Knowing God

Last night’s group study topic was the prayer of Jesus that begins:

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:1–3)

Our study leader asked about this definition of eternal life that Jesus describes. We agreed that Jesus described a relationship. It is not the same as knowing about Him, or even knowing that He is God who came in the form of a man, or even believing in one God, or perhaps that He is three in one because the Bible also says:

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! (James 2:19)

Knowledge of facts about God and accepting those facts as true does not necessarily result in trust or an intimate relationship. In this context and in considering all that the Bible says about faith in Christ, it is deeper. Jesus used the Greek word ginōskō that means to know, recognize, discern, understand; conclude, but is also a euphemism for the intimacy of sexual relations. In other words, while this verb can refer to knowledge of facts or information, it is used more often to refer to a deeper knowledge that involves intimacy.

Intimacy of relationship involves love but also self-revelation, an openness that includes inner thoughts revealed by transparent and truth-filled interaction and conversation. Not only that, this prayer seems more of a description of what eternal life is like rather than how it is obtained. By knowing Jesus as Lord, Savior, best friend forever, we have a relationship of mutual confiding, of intimate knowledge as Jesus reveals Himself to us.

Before Jesus came into my life, I knew about Him, about His life and the importance of trusting Him (but not how to do it) but I did not have that relationship. However, He came to me without a formal introduction, and I knew instantly who He is and that He was offering me His life and all He could do for me. There was no doubt about His identity or His worth. Rejecting Him never entered my mind. Life events and the Holy Spirit had already made the point: I needed Jesus.

Most Christian’s testify how they came to a point of need through life’s circumstances. For me, it was a sense of failure. For some it is deep guilt, or rejection. Others feel surprised by Jesus and later realized they were ready to say yes when He called them.

While some talk about needing to “accept” Him vs. the ability to reject Jesus, that can only be prior to hearing His call to relationship. People will reject church, or what seems like law and rules, or say they don’t need religion, or bristle at the idea of being a sinner. The Holy Spirit’s role is to use various means to remove any barriers and soften hearts to the point that sinners are ready to trust His power and say yes to His invitation.

PRAY: Jesus, You never force anyone to trust You, nor are You are helpless to draw sinners to Yourself. Your love and Your ability to reveal Yourself as desirable is unlimited. You are the grace of God reaching out and revealing God to those being called. You overwhelm me with Your goodness and mercy. The more I know You, the more I know what God the Father is like, and what eternal life is like. Since You are beyond all description and human imagination, eternity will be filled with discovery — forever knowing more and more about You. This is a marvelous reality given to me because that is what You do.