Knowing Jesus

"I desired ... the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6).
"[Jesus] will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus" (2 Thessalonians 1:7).
"Now that you know God, or rather are known by God" (Gal. 4:9).
"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" (2 Cor. 13:5, ESV).

(Note: If anyone says he knows God and doesn't obey Him, he is a liar, according to Jesus).


More important than understanding who Jesus is theologically speaking, is to know Him personally as salvation, and the utmost value is in finding Him. The result: Do you love Jesus? The ultimate question: Who is He to you? In summation, let's realize that to know Him is to love Him!

It is one thing to be content to just be theologically sound concerning Jesus, and quite another to know Him intimately and personally in a living relationship that grows, and doesn't stagnate or static. You can be saved knowing remarkably little doctrine; God is looking at the heart and faith of the individual in Him and not in himself--we are God-confident, not self-confident, relying on our acumen or cognition or intellectual prowess.

Extremely naive and simple-minded people can be saved, and those of great education can miss it entirely--miss the boat! Christianity is not about a creed, but about knowing a person--how we are getting along--relationships are of utmost value. Job 22:21 says, "Acquaint now yourself with Him and be at peace." We must be willing to agree with God and see things His way, and not be stubborn and insisting on our way.

Faith is very simple: Even a child can have it, but it is not simplistic--it is childlike (you must approach God in this way), but it is not childish (God wants us to grow up and become mature). Subsequent to learning enough doctrine to become a renowned theologian we may lack people skills and not know our Lord hardly at all. For example, John Bunyan didn't know very much compared to the likes of John Calvin, but he knew his Lord. It is so much more important to apply what we know and realize that we will not be judged by what we know, but what we sow.

We are called to be lights in the world and that means we are ambassadors who represent our Lord in an evil world. The world sees the gospel according to you--what your lifestyle and story testify of. A man of simple faith who just knows Jesus is God and his Savior may utter simple prayers and have a constant dialogue with their Lord, while the scholar doesn't apply what he knows and just likes to be right or smarter than others.

Jesus said that eternal life is to "know Him" in John 17:3 and Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 9:24 that if we are to "boast" we should do so about knowing the Lord! J. I. Packer alleges that we can know a great deal "about God" and not much "of God." He concludes that a little knowledge of God is worth more than a great deal about Him--touche! This only happens through a living faith and a vital relationship in a daily walk. A word to the wise: God is pleased with faith more than feelings or emotions, and tests our faith. We must learn to cultivate intimacy and get to know our Lord, basically through knowing others who know Him, the Scriptures, and ongoing prayer.

You can even know a lot "about" Christ, and not know Him as a living God, Savior, and Lord. We are to "grow in the grace and knowledge" of Him according to 2 Peter 3:18, and as we do good works we do also "grow in our knowledge" of Him according to Colossians 1:10. Doctrine can be "interesting" but some people are so assured of their relationship and know it must be put in its place--application is what it's about and the Bible was not written to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives. Jesus came to save us, not educate or teach us, though He did that too. In the final analysis, it is not that we know Him, but He knows us (Gal. 4:9) that is significant.

What Jesus is really looking for is someone after His own heart who wholeheartedly follows Him and is yielded to His will (2 Chron. 16:9). Theologians have their place, but this is not for everyone and we shouldn't expect everyone to have the same "interest" in the so-called deeper truths of the Word. It is a good idea to keep our faith as simple as possible and not to have such a heavy yoke to bear, expecting everyone to be at our mental capacity--remember, the "common people heard Him gladly."

Immature believers balk at learning doctrine and we must remember that "solid food is for the mature" who have learned to distinguish good and evil (cf. Hebrews 5:14). We must know where our listeners are and not go over their heads, meeting their needs where appropriate, as Jesus told Peter to feed the lambs. Sometimes it is tempting to "wow" the congregants with our scholarship, but this is ill-advised and we need to not depend on impressive words, but to rely on the power of the Spirit.

The more you know, the more responsible you are. God expects us to be initiators, comforters, instigators, teachers, peacemakers, mediators, good Samaritans, friends, counselors, advocates, cheerleaders, role models, prophets, priests, intercessors, encouragers, brothers, etc., (you get the idea--little Christs making use of their spiritual gift--that is what Christian means literally). You learn to take on the role and challenge of being Jesus to someone who needs you like John Wesley who vowed to be Jesus to everyone: "Do the most good, to all the people you can, all the time you can, every way you can, in as many places as you can, as long as you can, et cetera." He also said, "Earn all you can, save all you can, and give away all you can." What standards to live by!

The pastor has a role to fulfill to preach as if the oracles of God on His behalf and God speaking through him as His messenger; his voice and message may arouse some sleeping soul out of his dogmatic slumber, and save some who hear the Word through him. Paul said that they received him as Jesus Himself and we should be glad when people see Jesus in us (according to the verse "Christ in you, the hope of glory," in Col. 1:27).

But Paul couldn't wait to see "Christ formed" in them. The only Jesus some people will see is the one you show them and the one in you--what kind of example are you? We are not Jesus and cannot become Jesus, but we are His emissaries and icons who bear His image and represent Him and His authority. We cannot bail out theologically or ignore sound doctrine, and people don't care how much you know until they find out how much you care (to use a common cliche). Soli Deo Gloria!