Knowing God (Part Two)

Pastor Robert L. Taylor
Nov 9
2 min read

John teaches us, “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3-4). In the biblical Greek, there are two words for “to know.” One is the word which means “to have knowledge of.” The danger of that word is we can think that when we’ve come to know in the mind and know the facts, that will be enough for us. However, there is another Greek word for “to know.” It means “to know by experience.” It basically says that we have no right to say that we’ve come to know something until we’ve experienced it. In our passage, John uses the word “know” which means “to know by experience.” Let’s examine the teaching. In verse three, we’re told that any claim of knowing God by experience can be tested by whether “We keep His commandments.” In other words, the knowing of God by experience comes by the keeping of His commandments! Why the emphasis on keeping God’s commandments? Let’s examine Jesus’ words. He says, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him” (John 14:21). Clearly, this self-disclosure of Jesus to the hearts of those who keep His commandments is what coming to know Jesus by experience is all about. What is keeping God’s commandments? This word “keep” means, “the attitude of obedience that’s marked by “persistence to, concern for, and attentiveness to, God’s will! This is how we keep God’s commandments. When God’s commandments are kept with the carefulness of an persistent and diligent heart, the spiritual conditions are right for Jesus to disclose Himself, or make Himself known to the obedient disciple. Be encouraged!