Woes of Wrong Theology

A Call to Know Him As He Truly Is

Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” (Luke 9:15)

It is always interesting to me when God asks a question. He is all-knowing so that means the answer isn’t foreign to Him—but it remains unknown to the one the question is posed to. My pastor says that when God asks a question, He is not seeking information but instead stimulating thought. So, what thought is Jesus trying to stimulate here? Why does He want His twelve disciples (and us, by extension) to tell Him who we think He is? 

I believe He asks this because our view of God is the lens by which we perceive everything else. A.W. Tozer writes, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us” (The Knowledge of the Holy).  

Romans 1 tells us that all creation points to a divine creator. Look at how intricate the human body is, or sit down and enjoy a sunset. The beauty and complexity of nature cannot be attributed to chance. An Intelligent Mind was behind all of it, for sure. But nature doesn’t tell us what this Creator is like.

That’s where culture and society try to fill in the gaps for us. They present a god or gods that agrees with your mindset, votes the same way you do, likes the same people you like, and so forth. Whatever is the most important thing to you—fame, money, sex, acceptance, power, whatever—that god agrees with you. Everyone, whether they are aware of it or not, carries a theology. Theology is simply ... 

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