The Knowledge of the Holy: Why We Must Think Rightly About God
[Editor’s Note: This is a 23-Day Series exploring different aspects of God’s nature and personality, using Tozer’s “The Knowledge of the Holy” as a discussion starter. You can read the introduction of the series here.]
Today is the first day in our journey with Tozer through the Knowledge of the Holy. Like any good author, Tozer seeks to convince us first that the journey is worth the effort. Why should we be concerned about knowing God? Why should how we think about God matter to us? Does it matter at all?
Tozer argues convincingly that it does. In fact, He argues that our spiritual lives, both as individuals and as churches, rises and falls based on what we think about God. In our spiritual lives, we move towards our perception of who God is, whether we know it or not. Over and over again the Scriptures say that we become like what we behold. We will become like the skewed images of God that we have. “To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd,” (Psalm 18:26). He goes on to argue that the heart of idolatry is recreating God in the image of ourselves. This erodes our worship of Jesus and our ability to follow Him wholeheartedly.
For me this morning, Tozer’s words are strong medicine. Within the last ten or fifteen years the church has undergone a revolution of sorts, where we’ve discovered that many of our beliefs about Christianity were inherited from our fathers rather than given from God. And the result has been at times a healthy questioning of a doctrine or practice and other times a denial of an essential truth of Christianity. I fear often that instead of an honest desire to know Christ, we are really remaking God in the image of our culture and the result is a Christianity that doesn’t look like it’s Christ.
This is why this journey is so important. Not so that we can say we know theology, but so that our lives can grow up into the image of Him who is the Head.
So, that’s my take on today’s chapter. Now it’s your turn. In the comments, leave a brief thought that struck you from Chapter 1 of “The Knowledge of the Holy.”
Day 1: Why We Must Think Rightly About God
Day 3: A Divine Attribute: Something True About God
Day 5: The Self Existence of God
Day 6: The Self Sufficiency of God
Day 9: The Immutability of God
Day 10: The Divine Omniscience
Day 12: The Omnipotence of God
Day 13: The Divine Transcendence
Day 15: The Faithfulness of God
Coming April 1: A Journey In The Knowledge of the Holy
[Editor’s Note: While I would have loved for you to join us, we have officially finished our journey. But you can still read the different posts from this journey. At the end of this post I have listed links to all 23 days in our series. Feel free to pick up a copy of the book and work through it at your own pace.]
I’ve been thinking a lot about knowing God lately. I’m convinced that in Christianity its easy to work for Jesus but not actually understand who He is. I know this has been true for me lately. And as I’ve talked to Jesus about this, He’s continued to show me that I need to know Him like I would know a friend, not just a historical figure that I’ve memorized facts about.
In that process, I feel like the Lord has invited me to read The Knowledge of the Holy
My journey with this book began in the late 90’s. I was at a meeting in Kansas City and a leader I respected a lot held up the book. He said all of their interns had read “The Knowledge of the Holy” as part of their internship. I immediately picked up a copy and delved deeply into the book. A few years later as I was transitioning out of college ministry and leaving behind a team of folks we raised up, I used it as a discussion starter to get us talking about really knowing God and the importance that had in ministry.
If you hadn’t noticed yet, I’m a big fan of the book. Part of the reason is that knowing who God is is critical to our growth and perseverance in Jesus. The beauty of this book is that its both deep and accessible. In all my time of reading Christian books, this has been one of the most helpful in getting people out of knowing facts about God and helping them to know who He is.
All that said, I’ve felt stirred both to jump back in this book and to invite you, my readers, to join in with me. So, starting April 1st, I’m going to be reading one chapter of “The Knowledge of the Holy” a day and then reflect on it here. If you’d like to join along, pick up a copy now and join me back here April 1st to start this journey. Join me, not just in reading this book, but pursuing a knowledge of God that fuels our hearts.
Have you read “The Knowledge of the Holy?” What are your thoughts?
Day 1: Why We Must Think Rightly About God
Day 3: A Divine Attribute: Something True About God
Day 5: The Self Existence of God
Day 6: The Self Sufficiency of God
Day 9: The Immutability of God
Day 10: The Divine Omniscience
Day 12: The Omnipotence of God
Day 13: The Divine Transcendence
Day 15: The Faithfulness of God
More
There is more to Jesus than what you are currently experiencing today.
There is more of the awareness of God’s presence available to you.
There is more of His acceptance and love that You are called to explore and know.
There is more of Christ’s character that He desires to form in your life.
You’ve only gotten the smallest glimpse of the miracle working power He wants to extend on behalf of those He loves. No matter how much of God’s power you’ve seen and experienced in the past, there is more for you to see.
Don’t be limited by what you’ve experienced. Your experience pales in comparison to the vastness of God. Whether you’ve experienced much of God or experienced very little, He has so much more for you.
We should never be satisfied until we see the fulfillment of the prayer Jesus Himself taught us to pray: “on Earth, as it is in Heaven.”
Be hungry, fellow traveler. Don’t be satisfied with the Jesus you knew a year ago or the manna you gathered yesterday. Let your hunger and the fact that there is more push you beyond your current experience and into all He desires to give the human heart.
“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (Philippians 3:12-14 NLT)
Photo Credit: More by ChrisinPlymouth
Cluster Map
Pursuing Glory 