Knowing God

April 17, 2025

Do you know God?  I don’t mean do you know about God.  Knowing about Him is certainly important, but I am asking, do you know God in a personal way?  Do you have a relationship with Him?

One might wonder whether it is even possible to know God personally, but the scriptures assure us that yes, we can know Him.  Not only that, but the scriptures tell us that God wants us to know Him in this way.  A personal knowledge of God is the greatest thing any of us can pursue.

How do we know that we know God?  Is it merely a feeling or a wish that we have, or is there more to it?  Thankfully, the scriptures are very clear on this question.  Listen to these indicators about who knows God from the letter of 1 John.

The one who knows God is the one who keeps His commandments.  “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.  The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;” (1 John 2:3-4 NASB95) When we walk in God’s ways, according to His commandments, we come to know Him in greater ways.

The one who knows God does not walk in sin. “No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.” (1 John 3:6 NASB95).  We cannot say we know God if we are practicing sin in our lives.  Ongoing sin will destroy our relationship with Him.

The one who knows God is the one who walks in love. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8 NASB95) If we want to truly know God, we have to walk in His nature and character.  God is love, and so if we want to know Him, we must live a life of love.  Those who practice the love of God will truly come to know Him in a profound and personal way. 

May God help each one of us to come to know Him in greater ways.  Let’s keep His commandments.  Let’s not practice sin.  Let’s walk in His love.

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Walking in Love: A Matter of Life and Death

January 21, 2022

“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.” (1 John 3:14 NASB) There is a test that will tell us if we truly share in the life of God. The test is this: do you love the brethren? If you are practicing the love of God, then you can know that you are no longer walking in death but have passed into the life of God. On the other hand, if you are not practicing love, then the word of God is very clear: You are abiding in death. Practicing love is a matter of spiritual life and death.

This truth is made even more plain in 1 John chapter 4. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8 NASB) Only those who walk in love really know God. Many will claim to know the Lord, but the stark reality is this; if we don’t love each other, then no matter what we say or feel, the truth is we don’t know Him. It is not possible to continue in unloving attitudes and actions and also be in a relationship with God, because God is love!

So, if love is this important to God, let us walk in it! Here’s how: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” (Ephesians 4:31-5:2 NASB)

Brethren, let’s not deceive ourselves. If we are not practicing these things, then we don’t know God. We are abiding in death. It’s that serious. Are you walking in love?

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Posted by Russell Holden