Session 1: Know God

Pre-reading

Read this before your meet-up. It will give you some great background information to help make the most of your time together.

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” — A. W. Tozer

“No man can understand himself without first turning his thoughts towards the God in whom he lives and moves.” — John Calvin

What we believe about God matters.

How can we truthfully praise him if we don’t know what he is like?
How can we be like him if we don’t know what he is like?
How can we tell others about him if we don’t know what he is like?
How can we trust him if we don’t know what he is like?
How can we follow him if we don’t know what he is like?

You believe in God, but do you believe the truth about him? We must all work to deepen our knowledge of who God is and what he has done. Because it’s not enough to merely believe in a god, we need to believe in the true God.

Studying who God is and what he has done is called “theology.” While some people think theology is just a boring task for Bible nerds or seminary students, everyone is a theologian. Everyone believes something about God. But do you believe the truth about God?

There’s a famous, ancient, non-Christian parable about a group of blind men finding an elephant and groping around to figure out what it is. One of them grabbed its trunk and thought it was a snake, one of them grabbed the ear and thought it was a fan, one of them grabbed its leg and thought it was a tree trunk. Today, people tell that story to describe how all religions are equal as if none of us really know the truth about God and we’re all just blind men trying to describe an elephant.

On our own, we are blind and unable to know the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4), but God has not left us on our own! He has revealed himself to us. He has told us what he is like in the pages of Scripture. We’re not randomly guessing or pridefully asserting that we’ve got it all figured out — we’re humbly trusting that God has truthfully revealed himself to us.

So what is God like, anyway?

He is holy. The word “holy” means set apart or distinct. God’s perfect holiness means that he is completely distinct from creation (he alone is uncreated) and completely distinct from sin (he alone is perfect). (See Isaiah 6:1–7)

He is eternal. God has always been. He has no beginning and he will never have an end. He existed before time began. (See Psalm 90:2)
He is infinite. He is everywhere-present and all-knowing. He has no needs or weaknesses. (See Romans 11:33–36)
He is the creator. God is the uncreated one who created all things out of nothing. (See Genesis 1–2)

He is the Lord. The God who created all things has the right to rule over all things and us. He is the supreme judge of all. (See Job 38–42)
He is Trinity. There is only one God (the creator of heaven and earth) and he has eternally existed in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are all distinct, but there is only one God. (See John 1, 2 Corinthians 13:14)
He is gracious. He mercifully helps people who don’t deserve it. (See Exodus 34:6–7)

This is just a small sampling of the many attributes of God revealed in Scripture.

Seeing the Kindness of God

The center of the Christian worldview is the kindness and mercy of God, which is seen supremely in the work of Christ (Exodus 34:6–7, 1 Corinthians 2:2), so every session will include a reminder of how this topic points us to God’s unfailing kindness.

God has revealed himself to us. He hasn’t left us alone to figure it out (we couldn’t). He hasn’t abandoned us to seek him on our own (we wouldn’t). We were lost in the dark without him, and he has graciously turned on the light. And now he calls us to know him, not just know about him. He’s invited us into personal relationship — like a rebellious peasant invited to eat at the king’s table. Our God has made himself known and knowable.

Reflection Questions

Answer these before your meet-up.

Did any of the attributes of God listed above surprise you?
Which of these attributes of God do you want to learn more about?
What are some ways you have grown your knowledge of God in the past?
What challenges have you faced while seeking to learn more about God?
What is one question that you have about who God is?

Meet-Up Guide

review the pre-reading

Answer these questions

The reading started with a quote from A. W. Tozer, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Do you think this is true? Why or why not?
What challenges have you faced while seeking to learn more about God?
What have you thought about “learning theology” in the past? Why is learning theology important?

EPHESIANS 3:14–21

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

study questions

Answer these questions in your meet-up

Read the passage again slowly, and circle every reference to God (including any member of the Trinity or pronouns referring to God).
Paul is describing his prayers for the Ephesians here. What are some of the requests that he prays for?
What does Paul pray that the Ephesians will know? And what does he say about it?
What does Paul say will happen when they know that?
Put verse 20 into your own words. What does Paul say that God is able to do?

application questions

Answer these questions in your meet-up

How does this passage help you to trust God?
How does this passage help you to praise God?
In verse 18, Paul prays that the Ephesians, “may have strength to comprehend,” or that God would help them to know himself. Why do we need God’s help to learn about him?
Does this passage help you desire to learn more about God? Why or why not?

Create an action step

Create one together

The Bible is the best place to learn about God. What are your current Bible reading habits?
The Bible is about God, not about you. Is it hard for you to focus on God in your Bible reading?

action step:

Each day this week, while reading the Bible, I will make a list of THREE THINGS that the passages I read teach about God.

Pray together

Pray together to close the meeting

Pray that God would help you to know him and increase your love for his Word.