If I were to walk outside this church and go to people in this city and the surrounding areas and at random ask them, “Who is God?” Do you think for the most part, people would be on the same page with one another when answering this question? I think most of us would agree that there is some confusion about who God is.
Why all this confusion? Is it because God is silent? Is it because God has left that question unanswered? Is the reason He is not known is because He has not made Himself known nor does he want to be known?
Today I want to show you three things from Scripture that prove that this is not the case.
#1 GOD HAS MADE HIMSELF KNOWN IN CREATION
God wants to be known to such an extent that he has created a world for us and has put us men and women in it so that through this world we might come to know Him. That’s why God creates. He created all that is ultimately for one reason; to provide an environment where His people could come to know and worship and live for Him.
#2 GOD HAS MADE HIMSELF KNOWN IN REDEMPTION
When sin entered into the picture—when this good, beautiful picture of man in paradise and in right relationship with God was shattered by sin, God could have left us alone. He could have washed His hands of us and said, “I’ve had it with man,” but He did not. Instead he chose to enter back in and redeem and restore this picture. He chose to make himself known to us once again. Now what is it within God that leads Him to go and enter in and restore this broken picture? Why does he do that? It’s the same thing inside of Him that leads Him to create--it’s because our God wants to be known.
Why does God create? Because He wants to be known by people. Why does God enter into this broken picture—this sin tainted picture to restore and redeem? Why mess with that? Because He wants to be known. So God creates in order to be known and redeems in order to be known.
#3 GOD HAS MADE HIMSELF KNOWN IN CHRIST
IN HIS PERSON
The incarnation is the most important miracle in all of Christianity. Without it we don’t have anything else. If God the Son did not take on flesh and dwell among us we don’t have a representative, a substitute, a mediator, nor do we have a redeemer.
The Incarnation is also the ultimate demonstration of God’s desire to be made known. The very fact that God sends His son to earth is a powerful demonstration of God's desire to be known. He wants to be known to such an extent that He became one of us. God entered into the world He created so that we could see Him, touch Him and hear from Him directly.
IN HIS WORKS
By putting Christ on public display at the cross, God is saying, “I want to be known by you in this world to such an extent that I am willing to offer up my Son as sacrifice so that I might be known by you and be made known by those who know me.”
IN HIS TEACHINGS
Look at Mt. 28:19. Jesus says,
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
This is during Jesus’ post resurrection ministry. Here He is telling His disciples, “This is your mission, as you are going, make disciples—as you are going, make me known—Go spread my message—Go spread about me that I may be known and worshipped throughout the world.”
Look at Acts 1:8. Here Jesus is about to leave His disciples and return to the Father and he tells them before he leaves,
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
What is Jesus essentially saying here? He is saying, “I want you to make me known where I am not known.” This is what Jesus told us we as believers are to be doing until He returns. As we go out into the world, we are to make Him known. We are to seek out followers of Christ who will in turn seek out other followers of Him so that God is made known. This is our mission as believers. This is our mission as a church.
