The all-important question for those who seek to spend eternity with the Lord is: “Does He know me?” Obviously He knows every soul ever born in a general sense. But the question concerns His knowing us intimately. It is said in Genesis 4:1 that Adam “knew” his wife and she conceived. Obviously, he knew her in a general sense. But it is the intimate level of knowing that is under consideration. A small child “knows” its mother and can distinguish between her and any other female. However, the child knows nothing about the woman who takes care of him/her, other than that she is familiar. To truly know her the child must learn much about her. The passage of time combined with much intimate contact there develops a “knowing” relationship, which is followed by the development of love in the heart of the child for the lady he/she will one day call “mom.” Her love for the child began even prior to birth.

In the God-man situation, man intimately “knowing” God and being intimately “known” by him involves much more than merely recognizing who and what He is. As with the child-mother relationship, love must come into play. In 1 Corinthians 8:1-6–our focal passage–we find the Apostle Paul explaining in verse three the unbreakable relationship between loving God and being intimately “known” by Him which, as the passage reveals, is made possible only by believing and obeying His Word–the Holy Bible. This obedience-loving-knowing relationship is also written about in John 14:15,23. In verse 15 Jesus told His disciples (then and now): “If you (disciples) love me, keep My commandments.” Then in verse 23 He equates His commandments to His Word: “If a man loves Me he will keep My Words” which, as we are told in John 12:49, He received from God and relayed to His Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles, who in turn relayed them to later generations of God-seekers by way of the Holy Scriptures. In John 14:23 Jesus notes that man must prove his love for Him by obeying His Word, also known as “commandments” and “the Law” which He arranged to have recorded. Jesus also noted in John 12:48 that to reject His (and the Father’s) Word/commandments/Law is to reject both Himself and the Father. The love-knowing relationship can function only if we know Their will, believe and obey it. The only way we can know, believe and obey Their will is to study it. The only place it is found is in the Holy Bible. EVERYTHING COMES BACK TO THE WORD.

In verse 4 and 6 of the focal passage the Apostle Paul brings us back to the subject of idolatry when he notes that there is only one God and one Lord Jesus Christ. This proves that the “gods many and lords many” Jesus spoke about are fake gods and lords–counterfeits/”knock-offs” of the real God and Lord. Which brings us to Deuteronomy 13:1 where we learn how billions of people have created billions of false gods and lords, believed them and served them. The manufacture of false deities continues to this day. So who are these false gods and lords? how do they come into being and how do we recognize them? The Lord tells us. L.J.