According to the Scriptures, man’s knowing God can be divided into three steps. Psalm 103:7 says, “He made known his ways unto Moses, His doings unto the children of Israel.” The word “ways” in this verse is the same word used in Isaiah 55:8. The Israelites only knew God’s doings, but Moses knew God’s ways. It is clear that Moses’ knowing of God was more advanced than that of the children of Israel. But the knowing in the intuition, mentioned in Hebrews 8:11, is more advanced than knowing God’s ways. The knowing in the intuition is to know God’s nature, to know God Himself. If we read these last two verses of Scripture together, we can see that our knowing God can be divided into three steps. The first step is to know God’s doings; the second step is to know God’s ways; and the third step is to know God Himself. To know God’s doings and ways are only outward knowing, but the inward knowing of God’s nature and knowing God Himself is the deeper knowing. This is the most precious. Now let us look at these three steps separately.
To know God’s doings means to know the miracles and wonders which He performs. The children of Israel in the land of Egypt, for instance, saw the ten plagues which God sent (Exo. 7—11). Another example is when God sent the great east wind, causing the water of the Red Sea to recede in one night, so that the water was divided and the sea became dry ground (Exo. 14:21). Two other examples are: the children of Israel obtaining living water from the smitten rock in the wilderness (Exo. 17:6) and the daily manna sent down from heaven (Exo. 16:35). All of these were God’s doings. Likewise, the feeding of the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes (John 6:9-12), the blind receiving sight, the lame walking, the lepers being cleansed, the deaf hearing, and the dead being raised (Matt. 11:5) were all God’s doings. Today some people have been healed of their illness by God, or have been protected by God from danger on a journey. These are all God’s doings. But if we only know God’s doings, we cannot be considered as knowing God. This kind of knowing is shallow and outward.
To know God’s ways means to know the principle by which God does things. For example, when Abraham prayed for Sodom, he prayed by standing on the side of God’s righteousness. He knew that because God is a righteous God, He could not act contrary to His righteousness. This means that Abraham knew God’s way of doing things. Another example can be seen in the incident where Moses saw the glory of Jehovah manifested, and told Aaron, “Take thy censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and lay incense thereon, and carry it quickly unto the congregation, and make atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from Jehovah; the plague is begun” (Num. 16:46). This means that Moses knew God’s ways. He knew that if man would act in a certain way, then God would respond in a certain way.
Samuel told Saul: “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Sam. 15:22). This refers to knowing God’s ways. A further example is when David refused to offer burnt offerings which cost him nothing (2 Sam. 24:24). This also refers to knowing God’s ways.
To know God’s nature means to know God Himself. It has been mentioned before that every kind of life has its own characteristics. Fish have the characteristics of fish and birds have the characteristics of birds. God’s life also has its characteristic. This characteristic is His nature. His nature is goodness, uprightness (Psa. 25:8; 86:5; Matt. 19:17) and holiness (Acts 3:14; 2 Cor. 1:12). This nature will express God Himself through light. When we are born again we obtain God’s life and receive God’s nature. When we touch His nature in us, we also touch God Himself in us. This is knowing God Himself. For instance, if there is some sin, our conscience feels that it must be dealt with, and only if it is dealt with can there be peace. Yet, inside of us there is a holy sense, a sense which is even deeper than the conscience. Deep within there is a disgust and a hatred for the sin itself. This kind of hatred comes from God’s holy nature. When man touches God Himself, his knowledge of God’s holiness is beyond human description. Sometimes our sensation is the same as Job’s: “I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee: wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).
Under the bright sunlight even the dust will be revealed. Likewise, in God’s holiness, our filthiness is always revealed. No wonder that when Peter met the Lord Himself, he fell down at the Lord’s knees and said, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8). Many times, both in our words and in our actions, although our conscience may not condemn us, there is still within a sense of discomfort, a sense which does not say “amen.” This is the sense of the nature of God’s life, and it exceeds the feeling of the conscience. If we have learned and are willing to obey, it is at such times that we touch God Himself. On these occasions we will know God Himself.
Paul told the Corinthian believers, “We toil, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things, even until now” (1 Cor. 4:12-13). This shows that not only is God’s life such, but it also shows that the nature of this life is such. When Paul was so touching God’s nature he was touching God Himself. It was then that he knew God Himself.
The following is a true story. Two brothers who were farmers and also Christians planted rice fields. The fields were in the middle of a hill. Every day the brothers pumped the water into the fields with their feet. But every day they found that the farmer whose field was below them always used subtle ways to let the water out of their fields into his field below. For seven or eight days they endured this without saying a word, but inside there was not the joy. Later, they went to have fellowship with a brother who was a servant of the Lord. He told them, “It is not enough for you to endure. You should go and also water the field of him who stole your water. Then pump the water for your own fields.” The two brothers went back to their fields and did as he had spoken. It was strange—the more they did this, the more they felt happy. The result was that the one who stole the water was touched. Not only did he no longer come to steal their water, but he came to apologize to them. Here we see that the reason they could do this, and do it so spontaneously, was because they did it according to God’s nature. Otherwise, if they did it only in an outward way, inwardly they would still have the feeling they were being wronged. Later they would still feel distressed within. Only the things which are done according to God’s nature make us feel comfortable inside. The more we do things this way, the more we will praise God, and the more we will know God Himself.