Friday-The Lord Knows

if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord.

2 Peter 2:9-11

The phrase “Lord knows” is used all over the place. If you Google it, you’ll find it’s used over 10,000,000 times. No matter whether people believe in God or not, they will say “Lord knows” when something happens that’s out of the ordinary. Something they didn’t expect. Something they can’t control.

When Peter says that the Lord knows, he’s saying something really important. We need to stop for a moment and smell the roses. We should slow down to think about what it means and how it changes everything.

God’s knowledge isn’t at all like ours. We learn and know more and more things as we live. How many years do we spend in school, trying to learn more and more? We can Google any question and get gobs of more information about it. Whether it’s true or not is a conversation for another day.

But the opposite is also true. What we once knew can disappear. Something that just happened can be forgotten just as quickly. Memories from long ago can also slowly fade away. The point is that our knowledge changes.

God’s knowledge is like himself. Changeless. There’s never been a moment when God learned something new. He never looked around the universe and said, “I never knew that.” I know that this idea will make your head hurt, but it’s exactly what Peter’s saying here.

When Peter says that the Lord know, he’s telling us that God’s knowledge has never changed. It’s been completely complete from eternity past. But he doesn’t just sit there like some eternal egghead and doesn’t act on his knowledge. Not on your life. He’s actively using it for his glory and our good.

And why is that? Because there’s a huge difference between ”Lord Knows” and “The Lord Knows.” I know that it’s only one little three-letter word, but it makes all the difference in the world.

Lord knows could mean just about anything and anyone. And why? Because there are lots and lots of Lords out there. There are lots and lots of Gods all over the place. There are also a bunch of ways that people think that they can become a Lord. That they can become God. This was very important and practical when Peter wrote this. Not just because there were all those temples and priests all over the place. But because Caesar himself was worshiped as God. And the results were as serious as it gets

This wasn’t just some theory or head knowledge that you could disagree with and still be friends with someone. When it came to worshiping Caesar as Lord, it was yes or no. And no had the most serious consequences. It was a law that everyone had to worship Caesar as God. If you didn’t, it wasn’t just a religious difference. It was treason against the government and punishable by death. That’s why Paul wrote these words.

For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

1 Corinthians 8:5,6

But the most important part isn’t that the Lord just knows everything, but that the Lord knows everyone. He’s so personal that the Lord knows you and me individually. He knew us before we were conceived, the Lord knew us[1]. He knew us as we were being made in secret[2]. When we’re all alone and in distress, the Lord knows us[3].

And in spite of the fact that there are no secrets between us and the Lord, he still died for us. Even with complete knowledge of all our words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes, he still went to the cross and stayed there until all our sins were paid for. Past, present and future sins were all taken care of. Once and for all.

When we start to get ahold of that truth, or should I say when God starts to get ahold of us, everything starts to change. If God’s forgiven me, then I can forgive myself. If God’s forgiven me of everything, then there’s no one that I shouldn’t forgive. I didn’t say it was going to be easy, but Jesus’ punishment and death for us wasn’t easy either.

As we see Jesus on the cross, we see God from all eternity past[4] as the man of sorrows[5] suffering and dying for us. This will drive us to our knees in worship for who he is and all he’s already done. If this doesn’t soften our hearts of stone[6], nothing will.

Noodling Questions

• Describe the difference between a Lord and the Lord. Give examples.

• While we don’t worship Caesar today, what Gods and Lords are worshiped?

• How has God’s forgiveness for you changed your forgiveness of others?

[1] Jeremiah 1:5

[2] Psalm 139:13

[3] Job 2:1

[4] John 8:58, 10:33, 17:5

[5] Isaiah 53:3

[6] Ezekiel 36:26