Do you know Jesus? I’m sure many of you know who He is, but do you really know Him? What if I asked if you knew former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd? Same response, I assume. Likely you’ve heard of him, know about him, but unlikely you know him personally. You could read Kevin Rudd’s biography and learn a little more about who he is as a person, but does reading his book invite you into a closer relationship? What about Jesus Christ? Do you know Him? Are you known of Him? Have you at least read the Bible and learned more about the Man, Christ Jesus? If so, does that mean you really know Him? Does it suddenly seem rather insignificant to have read about Jesus and then say that you know Him personally? There’s more to it. Do you love Him? The night before Jesus was arrested, He and His disciples were in the upper room. Jesus had already instituted the Lord’s Supper. He had already washed the disciples’ feet one by one. Out of all of the nights they had spent together this night would be the most significant. For this night was also His last night on earth with His disciples. By tomorrow morning He would be hanging on a cross for the remission of sins of many. Therefore, every word that Jesus spoke carried with it a particular meaning, for this was in essence Jesus’ farewell speech to His disciples! Every sentence would be stored up in the hearts and minds of the disciples so that even when He was gone, they would still remember and do what the Lord told them. And the disciples thought that feeling sorry for His departure showed their true love for Christ. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) But notice how Jesus begins by saying, “If.” If – meaning indefinite. Jesus was implying He knew everybody didn’t love him. As matter of fact one of His own disciples at this moment was out betraying him for 30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave! Dear friends, before you ask yourselves whether you know Jesus, ask yourselves if you love Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Master? If you do, you will want to keep His commandments. Do you keep His commandments? My friends, if you really know Jesus, the Apostle John says you will want to keep His commandments, 3“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5a But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected…” (1 John 2:3-5a) Notice that the pronoun “him” appears four times in this passage. Who is the “him” here? Is it the Father or the Lord Jesus Christ? Since both the Father and the Son are mentioned in verse 1 of John’s epistle, the pronoun “him” can only be referring to Jesus the Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, for verse 2 says, “he is the propitiation for our sins.” Notice also the word “propitiation.” Because it gives us the reason to love Jesus and keep His commandments as we should. The word “propitiation” refers to the act of appeasing the wrath of the Holy God against sinful human beings. As sinful creatures, we have sinned against the Holy God. We are doomed for eternal punishment. We are under the wrath of Almighty God! But someone has appeased God’s anger for us—that is Jesus! This act was performed by Him through His vicarious death on the cross (1 John 2:1-2,6). This fits in well with John\'s aim in this epistle as he said in verse 3, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” (1 John 1:3) which tells what things are the basis for fellowship with the Father and with the Son—it all hinges on our loving and keeping His commandments! If you really love Him and keep His commandments, then you can say that you really know Him! The question is, “do you really know Him?” Do you know Him? In Matthew 7:15 our Lord Jesus Christ mentioned the “false prophets” that God eventually would say to them, “I never knew you.” The word “know” here denotes a knowledge that comes by experience, by sharing experiences in life together. In other words, if someone only knows about someone there is really no personal first-hand knowledge or experience involved in his or her knowing. Not only that, the word “know” actually carries an even deeper connotation. Genesis 4:1 says, “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.” (Genesis 4:25) Now, why did Adam have to know about Eve again when she had already been his wife for years? If you study the word “know” carefully you would learn that the word “know” is often used as an euphemism. An euphemism is a generally harmless word, name, or phrase that substitutes a suggestive or offensive one. The word “know” is used as an euphemism for a conjugal relationship between a husband and a wife. This goes to show that the relationship between Jesus Christ and His bride is that intimate. It is not just an intellectual kind of knowing, nor a legal kind of knowing; it is a spiritual marital vow—a life-long commitment for a relationship. If you love Him and keep His commandments and also know Him as your spiritual Husband, naturally you will love to fellowship with Him! Do you fellowship with Him? When someone says he knows Christ, he is spiritually married to Jesus Christ. It is in this sense, “knowing Him” implies that \"fellowship\" with Jesus Christ the Lord and Saviour has already taken place like a marriage covenant! John says in 1 John 1:6, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” What is fellowship? The word fellowship (koi-no-nia) means intimate spiritual sharing or communion. We all fellowship with people everyday! We share and communicate with our colleagues, classmates, friends and neighbours. We share and communicate with them because we have something in common that brings us together either through common interest or by demand or necessity. It would be a life-long regret if you had to live in a lifelong marriage with someone with whom you had nothing whatsoever in common. Dear friends, what do you have in common with Jesus besides saying that you know him? You should, if you claim to know Him. I hope you will say, I love Him and I keep His commandments just as He has kept the commandments of His father because I know Him as my Lord and personal Saviour and yearn to commune with Him and with His people every day and every moment of my life! Conclusion: Dear friends, do you know Jesus? If you say “yes,” do you love Him? If you love Him, do you keep His commandments. If you love Him and keep His commandments, do you love to fellowship with Him and His people? Jesus knows your heart! If you love Him, you will want to keep His commandments for this is the basis for your fellowship with God. If you truly love Him, you will want to fellowship with Him and with His people every day. I pray that you truly know Him and not just know about Him.

More Lively Hope

© Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church
14 Bedford Square, Colonel Light Gardens, South Australia 5041