We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life - 1 John 5:20
Jesus Christ came to earth to "give us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true."
Jesus did not come so that we could have blind faith in an unknowable God. Jesus came to lift the veil and to reveal the True Living God to us.
When the Bible speaks of knowledge it is not speaking of a merely intellectual, propositional knowing, it is speaking of an intimate, relational knowing.
You cannot intimately know a concept, but you can intimately know a person. By coming to know Jesus we are given the knowledge of God. The only way to truly know God is to know Jesus, who became the perfect mediator between divinity and humanity.
Many people believe Jesus came to earth to give us a “get out of hell free card.” That we can simply “believe” in Him and then go to heaven after we die. That since we are saved by faith and not by works, it doesn’t matter what we do in this life.
But the truth is this: Jesus did not come to change our future, He came to change our eternity. And yes, eternity includes the future, but it also includes the past and present.
If we are not being continually and radically changed by Jesus here in the present, and if we are not seeing our past with fresh eyes, then what reason do we have to believe that we will be changed by Him sometime in the future?
Jesus came to utterly transform our lives NOW. You cannot know the Living God and not be changed. It’s not possible.
How is it that we demonstrate our knowledge of Him? It’s not by constructing fancy sounding philosophical arguments, or by writing books, or getting into debates. Our knowledge of Him is demonstrated by one thing and one thing only: obedience to His commands.
And what was the last great command the Lord left His disciples before going to the Cross?
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)
If we do our best to keep this command, we will be given all the knowledge we could ever want.
The step of obedience always precedes revelation.
That pattern is evident all through the Scripture.
- Chuck Missler
yes obedience before revelation and relationship before knowledge
And with loving each other, Matt. 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." is another fav!!!!