TO KNOW GOD

When the Bible speaks about knowing God, it is talking about much more than knowing information about Him.

Biblical knowing is relational knowledge. It is an intimate, experiential relationship.

This is the kind of knowing Jesus is talking about in Matthew 7:21–23 when He says:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven…”

These people knew about Jesus. They called Him Lord. They had religious activity. They even said, “Did we not prophesy in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?”

But Jesus says to them: “I never knew you.”

He is not saying, “I was unaware of you.”

He is saying, “You never belonged to Me in a true relationship of covenant fellowship.”

This is why John 10:27 is so important:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

My sheep hear My voice.

The word “hear” carries the idea of listening, understanding, paying attention, and responding to what is heard.

So Jesus is saying: “My sheep recognize My voice, listen to Me, and respond to what I say.”

And they follow Me. To follow means to accompany, go after, become a disciple, and conform one's life to another.

So to hear is:

“I recognize and receive the Shepherd's voice.”

And to follow is:

“I allow His voice to direct my path.”

This is covenant.

Covenant says:

“I belong to You, and You belong to me. I will be faithful to You, and I will live as someone who belongs to You.”

I belong to God, and I choose to live as I belong to Him.

THE UMBRELLA OF COVENANT

I picture it like an umbrella.

The umbrella represents God's covenant.

The handle represents relational alignment.

And outside the umbrella is a person who encounters truth and realizes:

“I need Jesus.”

We begin outside.

Romans 3:23 says: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

I realize I am outside and need salvation.

Romans 6:23 says: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Sin brings death and separation from God.

But then we encounter the Way.

Jesus says in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Jesus is the only way.

Romans 6:23 continues: “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God provides a free gift.

Romans 5:8 says: “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

He does not wait for us to become good enough.

While we were still sinners—while we were still His enemies—He died for us.

Then Romans 10:9 says: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

To believe means I trust Jesus. I place my confidence in Him. I entrust myself to Him.

To confess means I acknowledge and openly declare: “Jesus is Lord. He is my Master, and He is the One to whom I give my allegiance.”

And Romans 10:13 says: “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

To call means to appeal to, invoke, or call out to someone for help.

It is saying: “I am calling upon You because I recognize that I need You. I trust You, and I am turning to You.”

So the Romans Road brings me to this:

Romans 3:23: “I realize I am outside and need salvation.”

Romans 6:23: “I understand what sin brings and that eternal life is God's gift.”

Romans 5:8: “I see that Jesus provided the way for me.”

Romans 10:9: “I believe and receive Jesus as Lord.”

Romans 10:13: “I call upon Him, and I am saved.”

This is where I can picture myself stepping under the umbrella of God's covenant through Jesus.

JESUS IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE

Jesus says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

There is no way without Jesus.

There is no truth without Jesus.

There is no life without Jesus.

He is the Way.

He is the path to the Father. I cannot make my own way to God. Jesus is the way God has provided.

He is the Truth.

He reveals what is truly real about God, sin, salvation, and life.

He is the Life.

He gives us life in its fullest sense—the life that comes from God and eternal life.

Through Jesus, I come to know God in this life and continue knowing Him in the life to come. This is eternal life: to know God and Jesus Christ whom He sent.

SALVATION IS MORE THAN ESCAPING HELL

Salvation is not merely being forgiven so that one day I can go to heaven.

Salvation is rescue, deliverance, preservation, healing, restoration, freedom, new creation, and eternal life.

Through Jesus:

My sin is dealt with.

I am reconciled to God.

I am delivered from the dominion and bondage of sin.

I am delivered from the power of darkness and, where applicable, demonic oppression or possession.

God brings healing and restoration to the soul and body.

I am no longer a slave to my former master.

I receive a new identity and a new life.

I come to know God through Jesus in this life and continue knowing Him in the life to come. Jesus does not simply rescue us from something.

He brings us into Someone.

I BECOME A NEW CREATION

Covenant is not merely a one-time prayer or decision.

When we join ourselves to God, it changes everything.

Second Corinthians 5:17 says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

To be in Christ is to belong to Him.

God has begun something new in me.

My old identity no longer has the final authority over me.

The old things have passed away. This does not mean that every temptation, struggle, habit, or memory instantly disappears.

But the old life no longer has the same authority over me.

My identity, purpose, relationship with God, way of thinking, values, direction, and future are now being transformed.

I have a new source.

A new identity.

A new Lord.

A new direction.

When I receive Jesus, I step under the covering of His saving work.

But I do not remain the same person who stepped under.

In Christ, I become a new creation, and I learn to live in alignment with the One who saved me.

THE WARNING OF MATTHEW 7

This is why Matthew 7:21–23 is so sobering.

Jesus says: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”

Jesus is not teaching that we earn salvation by being perfect.

Salvation is God's gift.

The issue is not perfection.

The issue is direction and relationship.

These people had religious activity.

They said: “We did things in Your name.”

But religious activity does not automatically equal a relationship with Jesus.

This reveals a heart issue. They knew about Jesus, but they had never relationally experienced Him.

This is a warning against stopping at simply saying a prayer or doing good works.

A true relationship with Jesus changes the direction of our lives.

We do not perform activities to make ourselves feel right with God.

The activities that flow from our lives are a byproduct of relationally experiencing Him and the inward work He is doing in our hearts.

It is like dominoes.

The dominoes do not fall so that they can be touched.

They fall because they have been touched.

When we come into covenant relationship with Jesus, His touch on our lives creates a chain reaction.

He gives us new desires.

He gives us a new direction.

He gives us new strength to partner with Him in obedience.

Our response is our yes.

And then He comes in and fortifies our yes.

He clarifies our direction.

He teaches us what the new life is.

And He helps us follow Him.

THE LAODICEAN WARNING: ACTIVITY WITHOUT DEPENDENCY

This brings us to Revelation 3. Jesus is speaking to the church in Laodicea.

He says: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot.”

They were lukewarm.

They had religious identity.

They had activity.

They had wealth.

They had reputation.

They were known for financial prosperity, banking, textile production, and medical reputation. Their external circumstances had convinced them that they had everything they needed. And that belief had entered into their relationship with God.

They had become self-sufficient.

Jesus says: “You say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.”

They did not recognize their true condition.

They were spiritually sick but had become so accustomed to their condition that they no longer recognized their need for help.

They were known for their black wool, but Jesus tells them they need clothing from Him to cover their spiritual nakedness.

They were known for their medical eye treatments, but Jesus tells them to receive eye salve so they could see.

They had earthly wealth, but they were spiritually poor.

They had outward appearances, but they were spiritually naked.

They had physical medicine, but they were spiritually blind.

Jesus was showing them that they needed to receive from Him what they could not produce on their own.

Then He says: “As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent.”

His rebuke is coming from covenant love.

He is saying: “I am telling you the truth because I love you too much to let you continue believing a lie about yourself.”

Be zealous.

Become earnest.

Become passionate.

Wake up.

Repent.

Teshuvah means to return.

Not merely to feel bad.

Not merely to promise to do better.

But to turn back to God.

Return to relationship.

Return to truth.

Return to dependency.

The danger for us is being close enough to use God's name while becoming so self-sufficient that we no longer recognize our need for Him.

“I STAND AT THE DOOR AND KNOCK”

Then Jesus says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him, and he with Me.”

Jesus is speaking to a church.

They had religious identity, activity, wealth, and reputation.

But Jesus was calling them back into genuine fellowship with Him.

His rebuke was an invitation to restoration.

He wants to sit with us at the table of fellowship and intimacy.

He says: “Hear My voice. Open the door. Let Me come in. Let us have fellowship together.”

And this is where Revelation 3 connects beautifully with John 15.

ABIDE IN THE VINE

Jesus says:

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”

And:

“Abide in Me, and I in you.”

The word abide means to remain, stay, dwell, continue, and remain connected.

The invitation is not merely to invite Jesus in once.

The invitation is to remain with Him.

Revelation 3 is a call: “Open the door and let Me in.”

John 15 is a call: “Abide in Me.”

Both are about mutual indwelling and relational fellowship.

The branch understands that everything it needs comes from the vine.

The branch does not strain to produce fruit apart from the vine.

The branch remains connected to the vine, and the life of the vine produces fruit through the branch.

The fruit is evidence that life is flowing from the connection.

Because we are connected to Jesus, His life begins to produce His character in us.

The danger for believers is not always open rebellion.

Sometimes, self-sufficiency is the danger.

We can become so comfortable with our religious identity, our works, our knowledge, and our outward appearance that we fail to recognize that we have stopped depending on Jesus.

But a branch cannot live independently of the vine.

And a believer cannot produce the life of God independently of God.

True holiness is not manufactured through religious activity, self-discipline, or our own strength.

It is produced through relationship.

We remain connected to the Vine.

His life produces fruit in us.

RELATIONSHIP IS THE ROOT. HOLINESS IS THE FRUIT.

It is easy for us to get caught up in the activities and actions of holiness.

Whitewashed tombs and dirty cups can look appealing on the outside.

But corruption of the heart is what God sees.

Our holiness should flow from our connection to God.

When we look at ourselves in a mirror, we adjust our form and features so that our reflection reflects the image we desire.

God is our desired image.

May our spiritual form reflect Jesus.

This is not done by might or by power, but by the renewing work of God's Spirit within us as we spend time with Him.

As our love for God grows, we begin to change.

Children often mimic their parents' mannerisms, facial expressions, and phrases.

This happens because of proximity and time spent together.

In the same way, as we remain close to Jesus, His life begins to be expressed through us.

When holiness comes from self-effort, pride and religion can take root.

But when holiness is born in the secret place, humility is the springboard from which it rises.

It is a natural state of dependency on God.

It is not motivated by guilt, shame, or condemnation.

It is the natural flow of love that changes our desires, our hearts, our thinking, and our way of living.

When love gives birth to holiness, it becomes a beautiful fragrance of intimacy that bonds us with God.

Relationship is the root.

Holiness is the fruit.

THIS IS WHY JESUS IS WORTHY

And this is why Jesus is worthy.

He is worthy of our praise—not merely because He is a means to salvation, but because He is the Savior who gave Himself for us.

He is worthy of our lives because He first gave His life for us.

He met us in our sin—not because we were worthy, but because He loved us.

He gave us what we could never earn:

Forgiveness.

Reconciliation.

Deliverance.

Healing.

Restoration.

New life.

When we say yes to Jesus, we are not entering into a religious transaction.

We are entering into a relationship with the One who loved us first.

Revelation 5:9 says: “You are worthy... for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood.”

Second Corinthians 5:14–15 says: “The love of Christ compels us... that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”

Romans 12:1 calls us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice.

Our lives are not laid down in order to earn His love.

Our lives are laid down because we have encountered His love.

When His love touches us, it changes our direction.

It produces a life that turns toward Him.

Our lives laid down are the fruit of our relationship with Jesus.

Not what we do to be loved.

But what flows from knowing the One who loved us first.

So the question is not simply: “Have I done things for Jesus?”

The question is: “Do I know Him?”

Have I heard His voice?

Am I following Him?

Am I abiding in Him?

When we truly enter into a covenant relationship with Jesus, His touch in our lives sets off a chain reaction.

He gives us new desires.

He gives us a new direction.

He gives us new strength.

And our response is:

“Yes, Jesus.”

And He is worthy of our yes.

Worthy of our trust.

Worthy of our obedience.

Worthy of our praise.

Worthy of our lives.

Because He gave His life for us first.

Relationship is the root.

Holiness is the fruit.

And Jesus is worthy of it all.

Prayer:

Lord, forgive me for focusing on working for You while neglecting my relationship with You. I repent for allowing activity to replace intimacy and service to become a substitute for truly knowing You. Jesus, I do not want to merely do things in Your name—I want to know Your heart, recognize Your voice, and walk closely with You. Teach me to know You anew each and every day. Reveal Yourself to me like never before, and awaken within me a deeper hunger for Your presence. Amen.