Who needs theology and a proper study and intimate knowledge of God? That question abounds. Why theology? Imagine taking a tribesman from the Amazon and placing him or her in the middle of Trafalgar Square, knowing no English, knowing nothing of the culture, no currency, etc. Leaving that person there to fend on their own. Believe it or not, this is what it is like to try and live life in this world without knowing the God whose world it is and who runs the world and how life was intended to be lived.

Let me offer us 5 Basic Truths, foundation principles of our knowledge of God which Christians have and must maintain. Mediate on these today as we take this time to grow in godliness and knowledge of God. They are taken from J.I. Packer's "Knowing God":

God has spoken to man, and the Bible is His Word, given to us to make us wise unto salvation and thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:15-17)

God is Lord and King over His world; He rules all things for His glory, displaying His perfections in all that He does, in order that His creation may worship and adore Him (Ps. 24:1; Is. 42:8)

God is a saving God, active in sovereign love through the Lord Jesus Christ to rescue believers from the guilt and power of sin, to adopt them as children and bless them accordingly (Col. 1:13-19)

God is triune; there are within the Godhead three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; the work of salvation is one in which all three act together, the Father purposing redemption, the Son securing it, and the Spirit applying it (Eph. 1:1-14)

Godliness means responding to God's revelation in trust and obedience, faith and worship, prayer and praise, submission and service. Life must be seen and lived in the light of God's Word. This, and nothing else, is true religion (Ps. 138)

Packer continues ... As we study the Bible, and thus God, we must ask ourselves some questions concerning our motives and intentions. What is my ultimate aim and object in occupying my mind with these things? What do I intend to do with my knowledge of God?

We must be careful as we grow in our knowledge of God, and how and why we pursue this. Remember this - there can be no spiritual health without doctrinal knowledge; but it is equally true that there can be no spiritual health with it if it is pursued for the wrong purpose and valued by the wrong standard (see 1 Cor. 8:1-2).

Mediate on Ps. 119:1-2, 12, 18, 97, 103, 125 today to see all of this.

May we at TCO pursue God rightly, fervently, and to His glory. May we desire to simply know and enjoy God. That is the end. More than some mere theoretical concern. More than simply knowing right answers or doing right things that we may twist God's arm to bless us and our works. May knowing Him be the reward.

May we pursue God and a right theology in order to respond to it and our lives be conformed to it, resulting in life and godliness. May we truly desire to know Him better, to have greater thoughts of Him, and to live in light of who He is as we contemplate His greatness and glory and our own littleness. May we be a people who live in awe of the unsearchable riches of divine mercy displayed towards us in Christ Jesus.