Knowing about God means possessing true information about His character, works, and will. Knowing God means responding to that revelation with trust, love, worship, obedience, and fellowship. Biblical Christianity requires both.
Why accurate knowledge matters
A person cannot meaningfully know someone while believing falsehoods about that person. Scripture therefore matters. It reveals the Creator, His holiness, covenant faithfulness, judgment, mercy, and saving work in Christ.
Theology is not an enemy of relationship. It protects relationship from becoming a projection of personal preference. When Christians say God is loving, sovereign, or holy, those words must be defined by His revelation.
Why information alone is insufficient
The Bible also warns that knowledge can exist without love and obedience. A person can explain forgiveness while refusing to forgive. Another can defend God’s sovereignty while living as though everything depends on personal control.
Knowing facts becomes relational knowledge when truth is trusted and practiced. Jeremiah 9:23–24 connects knowing God with understanding His steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. First John connects knowing Him with keeping His commands.
An example
A person may know that God is a faithful provider. That is knowledge about God. When financial uncertainty comes, the person who knows God brings the fear to Him, acts wisely, rejects dishonesty, practices generosity, and trusts His character. The information has entered conduct.
This does not mean anxiety disappears instantly. Relational knowledge is seen in where the anxious person turns and what he or she chooses.
Experience must be tested
Some people react against intellectual Christianity by elevating personal experience. Yet experience can also mislead. Strong feelings do not automatically reveal God’s will.
Knowing God remains anchored in Scripture, centered on Christ, and tested within Christian community. Experience has a place, but it is interpreted rather than enthroned.
Signs of growing knowledge of God
- Greater reverence for God’s holiness
- Deeper trust in His character
- Quicker confession of sin
- Increasing obedience
- Love for other people
- Perseverance when feelings change
- Gratitude and worship
- Desire to make Christ known
A balanced study method
When reading Scripture, ask two sets of questions.
Truth questions: What does this passage reveal about God? What does it teach about His works and will?
Relationship questions: What should I trust, love, confess, obey, or worship because this is true?
The first set prevents vague spirituality. The second prevents detached information.
Connection to The Pursuit of God
Tozer’s central concern is not that Christians know too much theology. It is that they can be content with knowledge that has not become fellowship. His challenge is to let truth move from the page into prayer, surrender, faith, and ordinary life.
Connection to disciple-making
Disciple-makers must teach both truth and obedience. Matthew 28:20 does not say merely to transfer information; it says to teach disciples to obey Jesus’ commands. At the same time, disciples cannot obey a Christ they have not been taught accurately.
Healthy discipleship therefore joins sound doctrine with a shared life of prayer, practice, correction, and mission.
Biblical anchors
John 17:3 grounds the article’s central question. Read the surrounding paragraph or chapter and note what it reveals about God and the response expected from the believer.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 adds an important biblical balance. Read the surrounding paragraph or chapter and note what it reveals about God and the response expected from the believer.
1 John 2:3-6 shows how the truth becomes lived obedience. Read the surrounding paragraph or chapter and note what it reveals about God and the response expected from the believer.
Questions for further study
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Which statement in this article most needs to affect your understanding or conduct?
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How does John 17:3 confirm, correct, or deepen the article’s answer?
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What fear, attachment, distraction, or habit makes a faithful response difficult?
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Which person or responsibility should be affected by your next step?
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How could you explain or model this truth to another believer?
Put it into practice
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Study: Read John 17:3 in context and write one sentence explaining how it contributes to the answer given in this article.
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Respond: Choose one statement—such as “Knowing God includes trust, love, worship, obedience, and fellowship grounded in that truth.”—and turn it into a specific prayer and action.
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Review: Tell a trusted believer what you plan to do and ask that person to follow up within seven days.
Common mistakes to avoid
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Do not turn a metaphor into a doctrine beyond what Scripture supports.
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Do not separate inward devotion from outward love and obedience.
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Do not treat spiritual intensity as proof of maturity.
From personal growth to making disciples
A Tozer theme becomes disciple-making material when it is grounded in Scripture, practiced personally, and explained humbly to someone else. Make the next step simple enough to practice and clear enough to pass on.
Continue with the annotated study guide
The annotated edition explains this major Tozer theme in plain language and connects it with Scripture, prayer, obedience, and disciple-making. This article answers one focused question; the complete edition brings all ten chapters into one connected study experience.
The Pursuit of God (Annotated): A Modern Study Guide to A. W. Tozer’s Classic on Abiding in Christ and Making Disciples