Getting Job-ed
John 17:3 “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent — Jesus Christ.” CSB
What do you think it means to know God when you read this verse? Does it mean to know of God, like how we know of Brad Pitt, Elon Musk, or Joe Burrow? Does it mean knowing that God exists? Or, does it mean having a deeper knowledge of God, the way you know a friend, family member, etc when you have a meaningful relationship with that person? I can think of three places in Scripture that might be able to provide some clarity on what it means, or does not mean, to know God.
1) Romans 1:21 CSB: “For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened”
Here, Romans 1:21 specifically says that these people knew God exists, but that was not enough. I think we can infer from the text that they hated that God is who He is and refused to glorify Him. Paul shows us here what it means to “know God,” especially when we consider the context of John 17:3. It does not mean to know God merely is just knowing about God– it must be something more.
2) Matthew 7:21-23 CSB (Jesus speaking in this passage): “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!”
Matthew 7:21-23 shows us exactly what it means to know Jesus, and also, what it means to know God (Look at John 14:6-7 CSB, “Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you know Me, you will also know my Father”).
Jesus says in Matthew that there will be people who do works in His name, yet they will not enter the kingdom of heaven. How can this be? These people obviously know who Jesus is if they are doing works in His name. But, what is Jesus’ response to these people? Jesus says, “I never knew you.” It is just as vital that Jesus knows us as that we know Him (as we will see in a future part). This points to the fact that we must have a personal relationship with Jesus, and we must know him in a deep, intimate way.
3) John 8:42 CSB: Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me because I came from God and I am here…”
In this passage, Jesus is speaking with some Jews in the temple who claim to know God as their father. Just prior to this in John 8:19 CSB Jesus also said to them “If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” I think this is evidence for our need to know Christ relationally (to know and be known by Christ). Jesus makes it clear that we must know (vs. 19) and love Him (vs. 42). When we do know and love Christ, we know the only true God as our Father, which leads to eternal life. This leads us to our opening verse for today, John 17:3 CSB “This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the one you have sent — Jesus Christ.”
Conclusion
So, how can we start this relationship with Christ? This relationship begins by the grace of God. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8 CSB, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift” and in Romans 5:1-2 CSB, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”
We can have a relationship with Jesus and be known by Him because Christ came down from heaven in order to be a perfect sacrifice for our sins. If we trust that Jesus is Lord, that He died for our sins, that He was raised from the dead, then we will be saved (Romans 10:9) and will have the blessing of knowing God in heaven for eternity.
-Nash Ballinger
