Knowing God Part 3 of 4: Being Known By God

^“3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers… ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” John 10: 3-5, 14-16 ESV

In the past two articles, we’ve looked at what it means to know God and then, also, what it means to not know God. In this article, we’re going to look at how our ‘knowing God’ is contingent on Him knowing us. We’ve seen this in Scripture already when Jesus states the dreadful words in Matthew 7:21-23 ESV “I never knew you; depart from me…” Even if we’re casting out demons in His name and doing all of these great things, if Jesus doesn’t know us, we are counted as ‘lawless’ people and are sent away from His presence. How can this be?! Because those people are not known by Him.

John 10:1-21 is an amazing section (click on the link to read, it’s so good). Look at verse 14, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me…” and verse 14 and 16, “…my own know me… and they will listen to my voice (in this verse, it’s about Gentiles following Him, but this is also in the passage the context of all people as well).” Jesus knows His own sheep, He calls them, and His sheep listen to His voice. There’s a relationship there: Jesus knows His sheep, He calls, they listen. No ambiguity about that: when He calls His sheep, they listen. It’s an effectual calling and listening of His own people. This is such a huge concept to begin to grasp in the New Testament, especially when you run into sections on election and predestination. If you want a brainbuster, dive into Romans 9 and Ephesians 1:3-14— they’ve become a couple of my favorite passages in Scripture (but also some of the most difficult). 

Conclusion

So what am I getting at here? Respond if you’re hearing His voice. That’s what we are called to do. The point is not to figure out if you’re a part of the elect or the non-elect. Scripture doesn’t really tell us to do that and especially not to tell who the elect and non-elect are. God only knows who the elect and non-elect are because it’s a part of His Sovereign Will that is not revealed to us. What is God calling us to do? If you hear His voice, respond. This is how you know you are a part of His sheep: you hear His voice and respond to that voice.

For us to know God is to be known by God. To be known by God is to be called by God. To be called by God you have to hear His voice. If you’re hearing His voice, respond to Him. By doing this and persevering until the end, this proves our calling and election by God (Matthew 24:9-13).

-Austin