“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said,
Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
John 17:1-3 KJV
What is it to “know” God and Jesus Christ? What does this look like, sound like? What is it to “glorify” God and Jesus Christ?
To know God is not just the intellectual knowledge of His existence, that He is Creator, Redeemer. No, not just that knowledge alone. The knowing here in this context is also the actual experience of being changed by God. The intellectual knowledge of Him, of His love, His Power comes to life in our forefront and is literally lived out in our day to day living by our faith in Him. His word is life in us. We by faith choose to believe (this is an action word—if we believe on Jesus, we do what He says—we do His will) Him, surrender ourselves to Him. We trust Him, take Him at His word, then that faith produces action in our lives, in our day to day living: The fruit appears.
Our focus is on God, reading and studying His word—getting to know His thoughts, His words, His ways. We learn of Him by the Holy Spirit He puts in us. By beholding Him, We become changed by Him through His Holy Spirit. Christ is the Head of us, He is the Center, the Ficus of everything we set out to do. No longer I, but Christ! We are so filled with His Spirit that we live the fruit of the Spirit. We are not only hearers of God’s Word, but we are hearers and doers of His Word.
When we know God, we begin to experience being re-created by Him. What He does in our mind through His Spirit germinates, sprouts, and the fruit appears: We don’t realize it at first that we do not look, nor sound, nor do we live our life the same. The fruit appears and is seen in every aspect, every detail of our living. We become obedient to God’s every word. He fills us with His glory, and we glorify Him in all we eat, in all we drink, in all we do; We do all in our living to glorify Him. How? Christ mind in us: The hope of glory. We are born of the Spirit of God! HalleluYah!
The soul’s mind is changed by beholding God in His word, in nature—not just reading to get through the holy Scriptures; but, to get to know and experience God, becoming changed by God—restored unto the image and after the likeness of the Godhead: The holy Trio. Oh what joy, peace, happiness! Oh what healing! Oh to be born again!!! Oh what peace! We shall know Him, and know the Spirit of Truth—We shall love the truth, we have the love of the Truth.
Know this for sure: It all begins in the mind!
We begin to not only live the love of God because His love is in us; We also look like Him in our demeanor, attitude, in our thinking, in the words we speak, in what we look at, watch, listen to; in our dress, and adornment, our lifestyle period. We are His witnesses of not only His pardon, His love but, also His power! He is the Lord God Who sanctifies us: Makes us holy, sets us apart holy for Himself, for holy use! For His purpose! HalleluYah!
See, we cannot ourselves change the outside—without God putting His Spirit in our mind by our faith and consent, and our complete surrender of self-will to Him daily. If we do not do this daily, He cannot, will not restore us, re-create us. Therefore, the changes we may make, or do on the outside is in vain. This kind of living does not remain, is not permanent, and the life is lived inconsistently—the soul is not content. The soul begins to doubt God, to give into Satan’s temptations yielding to him, contemplating upon the thoughts he plants subtly through various ways not discerned; and the soul begins to speak, and or do the thoughts planted in the mind by Satan. The soul begins to talk to self literally, and in their mind—they learn Satan’s voice as they listen to him in their own voice through Satan’s deceptions. They become deceived perceiving things in their own thinking in their consistency in yielding to Satan. Oh what dangerous ground the soul has placed their feet! This is all unbelief. This type of living is not believing Christ came in the flesh, lived victoriously over sin, died and resurrected that all mankind might be saved (might, because we each have a choice to be or not to be saved); it is not believing Christ is the Son of God. It is rejecting God. Unbelief is not believing—it is not loving God, not obeying God; it is speaking with the mouth words of serving, worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth, but, yet denying God in the day to day life choices, denying Him in the way one chooses to live life.
“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:5-8 KJV
When we know God, we by faith obey God loving Him: We keep His Ten Commandment Law, His Law, His way—His whole word: Instruction in righteousness; and His commandments are not grievous. They are our delight! We are positive and we receive of God that His ways, His law, His word is not a life of what we “can not do”; But! Is a life of all we “can do”, all “we will do” through Jesus Christ Who strengthens us.
We live God’s love: His very character. How? By faith, by our consent, by seeking Him to put His Spirit in us, to dwell in us—giving up self-will to His will, we bring ourselves under His subjection. We simply by faith have to choose daily, moment by moment Christ, and His will one hundred percent. The Holy Spirit labors in us, with us, through us. Oh what a temple of God we shall be for His Spirit to dwell in! HalleluYah!
“And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”
1 John 3:24 KJV
“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”
1 John 4:4-6 KJV
“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”
1 John 4:7-21 KJV
“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
1 John 5:2-4, 6-9, 11-15 KJV
I pray each soul who reads this will by faith choose to surrender self completely to God to be re-created by Him, and experience knowing Him in this journey of learning: Life eternal: To know God, and Jesus Christ Who He sent.
Watch and pray. Watch, I tell you to watch. Be not deceived.
Maranatha