That The World May Know
That The World May Know
By Pastor Steve Brady
Recently, in our Young Adult Sunday School Class, we have been studying the Book of Exodus, and the Israelites’ deliverance from the land of Egypt.
As we’ve gone through this study I kept noticing a phrase that gained increasing significance to me as we moved through the book, whether it was addressing the Egyptians or the Israelites; “…and the Egyptians/Israelites shall know that I am the Lord…”.
Whether it was by His judgments upon the Egyptians through the plagues, His sparing of Israel from the plagues consequences, His deliverance at the Red Sea, or His provision in the wilderness, God’s objective was the same – that people would know that He was the Lord.
When standing before Goliath in the Valley of Elah in I Samuel 17:46, David announced to Goliath and the onlooking Philistines that God was going to deliver him and his army into David’s hand in order “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”
The Lord promised Jeremiah that there was coming a time when it would no longer be necessary for a person to encourage their neighbor to know the Lord, for they will all know Him (Jer. 31:34).
This exact phrase can be found literally dozens of time in the Old Testament! It is repeated nearly 70 times in the Book of Ezekiel alone!!
The heart’s cry of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:10 was “…that I may know Him…”.
In Christ’s High Priestly prayer of John 17:21-23, one of His requests is “that the world may know” that Christ was sent of God, through hearing the testimony of those who have believed on His name (you and me).
I believe the point is made clearly in the Bible that we serve a God Who desires to be known. He has left the invitation to know Him in every fiber of creation (Psalm 19); He has illustrated His desire to be known by us in His incarnation (John 1:9-14); He has made the way possible for us to know Him through His death and resurrection (Romans 4:23-25).
Mankind was created with a need to know the Lord, but sin has separated us from any relationship with Him. Our rebellion against the Holy God and His commandments has darkened our soul, blinded our eyes, and hardened our heart to that need, creating an emptiness and purposelessness in our soul that seeks satisfaction in the lusts and pursuits of our flesh.
The celebration of Easter reminds us, once again, what God has done to bridge the gap that our sin has created. The good news of the gospel is that we can find forgiveness and restoration to fellowship with God as we turn from our sin (repentance) and place faith in Christ’s death and resurrection as the satisfaction God requires for our sin.
God not only desires to be known, He’s made a way to be known! He appeals to each of us to
come to Him by the way He has provided us in Christ. When we do, we can begin the journey to knowing Him more fully, day by day.
As we’ve gone through this study I kept noticing a phrase that gained increasing significance to me as we moved through the book, whether it was addressing the Egyptians or the Israelites; “…and the Egyptians/Israelites shall know that I am the Lord…”.
Whether it was by His judgments upon the Egyptians through the plagues, His sparing of Israel from the plagues consequences, His deliverance at the Red Sea, or His provision in the wilderness, God’s objective was the same – that people would know that He was the Lord.
When standing before Goliath in the Valley of Elah in I Samuel 17:46, David announced to Goliath and the onlooking Philistines that God was going to deliver him and his army into David’s hand in order “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”
The Lord promised Jeremiah that there was coming a time when it would no longer be necessary for a person to encourage their neighbor to know the Lord, for they will all know Him (Jer. 31:34).
This exact phrase can be found literally dozens of time in the Old Testament! It is repeated nearly 70 times in the Book of Ezekiel alone!!
The heart’s cry of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:10 was “…that I may know Him…”.
In Christ’s High Priestly prayer of John 17:21-23, one of His requests is “that the world may know” that Christ was sent of God, through hearing the testimony of those who have believed on His name (you and me).
I believe the point is made clearly in the Bible that we serve a God Who desires to be known. He has left the invitation to know Him in every fiber of creation (Psalm 19); He has illustrated His desire to be known by us in His incarnation (John 1:9-14); He has made the way possible for us to know Him through His death and resurrection (Romans 4:23-25).
Mankind was created with a need to know the Lord, but sin has separated us from any relationship with Him. Our rebellion against the Holy God and His commandments has darkened our soul, blinded our eyes, and hardened our heart to that need, creating an emptiness and purposelessness in our soul that seeks satisfaction in the lusts and pursuits of our flesh.
The celebration of Easter reminds us, once again, what God has done to bridge the gap that our sin has created. The good news of the gospel is that we can find forgiveness and restoration to fellowship with God as we turn from our sin (repentance) and place faith in Christ’s death and resurrection as the satisfaction God requires for our sin.
God not only desires to be known, He’s made a way to be known! He appeals to each of us to
come to Him by the way He has provided us in Christ. When we do, we can begin the journey to knowing Him more fully, day by day.
1 Comment
I just found this! I didn’t know that your SS lesson was on the website. (?) I will be reading this every week!
Thank you for putting this on the website!!