Jeremiah 9:23-24 (KJV)

23 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

 24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.

In our key verse in Jeremiah 9:24, we are told that understanding and knowing God is something we should take glory. God’s covenant people bragged about their human wisdom, strength, and riches. They were like religious people today who depend on sacraments, rituals, and the performance of good deeds rather than surrendering their whole hearts and lives to Jesus Christ. They do this because they don’t really know God.

The Priority of Knowing God

Nothing can be more important than knowing all about Him in whose image we have been created. The more we learn about God, the more we learn about ourselves. And the more we learn about Him, the more we’ll be in awe by the majesty of His being.

Prioritizing knowing God is not merely an intellectual pursuit. It’s not just saying, “I know A LOT MORE about God than I did before.” Instead, there should be an intimate pursuit and we should say, “I know God BETTER than I did before.”

The Dignity of Knowing God

Did you know that in knowing God, there is great dignity? In our key verse, we can see that God is not interested in how much money we make. We should never glory in that. God is not interested in how powerful we are, that’s not our priority in life.

Galatians 6:14 reminds us of the blessing of the cross. We deserve judgment and condemnation. In the cross of Calvary, Christ has taken our sin upon Himself and made it possible for us to experience and know and enjoy the goodness and the blessings of God. The cross is everything because it reconciles us to God, restoring our worth and our value. Knowing God brings dignity into our lives.

The Maturity of Knowing God

Spiritual maturity is achieved through becoming more like Jesus Christ. After salvation, every Christian begins the process of spiritual growth, with the intent to become spiritually mature. According to the apostle Paul, it’s an ongoing process that will never end in this life.

In 1 John 2:12-13, we can see that there are three stages of growth and maturity:

  1. Little children – Every Christian begins their journey as babes. Children are novices in the Christian life.  After this, we need to increase our knowledge so that we become:
  2. Young Men – This type of people is in their prime. They can stand in the battle against the enemy.
  3. Fathers – Fathers indicates age and authority. A mature Christian takes a maximum number of principles from the Word of God and applies them to his experiences along the way. To be at this level of maturity is what we need to be striving for.

The Authority of Knowing God

Knowing God gives us a sense of authority in our lives. When you know God, you’re connected! Do you know what it means to be connected? If you know God, you know the supreme person in all of the universe! If you know God and you know that He knows you, where do you go from there? What is the next step? Daniel says,

Daniel 11:32 (KJV)

And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

The people that do know their God, shall be strong and do exploits. You want to do something great? You want to be strong? Start with knowing God! Knowing God will give you the strength you need. To be good in what you do, to excel in your particular purpose of life, it starts with knowing God. There is authority in knowing God. But with this authority, we must maintain our last point:

The Humility of Knowing God

Nothing so humbles you as to study God. God is sovereign, He is over and above everything He rules!

Knowing God is a wonderful thing. It should be our priority because it will give us dignity, maturity, authority and humility. If there is anything to brag about, it’s to glory in understanding and knowing God.