Enhanced – Listen: to the audio article
with Steve Demme
I
was reading in Colossians recently, and the Spirit drew my attention to the last six words in this passage, “…walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:10)
Peter echoes this sentiment in his second letter to those of like precious faith, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)
As I pondered whether my knowledge of God was increasing, I reflected that God has indeed revealed more of His nature and attributes in the past few years through a few disciplines that He has incorporated into my daily life. I hope they will be an encouragement as you grow and increase in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Studies on Specific Attributes
As I read through the Bible, I look for words that describe God. Psalm 145 has been particularly edifying to me as it speaks of many facets of God’s nature.
“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”
The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”
—Psalm 145:8–9
“The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.”
The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.”
—Psalm 145:14–16
When I began waiting on God eleven years ago, I experienced His presence many times and was pleasantly surprised by God’s kindness. David must have tasted the kindness of God as he eloquently speaks of this attribute in this Psalm. Throughout these five verses, there are a dozen descriptions of what God is like. Meditating on each of them increases my knowledge of God and expands my understanding of how kind, gracious, merciful, good, and righteous our Father is.
“The more I love God, the more I desire to know Him. And the more I know Him, the more I love Him.”
Titles for God
The name “Jesus Christ” appears over one hundred times in the New Testament. These two words may also be rendered Jesus the Anointed One or Jesus the Messiah. The first verse in the New Testament is:
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
—Matthew 1:1
Quoting Isaiah 61, Luke writes:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.”
—Luke 4:18
Two other names for Jesus are Savior and Immanuel. At His birth, the angel told Joseph in a dream:
“She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).”
—Matthew 1:21–23
In the book of Revelation, we see Jesus as the Lamb & King of kings:
“These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings.”
—Revelation 17:14, NKJV
In the last few chapters of the Bible, our Savior is called the Word of God and the King of Kings again:
“He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”
—Revelation 19:13–16
Topical Studies
I enjoy studying a topic such as God’s holiness and am edified as I search the Scriptures to assemble passages that elucidate this idea. For example, God is holy. Here are a few of my favorite verses about God’s holiness.
“There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”
—1 Samuel 2:2
“For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.’”
—Isaiah 57:15, NKJV
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed (holy) be your name.”
—Matthew 6:9
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.”
—Revelation 4:8b
In addition to reading verses about God’s holiness, I enjoy singing hymns to reinforce this truth, such as “Holy, Holy, Holy” by Reginald Heber. Here is one verse:
Holy, holy, holy! Father, Son, and Spirit! In holy adoration, we bow and worship Thee: Holy, holy, holy merciful and mighty! God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
Names for God
Names carry great weight, for they reveal who God is. There are many names for God. Some readily come to mind, such as God Almighty, Jehovah of Hosts, Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Jireh, and many others. Psalm 23 speaks of God as our Shepherd. David penned these inspired words as a shepherd who was also a “sheep.” Each verse is rich and descriptive.
“The Lord (Jehovah) is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.”
—Psalm 23:1–3
Jesus expands on this concept:
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. … I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
—John 10:11, 14–15
In John’s gospel, Jesus is the Lamb of God, the Door, the Bread of Life, and the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In the Book of Hebrews, Jesus is described as:
“a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God.”
—Hebrews 2:17
Digging Deeper
Two years ago, I took a course in Hebrew to help me navigate the riches of the Old Testament with more understanding. During this class, we translated the book of Ruth. In this small book, I encountered the name for God, El Shaddai.
“She said to them, ‘Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord (Jehovah) has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord (Jehovah) has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
—Ruth 1:20–21
The way she referred to God in this context surprised me and led me to dig deeper. God Almighty or El Shaddai in Hebrew, is comprised of two words translated God the Almighty, or Almighty God. I had always thought of El Shaddai one dimensionally—as a god who is all-powerful, similar to a Thor character possessing a mighty hammer. However, I am learning that Hebrew words are often a combination of several words that paint a picture of what the author is trying to communicate. “El” simply means God, but “Shaddai,” which means Almighty, is an aggregate of three related words and roots that reveal different facets.
“Shadad” appears 57 times, and is rendered: to destroy, to deal violently with, to despoil, or to devastate. “Sadeh” appears 333 times and means field or land. In an agrarian society, a field is a source of sustenance. Fields produce food and provide for the people and their herds.
The third cognate of Shaddai, is “Shad,” which appears 24 times in the Bible and is rendered woman’s breast, which is a beautiful picture of a nurturing God. Combining these words, our knowledge of God the Almighty has been expanded to include God the Destroyer, God the Sustainer, and God the Nurturer.
The Ultimate Prize as a Follower of God: to Understand & Know Him
Jeremiah gives a strong exhortation about what is important from God’s perspective.
“Thus says the Lord (Jehovah): ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord (Jehovah) who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord (Jehovah).”
—Jeremiah 9:23–24
Closing Prayer
My experience is that the more I love God, the more I desire to know Him. And the more I know Him, the more I love Him. May this inspired prayer of Paul be answered for each one of us.
“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.”
—Ephesians 1:16–17
Increasing in the knowledge of God.
S
teve Demme and his wife Sandra have been married since 1979. They have been blessed with four sons, three lovely daughters-in-law, and six special grandchildren. Their fourth son has Down syndrome and lives with them in Lititz, PA. Steve has served in full or part-time pastoral ministry for many years after graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is the creator of Math-U-See and the founder of Building Faith Families.
* All Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.