Do You Know God?
To truly know God, one must know Jesus Christ, and to honor God means to recognize and acknowledge Jesus' identity and work.
This sermon emphasizes the importance of truly knowing and honoring God through Jesus Christ. Jesus challenges those who claim to know God but reject Him, stating that if they truly knew Him, they would know the Father as well. The rejection of Jesus is equated with not knowing God, highlighting the inseparable connection between knowing Jesus and knowing God. The speaker delves into the significance of honoring God by recognizing the Son's sacrificial work, resurrection, and lordship, emphasizing that dishonoring the Son is equivalent to dishonoring the Father.
Full Transcript
Do you know God? Do you know God? John 8, 19 is your test. Jesus says to those who claim to know God and were his adversary, or they said to him first, where is your father? Now, they're calling him a bastard, because they knew Mary was pregnant before she married Joseph. Where's your father? And Jesus answered, you know neither me nor my father.
If you knew me, you would know my father also. And he's shifting categories on them. If you knew me, you would know my father.
They don't know Jesus. They're rejecting him. Therefore, he says, you don't know God.
This is what got him killed. Saying to the most religious people on the planet, who have the Old Testament memorized, that they don't know God, is highly inflammatory. And that's what he said.
Because, everything I've said up to this point in this sermon, is to help you understand, that when God was revealed in the Old Testament, Christ was revealed. And if Christ shows up and you reject Him, you never knew the revelation of God. Test number two.
Implication number two. Do you honor God? The first one was, do you know God? John 8, 19. The second one is, do you honor God? Ask yourself right now, do I honor God? The Maker of heaven and earth.
Do I honor God? Here's your test. John 5, 23. Whoever does not honor the Son, does not honor the Father who sent Him.
So the Father and the Son are revealed in Scripture with such union, such unity, that if you dishonor the one, you dishonor the other. And dishonor means, not speaking nicely about Him and denying who He is. Honor Him means, recognize He's the Son of God, crucified for sinners, risen from the dead, reigning in heaven, coming again, Lord of the universe.
That's the way you honor the Son. And if you reject any of that, you don't honor the Son, and therefore, don't honor God. No matter what you say.
Or how much of any Bible you have memorized. Or how much you go to church anywhere. Or mosque, or synagogue, or tree, or shrine, or Baptist church.
Sermon Outline
- I. Do You Know God?
- A. Jesus' test in John 8:19
- B. Knowing God is knowing Jesus
- II. Implication: If You Don't Know God, You Never Knew God
- A. Rejecting Christ means rejecting God's revelation
- III. Do You Honor God?
- A. John 5:23 - honoring the Son means honoring the Father
- B. Honoring God means recognizing Jesus' identity and work
Key Quotes
“If you knew me, you would know my father also.” — John Piper
“You don't know God, because you don't know me.” — John Piper
“If you reject any of that, you don't honor the Son, and therefore, don't honor God.” — John Piper
Application Points
- Examine your relationship with Jesus Christ to see if you truly know God.
- Recognize and acknowledge Jesus' identity as the Son of God to honor God.
- Do not confuse honoring God with mere religious activity, but rather with a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ.