Knowing God: The end in mind

P

Paul K

John 3:16 - For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

John 17:3 - And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent.

This is my second post (if you count the welcome post:)) and I want to share a truth that belies the foundation of my belief in Christ.The two verses above read together sum up clearly why Christ died for us; to have eternal life, which Christ defines as knowing God...fellowship with God. From this fellowship with God flows service, provision, righteous living, protection, guidance, wisdom, blessings, purpose etc etc. But the starting point is fellowship with God and so we should purpose not to go after each of those areas in isolation, but instead focus on knowing God and by design everything else in His plan for us will follow naturally.

1 Cor.15.21-22 - For since [it was] through a man that death [came into the world, it is] also through a Man that the resurrection of the dead [has come]. For just as [because of their union of nature] in Adam all people die, so also [by virtue of their union of nature] shall all in Christ be made alive.

Adam was created to fellowship with God. He did not have to pray for provision, for any souls to be saved, for protection, for solutions to problems yet God still created Him which is to say that the point from the beginning was fellowship. For us born into a new life in Christ, its no different. We should walk with God just as Adam did with the same confidence and trust he had in God - as we have been reconciled to God through Christ.

Granted, we do face challenges in our fellowship with God that Adam didn't have to contend with (which the Holy Spirits helps us overcome daily)...living in a fallen world, past of sin - minds not fully renewed, bodies not redeemed so prone to falling to sin etc etc, but all these challenges including sin itself shouldn't blur our sight of the goal; knowing God through fellowship (word, prayer, exercising our love for others, praise, worship).

Blessings.

Paul
 
'Thus saith the LORD,
"Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
neither let the mighty man glory in his might,
let not the rich man glory in his riches:
But let him that glorieth glory in this,
that he understandeth and knoweth me,
that I am the LORD
which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth:
for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. ... "'
(Jer 9:23,24)

'Yea doubtless,
and I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung,
that I may win Christ,
And be found in Him,
not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law,
but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith:
That I may know Him,
and the power of His resurrection,
and the fellowship of His sufferings,
being made conformable unto His death;
If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.'
(Php 3:8-11)
 
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'That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked upon,
and our hands have handled,
of the Word of life;
(For the life was manifested,
and we have seen it,
and bear witness,
and shew unto you that eternal life,
which was with the Father,
and was manifested unto us )
That which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you,
that ye also may have fellowship with us:
and truly our fellowship is with the Father,
and with His Son Jesus Christ.'
(1John 1:1)

Hi there,
Our fellowship with each other, is the overflow of the fellowship that we have with the Father, and the Son, through the Spirit. Only as each is in fellowship with Him, can true fellowship be had with each other, wouldn't you agree?

John and the other apostles, could testify concerning what they had seen, heard and touched. For they had known the Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh. We, as we read the written Word, having the Living Word ministered to us by the Spirit, can also testify of what we see and hear. That is fellowship with the Father and the Son, through the Spirit, and fellowship with each other too, as we share the things of Christ with each other.

Within the love of Christ our Saviour,
Chris
 
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Thanks for sharing Complete. Fully agree. As we fellowship with God our fellowship with others gets better! Great point. God bless
 
Picked this message up from our Bible study group... True Knowledge of God

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3.

Jesus came that we, through faith in Him, may not perish, but have eternal life (Jn. 3:16). Our opening text tells us what eternal life is: knowing God. This type of knowledge isn't head knowledge; it's heart knowledge. It's not knowing about God; it's really knowing God in an intimate way, us becoming completely one with Him. Genesis 4:1 says, "Adam knew his wife, and she conceived..." So Jesus came so that we may have such an intimate relationship with God that we conceive and manifest new life, His life, that can be clearly seen.

Paul told the Galatians, who were already believers, that he continued to labour in birth till Christ was formed in them (Gal. 4:19), and prayed that Christ may dwell in the hearts of the Ephesians (Eph. 3:14-17). This doesn't mean that they didn't have Christ in them; it just means that He desired that Christ fully reigned and took over their hearts and lives completely, where they could say as him that it's no longer they who lived, but Christ (Gal. 2:20). This only comes through truly knowing God, and starts with us truly desiring to know Him. It goes past us knowing just what He can do, to us knowing His heart.

Many people know what God can do, but few know His heart. Many seek His hand, not His heart. This is manifested when trials, delayed answers and persecutions come our way, and the same people who said they knew God start questioning His character, faithfulness, love, etc.. If you truly know God, the whole world can crumble under your feet, and everything goes wrong in your life, but you'll never question His Word, or His character. Everyone can question God all around you, but your knowledge of Him is never shaken, even if you remain alone like Christ, with everyone mocking you for your 'blind' faith in God. Let's not seek God for what He can do for us, or what we can do for Him, but rather seek to truly know His heart.

The more we truly know God, the more we manifest His character and He is seen in us, as we think, talk and walk like Him.
 
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