How Can You Know God Better? Part 2

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

Ephesians 1:17

Ephesians 1:17 offers a straightforward answer to the question: How can you know God better? The answer: through wisdom and revelation inspired by the Holy Spirit. Let's unpack this answer a bit further.

Wisdom is not accumulating lots of knowledge, but using knowledge well. Wisdom seeks that which is meaningful, relevant, and helpful. It looks for the best among the good. Wisdom allows you to sift through all that is said about God, identifying that which is true and worthy of God.

Revelation from the Spirit does not mean visions of the end of history, such as are found in the biblical book known as Revelation. Rather, the word "revelation" (in Greek, apokalypsis) means "uncovering" or "unveiling." It refers to times when the Holy Spirit uncovers the truth about God for us, helping us see what we had not seen before.

The gifts of wisdom and revelation referred to in Ephesians 1:17 do not displace the foundational wisdom and revelation of Scripture. In fact, every true insight into God's nature will be fully consistent with biblical teaching. Often, we receive gifts of wisdom and revelation as we are reading, studying, meditating upon, and praying over the Scripture.

The simple good news of Ephesians 1:17 is that God, through the Spirit, will help us know him better. God does this because he seeks relationship with us (see also Eph. 1:5; John 4:24). Thus, we are encouraged to pray as Paul prayed, both for ourselves and for others. We ask the Lord to give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we may know him better.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Have there been times in your life when you have been aware that the Holy Spirit was giving you wisdom or revelation so that you might know God more deeply and truly? How do you respond to the fact that God desires relationship with you, that God wants you to know him personally?

PRAYER: Glorious Heavenly Father, thank you for making yourself known to us. Thank you for the gifts of wisdom and revelation that come from your Spirit. Today, Lord, I ask for these gifts, so that I might know you better. Open my mind and my heart to a deeper and truer relationship with you. Amen.

ADVENT RESOURCES:

The season of Advent begins this coming Sunday. Here are some resources to help you grow in your relationship with God during Advent.

Introduction to Advent available on my blog.

Introduction to the Christian Year available on my blog.

My e-book, Discovering Advent: How to Experience the Power of Waiting on God at Christmastime, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Images sourced via Creative Commons.