Taking every thought captive for obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10.5)

The Question
What does God want most of all for you (5)?
What God wants most of all for you – for everyone – is to know Him. And we can’t come to know Him by trying to be good. Although God wants us to be good, we won’t have much success in this unless we first begin to know Him, Who above all things is good.

Being good doesn’t gain us access to the knowledge of God; rather, being good flows from knowing God.

So, yes, God wants us to be good. But we won’t make any lasting progress in thateffort unless we first come to know God as He reveals Himself to us.

The question perhaps arises, “Then that means I need to go to church? What God wants for me, in order to know Him, is that I should go to church?” After all, the people you know who claim to know God go to church. So it makes sense that if you go to church you might be able to know God as well.

That’s not bad thinking. There are many good reasons to go to church, and one of them is, yes, to increase in the knowledge of God. Whenever we are together with other people who know the Lord, taking as our common focus to celebrate, praise, and draw near to Him, that certainly has the potential to help us grow in the knowledge of God.

But going to church won’t bring you to the knowledge of God. There’s no magic in going to church where knowing God is concerned. Just because you go to a ball game at Camden Yards doesn’t make you a member of the Baltimore Orioles. You may go there, meet some new friends, have a great time, and look forward to going back again. But that only makes you an O’s fan, not a member of the team.

Unless you actually know the Lord already, going to church is not going to be of much value to you.

Now you probably are aware that a good many churches in your community seem to believe that coming to their church, and getting involved with them, is the way to get to know God. Indeed, some churches go out of their way – and outside long-standing tradition – to arrange their worship, facilities, programs, messages, and much else to sort of “grease the skids” for people who don’t know the Lord to be able to slide more easily into a relationship with Him.

A good bit of evidence could be cited to suggest that those churches are on to something. After all, the largest churches in your community are probably those which have the hippest worship services, most relevant and catchy programs, hottest web page, coolest pastor, and least church-like facilities. Certainly these churches have succeeded in attracting people to them, and the people who come to such churches apparently enjoy being there.

But this is no guarantee that any of those people either know God or are making progress in the knowledge of Him. In fact, quite the opposite may be happening. People may be finding new friends, enjoying new activities, even learning some new ways of thinking and speaking. They’re becoming fans of church, but is there any evidence they actually know God?

Some years ago the pastor of one of the largest and best-known of these churches lamented the fact that, in the over 20 years he had been pastor at this church, which had grown to multiple thousands of members, there wasn’t much evidence to indicate that they were succeeding in making disciples.

That is, though thousands were attending and seeming to enjoy themselves, and though they talked excitedly about their church to their friends, thus inducing many of them to attend also, disciples – people who really know God – were in short supply.

No, going to church will not ensure that you will come to know God. However, if you do come to know God – which is what He wants most of all for you – you will no doubt make it a matter of high priority to find a church of like-minded people, so that together you can growin the knowledge of God and help your church become the kind of congretation which makes knownthe knowledge of God and His glory throughout your community.

The knowledge of God is not mediated through the church. It can be celebrated, explained, enjoyed, expanded, shared, and improved. But knowing God is a work God alone can do in you. You may go to the finest church in the world, and participate to the hilt in its life, worship, and programs. And you may enjoy yourself immensely in so doing.

But unless God reveals Himself to you, through the Mediator He Himself has approved, you’ll never come to know Him, and you’ll miss the thing God wants most of all for you.

Weekly Review
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I encourage you, if you have not already, to subscribe to our Scriptorium and ReVision newsletters. Each morning Scriptorium brings you studies in God’s Word, using questions and meditations to guide you into a deeper understanding of Him and His will. We are about to finish our studies in the book of Acts, after which we will begin a panoramic overview of Scripture, following the unfolding of God’s covenant throughout. You can download each week’s daily studies in a free PDF form on Monday of each week.

Our new ReVision series is a five-part study of The Parameters of Prayer, in weekly installments.This week’s study examined The Practice of Prayer, focusing on learning how to pray always and in everything. Tomorrow we will begin a week-long study of The Potential of Prayer.
Crosfigell is a Gaelic word that means cross vigil and refers to an ancient practice of seeking the Lord in prayer with arms outstretched, as suggested in various psalms. This week’s three columns encouraged us to trust in the Lord and His Word, be bold in resisting the devil, and take up the discipline of meditating on the Lord with greater frequency. You can read the installments of this week’s Crosfigell columns by clicking here.

Then watch a video on Personal Mission Field by clicking here, download your Personal Mission Field worksheet, and get started realizing more of the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom, right where you are. If you’re looking for ways to work your Personal Mission Field more consistently, sign-up for our Mission Partners Outreach. Details are available in a brief video by clicking here.

In Thursday’s The Week installment, we found encouragement for rediscovering the power of old hymns to connect with the souls of even those who do not know the Lord. Before we chuck those hymns out permanently, we ought to have another look.

Visit our website and bookstore to discover additional resources and publications to help you in your walk with and work for the Lord. Subscribe to more of our instructional newsletters. Read John Nunnikhoven’s daily Voices Together column. And while you’re at the website, watch the videos introducing our Men’s Prayer Movement and offering you an opportunity to assess the state of your Christian worldview.

T. M. Moore