Oh, to be known by God!
"But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?" (Galations 4:4-9)
That's the gospel, friend...Jesus came, sent by His Father, and was born of a woman under the law to save His people who were under the law. The law made His people, once drawn by the power of the Holy Spirit, aware of their sin and their need for Him as Savior. The Father bought His people at the dear price of His Son's life. Because His Son rose from the grave and conquered the power of death, God's people were reconciled to Him and He calls them "sons" and "heirs". They are His. At one time, God's people were all slaves to unrighteousness, to the desires of their flesh, to sin, to the devil. How then have they changed from slaves of sin to sons of God? How have they changed from those deserving of damnation to those being called joint heirs with Jesus? Have they "come to know God"?
In the focal passage in Galations 4, right before Paul rebukes the Christians in Galatia, he first says that they have now "come to know God". But, notice how Paul quickly qualifies that statement with "or rather to be known by God". He wants to make sure that these Christians realize they have done nothing on their own...God has done it all. God has known them, therefore they know God!
The language regarding the miracle of salvation throughout the Scriptures is consistantly active on the part of God and passive on the part of the sinner. Note the following passages. Who is the subject performing the action of the verbs? Who is the direct object, receiving the action of the verbs? This is very important for us to notice. If we fail to note that God is active and sinful men are passive in salvation, we misdirect glory that is solely due the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:13)
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressioins, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-6)
There are, mind you, passages where we are told to believe, which is a command to 'do something'...an action, if you will. But, we are also taught that we believe according to faith that has been allotted to us by the Almighty. How I love Romans 12:1-3 where Paul admonishes believers to present their bodies as sacrifices to God and to guard against being conformed to worldy thinking. He then warns them not to think of themselves highly but to remember that their faith has been allotted to them. Really, their faith is not theirs at all but God's, by mercy and grace having been given to them.
"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice....I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgement, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith." (Romans 12:1a, 3)
So, I would say that anyone who has "come to know God" has first been "known by God". Oh, to be known by God! Glory to Him who has first known us, brothers and sisters, that we may know and treasure Him! "For God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness', is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6) May His name receive all the glory for our believing! May He be shown magnificent when we, by His strength, keep the faith He's given until He brings us home.
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:17-18)
That's the gospel, friend...Jesus came, sent by His Father, and was born of a woman under the law to save His people who were under the law. The law made His people, once drawn by the power of the Holy Spirit, aware of their sin and their need for Him as Savior. The Father bought His people at the dear price of His Son's life. Because His Son rose from the grave and conquered the power of death, God's people were reconciled to Him and He calls them "sons" and "heirs". They are His. At one time, God's people were all slaves to unrighteousness, to the desires of their flesh, to sin, to the devil. How then have they changed from slaves of sin to sons of God? How have they changed from those deserving of damnation to those being called joint heirs with Jesus? Have they "come to know God"?
In the focal passage in Galations 4, right before Paul rebukes the Christians in Galatia, he first says that they have now "come to know God". But, notice how Paul quickly qualifies that statement with "or rather to be known by God". He wants to make sure that these Christians realize they have done nothing on their own...God has done it all. God has known them, therefore they know God!
The language regarding the miracle of salvation throughout the Scriptures is consistantly active on the part of God and passive on the part of the sinner. Note the following passages. Who is the subject performing the action of the verbs? Who is the direct object, receiving the action of the verbs? This is very important for us to notice. If we fail to note that God is active and sinful men are passive in salvation, we misdirect glory that is solely due the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:13)
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressioins, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-6)
There are, mind you, passages where we are told to believe, which is a command to 'do something'...an action, if you will. But, we are also taught that we believe according to faith that has been allotted to us by the Almighty. How I love Romans 12:1-3 where Paul admonishes believers to present their bodies as sacrifices to God and to guard against being conformed to worldy thinking. He then warns them not to think of themselves highly but to remember that their faith has been allotted to them. Really, their faith is not theirs at all but God's, by mercy and grace having been given to them.
"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice....I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgement, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith." (Romans 12:1a, 3)
So, I would say that anyone who has "come to know God" has first been "known by God". Oh, to be known by God! Glory to Him who has first known us, brothers and sisters, that we may know and treasure Him! "For God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness', is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6) May His name receive all the glory for our believing! May He be shown magnificent when we, by His strength, keep the faith He's given until He brings us home.
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:17-18)
Yes, monergism! God alone saves! To Him be the glory forever and ever Amen!
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