God Knows Me
God's knowledge of us is the basis for our relationship with Him, and it brings comfort, relief, and peace.
J.I. Packer emphasizes the profound truth that God knows each of us intimately and continuously, providing us with comfort and assurance in His unwavering love and attention. He highlights that our knowledge of God is rooted in His initiative to know us first, and that this relationship is based on His realistic understanding of our flaws and imperfections. Packer reassures us that God's love is not diminished by our shortcomings, and instead, it invites us to worship and love Him in return, knowing that He desires a friendship with us, exemplified by the sacrifice of His Son.
Text
I am graven on the palms of His hands. I am never out of His mind. All my knowledge of Him depends on His sustained initiative in knowing me. I know Him, because he first knew me, and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when His eye is off me, or His attention distracted for me, and no moment, therefore, when His care falters.
This is a momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable comfort--the sort of comfort that energizes. . . in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love, and watching over me for my good. Three is tremendous relief in knowing that His love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowl3edge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am often disillusioned about myself, and quench His determination to bless me. . . He sees all the twisted things about me that my fellow-men do not see (and I am glad!), and that He sees more corruption in me than that which I see in myself (which, in all conscience, is enough). There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, He wants me as His friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given His Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose. . . not merely that we know God, but that He knows us (J. I. Packer, Knowing God, p. 37).
The Lord said to Moses, " . . . you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name" (Exodus 33:17).
Sermon Outline
- God's Knowledge of Us
- The Comfort of God's Knowledge
- The Incentive to Worship and Love God
- God's desire to be our friend is the basis for our worship and love
- God's love is realistic and based on His prior knowledge of us
Key Quotes
“I am never out of His mind.” — J.I. Packer
“He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when His eye is off me, or His attention distracted for me, and no moment, therefore, when His care falters.” — J.I. Packer
“not merely that we know God, but that He knows us” — J.I. Packer
Application Points
- We should seek to deepen our relationship with God by acknowledging His knowledge of us.
- We should find comfort in knowing that God's love is realistic and based on His prior knowledge of us.
- We should worship and love God because He desires to be our friend and has given His Son to die for us.