What would be the answer if we asked people “Who do Christians worship?” I imagine we would get the same response: from new believers; from young children; from atheists. “Christians worship God.” Few would diverge from this fairly well-known fact.

However, “who is God?” would yield altogether different responses, even among His redeemed. Not only would different denominations and traditions hold to different teachings, but we would find some professing Christians who know almost nothing about God at all. The current era of Christian history has been labeled as one of “biblical illiteracy”—meaning many who bear the label “Christian” know little about its book or the God of it. We must lament this reality. Not so we can know more than the next guy; not so we can win arguments. Rather, it is impossible to worship God if you do not know Him.

In speaking with a Samaritan woman, Jesus observes, “You worship what you do not know” (John 4:22). She didn’t know God. She inherited a wrong religion: “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain” (John 4:20). In her belief, Mount Gerizim in Samaria was the place to worship God. It was a belief uninformed by Scripture (the Old Testament at the time). It was a belief that hamstrung the worship God seeks (“ … the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth …,” John 4:24). It was a belief that made a “Who” a “what.”

Believer, you are the child of a Father. To worship Him, you must know Him. Drink deeply from His Word: read it, study it, memorize it. Take advantage of the opportunities Immanuel gives you to grow. Utilize the wealth of resources online. Check out our church “resource” page. We worship God: the Triune God of the Scriptures. The better we know Him, the better we will worship Him, Pastor Michael