Galatians 4:9 

Galatians-4.9 Sunrise Glacier National Park Weekly Meds

Greetings Christ Church Missoula! 

Grace to you and Peace! 

“But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage.” Galatians 4:9 

Paul is writing to Christians in Galatia who have been set free from their sins by the Gospel of Jesus Christ but who are returning to the bondage of observing the law of Moses which is contrary to the Gospel.  It’s not the main point of Paul’s argument here but I wanted to focus on the interesting way Paul describes what has set them free; not that they know God so much as that they are actually known by God. 

Of course, it’s not wrong to talk about knowing God. Jesus says in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.  However, when talking about knowing God and in particular the assurance of knowing God, the church’s focus today is often on ourselves, our feelings, and our own efforts.  The truth is that we cannot be truly assured that we know God if we focus on ourselves.   We are an unstable, shaky foundation to ground any truth. The exception being the truth that we are in need of Jesus. 

But in saying that we are “known by God,” Paul forces us to place the focus of our assurance firmly on God Himself and His grace.  J.I. Packer in his must-read book Knowing God, says this, “What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it – the fact that He knows me.  I am graven on the palms of His hands. I am never out of His mind. All my knowledge of Him depends on His sustained initiative in knowing me. I know Him, because He first knew me, and continues to know me.” 

How do we know that God knows us then? We read, embrace, and believe what the Scripture declares that God has done for us. In His word is the infallible assurance that God knows us. Once we know that, we can be sure that we indeed also, know God. Take the time to find out what the Scripture says about you!

“His mercy endures forever! 

Pastor Flynn