You Can’t Experience God until He’s Your God

In consumer culture, we’re used to getting to try things out before having to make any long-term commitments. The consumer usually sets the terms in a culture that celebrates slogans such as “have it your way” and “because you’re worth it.” One of my friends once bought a Tesla on Carvana because he knew he could return it if he didn’t put over a thousand miles on it. He returned it for a full refund right before he reached the limit. The customer is always right.

Over the years, I’ve encountered people who bring that same consumer mindset to the question of God. We’re used to setting the terms, and we expect God to allow us that privilege as well. So, we say things like, “If God is real, he needs to prove himself to me.” Or “Before I place my faith in Christ, I need to experience him in some way.” We want to be able to try God on, to take him for a test drive, before we make any kind of long-term commitment.

Of course, God, being God, doesn’t allow his creatures to set the terms of the relationship. He refuses to be tried on or taken for a spin. He’s spoken already, clearly and authoritatively, in his Son (Heb 1:2-3) and has sent his Spirit to bear witness concerning his Son (1 John 5:6-9). The Bible presents us with everything we need to know about God. Nothing is lacking in God’s testimony about himself. We have more than enough revelation from God to enter a covenant relationship with him through Christ.

But that’s not good enough for a lot of people. Many people are searching for the confidence and assurance that comes from a relationship with God before ever entering into a covenant relationship with God.

Think about where the Christian’s confidence comes from. In two places, the New Testament describes what theologians often refer to as the “internal testimony of the Holy Spirit.” In Romans 8:16, Paul writes, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God.” And then in 1 John 5:10, we read, “Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.” There’s no way to test out a relationship with God until actually entering into a relationship with God. Its only when we trust Christ for salvation that God’s Spirit enters our hearts and begins filling us with the confidence we long for.

Consider an analogy. Imagine a teenaged orphan who says, “I want the comfort and security of being in a family, but I don’t want to join a family. I would rather experience the perks on the front end and then decide whether it’s worth it.” Then a loving family comes along and says, “We’d like to adopt you.” Several former orphans who have been adopted by that family give testimony to the love and trustworthiness of the parents. But the orphan persists. He’s not going to do it until he gets a chance to experience it. His stubborn refusal tragically cuts him off from the very thing he wants the most.

You can’t experience what it’s like to be someone’s child until you’re their child. You can’t understand the love and assurance that comes from knowing God as your Father until he’s your Father. You can’t know God as God until you believe he’s God. You can’t taste the freedom of being in Christ before you’re in Christ. The Holy Spirit won’t bear witness to your spirit that you are a child of God until you receive the Holy Spirit upon becoming a child of God.

If you want to experience the love of God, believe God’s testimony about his Son. Believe that God “shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Believe the external testimony first. Then God will flood your heart with the internal testimony. But don’t expect him to reverse the order. To refuse to believe the external testimony is to make God a liar (1 John 5:10). He has spoken. Believe him. I promise you’ll never regret it.

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