God Is Knowable.

Sep 06, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Myths We Mistake for God’s Truth

We carry beliefs about God as unquestioned as childhood myths about gum digestion or jaywalking. These assumptions – that God is distant, non-confrontational, or exists to serve our desires – calcify through repetition rather than revelation. Like swallowing falsehoods about split muscles or divine grandfathers, we risk building faith on cultural folklore rather than Christ’s clear self-revelation. Truth demands we hold every belief about God against scripture’s testimony, especially when it makes us squirm. What we assume is "gospel" about God might be as fictional as seven-year stomach gum. [16:19]

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord.”
(Jeremiah 9:23-24, NIV)

Reflection: What childhood assumption about God have you carried without examining? Where does scripture confront that myth with fire or tenderness?

Day 2: From Information to Intimacy with God

Eternal life begins not with doctrinal exams but with knowing God as personally as a child knows their parent’s voice. We mistake Bible literacy for relationship, confusing head knowledge with heart surrender. Jesus redefines salvation as first-name-basis intimacy – calling Yahweh by name, not just studying His resume. The gap between knowing about God and knowing Him mirrors the difference between reading love letters and embracing the lover. [19:25]

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
(John 17:3, NIV)

Reflection: When have you settled for facts about God instead of encountering Him? What habit could shift you from observer to participant in His story?

Day 3: Obedience as the Echo of Relationship

Faith without action isn’t humility – it’s hollow theater. Like gym memberships gathering dust, we want spiritual gains without the sweat of surrender. Jesus ties love to concrete obedience, not abstract affection. Our compliance isn’t a fee to earn God’s favor but the overflow of treasuring Him. Every ignored command whispers, “I prefer my kingdom.” Every costly yes sings, “Your will over mine.” [24:21]

“We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.”
(1 John 2:3-4, NIV)

Reflection: Where does your obedience feel transactional rather than relational? What one choice today could mirror Jesus’ “not my will” surrender?

Day 4: Jesus: The Unavoidable Doorway to God

Generic spirituality offers a buffet – take divine comfort, leave holy confrontation. But Christ bulldozes middle roads, declaring Himself the singular bridge between God and humanity. To reject His exclusivity isn’t open-mindedness; it’s building sandcastles against the tide of His “I AM.” Every other path to God crumbles like the temple veil He split, leaving only the crucified King as our access. [28:04]

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
(John 14:6, NIV)

Reflection: How does Christ’s exclusivity comfort or confront you? Where have you diluted His “only way” claim to avoid friction?

Day 5: The God Who Wants to Be Seen

God isn’t playing hide-and-seek – He’s shouting through prophets, bleeding on crosses, and breathing in believers. Jesus makes the invisible Father as tangible as calloused hands breaking bread. To claim God’s unknowability while ignoring Christ is like denying the sun’s heat while standing noon-baked. Every spiritual hunger finds its feast in His scarred hands. Our task isn’t invention but discovery. [33:47]

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”
(Colossians 1:15, NIV)

Reflection: What distorted image of God have you accepted? How will you gaze at Jesus this week to recalibrate your vision?

Sermon Summary

God is knowable, not because people figured Him out, but because He wants to be known and has made Himself known. The culture can chase spiritual experiences, peace, and transcendence while still keeping God at arm’s length. That kind of spirituality wants comfort without confrontation, blessings without correction, and God’s presence without God’s authority. It wants to get strong without being sore.

The distorted pictures of God show how easily creation tries to explain the Creator. The clockmaker god stays uninvolved. The policeman god waits for people to mess up. The grandfather god never really cares what anybody does. The genie god exists to make life easier. All of those gods have something in common: mankind made them up. A person can spend an entire life believing things about God that feel true but are not true at all.

Jesus defines eternal life as knowing “the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Eternal life is not merely believing in a higher power or collecting facts about God. God gives His own name, Yahweh, to be called upon. That is personal. Jeremiah refuses to let wisdom, strength, or riches become the boast, because the greatest thing a person can possess is to understand and know God. God does not merely want to be studied. He wants to be known.

First John refuses to separate knowing God from obeying God. A person can know Bible verses, use Christian language, attend church, sing songs, serve, and give, yet still not know God. Obedience does not produce a relationship with God, because that would turn salvation into works. Relationship with God produces obedience. Obedience is fruit, evidence that Jesus has real authority over a life.

Jesus makes the line clear: no one comes to the Father except through Him. Christianity welcomes everyone, but it cannot call Jesus one way among many ways. Jesus is the only way because He is the image of the invisible God. God’s love becomes visible in Jesus walking to the cross. God’s power becomes visible in Jesus coming out of the tomb. God’s heart toward sinners, suffering, and brokenness becomes visible in Christ.

God is not hiding. Scripture, history, the Spirit, and above all Jesus reveal Him. The call is to refuse mere information, empty religion, and generic spirituality. Generic spirituality serves a god who always agrees, comforts but never confronts, affirms but never corrects. Jesus calls people to repent, die to self, surrender pride, and live under His kingship. That weight is not an optional add-on. It is part of knowing Him.

Key Takeaways

1. Refuse to settle for information [34:15] Information can help a person know the Bible while leaving that person far from God Himself. Right answers and correct doctrine become dangerous when they give the appearance of life without surrender. God asks whether a person knows Him, calls upon His name, and gives Him refrigerator rights over every part of life. [34:15]
2. Obedience is relationship’s visible fruit [26:23] Obedience does not earn a place with God, because grace does not work that way. Relationship with God changes what a person wants, what a person resists, and what a person submits to. A life that claims Christ while refusing His authority eventually exposes a contradiction. [26:23]
3. Jesus is the only way [27:46] Jesus does not offer to point toward one possible route to God. Jesus says that He is the way, the truth, and the life. God becomes knowable because the invisible God has made Himself visible in the person of Christ. [27:46]
4. Generic spirituality serves the self [37:20] Generic spirituality creates a god who never disagrees, never commands, and never calls sin what it is. That god usually starts looking an awful lot like the person worshiping him. Jesus carries weight because He calls for repentance, self-denial, and full surrender.

## [37:20]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[04:03] - Can the Bible Be Trusted?
[05:08] - Things Believed That Were Not True
[08:28] - When False Beliefs Shape God
[09:50] - Wanting Experience Without Transformation
[12:08] - God Has Revealed Himself
[13:33] - Distorted Pictures of God
[16:38] - Knowing About God Versus Knowing God
[18:03] - Eternal Life Is Knowing God
[22:16] - Knowing God Requires Obedience
[26:23] - Relationship Produces Obedience
[26:58] - God Cannot Be Known Apart From Jesus
[30:15] - Jesus Makes the Invisible God Visible
[34:15] - Refuse Information, Religion, and Generic Spirituality
[38:58] - God Wants to Be Known

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

John 17:3 — “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” [18:43]

1 John 2:3-4 — “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.” [23:54]

John 14:6 — “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” [27:46]

Jeremiah 9:23-24 — “This is what the LORD says: ‘Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the LORD.” [21:05]

Observation questions

In John 17:3, what two persons does Jesus include when He defines eternal life?
According to Jeremiah 9:23-24, what are people told not to boast in, and what is the one thing they are told to boast in? [21:05]
What does 1 John 2:3-4 identify as evidence that someone has come to know God?
What are the four distorted pictures of God described: the clockmaker, policeman, grandfather, and genie? What does each picture suggest about God? [13:33]

Interpretation questions

Jesus says eternal life is knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ. How is knowing God different from simply believing that a higher power exists? [18:53]
First John connects knowing God with obeying His commands. How can obedience be real evidence of a relationship with God without becoming a way to earn salvation? [26:23]
Jesus says that no one comes to the Father except through Him. Why does this make Christianity welcoming to every person while still being clear that Jesus is the only way to God? [29:38]
Jeremiah says that wisdom, strength, and riches are not the proper grounds for boasting. Why would knowing God reshape the way a believer views personal success, ability, and possessions? [21:30]

Application questions

Is there a belief about God that has mostly come from family background, culture, past church experiences, or personal preference rather than from Scripture? What would it look like to bring that belief honestly before Jesus? [12:33]
Which distorted picture of God is most tempting: a distant clockmaker, a harsh policeman, an unconcerned grandfather, or a genie who exists to make life easier? How might that picture affect prayer, obedience, or trust?
It is possible to know Bible facts, use Christian language, attend church, and still keep Jesus from having authority over everyday life. Is there an area—relationships, money, habits, sexuality, pride, forgiveness, or time—where surrender to Jesus feels especially difficult? [36:32]
Relationship with God produces obedience as fruit. Where has the group seen God changing desires or actions over time, even if that change has been slow? [26:28]
Jesus makes the invisible God visible. When there is confusion about God’s love, power, care for suffering, or response to sinners, how can looking closely at Jesus help bring clarity? [30:41]
Generic spirituality wants comfort without correction and blessing without authority. In what ways can a person quietly ask God to bless a life they do not want Him to lead? [37:39]
Following Jesus includes repentance, dying to self, laying down pride, and surrendering to Him as King. What is one specific step of surrender that could be taken this week? [38:10]

Sermon Clips

48s

#CostOfDiscipleship

“But there is a weight to following Jesus. And if you don't feel the weight of Jesus calling you to repent, and to die to yourself, and to deny yourself, and to lay down your pride, and your selfishness, and your arrogance every single day, and to give things, and to give time, and to give money that's yours to others, and to to other things. If you don't feel a wait for Jesus calling you to be a different person today than you were yesterday, and you don't feel the weight of having to surrender everything to him as king, then I'm not sure it's Jesus that you're following. I think you may be following yourself and calling it spirituality.”

42s

#LoveOnTheCross

“He absolutely did. If you wanna know what God's love is all about, how do I understand God's love? Well, here's what you do. You look to Jesus and you watch Jesus walk all the way to the cross. And then hang on that cross. And then die on that cross. And then you understand God's love. And then if you're like, I don't understand, is God powerful enough? And you wanna know about God's power, well, here's what you do. You look to Jesus and then you see that three days after he died on that cross, he woke up and came out of that tomb. And then you don't have to wonder about God's power anymore.”

43s

#RelationshipProducesObedience

“And yes, that would create a works based salvation if that were true. What I'm saying is this, obedience to God does not produce a relationship. Rather, relationship with God produces obedience. Do you see that? Do you see the difference in that primarily? Because those two are drastically different. You simply doing what God tells you to do does not make a relationship with God. You having a relationship with God produces you wanting to do what God asked you to do. Obedience is the fruit that is produced from the relationship.”

66s

#NoGenericSpirituality

“If it's impossible to know God apart from Jesus, then refuse to settle for generic spirituality. Because generic spirituality poses no threat to anyone in this world. No one is intimidated or afraid of or scared of your generic spirituality. They're probably supportive of it. You believe what you believe. You do you. Go go believe your little belief system. Why? Because it's generic spirituality. It poses no threat to them. Generic spirituality lets you serve a god who never disagrees with you. The God who comforts you but never confronts you. One who always affirms you but never corrects you. One who encourages you but never commands you. Eventually, you start to discover that the God you serve looks an awfully lot like yourself.”

40s

#HeartOverAppearance

“You can look spiritually alive while your heart is spiritually dead. The question is not just what do you know about God. The question is do you know him? Do you call upon his name? Have you given him authority in your life? There's nothing wrong with seeking the blessings of God if you are also saying, God, you have refrigerator rights in my life. If there's something in my life that doesn't look like you, that you need to just clean out, then I want you to clean it out. If you're doing that, then by all means seek the blessings of God.”

45s

#JesusRevealsGod

“You ask, well, how can God be knowable? Because Jesus made God known. Jesus made the unknowable knowable. If you wanna know what God looks like, look at Jesus. If you wanna know how God would respond to a sinner, let me ask you this, how did Jesus respond to sinners? That's what God would do. If you wanna know, does God care about the suffering that's in the world? If you wanna know, does God care about your suffering? Ask yourself this, did Jesus care about suffering? There's your answer.”

50s

#RelationshipNotKnowledge

“Don't boast about what you have. Don't boast about what you do. Don't boast about how smart you are or anything. If you're gonna boast, if you're gonna brag, brag about one thing that you understand and know The greatest thing you could ever possess is not knowledge about God, it is a relationship with him. Why? Because God doesn't merely want to be studied. He wants to be known. If God wanted to be studied, he would have given us just a treasure trove of textbooks about him. But God doesn't want merely to be studied. He wants to be known. He wants you to know him.”

61s

#ComfortWithoutConfrontation

“I think the reason is because we want to be close to God. We're just not real sure we want God to be close to us. I wanna be close to you, God. But I kinda want you to keep your distance from me. I I I wanna I wanna call the shots. Right? Because when we get, when God gets close to us, he doesn't just confront us. Sorry, he doesn't just comfort us, he confronts us. We like the comfort, we don't want the confrontation. He doesn't just make us feel something, he changes everything about us. It's easy to want the peace of God without wanting the authority of God. It's easy to expect and want and seek after the presence of God without wanting and seeking out the correction of God. It's easy to want an experience of God without the transformation that the God that we are experiencing brings.”

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