"Knowing God Intimately"

2 Peter 1:2--"Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,"


I have been reading and rereading 2 Peter and it is amazing what I am learning. I believe this verse is the key verse in this passage. Paul also ends with this same message in 2 Peter 3:18--"but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen."

The key word in both of these passages is "knowledge." The word "knowledge" and "the knowledge of God", suggests a relationship between the person who's doing the knowing and the person who's being known.

I believe the knowledge spoken of here is not just a distant knowledge. It is a knowledge of being united with and having an intimate relationship with God our Father. It's an intimate knowledge. To know God and Christ is to one with them. This kind of relationship is a powerful influence in our life. It completely changes us. We cannot know God intimately without it making a difference in our lives.

John 17:3--"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

Knowing God and growing in the knowledge of God is the key for us recieving the grace and peace we need in our lives. The greater the knowledge and the deeper our knowledge of God is the more grace and peace will be multiplied to us. The more we know God the more peace we will have in the midst of difficult circumstances. Many times we pray, "Lord, deliver me from and change my circumstances." When we pray this way we are putting all the responsibility on God. We pray God give me your grace and peace and then don't do what He has told us to do to recieve it. Our responsiblity is getting to know God. It's not about God changing our circumstances it's about getting to know God more intimately. A failure to know God is at the heart of every problem we have. Knowing God is also the key to every blessing that we recieve from Him. Knowing God is the key to grace, peace, life, godliness, and happiness. The more we know God the more we love Him.

I believe that Peter is implying that there is a lack of the knowledge of God. There are people who have alot of head knowledge about God but they do not know Him.

What does it mean to know God? I believe to know God is more than intellectual knowledge about God. It is having an intimate relationship with God through Christ. It is an intimate knowledge that we have first hand. It is a first hand knowledge of God. It's not just knowing about Him but knowing Him personally!!!

We sacrifice things to God to please Him and to serve Him. But our burnt offerings, the things we sacrifice to God are sacrificed in vain if we do not know Him. God says in Hosea 6:6, that He wants us to know Him and He wants to know us. God doesn't just want us to know the facts about Him He wants us to know Him intimately and personally. Knowing God is more important to Him than what we can sacrifice to Him.

Hosea 6:6--"For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."

We must grow in the knowledge of the gospel of the grace of God and the truth of His word. We grow in this knowledge through fervent ceaseless prayer and through meditation on the scripture. The means by which grace and peace are multiplied to us is through the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ.

John 1:16--"And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace."

What is the knowledge of God?

The answer is found in the last part of 2 Peter verses 1:1, "Our Savior Jesus Christ" and in verse 2, it says, "Jesus our Lord."


I see two things about Jesus in these verses. 1. Jesus is my Savior. 2. Jesus is my Lord.

The true knowledge of God is that Christ is God, Savior, and Lord. He died on the cross for our sins and rose again the third day. We have recieved a precious gift from God, the gift of salvation, through Christ. Through Christ grace and peace have been given to us by God. When we have a true knowledge of Christ and desire to know Him intimately, it is an indication that true saving faith has taken place in our hearts.

We must grow in the knowledge of God. Our faith is built and strengthened on knowing the truth about God and of Jesus Christ. Our Spiritual growth is rooted in God's word being revealed to us. "God has therein revealed Himself unto us in the face of Jesus Christ. We find Christ; we find the revelation of God in the word of God."--George Mueller


We must grow to understand and believe the truth about God!!! I believe the more we come to know God the happier we become. I pray that we all may abound in God's grace. That God might multiply His peace and grace to us and that we may grow in it.

Serving Our Lord Together,
Michelle Harrison