Knowing God

Now this is eternal life:  That they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent (Jn. 17:3).

 

Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us."  Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father"(Jn. 14:8-9).

 

In all thy ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:6).

 

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In the original Hebrew, the passage from Proverbs above is more literally, "in all your ways know Him."  This fundamental statement of how to relate to God implies more than mere reverence.  Nodding in God's direction is not enough: you must know him by living closely with him, relating to him personally in every aspect of your life [note in The Student Bible (New International Version).

 

If eternal life consists in knowing God, it makes sense that He must necessarily reveal Himself to mankind.  Otherwise, though wise men may speculate about who He is, none of us could really "know" Him.  In the Hebrew language, to "know" someone means not speculation, but intimacy with.  For example, Adam "knew" Eve, and she conceived a son.  In the quotation from Proverbs above, "In all thy ways, know Him, and He will direct thy paths," we see daily intimacy with the Lord, not necessarily theological understanding. 

 

And how are we to truly "know" God?  From the beginning, God revealed Himself to Abraham, who grew to know God on the journey, on the way to a land "he knew not" -- nor did he know the way.  Daily, he depended on revelation, on listening, on hearing the voice of the One Who guided him, and who taught him, despite mistakes along the way.  I have a friend who does not believe we should honor Abraham; because of his great error(s), we have the eternal division between Jews and Arabs, for example.  However, we honor Abraham not because he was perfect and upright, but because he knew God in all his ways.  As a model for us, he walked with God, learning as he went, and he trusted that God would not abandon or forsake him, even in his errors and mistakes. 

 

God continued to reveal Himself to men and women throughout the Old Testament, even when they went astray.  Reflecting on His continuous revelation to the Jews gives us His Word -- his revelation to mankind.  And finally, He sent His own Son, the "exact representation of the eternal God," "the refulgence of His eternal glory." 

 

Whoever sees Jesus, the Living Word -- revelation-- sees the Father.  In Jesus, we see the Father scooping up the poor, the oppressed, the depressed, the leper, the outcast, the woman at the well, the hungry and thirsty, the one on the fringe -- we see the embrace of God to mankind.  Whatever we see Jesus do, we know for sure that it is the Father "living in him, doing His work" (Jn 17).   How can we be afraid of the Father when we have seen the Son, who 'pitched his tent among us'? 

 

And how can we now be afraid of death, when we have seen the Son who has overcome man's last and greatest threat?  The Son himself has tasted death for all of us and has conquered it.  And not death only -- but intense suffering beforehand.  I have heard people say they are not afraid to die, but they are afraid of suffering, of pain.  Jesus took on our life, our flesh, our humanity to go through it with us and going through it, to conquer it in our place.  His Spirit living in us is victorious over all the threats of our enemies.

 

And this is why Jesus is the (only) way to the Father.  Only He can impart to us true knowledge/experience of the only true God.  Only His Spirit in us can overcome death and suffering and lead us to the Father.  There is no other way to know God and thus to have eternal life.