If a person can at least extend the respect of doing Christ' bidding on the basis of knowing Him as a trustworthy teacher they could experience the activity of faith enough to see the manifestation of God in the matter and thus reach the point of realizing the truth concerning Christ.
You can possess a lot of knowledge about God and yet not know Him if you are constantly trying to avoid the matter of having Jesus be more than just a teacher to you. When a man is truly born of God Jesus is Lord! No man can truly know God as he ought without knowing Jesus as Lord.
John 5:36 "But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish––the very works that I do––bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 "And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 38 "But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 "But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. 41 "I do not receive honor from men. 42 "But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 "I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.
In this situation Jesus was speaking to religious leaders in Israel. These were men entrusted to lead the people in the truth. Yet Jesus is speaking in this manner to them because these men for all they know of the Scriptures do not really know God as they claim. It is all about knowing Jesus and anything that takes away from that or tries to distract from that is an antichrist even if it is pointing to the Scriptures.
In other places of Scripture Jesus said these guys He was speaking to were of the devil and yet they were the religious leaders claiming to promote God to the people.
Only faith can lead us into action which reveals to us the true nature of ourselves and the truth concerning who Jesus is and why He is worthy of being followed as Lord. People declare they want to grow in their relationship to God and then set out to do so without Jesus leading their way. They wish to do it without Jesus! Huge mistake my friend, it cannot be done. You can read the Bible end to end and still be just as ignorant of God as you were before you started.
Now the Holy Ghost can take what you’ve read and shine light upon it to reveal Christ to your heart and lead you into faith in Him. But the ministry of the Holy Ghost is to show us all things pertaining to Christ. In fact the Scripture clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit will take what belongs to Christ and show it to us.
Do not make the mistake of thinking that just because you read you know. Revelation comes through faith in Christ as a person and the words He spoke. Should we read? Absolutely, all the time as much as possible!
But knowing God is only made possible through knowing Jesus Christ! Jesus said to one His disciples named Phillip. "If you have seen me you have seen the Father."
I would suggest that anyone wishing to know God more should start with the gospels where eye witness accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus are recorded. Become familiar with His words and His explanations of Old Testament prophecies. Learn what His testimony about God was because no matter what anyone else says if it doesn't match what Jesus said it is wrong already because Jesus was God walking among men.
About The Author
- Tim Atchley
- Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
- I currently serve as Senior Pastor of Harvest Church in Knoxville, Tn. I was sent out from Trinity Chapel of Knoxville in 1993 accompanied by my wife Sheila our four children Sarah, Hannah, Josiah & Isaac and a handful of bold, brave and committed believers determined to plant our first church. Pioneering is hard work but well worth the journey. That is why we desire to make disciples of Christ who will, like us, also embrace the call to plant churches.
