John 17.1-3
What we have before us is the opening to the prayer that Jesus offered the evening before the cross. In it He defines eternal life. You'll note that He doesn't describe it in terms of forgiveness of sin or living forever or even some great unknown that happens later. He tells us that eternal life is knowing the Father and knowing the Son whom He sent. Now, what does that mean? The plan for this morning's sermon is to reflect on this idea of knowing God. We'll look at several different places in Scripture. Now, why am I doing this? Why this topic? I doubt that most of you will hear anything dramatically new, so that's not my goal. But sometimes we get so focused on the details that we lose sight of what the big picture is. We are called to follow Jesus. That's obvious. But the goal isn't in the details of the following. The goal is the result of following Jesus. The goal is to know Him. So, what I want to do this morning is remind you what that means. I want to help you see that more clearly so that working at the details will make sense. I want to help you to take the next step in embracing this goal so that when following Jesus gets really hard you'll still believe that it's worth it. That's goal and I expect the Spirit to bless so that we'll reach it.
Let's start with a basic idea of 'know'. A prominent text for this is in Genesis. 'Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain...' It's too bad that some of the modern translations change this. The Spirit wrote 'know' for a reason. The use of the word 'know' in this context reminds us that we're talking about intimacy. Sex is about the intimacy of persons, an intimacy that includes both body and soul. What is sad about so much sexual immorality these days is that it settles for the intimacy of bodies but leaves out the intimacy of souls. In fact, there are some who freely acknowledge this. 'I don't love you. In fact, I hardly know you. But let's have some fun.' And that is so sad. And it is sadder yet when this sort of lack goes on even within a marriage; intimacy of bodies without any intimacy of souls. God defined marriage as two individuals becoming one person. That's all about intimacy: two people who touch each other so deeply in every aspect of their life together so that they really do seem like one person. They are still two but the union is such, the way that they act is such that they seem like one. Sexual union is intended to be only one expression of that oneness. That's what a marriage is to be like. This speaks to our topic because marriage was designed to be a picture of the relationship of Jesus and His Church. Eternal life is about the intimacy of persons. It's about two, Jesus and you, His Church, becoming one. Unfortunately, down through the centuries there has been a counterfeit Christianity which is not about an intimate life with Jesus. Instead, it's about satisfying some religious guidelines. The Temple was filled with worshipers when the Old Testament prophets condemned the people for their failure to work at knowing God. The Pharisees were all about following the rules and doing them just so. But their hearts were very far from the God they thought they were worshiping. And that same counterfeit continues down to our day where so many still miss that fact that walking with Jesus really means walking with Jesus. It's intended to be a relationship built on the intimacy of two becoming one.
The evil one has worked hard on this and has had too much success. So, let me caution you. Beware of this danger. Remember that you have an enemy who hates you and who wants to see you fall. And he pursues that goal tirelessly. And here let me give you something to keep your eye on as a warning signal: your prayers. This is one place where you can evaluate the intimacy of your walk with Jesus. Miners used to take canaries with them into the mines. The toxic gases in the mines would kill the bird before they would affect the men. As long as the bird was singing all was well. But a dying bird was sufficient warning that the men faced grave danger. When it comes to the intimacy of your walk with Jesus, the quality of your prayers is an early warning system. The issue isn't the quantity of your prayers but the quality. And the question to ask yourself isn't, 'Is everything perfect when it comes to my prayers?' The answer to that will always be the same. The right question to ask is, 'Am I still working at being honest and open with my God when I pray?' The evil one will work hard at getting you to settle for some sort of checklist mentality instead of striving for intimacy when it comes to your prayers. It's not necessary for him to get you to stop praying – though he tries that also. All he needs to do is to get you to settle for prayers that are empty of any intimacy. So, watch the quality of your prayers.
Let's move on to another aspect of our topic. This is from Paul's letter to the Philippians. '...that I may know Him and the power of his resurrection...' Knowing Jesus includes knowing His power. And that fits. So much of dealing with life comes down to a question of power. 'Do you have the strength, the ability, the power to make life work?' This issue of power shows in different ways. The question for Moses and Pharaoh come down to this: Whose God is stronger? And that question was decided very clearly. The last God standing wins. And the ten plagues provided the answer. When it was Jesus versus Satan it wasn't a matter of plagues. Instead, it was exorcisms, the miraculous casting out of demons. This was all the evidence needed to prove that Jesus had the power to defeat Satan. And what does power look like today? We are such a scientific age that most people would still be skeptical if someone were to exorcism demons. A predicted plague of locust would be interpreted as an odd coincidence. It would take a lot to overcome such bias. Power that impresses today will look different. So, here are some words of Paul that fit our situation. '... our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.' He goes on to explain what's he talking about. He doesn't point to predicted plagues or miracles. Instead he writes about the 'work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope', in those saints to whom he wrote. He points to how they 'received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that [they] became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.' And then he writes this. 'For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.' What is the evidence of power here? Changed lives. The Spirit of Jesus had power to change those Thessalonians. Elsewhere, Paul warned Timothy about counterfeits. He told him about people who have 'the appearance of godliness, but deny its power.' Knowing God is about power, the power of a life that has been changed so that it sparkles. So many people today feel powerless. They may not use that language, but their response to life, their vain attempts to make it work, reveal their sense of powerlessness. But there is power for those who know God, the power of the Spirit. So, the promise of God to every saints is that there will be change. And that is so encouraging. The sins you struggle with will be taken away. There will be progress and there will be change. This is part of eternal life. It is ours because we know God.
One more text. This is from Galatians. 'Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God...' Here, again, we have the language of knowing God. But this time Paul corrects himself mid-sentence. He remembers that it's not so much that you have come to know God as it is that He has come to know you. This reminds us that there is a priority here. God knew you before you were even able to get to know Him. And being good Calvinists we'll want to talk about God's sovereign grace and how God always takes the initiative. But let's not stop there, simply asserting the right doctrine. There is something very encouraging going on here. If God acted first, if He took the initiative in getting to know you, that means that He desires a deep, intimate relationship with you. In fact, He desired this relationship with you before you even thought about such a thing. And that makes a world of difference. Far too many Christians picture God in the distance yelling, 'Come on! Get it into gear! Get over here if you want to do this knowing Me thing the right way.' And any faltering along the way earns you at least a disparaging frown, if not worse. But that's not the Gospel. The Gospel tells you that God desires a relationship with you. And because of that He moves toward you. In Jesus, He has come near to enjoy a relationship of love with you. What else could the Incarnation mean? And when Jesus returned to the Father, He didn't leave us here on our own. He sent the Spirit to continue to develop this relationship. God wants to know you. That is so profound, especially when we remember that we are such great sinners. So, knowing Him is not a matter of us doing everything just so, of our jumping through the right hoops in the right way, to make sure we get to God. It's all about Him reaching out to us. And that makes our part simple. It's like ballroom dancing. Jesus holds us on the dance floor and gently says, 'This isn't as hard as you think. I'll show you how to do it. Just follow My lead.' Now, we can insist on trying to do it on our own, and we'll step on toes and look real dumb. Or we can trust Him to make us look good on that dance floor. He wants the relationship with us, and He's done an awful lot to make it happen. How much easier it would be if we just trusted Him and followed His lead. Now the fact of the matter is that we will still mess up and step on toes. But Jesus still holds us close and whispers in our ear, 'That's okay. You're doing fine. Just follow My lead.'
Intimacy, power, God's desire for us. Now we're ready for the last section. Here I raise a question. Why is this important? Why should knowing God be a priority for us? I have two reasons for you. First, knowing God is how life works. We were made to enjoy intimacy with Him, to experience the power of His Spirit changing our lives, to be comforted and encouraged by Jesus taking the lead in developing this relationship. Life just doesn't work without knowing God. So many try to make it work without Him, but it just doesn't. It can't. We were made to know God. That's the first reason why this is important. The second comes from a favorite verse of mine. You heard it read recently from the end of Daniel, but it was in the midst of some pretty confusing things. Listen again. 'He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.' Knowing God is important so that you can stand against the evil that surrounds us and defeat it. Jesus taught us to pray, 'Thy kingdom come.' And the kingdom will come. But it will not come without a fight. Do you think that Satan is about to give up any time soon? Do you think that he's just pursuing a defensive strategy? No, he's still throwing everything he can at the Church. He knows his time is short. If we love Jesus, if we want to see Him honored, if we want to see His kingdom spread across this globe, then we need to fight for that. And it is the people who know God who will be able to fight the best. Intimacy, power, God's desire for us.
I don't think that I've said anything that is new to most of you. And that fits with my plan which was simply to remind you about things you already know. But remember that if the sermon is going work, you need to take something home with you. One thing will do. What will that be?
What we have before us is the opening to the prayer that Jesus offered the evening before the cross. In it He defines eternal life. You'll note that He doesn't describe it in terms of forgiveness of sin or living forever or even some great unknown that happens later. He tells us that eternal life is knowing the Father and knowing the Son whom He sent. Now, what does that mean? The plan for this morning's sermon is to reflect on this idea of knowing God. We'll look at several different places in Scripture. Now, why am I doing this? Why this topic? I doubt that most of you will hear anything dramatically new, so that's not my goal. But sometimes we get so focused on the details that we lose sight of what the big picture is. We are called to follow Jesus. That's obvious. But the goal isn't in the details of the following. The goal is the result of following Jesus. The goal is to know Him. So, what I want to do this morning is remind you what that means. I want to help you see that more clearly so that working at the details will make sense. I want to help you to take the next step in embracing this goal so that when following Jesus gets really hard you'll still believe that it's worth it. That's goal and I expect the Spirit to bless so that we'll reach it.
Let's start with a basic idea of 'know'. A prominent text for this is in Genesis. 'Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain...' It's too bad that some of the modern translations change this. The Spirit wrote 'know' for a reason. The use of the word 'know' in this context reminds us that we're talking about intimacy. Sex is about the intimacy of persons, an intimacy that includes both body and soul. What is sad about so much sexual immorality these days is that it settles for the intimacy of bodies but leaves out the intimacy of souls. In fact, there are some who freely acknowledge this. 'I don't love you. In fact, I hardly know you. But let's have some fun.' And that is so sad. And it is sadder yet when this sort of lack goes on even within a marriage; intimacy of bodies without any intimacy of souls. God defined marriage as two individuals becoming one person. That's all about intimacy: two people who touch each other so deeply in every aspect of their life together so that they really do seem like one person. They are still two but the union is such, the way that they act is such that they seem like one. Sexual union is intended to be only one expression of that oneness. That's what a marriage is to be like. This speaks to our topic because marriage was designed to be a picture of the relationship of Jesus and His Church. Eternal life is about the intimacy of persons. It's about two, Jesus and you, His Church, becoming one. Unfortunately, down through the centuries there has been a counterfeit Christianity which is not about an intimate life with Jesus. Instead, it's about satisfying some religious guidelines. The Temple was filled with worshipers when the Old Testament prophets condemned the people for their failure to work at knowing God. The Pharisees were all about following the rules and doing them just so. But their hearts were very far from the God they thought they were worshiping. And that same counterfeit continues down to our day where so many still miss that fact that walking with Jesus really means walking with Jesus. It's intended to be a relationship built on the intimacy of two becoming one.
The evil one has worked hard on this and has had too much success. So, let me caution you. Beware of this danger. Remember that you have an enemy who hates you and who wants to see you fall. And he pursues that goal tirelessly. And here let me give you something to keep your eye on as a warning signal: your prayers. This is one place where you can evaluate the intimacy of your walk with Jesus. Miners used to take canaries with them into the mines. The toxic gases in the mines would kill the bird before they would affect the men. As long as the bird was singing all was well. But a dying bird was sufficient warning that the men faced grave danger. When it comes to the intimacy of your walk with Jesus, the quality of your prayers is an early warning system. The issue isn't the quantity of your prayers but the quality. And the question to ask yourself isn't, 'Is everything perfect when it comes to my prayers?' The answer to that will always be the same. The right question to ask is, 'Am I still working at being honest and open with my God when I pray?' The evil one will work hard at getting you to settle for some sort of checklist mentality instead of striving for intimacy when it comes to your prayers. It's not necessary for him to get you to stop praying – though he tries that also. All he needs to do is to get you to settle for prayers that are empty of any intimacy. So, watch the quality of your prayers.
Let's move on to another aspect of our topic. This is from Paul's letter to the Philippians. '...that I may know Him and the power of his resurrection...' Knowing Jesus includes knowing His power. And that fits. So much of dealing with life comes down to a question of power. 'Do you have the strength, the ability, the power to make life work?' This issue of power shows in different ways. The question for Moses and Pharaoh come down to this: Whose God is stronger? And that question was decided very clearly. The last God standing wins. And the ten plagues provided the answer. When it was Jesus versus Satan it wasn't a matter of plagues. Instead, it was exorcisms, the miraculous casting out of demons. This was all the evidence needed to prove that Jesus had the power to defeat Satan. And what does power look like today? We are such a scientific age that most people would still be skeptical if someone were to exorcism demons. A predicted plague of locust would be interpreted as an odd coincidence. It would take a lot to overcome such bias. Power that impresses today will look different. So, here are some words of Paul that fit our situation. '... our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.' He goes on to explain what's he talking about. He doesn't point to predicted plagues or miracles. Instead he writes about the 'work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope', in those saints to whom he wrote. He points to how they 'received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that [they] became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.' And then he writes this. 'For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.' What is the evidence of power here? Changed lives. The Spirit of Jesus had power to change those Thessalonians. Elsewhere, Paul warned Timothy about counterfeits. He told him about people who have 'the appearance of godliness, but deny its power.' Knowing God is about power, the power of a life that has been changed so that it sparkles. So many people today feel powerless. They may not use that language, but their response to life, their vain attempts to make it work, reveal their sense of powerlessness. But there is power for those who know God, the power of the Spirit. So, the promise of God to every saints is that there will be change. And that is so encouraging. The sins you struggle with will be taken away. There will be progress and there will be change. This is part of eternal life. It is ours because we know God.
One more text. This is from Galatians. 'Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God...' Here, again, we have the language of knowing God. But this time Paul corrects himself mid-sentence. He remembers that it's not so much that you have come to know God as it is that He has come to know you. This reminds us that there is a priority here. God knew you before you were even able to get to know Him. And being good Calvinists we'll want to talk about God's sovereign grace and how God always takes the initiative. But let's not stop there, simply asserting the right doctrine. There is something very encouraging going on here. If God acted first, if He took the initiative in getting to know you, that means that He desires a deep, intimate relationship with you. In fact, He desired this relationship with you before you even thought about such a thing. And that makes a world of difference. Far too many Christians picture God in the distance yelling, 'Come on! Get it into gear! Get over here if you want to do this knowing Me thing the right way.' And any faltering along the way earns you at least a disparaging frown, if not worse. But that's not the Gospel. The Gospel tells you that God desires a relationship with you. And because of that He moves toward you. In Jesus, He has come near to enjoy a relationship of love with you. What else could the Incarnation mean? And when Jesus returned to the Father, He didn't leave us here on our own. He sent the Spirit to continue to develop this relationship. God wants to know you. That is so profound, especially when we remember that we are such great sinners. So, knowing Him is not a matter of us doing everything just so, of our jumping through the right hoops in the right way, to make sure we get to God. It's all about Him reaching out to us. And that makes our part simple. It's like ballroom dancing. Jesus holds us on the dance floor and gently says, 'This isn't as hard as you think. I'll show you how to do it. Just follow My lead.' Now, we can insist on trying to do it on our own, and we'll step on toes and look real dumb. Or we can trust Him to make us look good on that dance floor. He wants the relationship with us, and He's done an awful lot to make it happen. How much easier it would be if we just trusted Him and followed His lead. Now the fact of the matter is that we will still mess up and step on toes. But Jesus still holds us close and whispers in our ear, 'That's okay. You're doing fine. Just follow My lead.'
Intimacy, power, God's desire for us. Now we're ready for the last section. Here I raise a question. Why is this important? Why should knowing God be a priority for us? I have two reasons for you. First, knowing God is how life works. We were made to enjoy intimacy with Him, to experience the power of His Spirit changing our lives, to be comforted and encouraged by Jesus taking the lead in developing this relationship. Life just doesn't work without knowing God. So many try to make it work without Him, but it just doesn't. It can't. We were made to know God. That's the first reason why this is important. The second comes from a favorite verse of mine. You heard it read recently from the end of Daniel, but it was in the midst of some pretty confusing things. Listen again. 'He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.' Knowing God is important so that you can stand against the evil that surrounds us and defeat it. Jesus taught us to pray, 'Thy kingdom come.' And the kingdom will come. But it will not come without a fight. Do you think that Satan is about to give up any time soon? Do you think that he's just pursuing a defensive strategy? No, he's still throwing everything he can at the Church. He knows his time is short. If we love Jesus, if we want to see Him honored, if we want to see His kingdom spread across this globe, then we need to fight for that. And it is the people who know God who will be able to fight the best. Intimacy, power, God's desire for us.
I don't think that I've said anything that is new to most of you. And that fits with my plan which was simply to remind you about things you already know. But remember that if the sermon is going work, you need to take something home with you. One thing will do. What will that be?
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