John 17 - Do You Know God? How Would You Know?

Click Here to Read John 17

Enduring Word Commentary

Verses of the Day

3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Enduring Word Quotes

In this world we are familiar with the truth that it is a blessing and an inspiration to know certain people. Much more is it the case when we know God.” (Morris)

That they may know You: “In the Greek the verb is in the present subjunctive indicating the ‘knowledge’ is a growing experience.” (Tasker)

Commentary

What I have found in this life is that our quality of life is determined by the quality of relationships we have. While material things can give you enjoyment, they often lose their lustre. Or, you need the newest or better version to keep you happy. Relationships also lost their lustre when you stop investing in them. Many marriages have broken up because the couple just stopped investing in each other. They often joke, "We are like roommates". 

The same is true with God, as he reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Since the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all persons of the Trinity, we can know each of them personally. The fact that we can know God at all is pretty mind blowing. But this is why Jesus came into the world to make God known. And this is why God sent Jesus into the world so he could be known. 

The word John uses for "know" is the Greek word "ginosko". Importantly this word is not about "intellectual knowledge", but "experiential knowledge". This word is an intimate word much in the way a husband and wife know each other. I say all of this to set up what it means when Jesus says, 

"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

We all want to know what eternal life is like. Will we be able to eat as much as we want and never get full? What will we do for fun? What will our relationships to our spouse, children, and other family members be like? Will we ever get mad at them?  Will there be activities like sports, sewing, reading books, or watching movies? Will the streets be paved with gold? What kind of houses will we live in? 

But Jesus here describes eternal life as knowing God. If you are a believer you know God already through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to us from the Father and the Son. It draws us into the fellowship the members of the Trinity enjoy with each other. Jesus refers to this by asking the Father to glorify Him in His Presence with the same glory He had before the world began. 

So, we have to assume knowing the Father and the Son in heaven is going to be different than knowing Him during our earthly life. The scriptures refers to this in a couple verses. One verse says,

"For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." - 1 Corinthians 13:12

So now we only have partial knowledge of God, but then we will see God fully. We all want to be known. People love to have many "likes on Facebook" to have a sense that they are known. People like to achieve things be known. None of this is bad, but no one knows us like God does. No one knows what goes on the secret recesses of our hearts. 

We have glimpses of God's love in this life. Paul describes this "agape" love in 1 Corinthians 13. It was this kind of love that sent Jesus to the cross, when he willingly chose to suffer on behalf. John says it this way in John 15:13, 

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." 

So though I want to think of eternal life in all of the ways I mentioned above, maybe we should think more about eternal life as coming face to face with the greatest love we could ever know. To love and be loved is the greatest joy on earth. If this is what heaven is like I can't wait. 

As we await for Jesus to return to take us home let us not only experience God's love on a daily basis but share it with others. Then, it will not be quite as strange to us when we get to heaven!

Application

1. Do you spend as more time doing things for Jesus, or experiencing his unconditional love? If our works don't flow through our deep connection with Jesus, they may not bear the fruit they could bear. 

2. Do you know that God wants to know You better? In one sense he already knows all about you but He delights in the fact that you share your innermost thought and secrets with Him! 

Prayer

Jesus, we thank you that you made it possible to KNOW the Father. Help us to spend more time just getting to know you and abiding in Your presence rather than going through the motions of religious activity! May our experience of knowing You flow over into all we whom we meet! Amen. 



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