1 John 2

And HereBy We do Know Him

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. ⁵ But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. ⁶ He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

I can’t say I’ve ever met someone who really knew Jesus that walked away from Him and said, “Well you know, that relationship didn’t really work out, Jesus isn’t my kind of Savior.”  Of course our sin can distance ourselves from Him, but I could not fathom a situation where someone walks away  because they got to know who Jesus truly is.  Knowing God through Jesus Christ is the source of joy, contentment, and meaning in our lives.  It should only be obvious that primarily above all else we want others to know God.  Knowing God is not the same as knowing the commandments.  It is more than an intellectual exercise, though it is not less than that.

Just as He did in the Old Testament, God revealed a great deal of Himself through His laws.    Until finally Jesus demonstrated what it means to really know God, saying, “I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29).  For us this suggests that not only doing what pleases God proves we know Him, but doing what pleases the Father is also a means to know Him.  None of us start out knowing God, but those who are born again grow closer to Him as they learn obedience.  Paul prayed for the Ephesians to know the love of Christ, and the fullness of God.  John teaches by keeping the commands of Christ that same fullness of God, His love, is perfected in us (v5).  Our incentive then for commandment keeping is that we may experience fully the joy and love of the God who is there.