KNOWING HIM
(1 JOHN 2:3-6)
Let me ask you a question. Does knowing God make your list of what’s important? It should! - Read Jeremiah 9:23-24, & Philippians 3:10
There is a difference between knowing about God, and actually knowing God, just like there is a difference between knowing about President Obama and knowing him so well you could call him “Barack”.
In verses 3-6 we are reminded that it’s not enough to know about God, or to even think we know God. It is important that we know that we know God. If we do not know that we know God we will either have some sort of false hope or feel very uncertain about our walk with God.
So this message talks about “knowing Him” or, more explicitly, knowing that we know Him.
KNOWING HIM PERSONALLY – Vs. 3a
1 John 2:3 - And hereby we do know that we know him…
Orthodox Christianity is a religion that stresses a personal relationship with God.
John talks about the assurance of knowing that we know Him, which could probably refer to either God the Father or God the Son.
So, how do we come to a personal knowledge of God?
First of all, we need to realize that the personal knowledge of God that is referred to does not come naturally. We are naturally alienated from God by sin. Isaiah 59:1-2
Sin is anything we do that displeases God. Sin is fatal. Ezekiel 18:4
God in his love sent His sinless son to die for your sins. Romans 5:6-8
The price for your sins has been paid. All you need to do is turn to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, trusting in Christ alone for forgiveness and eternal life. Romans 5:1
When you trust Christ He comes into your life through His Holy Spirit. God takes up residence inside of you. It’s then that you know Him personally and you have eternal life. 1 John 5:11-12
Some of you may be struggling with greater problems than you can handle by yourself. You need help! It begins with knowing God personally.
When you know God personally, you become God’s child, and God’s Holy Spirit brings that comfort and assurance to you that you are the child of God. Romans 8:15:17
So, do you know God because you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? If you trust any other plan to get to Heaven other than faith in Christ, you do not know Him! Put your faith and trust in Him today!
KNOWING HIM POSITIVELY
1 John 2:3 - And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
Actually, the words “we know that we know Him” mean we know that in the past we have come to know Christ and that knowledge of Christ is still impacting us today.
Besides the witness of the Holy Spirit telling us that we are the children of God, we know positively that we know God when we keep His commandments.
If you claim Jesus as your Savior, you have a new master. You have a new boss. John 13:13
You also have a new love. Your love should be for the one who died for you. John 14:15
Obedience to God is a daily thing. It is not once and awhile I’ll chose to obey God.
Obedience to God is more than not lying, not cheating, or not being immoral, although this is certainly part of it.
Obedience to God is a continual process of learning what God’s Word says and doing it. Psalm 119:1-8, 11
You and I need to be in the Word of God every day so we can learn what it teaches, and obey its teaching.
You are not sinless neither will you be until you go to Heaven. However, if you truly know Him, you will have a desire for learning God’s Word and a track record of obedience.
We know God in a positive way when we keep His commandments.
KNOWING HIM PROBLEMATICALLY
1 John 2:4 - He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
There are many people today who claim to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of these people are even preachers. They claim to know Christ, but they don’t. There’s a problem with their claim to know God.
They say that they know the Lord Jesus, but they don’t and they know they don’t. They are not deceived, they’re liars!
What is their problem? They claim to know Jesus but don’t obey Jesus. Matthew 7:21-23
If you claim to know Jesus as your Savior and there’s no pattern of obedience to Him in your life, you are lying.
If you claim to know Jesus as your Savior and you have no desire to obey Him, you are lying.
He who claims to know Jesus and doesn’t keep His commandments is not only a liar, but the truth is not inside of Him.
He lacks the truth of Jesus Christ who said in John 14:6.
He lacks the Holy Spirit who, as John 14:17 attests is the “Spirit of Truth”
He also lacks the truth of God’s word which is used to set us apart for Him. John 17:17
Now, what about you? Are you truly a believer and know that you are because you try to obey the commands of Christ? If Christ has no impact on your behavior, be concerned!
I’m not here to put a guilt trip on you, if you are sincerely a believer. If you are a believer, you are not perfect, but Christ does have an impact in your life, and you are striving to obey Him.
To say you know Christ and you do not obey him there’s a big problem.
KNOWING HIM PERSONALLY
KNOWING HIM POSITIVELY
NOT KNOWING HIM PROBLEMATICALLY
KNOWING HIM PERFECTLY
1 John 2:5 - But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
What part does God’s Word have in your life, really?
Is it something that you delight in, that you cling to, and whose teachings you hold with a view to obeying at all times and all costs.
You cannot say that you love God and not love His word and not strive to obey it.
John tells us here that when we obey God’s Word we are showing our maturity (perfection) in Christ. He is not talking about sinless perfection, but a level of maturity that loves Jesus Christ so much that he strives to obey his Word.
This makes sense! 1 John 4:19, 14:15, 21
This is practical!
Because I love Jesus I will obey His commandments to forgive, to pray, to witness, to abide in Him, to help others, to give, and to watch for his coming,
God will enable me to do this through the filling of His Holy Spirit in my life.
Galatians 5:22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love…
KNOWING HIM PERSONALLY
KNOWING HIM POSITIVELY
KNOWING HIM PROBLEMATICALLY
KNOWING HIM PERFECTLY
KNOWING HIM PRACTICALLY
1 John 2:6 - He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
When we love someone we spend time with him or her.
When we love Jesus we will abide in Him. We will spend time with Him in the Word and prayer, meditating on Scripture and fellowshipping with fellow believers.
We know that we know God in a practical way, when the result of abiding in Christ results in imitating Him, “walking as He walked.”
I am reminded that the only way I will truly ever walk as Jesus walked is by letting Him control me. If He is truly Lord of my life, then “walking as He walked” means dying to self and simply allowing the Spirit of Christ to control my life. Luke 9:23, Galatians 2:20
