From Unknown God to Known Savior

Isaiah 44 is an interesting place in Scripture.

When you read through Isaiah and come to verses 6 through 8, you find a moment where God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah. He gives Isaiah specific words to speak to Israel. God is speaking these words to His people, and I find it striking what He is saying to them. He makes a bold statement and asks a question that, I believe, needs to be heard loudly in the United States of America and in our churches today.

Isaiah writes, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.’” “I am the first and the last; besides me there is no God.” God puts it out there clearly and without apology.

This is in line with the commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” God says, in effect, “I am it. There is nothing else. I am the Creator. I was before anything. I created all things. I am now, and I will be after everything else is done and gone. I am the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega.”

So God is stating, “This is who I am. This is who Yahweh is. Do not doubt Me. This is who I am.” Then He continues, “Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.”

“Who is like Me?”

My mind is drawn to Elijah, the prophet who challenged the followers of Baal. Elijah told them, “You call on your god to send fire and light the altar, and then I will call on the Lord to light the altar, and we will see whose God is the true God.” The prophets of Baal cried out, pleaded, shouted, and cut themselves, but nothing happened. Their wood stayed unburned and untouched on the altar. Then the prophet of God said, “Bring water. Soak this wood. Soak it thoroughly.” When there was no human probability that that wood could burn, Elijah looked to heaven and called on the God of heaven to light that wood on fire — and God did.

In that moment, God proved there is no other God. He makes that same statement to His children here in Isaiah: “Remember these things. There is no other God.” He says, “Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

Israel had seen many times when God proved Himself. They were witnesses. Has God proved Himself in your life? Have you given witness to that fact?

After reminding Israel of His works, God asks a question — and it is important: “Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.” He asks this of people who have walked with Him, who have experienced His power and His movement. But if you know Israel’s history, you know their pattern: back and forth. Serve God, then don’t serve God. They intermarried with people who believed in other gods, mixed their beliefs, took half of theirs and half of Israel’s, and blended them.

So the question for us, in our time and culture, is this: Is there any other “god” in our thought process, in our beliefs, in our lives, other than God Almighty — the One who reveals Himself as Creator, Father, Son in the flesh, and Holy Spirit? Is there any other god in our lives?

I began thinking about Paul in Acts 17.

When I was growing up, most of the people around me in this country believed that God exists. Whether they went to church or not, they believed there was a God, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that there is a Holy Spirit.

Paul was in Athens on his journey. Athens was a major city, full of education and the finer things in life — universities and places of learning. It would be like going to a research park full of highly educated people seeking more knowledge. And they were seeking knowledge about what “god” is.

Acts tells us that while Paul was waiting in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some philosophers — Epicureans and Stoics — conversed with him. Some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities,” because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

They took him and brought him to the Areopagus and said, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?” The Areopagus was a place where statues stood for many things they considered gods — god of thunder, god of fertility, god of this, god of that. They had statues erected to each god recognized in their culture.

They invited Paul there and said, “We want to hear what you have to say. You bring some strange things to our ears, and we want to know what these things mean.” Luke notes that all the Athenians and the foreigners there spent their time doing nothing except telling or hearing something new. They searched for knowledge. They searched for something new. That’s what they did.

It’s sort of like today. When I was a young man in the church in my twenties, the mindset was, “Yes, I believe in God, but…” and then came the self-help books. Or, “Yes, I believe in God, but if I get one of these crystals…” People tried to add something new.

Today, people try to mold Christianity — following Jesus and His word — to fit their lifestyle, instead of letting God’s word shape and change their lifestyle. We say, “We know better now,” and we twist the faith to suit ourselves.

But God is God. He always has been and always will be — first and last, beginning and end. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His word is true and will last after everything we know is gone. God does not change.

Paul stands in the midst of this pagan city and says, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.”

There is that word: “religious.” We misuse that word a lot. If you ask some people, “Do you follow Jesus? Do you love Him? Do you have a relationship with Him?” they might answer, “I’m religious. Yes, I’m very religious.” But what does that really mean?

Paul says, “As I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.”

They had many objects of worship — statues representing various gods — yet they also had one altar labeled “To the unknown god,” just in case they missed one.

Paul says, “These are the objects of your worship.” That raises a question for us today: What are the objects of our worship?

What requires our time, our heart, our thoughts, our energy, our very worship? What has the highest priority in our lives? Is it God? Is it work? Is it family? Is it the things we already possess, or the things we want to have?

Whatever most drives our thoughts, actions, intentions, and priorities — those are the things we truly worship. That’s hard to hear, but it’s true. Those are the things that drive our life.

Our culture tells us that if we want certain things — the bigger house, the better job, the full sports schedule for our kids, the big bank account so we can retire early and travel — then life must revolve around those goals. All the focus shifts onto everything but God.

We end up with a society, and even churches, full of people who have a knowledge of God. They know who God is. They’ve been in church and Sunday school. But the question is not just “Do you know who God is?” The question is “Do you know God in relationship?”

It’s one thing to say, “I know who that person is.” You might say, “Yeah, I know Aiden. I’ve seen him around church. I know who he is.” But if I ask you, “Do you know this about him? Do you know that about him?” you might say, “No, I didn’t know those things.” So you know who he is, but you don’t really know him.

Many people are in that same place with God. We know who God is, but we have not really experienced Him in relationship, because everything else has taken the time and attention we would need to give to God and commit to Him in our lives.

When society teaches us that “worship” is just about gathering for an hour once a week — singing some hymns, hearing a sermon, saying some prayers, and then going back to life — we end up thinking that hour is enough.

But worship, time with God, acknowledging Him, talking with Him, is more than an hour a week. It is a daily proposition. Without that daily walk — all day, as much as we can — how do we really know God? If I see you only briefly at church, but never have the opportunity or take the opportunity to talk with you, get to know you, experience life with you, be around you, I will never truly know you.

In the same way, if we only see God in that one hour and never take time beyond that to seek Him, we will know about Him, but we will not know Him. We might talk a little about Him, but we won’t truly experience Him. God wants relationship with us. He wants us not merely to know about Him, but to know Him personally.

Paul warns Timothy about days like the ones we are living in. He writes that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. People will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness but denying its power.

“Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” That is being religious — knowing about God — without having a living relationship with Him and moving in His power to shape and change your life.

In our country we have been sold a bill of goods that life is all about getting to the front of the line, having the most, owning the shiniest, building the biggest bank account so we can retire early and do whatever we want. In that mindset, God receives maybe an hour a week — if that.

Is an hour a week enough to know God and really experience Him personally? What are we after?

God calls us to more. He longs to have a personal relationship with each one of us. Someone might say, “Pastor, I think I know more about God than I’ve actually experienced God. So how do I get there?”

God gives us a simple but profound answer: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

When God becomes the number one priority — when He becomes the One your mind dwells on, the One you want most, the One you are determined to pursue — then you will find Him. You will know who He is, and you will walk in His goodness.

You might say, “That sounds like a lot of time. I don’t have that much time.” I once worked with a very busy man, a marathon runner who held important leadership positions. I asked him, “How in the world do you find time to run marathons with your schedule?” He looked me in the eye and said, “The things we really want to do, we make time for.”

I have found that to be true in life — and in our relationship with God. If we truly want that relationship, no matter what else is happening, we will find and make the time to seek Him and to make that relationship happen.

Perhaps, for some of us, that means a new start. Perhaps we have built idols in our lives — our homes, our retirement accounts, our families, our careers — and allowed them to take the place that belongs to God. Perhaps we need a time of repentance, a time of laying down those things that keep us from Him.