Who are you, Lord?

The apostle Paul really had a heart for God. The first thing he asked after his conversion was, "Who are you, Lord?"

This is a super important question for every Christian which we should ask ourselves over and over again in prayer until the end of our lives: "Who are you, Lord? Let me increase and grow in the knowledge of your person!" That was Paul's point as well, and Paul said in Philippians 3:8, "I count also all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus."

Think about that! Paul said, "The most important thing in my life is the knowledge of my Lord. Him I desire to know better, and therefore I regard all things as filth, as loss, they no longer interest me. Anything that gets in the way of that, I want to put aside."

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:4.5, "For the arms of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful according to God to the overthrow of strongholds; overthrowing reasonings and every high thing that lifts itself up against the knowledge of God."

This is what Paul was about. He said, "I want to know God and I want to live in the light of God's revelation." We can know God and increase in the knowledge of God in two ways. First, by studying the Word of God, by studying His attributes, by studying the life of the Lord Jesus, by studying what God has revealed of Himself.

Second, we can grow in the knowledge of God by having faith experiences. David had faith experiences with God, and that is why he said, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." This had a direct consequence for his life of faith.

Paul said, "My God shall abundantly supply all your need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." These were things they could say, because they got to know God better personally through practical faith experiences.

When Peter experienced the Lord Jesus enabling him to walk on water and then calming the storm, he later exclaimed, "Truly, you are the Son of God!" This was not a theoretical knowledge, this was something he had experienced himself.

This is also where God wants to take us - on the one hand that we study the Word of God, and this is what our faith is based on, and at the same time He wants us to experience God and thus become more aware of how wonderful this God is, with whom we are in relationship.

Finally, 2 Peter 3:18: "But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." This should be our prayer day by day, that we get to know God better, that we reflect on what He has revealed about Himself, and that we study His attributes, His character traits, His characteristics.

J.P.S.