Self-knowledge and Knowing God

As I see it, we shall never succeed in knowing ourselves unless we seek to know God: let us think of His greatness and then come back to our own baseness; by looking at His purity we shall see our foulness; by meditating upon His humility, we shall see how far we are from being humble. (Teresa of Avila: First Mansions, Book Two)

Teresa says, “we shall never succeed in knowing ourselves unless we seek to know God”. Our spiritual journey thrives in self-knowledge but is distorted by self-preoccupation. The goal is to be a student of self and know God. The better we know God, the better we know our self.

Four ways to know God better:

Study the life of Jesus: Jesus is the full revelation of God. Jesus is also the full revelation of what it means to be human.

Read Scripture as Revelation: How you read the Bible matters. “The Bible cannot be read unbiblically”. (Karl Barth)

Personal Revelation: God reveals himself to us through mystical prayer.

Other People: God created humankind “in the image of God”. If we want to know God better, get to know our family, friends, and co-workers better.* 

Teresa says, “if we turn from self toward God, our understanding and our will become nobler and readier to embrace all that is good: if we never rise above the slough of our own miseries we do ourselves a great disservice.”

*Additional Note

The “image of God” is particularly noticeable when punctuated by love: “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.” John 4.12. Observe the progression in scripture:

• Exodus 33: “No one shall see me and live.”
• John 1: “No one has ever seen God.” Jesus “has made him known.”
• I John 4: “No one has ever seen God . . . God lives in us”. (We make him known.)

Self-knowledge – Part I (click here)

Self-knowledge – Part II (click here)

Self-knowledge – Part IV (click here)

About Dave Small

Jesus Follower, Blogger, Public Speaker. Teresaofavilaturns500.wordpress.com

‹ Self-knowledge Part II: Humility

The Gulf: Self-knowledge Part IV ›

Tagged with: 500, Christian formation, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Dave Small, Dave_Small, Interior Castle, Spain, spiritual formation, St John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Avila Turns 500, The Interior Castle, Theresa of Avila, Theresa of Avila Turns 500
Posted in 1st Mansions - Chapter 2