Why Knowledge of God Matters

To live without knowing God is to live impoverished—not just intellectually, but spiritually. A person may be educated, successful, and admired, yet still lack the one knowledge that gives meaning to everything else. As I note in "Why Theology Must Be Systematic," knowing God is not a fragmented pursuit but the heart of Christian existence.

Scripture is unambiguous about this: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Without that reverent awe—without a true, relational knowledge of God—every other pursuit of truth becomes fragmented and hollow. Knowledge of God is not a luxury reserved for theologians or mystics. It is the soil in which the entire Christian life grows. It nourishes faith, steadies obedience, and reshapes our desires.

When this knowledge is absent, even good things begin to decay. Theology becomes abstract—true perhaps, but cold and disconnected from the living God it claims to describe. Worship turns mechanical, reduced to words and habits repeated by rote. Christian living collapses into shallow moralism: rule-keeping without joy, effort without love.

But when God is truly known—not merely as an idea, but as the living Lord who reveals Himself through His Word and by His Spirit—everything changes. This aligns with "How God Makes Himself Known," where Scripture shows that God reveals Himself personally, not abstractly.

His character becomes the source of our joy. His works serve as the foundation of our trust. His promises become the anchor of our endurance. His redemptive purpose becomes the organizing center of our lives.

In knowing Him, the soul wakes up to reality. Our affections are reordered. Our will is reshaped. Our lives begin, however imperfectly, to reflect the glory of the One who made us to know Him and enjoy Him forever.

Scripture also warns us that knowledge that never reaches the heart is finally empty. The apostle Paul reminds us that even the greatest understanding, if detached from love, amounts to nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2). Information alone cannot sustain faith. Familiarity with divine things, when kept at arm’s length from the will and the affections, becomes a hollow exercise.

True knowledge of God presses inward and outward at the same time. It leads to worship. It produces humility. It fosters sanctification. It strengthens obedience. And it fuels the mission of making God known to others. The life-forming quality of knowledge is exactly what I explore in "Why Theology Must Serve the Life of Faith," where theology is shown as fuel for obedience and devotion - not just head knowledge.

For these reasons, this work seeks to take seriously not only the task of knowing God rightly, but also the equally vital task of living faithfully in the radiant light of that knowledge. And, because true knowledge drives mission, I encourage you to read "The Great Commission as the Root of Theology."

Knowing God is not about mastering information—it is about being mastered by truth.

— Zach Strange

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