rather are known by God
- By: ckroboth
- On: 09/25/2009 10:45:23
- In: Bible Study
I have known for awhile that this verse has been coming up in Galatians and to be honest it is one of the most perplexing to me. I am cheating a bit cause I wrote about this verse on my old blog in 2 parts. So This BBS entry is long so bare with me. I am using parts from the comments also.
This is the 4th week of the Blogged Bible Study. We are going chapter by chapter through Paul’s letter to the Church of Galatia. To read the other posts on chapter 4 of Galatians check out the Blogged Bible Study page.
Has God ever presented you with an answer before you know what the question is? I was reading through Galatians the other day and came across this verse.
Gal 4:8-9 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
Known by God… What?
Turning back to those weak miserable principles? Got that one, we are human and our flesh deceives us we want to turn to the world it ways are easy.
Do you wish to be enslaved by them again? Nope, I am free from the yoke of slavery brought on by this world I understand that.
But I thought God knew me from the womb where I was knitted…He knows the numbers (or lack of numbers in my case) of hairs on my head.
But now that you know God—or rather are known by God… hmmmmm…
So I prayed.. God as I read your word show me what it means to be known by you.
Well, God answered as I was looking something up in Ephesians as I glanced at some of my notes in the margins. The notes had to do with some verses about the heart, how we prepare, and how God sees us. Then I remembered that I wrote about this a year ago… Long before I knew the question would come up for me about Gal 4:9
There were also notes at the beginning of Eph. I had underlined and written. Eph 4:18 ……
The word “heart” appears in the NIV Bible 743 times. So it would seem to be important to God.
In Genesis 6 we see it is how he recognizes the wickedness and evil of man…
Gen 6:5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
This Wickedness and evil has made our hearts disobedient to God…
Eph 2:1-3 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
In Acts we see that God knows the heart, and purifies it by our faith…
Acts 15:8-9 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
For God to see our hearts filled with the spirit we have to believe in the word of truth.
Eph 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
By opening our heart to the word of God and His truth, once we receive the spirit we become known by Him. We open our heart’s thoughts and attitudes to be judged by His active word.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
But if we remain in our wicked ways, and do not prepare our selves, the God who chooses us will not know our hearts, because they are not prepared, and we will be left on the outside.
Mathew 25:10-12 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 11 Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’ 12 “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’
Do not think like the unprepared virgins, that we can only give part of our life to God, and that be enough for Him to know the heart. Do not say, I will do these things here which are pleasing to God, and leave other things unattended. God knows the heart and only he knows when a believer has been fully prepared and is fully committed in every aspect of his life to Christ.
God knows the secrets of our hearts.
Psalm 44: 20- 21 20 If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, 21 would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?
We must let God see your heart, by shining our light, and then God will know you as one of His own. That light is lit and prepared by the oil and fire of the Holy Spirit.
Christ’s light is not meant to shine on us, it is meant to shine from with in us. If the Spirit is indwelling in our heart and soul, then we will let that light out. When we let that light out it is when God knows us for who we are, His Child.
Mathew 5: 14-16 14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
If we live as light we do what is pleasing to God, and will expose everything to God.
Eph 5: 8-13 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
God wants us to know he did not intend for us to live in this imperfect world. And we groan and long for the salvation of Christ so that we can live with him again as we were suppose to in the Garden of Eden. If we are not careful, if we do not expose our whole heart to God, and if we let our heart be affected and hardened by this world, the God who choose us will not know us . We will be separate form God.
Eph 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
Some commentary…
"for it is but little that the best of these, that have the greatest share of knowledge, know of him; and what knowledge they have, they have it first, originally, and wholly from him: that knowledge which he has of them is particular, distinct, and complete; and is to be understood, not of his omniscience in general, so all men are known by him; but of his special knowledge, joined with affection, approbation, and care: and the meaning is, that they were loved by him with an everlasting love, which had been manifested in their conversion, in the drawing of them to himself, and to his Son; that he approved of them, delighted in them, had an exact knowledge, and took special care of them: but, oh, folly and ingratitude! (John Gill Commentary)"
When I read what is in bold it clicked in. In so much that he knows us by our hearts like I said in my previous post, he knew us before we knew him. He used his love to draw those he knew to him. I don’t think that he doesn’t “know”, but in that we don’t expose ourselves to him. That we think we are hiding the intention of our hearts. You almost want that to say “Now that we have made our self known.”
ESV, KJV, NASB all have the same wording though… Even The Message says “or rather since God knows you”
The only way as you can see that I could answer the question was looking at how he sees us. It is a heart issue.
The Amplified has an interesting translation.
9 Now, however, that you have come to be acquainted with and understand and know [the true] God, or rather to be understood and known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly and worthless elementary things [[a]of all religions before Christ came], whose slaves you once more want to become?
Understood… I don’t know if that make the question easier or harder.
For lack of a better way of saying it. As we expose more and more of our heart to him (Good and Bad), he can clearly sees the intention in our heart for good or evil.
I am going to keep digging, but this may go down with the question. Why the platypus? When I get there.
Matthew 7:23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’,
1 Corinthians 8:3 But the man who loves God is known by God.
2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
Exodus 33:12,17 Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’…..17 And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
So there you have it. To be Known by God we must expose our heart to the love that knew us before we knew him.
