Skip to main content

Bible Studies for Life

Sunday, July 5

“Getting to Know the Father”

Exodus 33:18-23; 34:5-8; Micah 6:6-8; John 4:21-24

By Lori Clendinning

Perhaps you’ve heard of the three blind men who came across an elephant for the first time: each of them thought the elephant to be something it was not because they were touching a different part of the elephant, one laid hands on the smooth tusk, another had hold of the wispy tail, while the third felt only the elephant’s rough skin. They could not know the entire elephant because they were limited in their experience.

Likewise, people can miss experiencing God, because they do not know Him fully. They can go through all the external motions that are generally associated with being a Christian and still hardly know God at all.

This study about God focuses on three important questions meant not only to help adults know more about God, but also to lead them to God: How can we know the Father? What is the Heavenly Father like? What does God the Father desire for us? By reflecting on God’s characteristics, we grow in our devotion to Him. God desires for us to know Him and to worship Him.

How can we know the Father? Let’s examine the life of one who intimately knew God: Moses, a Levite who led a race of slaves and created from them a powerful nation, God’s chosen people.

As the spiritual leader of the Jewish nation, Moses was overjoyed that God’s presence was with them for their desert journey. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God revealed Himself, but with some restrictions. God allowed Moses to see His Glory, which is called in Hebrew “kabod” (the weight and honor of something). In this case, kabod refers to God’s character and fullness.

Moses was only allowed to see the moving presence of God, because no man, despite his fidelity to God, could handle the fullness of God’s being. Even so, the mere passing of God impacted Moses in a dramatic way. God allowed Moses to get closer to Him than any other human and His shikinah glory reflected on Moses’ countenance.

Whatever we may understand about God, there is always much more of Him to be known and experienced. We should continually seek to know Him better. We know of God only what He graciously chooses to reveal to us. Being in the presence of God is no trivial matter. We should worship God with a sense of awe, reverence, and mystery.

So, what is the Heavenly Father like? As God passed in front of Moses, He proclaimed His name and described His nature. His holiness and righteousness was expressed through His divine presence, and Moses yearned to know God fully.

Sin separates us from knowing God, yet God still provided a way for us to know Him, because of Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s forgiveness of our sin. Because God is willing to forgive our sin, we should confess and repent of our sins.

Because God is a God of justice, we should not look at our sin casually. Ours should be lives that are changed because of God’s redemption of our sins. Worship is the proper response to God’s revelation of Himself. Outward service is an act of worship and our lives, like Moses, should reflect our devotion to God through our obedience to His calling.

What does God the Father desire for us?

In Micah, God revealed to the prophet that He desires more than external acts of piety; He requires righteousness in human relationships and humility in our relation to Him. In John’s Gospel, Jesus said God wants people to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

People do many things trying to please God and they often end up missing what it is that they are supposed to do. God wants us to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him. For some people, this means going to church and doing a few good deeds here and there.

As good as that might be, participating in worship services is not enough; worship must be accompanied by right attitudes and right living. True worship flows from hearts that are right with God and lives that are consistent with the truth of the Scriptures. Being a godly person who shows mercy to others and a personal commitment to God is the right form of worship.


Clendinning is a member of First Baptist Church, Brandon.