Theos is “God” in English. It is equivalent to the Old Testament Hebrew names of El, Eloah, and Elohim. It is often used to refer to the Triune God. In the New Testament it is used to refer to the Father (1 Pet. 1:2), to the Son (Heb. 1:8), and to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4).
Pater is “Father” in English. It is a name that specially reveals Him (John 20:17; 1 John 3:1). In the New Testament an Aramaic (Chaldean) word is also used, abba, in relation to God the Father. Abba is a transliteration that means “father” (Mark 14:36; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).
Despotes is “Sovereign Master,” or simply “Master” in English. It means “the Ruler.” The New Testament uses it to refer to God (Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24; Rev. 6:10) and to the Lord Jesus (2 Pet. 2:1; Jude 4).
Kurios is “Lord” in English, and it is equivalent to the Old Testament Hebrew names adon and adonai (Matt. 1:20; Mark 12:29). When the New Testament quotes verses from the Old Testament, it often replaces the name Jehovah with kurios. This is the name that is used when the Lord Jesus is referred to as God (John 20:28; 1 Cor. 12:3; 5:4).
Jesus in Greek is equivalent to the Hebrew name Joshua (Num. 13:16); it means “Jehovah Savior” or “the salvation of Jehovah.” Thus, the Lord Jesus is Jehovah who is in a relationship with man, who comes to be man’s Savior, and who becomes man’s salvation. This name is used for the Lord Jesus as a man (Luke 1:31; Matt. 1:21).
This name is Greek and is simply transliterated as “Christ.” The Hebrew word is Messiah (John 1:41), which means “the anointed” (Dan. 9:25-26). In the Old Testament when a person became a king, priest, or prophet, he was anointed with oil. The Lord Jesus was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18). He is the anointed One of God, God’s Christ. Therefore, this name refers to the ministry of the Lord Jesus (Matt. 1:16; Luke 2:26; Acts 2:36).
Hagion pneuma is “Holy Spirit” in English. The New Testament uses it to refer to the Spirit as a person (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14).
1. “Rendering vengeance to those who do not know God” (2 Thes. 1:8).
When the Lord Jesus comes again in the future, some will receive His vengeance, punishment, and eternal destruction and will depart from His presence and from the glory of His strength because they do not know God. This shows how crucial it is for us to know God.
2. “I delight in...the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6).
Although God delights in man’s sacrifices to Him, He delights in man’s knowing Him even more. Our knowledge of God is more important than our service to God. We cannot merely serve God without pursuing knowledge of Him. Our service to God should be based on our knowledge of Him. If we serve God but do not know Him, we will not be acceptable to God.
3. “The people who know their God will show strength and take action” (Dan. 11:32).
Knowing God can strengthen us. Many times we are weak because we do not know God. Our strength depends on the degree of our knowledge of God. Only those who know God will show strength and take action. To take action means “to expand.” Those who know God will be strong to expand their horizons and extend their boundaries and break new ground for God. On the earth today God needs those who would know Him in this way.
4. “To know Him” (Phil. 3:10).
Christ is the embodiment of God; the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily for us to gain and enjoy (Col. 2:9). Not only are God’s life and power in Christ, but His wisdom and knowledge are also hidden in Christ (v. 3). We must know Christ in order to enjoy everything of God. Christ is the embodiment of God. To know Christ is to know God. This causes us to gain God and to enjoy Him.
1. “They did not approve of holding God in their full knowledge” (Rom. 1:28).
If we want to know God, we must approve of holding God in our full knowledge. Most people confess that there is a God, but very few know Him, because they do not approve of knowing Him. They approve of earning money, entertainment, and many other things of the human life, but they do not approve of knowing God. Worldly people are not the only ones who are like this; many Christians do not approve of knowing God in their full knowledge. Some approve of getting an education. Some approve of doing business. Some approve of their family. Some approve of their clothing and appearance. Some approve of recreation and entertainment. They approve of many things, but they do not approve of knowing God. Consequently, they cannot know Him. They cannot know God, because they do not want Him or love Him. Only those who want and love God, and who want and love God to the extent of being captured by Him, can know God. Whenever such a person thinks about God, he approves Him. When he hears God’s name, he senses its sweetness. Only this kind of person can know God. We must ask the Lord to give us a heart that approves Him so that we can leave everything that is apart from Him, loving Him singly and pursuing Him as the approved One so that we may know God.
2. “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Him whom You have sent, Jesus Christ” (John 17:3).
Knowing God and knowing Christ bring eternal life, and knowing God and knowing Christ are eternal life. Eternal life is the life of God. We obtain and possess this life by knowing God and Christ, and this life enables us to know God and Christ. God’s life is in us, causing us to know and sense what God likes and wants and what He does not like or want. If we live and act according to the inward feeling that comes from the life of God, we will know God.
3. “I will impart My laws into their mind, and on their hearts I will inscribe them...All will know Me from the little one to the great one among them” (Heb. 8:10-11).
Every life is a law. God’s life within us also is an inward law that causes us to know God; this knowing is possible whether we have been saved for a long time or have just been recently saved. A newborn child spits out bitter things that are put into his mouth, and he will eat sweet things that are put into his mouth. He can differentiate between what is bitter and what is sweet by the function of life, not by knowledge that comes from teaching. This function of life comes from the law of life. Knowing God is a matter of life, not of outward knowledge. Knowing God is based not on outward letters of the law, ordinances, or rituals but on the inward law of life. Our knowledge of God is related to life. It is according to inward life, not outward mentality. It is God’s life as the law of life in us, expressing its function so that we may know God inwardly. If we want to know God, we must know the inward law of life and follow the inward sense of life.
4. “Therefore let us know, let us pursue knowing Jehovah” (Hosea 6:3).
Even though we have the life of God that enables us to know God, we still must pursue knowing God. This will enable the life of God to manifest its function and cause us to know God.
5. “If you receive my words...then you will...find the knowledge of God” (Prov. 2:1-5).
We cannot know God according to our concept or by our feeling, because our feeling can be wrong. Even our physical sense of hot and cold can be inaccurate when we are sick. Our heart and spirit can also be affected by “sicknesses” that cause our feelings to be wrong. Therefore, we must regard the word of God as our spiritual thermometer and let God’s word be the deciding factor in knowing God.
6. “That...God...may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17).
If we want to know God, we need a spirit of wisdom and revelation. Revelation enables us to see; wisdom enables us to understand. If we only see but cannot understand, we still cannot know, so we must have revelation and wisdom. This is something only God can give, so we must petition God for it.
7. “On account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things...that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8).
We must also pay a price to know God. If we count the knowledge of God and of the Lord as something excellent, we must be willing to suffer the loss of all things for it. The extent of the loss that we suffer is the extent to which we can know God and gain the Lord. Our knowledge of God is related to our suffering the loss of all things.