Let me speak to my brothers and sisters in Christ!

From the heart of Dr. R. L. Taylor, Th.D., Bible Expositor & Teacher. In praying to the Father, Jesus said these words: “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). My teaching to you is the true message of eternal life and intimate relationship with God is the goal of being saved. Not going to hell is a wonderful thing, but it’s not the goal of salvation! Eternal life is! Eternal life is knowing God. The key lies in understanding what the Bible means by this word “know” in John 17:3. This word “know” is speaking of much more than just intellectual knowledge. It can be seen in hundreds of Bible passages, like, “Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain…” (Genesis 4:1). The phrase, “had relations” means “he knew” her! Adam didn’t just know Eve intellectually. That won’t produce children. He had an intimate, personal experience with her. Likewise, when Jesus said eternal life was “knowing” God, He was speaking of having an intimate, close, personal relationship with God, namely Him and the Father! That’s awesome! We ought to be enjoying that type of relationship with God right now! That relationship was designed for life in this world! Many Christians believe Jesus died to forgive their sins, but they still don’t have a close, personal, intimate relationship with God. They think that is reserved for heaven. That’s not to take anything away from heaven (because I can’t) but we are supposed to have eternal life (close, intimate, personal relationship with God our Father and Jesus Christ His Son) RIGHT NOW! It’s not “pie in the sky by and by” but rather “steak on your plate while you wait.” It just doesn’t get any better than that! Understanding and embracing eternal life was one of the main differences between the first-century church and our modern church. Those people knew God intimately. They had a relationship with the Lord that wasn’t waiting to start in heaven, but was working in them while they were still in this world. Let’s begin enjoying eternal life right now! Be encouraged!