I asked a good friend of many years recently what he would do if someone were to come to him and say that I had cursed them, punched them, and key scratched their car over something petty.  His answer was quick and concise.  He stated that he would tell them that it was a lie.  He would refuse to believe a single word of it.  I asked him why that was.  He said because I know you, and I know your character!

There’s something powerful about knowing someone’s character.  A person’s character leads us to trust or distrust them.

I share this to speak of how important it is for us to know God’s character because it fosters our faith and trust in Him when we know more accurately who He is and what He is like.

Jesus came to show us the Father, and this is very important for us to know.  Everything Jesus did or said was a reflection of what the Father was doing and saying.  That means if we wish to clarify our understanding of what God is like based on a true demonstration of a particular aspect of His character, we can look at what Jesus was doing and saying.

Just as we function in life, make choices, and perform actions based on the foundation of our character, God acts based on His nature and according to the quality of His character.  Because of what Jesus revealed concerning the Father, we need never be terrified by His holiness, greatness, and majesty.  We should, however, reverence Him for these amazingly beautiful and wonderful attributes, knowing that they are the foundation for His goodness, mercy, love, and grace He has extended to us on behalf of Jesus.  There are certain attributes He possesses that are meant to cause us to hold Him in the highest esteem and respect Him with humility of heart and soundness of mind.

When this transpires in our hearts, minds, and souls, it produces in us the fruit of gratitude and love towards Him that is rooted first in His love for us revealed in Christ Jesus at the cross, and it sets the groundwork for a deep trust of Him in all things.  Such revelation and understanding of His immutable character and nature is what enables our surrender and submission to His will even when we struggle to understand it fully.

I’m not speaking about mere knowledge about His character that can be gained from theological books so that we can appear spiritually astute to those who do not engage in such studies.  That kind of knowledge leads someone to feel they are superior to others and, therefore, look down on them and fail to esteem them as Scripture instructs us to. I am talking about a relational knowing that is rooted in interacting with Him in real-time, real-life, everyday situations.  The kind of knowing that comes from hearing Him speak and experiencing His ways and works in your personal life.

2Corithians 5:16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.

Knowing Christ according to who He is now in all of His glory is important for every believer.  It is why Jesus prayed,

John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords.  Jesus is exalted to the highest place!  He is not ordinary, yet He is approachable and intercedes for us with such great love.  His glory is unbroken fellowship and oneness with the Father shrouded in love.  The more we know Him according to His greatness, the greater the privilege it is to be loved by Him and be accepted in the beloved.  If we choose to diminish His character by reducing Him to merely being human as we are, we do ourselves and others a disservice.  He indeed gets us, but He gets us from His high and lofty position on the throne, and that makes His getting us all the more special and beautiful.  This is the value of knowing the true character and nature of a person, especially Jesus and the Father.  Character has value, and His character is without flaw.