It is possible for human beings to know God, and, thus, to gain eternal life. God Himself has spoken and shown us what the conditions are for knowing Him, and for growing in the knowledge of God every day of our lives (2 Peter 3:18). It is every human being’s highest purpose and calling to know God; thus it should be our highest priority to advance in the knowledge as fully as possible.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF KNOWING GOD

But can’t anybody claim that he knows God? Is it possible to identify those who truly know God—truly possess eternal life—as distinct from those who are simply mouthing some identity with the faith of Christ? Solomon thinks so. He holds out various consequences of knowing God that begin to be evident in the lives of those who do.

First, those who know the Lord fear the Lord (v. 5). They know Him to be all-holy and all-powerful, and themselves to be sinful and subject to His wrath. The fear of God issues in reverent worship. This, in turn, engenders love for Him, as those who fear Him come through worship to know what He has done through Jesus Christ to free them from His wrath and draw them into the knowledge of God. This fear of God does not subside in those who are thus delivered from His wrath; rather, it continues as a reminder of God’s holiness and a warning against departing the path of obedience. Thus it is that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.

Second, those who truly know God manifest certain defining attributes. These include confidence and hope (v. 7), a life of justice and righteousness (vv. 8, 9), the ability to discern good from evil and to choose the way of goodness (vv. 11-15), and living a life of increasing goodness, uprightness, and integrity (vv. 20-22). Those who know God fear and love Him. Love for God leads them to seek Him earnestly, that they might know Him better. Knowing Him leads to wisdom, which comes to expression in every area of their lives in the forms of hope, righteousness, justice, goodness, and uprightness. The knowledge of God which they possess thus works in them to transform them increasingly into the very image of the Word of God Himself.

While it is a simple thing to claim to know God, and even simpler to deceive oneself into believing that such is the case when it is not, there are certain marks by which we may be certain we have entered into the knowledge of God, and thus, are in possession of the gift of eternal life. As the Apostle Peter put it, it is the duty of all who claim to have eternal life—to know God—to give all diligence to add those virtues and attributes which are the fruit of that knowledge, thus proving their possession of it and ensuring entry into the Kingdom of those who know God (2 Peter 1:5-11).

At the end of his second epistle to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul exhorted the congregation of those gathered to hear his letter to examine themselves, to determine whether or not they really were in possession of eternal life. It is possible to deceive ourselves in this matter of knowing God, of possessing eternal life. It is not sufficient merely to recall having prayed a prayer, or to have been baptized, or even to be faithful in attending or serving in one’s church. Doubtless most of those assembled in Corinth to hear Paul’s letter read fell into one or more of those categories.