not something else.
He wants us
to encounter this circumstance
but not that one.
These are
the ways of God.
we must learn to know
the will of God
and the work of God
on the one hand,
and we must learn to know
the ways of God,
the methods
by which He deals with us
on the other hand.
to acknowledge the Lord
in all our paths
as in Proverbs 3:6,
we will be acknowledging God
in His ways.
among God’s children
is that we want
everything to revolve around us
and everything to serve our interests.
But God
will not allow this.
He wants to bring us
to the point of
simply submitting to Him.
When this matter
is settled,
all other problems vanish.
among Christians today
is to learn
the lesson of
knowing God’s ways
and embracing them.
It does not matter
how it affects me
or what I want.
…Brothers and sisters,
we must
not only learn to do God’s will
and accept His work;
we also need to love
God’s ways and His decisions.
We must like
what God likes.
God’s holy Word
shows us
that we must know God
and we must know His ways.
God Himself
can only be known by revelation,
and God’s ways
can only be known through submission.
We know God Himself
through His revelation,
and we know the ways of God
by being willing to be dealt with
and by submitting to Him.
balk at the fact
that, without an unveiling of God to man,
we cannot accept God’s ways.
We must first have revelation
before we can accept God’s ways.
not only as our Father
but as God.
It is
one thing
to be the Father,
and it is
an entirely different thing
to be God.
before God.
If we truly intend to be
worshippers of God,
it is impossible
to just worship Him.
I am not saying
that we should not worship God.
We must worship God,
but please remember
that a day will come
when God opens our eyes
to know Him
as more than just our Father;
we will know Him
also as our God.
We need to see
that we are
not only His children
but also His bondservants.
When we see this revelation
and meet God as God,
we immediately will worship Him.
However,
we should not stop there.
Whenever we
have a revelation of God
and meet Him,
the result should be
that we accept His ways.
The result of seeing and knowing God
is that we accept God’s ways.
Day 1
For I delight in lovingkindness
and not sacrifice,
and the knowledge of God
more than burnt offerings.
Grace to you
and peace be multiplied
in the full knowledge
of God and of Jesus our Lord.
delights in man’s sacrifices to Him,
He delights in
man’s knowing Him even more.
Our knowledge of God
is more important
than our service to God.
We cannot merely serve God
without pursuing knowledge of Him.
Our service to God
should be based on
our knowledge of Him.
If we serve God
but do not know Him,
we will not be acceptable
to God.
means consciousness of God
—the consciousness of our relation to God.
This consciousness
indicates that we
are living in
intimate fellowship with God
and that we
are keeping
a conscience toward God
that is good and also pure.
Deep within us,
there is
a consciousness before God,
and this consciousness
regulates and guides us.
the deepest and innermost part
of our being,
is the part
of our being
associated with
a consciousness of God,
and it enables us
to contact God
and have fellowship with Him.
Hence,
the consciousness associated with the spirit
is called spiritual consciousness
or God-consciousness.
The soul,
situated between the spirit and the body,
is our psychological part,
which includes the mind, emotion, and will,
and it enables us
to contact the psychological world.
Hence,
the consciousness
associated with the soul
is called
psychological consciousness
or self-consciousness.
Physical consciousness
enables us to sense
things outside the body,
self-consciousness
enables us to sense
ourselves,
and God-consciousness
enables us to sense
God.
The body
has physical consciousness
to contact
things outside the body,
the soul
has self-consciousness
to sense
the things of the self,
and the spirit
has God-consciousness
to deal with God
and sense
the things of God.
is for our participation in
and enjoyment of
His divine life
and divine nature.
It is
not a mere doctrinal knowledge;
it is
an experiential knowledge,
a knowledge that is full.
In 2 Peter 1:2
the Greek word
rendered “full knowledge”
is composed of
the word gnosis
plus the prefix epi,
which means “upon.”
This word
indicates a thorough, experiential knowledge.
This kind of knowledge
is not superficial or general.
Rather, it is a knowledge
that is deep, thorough, and experiential.
As we have pointed out,
this is
not simply a mental knowledge;
it is experiential knowledge
in our spiritual understanding and apprehension.
The full knowledge
of God and of Christ
is a deep, practical,
thorough, and experiential
knowledge of
God and our Lord.
This full knowledge
is both the sphere
in which
and the means
by which
the Triune God
can be enjoyed by us
in order that we
may have
a peaceful situation
with Him and with all men.
To grow
in the knowledge of the Lord
is to grow
by the realization of
what Christ is.
This is
to grow
by the enjoyment of grace
and realization of truth.
the Triune God
being life and the life supply to us.
We need to grow
in this life supply,
in this nourishment.
Therefore,
to grow in grace
means to grow
in this inward source
of the supply of life.
At the beginning of his second Epistle
Peter speaks of grace,
and now at the end
he charges us
to grow
in this grace.
Peter also encourages us
to grow
in the knowledge of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The realization of
the knowledge of our Lord
equals truth, the reality
of all that He is,
as in John 1:14 and 17.
Peter charges the believers
to grow
not only in grace
but also in this truth.