The Work of Knowing
I have read two books in the past year that have been deeply formational for my faith: Sons in the Son by David B. Garner and The Fear of God by John Bunyan. I saw Sons in the Son at a conference several years ago and purchased it. This book is an in-depth, academic study of the doctrine of adoption written by a seminary professor 4 years ago. I discovered The Fear of God after a conversation at Men’s Bible Study that led me to search for a book on the titled topic. This work is a thorough and pastoral study of what it means to “fear God.” John Bunyan, the Puritan pastor and author of Pilgrim’s Progress, wrote this book almost 350 years ago. I finished reading the first book almost nine months ago and I read the second book last month on our family vacation.
I highlight all of this simply to show that these books are distinct and my reading of them was equally distinct. I had no intention in reading them in close proximity to one another. Though the topics of these books seem widely different, the beauty of God’s truth is that it is all deeply intertwined. We can separate truths from one another and deal with them individually, as the authors of these two books did, but the richness of who God is and how He works is best seen when we understand how it all fits together.
Think about a puzzle of a beautiful landscape. We can possibly get a sense of the whole picture from one puzzle piece, but the grandeur is missing. It is once all those pieces come together, one-by-one, often with great time and effort, that the majesty of the whole picture comes into view. To continue with the same illustration, we do get to see the whole picture, with little to no effort, by looking at the cover of the puzzle box. However, there is something much more satisfying when we, through our own time and labor, put the pieces together to get to that whole picture. The same is true in our understanding of and relationship with the Lord.
We all have an understanding, to differing degrees, of who God is and how He works. We have learned this, much of the time, from others and through little work of our own. We are handed the puzzle box, we look at the picture and we like what we see. Truly, the picture is great and we see for ourselves that it is beautiful. But – there’s always a “but” – the beauty isn’t as rich as it could be. It is when God, by His amazing grace, leads us on a journey of our own study, labor and time to see more of who He is. We must work for a more profound understanding of the beauty. We must work for the relationship. When I look at a puzzle box, I have no relationship with that puzzle. I can admire, but my heart is distant. When I put in the time, energy and frustration of getting those 1000 pieces to fit together… well, now I have a relationship.
I hope you’re still with me. Here’s how this relates to my reading of the two books. These books were not easy reads. They took time, effort and even frustration. (Have you ever tried reading a book written by a Puritan?) I had to reread lines, reread pages, reread whole sections. I wasn’t unfamiliar with either of these topics. I have studied and even preached on them before. I love these doctrines. They excite me and that’s why I chose to read both books. After reading them, I now feel as though I was just looking at a puzzle box before. God used these two books to help me gain a deeper relationship with these doctrines and ultimately, with Him. This is lesson #1: the work is worth it! Don’t shy away from the work, run after it! This is not to say we all must read Puritanical books or do deep dives into theology. The work for each of us is different, but we are all invited to work. I use that word “invited” very intentionally. To work is not just a command or a call, though, that should be enough. It is an invitation. Further, I want all of us to see it is an invitation from God Himself, to know Him more, to love Him more, to understand Him more. Do the work. Read, study, listen, write, explore, ask, pray, dialogue. Do all of the work because the reward is rich. The reward is Him!
I want to share a piece of this reward for me, which was to see how intertwined God’s truth is. Truths all work, like the puzzle pieces mentioned above, to present a more majestic picture when they come together than when they are apart. The reading of these books and study of these topics showed me how our adoption into the family of God and our call to fear God fit amazingly together. We can neither experience the adoption of God nor properly fear Him apart from His electing grace, and it is through the work of Christ that we come to a better understanding of both doctrines. Through Christ, we are adopted into God’s family, as sons and daughters. This is not just an idea that floats out in the ether somewhere. This is a real change, from orphans to children. It’s a change in status and a change in relationship. It is then, as sons and daughters of God, that we begin to understand what it means to properly fear Him. Our call to fear God is not to fear as a subject fears a tyrant, but as a child fears a father. We can only attain this through adoption. Adoption allows us to know God as Father which allows us to properly fear Him.
Three brief ways that these truths are deeply intertwined:
A good father allows His children to know him.
This is exactly what God does for His children. He doesn’t stand far off, or keep them at arm's length, or conceal His character. He allows His children to know Him. Deeply know Him. Also, this relationship is only for His children.. Those who are not a part of His family do not have the same access or understanding that His children have. To know God as Father, to truly know Him, causes us to fear Him. We fear God because we have an understanding of who He is: His awesomeness, power, sovereignty, wisdom, righteousness, and love. Our intimate understanding of our Father’s character causes us to fear Him properly.
A good father disciplines his children.
Again, this is exactly what God, as the perfect Father, does for His children. He corrects and punishes His children. Why? Transformation. He longs, as our perfect Father, for us to look more and more like His Son. Discipline is an outworking of love. Discipline, though, is often painful. It hurts and we attempt to avoid it. This also causes us to fear God. We should rightly fear His discipline as it causes us to pursue obedience and faithfulness to Him and His Word. God’s Fatherly discipline pushes us more into a proper fear of Him.
A good father gives good gifts to his children.
Oh does our God give His children an abundance of gifts!. He spares no expense, not even His only Son, to give us gifts that are lavish and eternal. These Gospel gifts, and the cost they came at, command that we recognize their significance. These gifts confront us with our inadequacy and how little we deserve them. They rightly position us as humble and grateful children to a patient and gracious Father. To understand how abundantly we have been blessed produces in us a fear of God that is borne out in worship. We dare not withhold worship from a Father who so blesses His children.
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While I would love to write more, I pray that these few, short connections would be an encouragement to you of how beautiful our God is and how His truths beautifully fit together. More than that, I pray that you would long to do the work of knowing your God yourself. I pray that He would richly bless your chasing after Him. I pray against complacency and laziness. I pray that you wouldn’t be content with only beholding the cover of a puzzle box. Allow God to show you His splendor as you work to know, enjoy and follow Him more faithfully.