Do We Really Know Him?

“Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” (Joh 14:9 AV)

 

What a loaded question.  The question does not suggest Philip was ignorant of the person of Christ.  No doubt, spending every day with someone for three years affords a certain level of intimate knowledge.  I am sure Philip knew Jesus as best he could in the circumstances in which he lived.  He saw firsthand all the miracles Christ did.  He got a front-row seat to every sermon or lesson Jesus gave.  He has unabated access to Jesus and the privilege of asking questions at any time.  No, Philip knew Jesus.  He just didn’t know Jesus as much as he could.  The context is proof of Jesus’ divinity and His relationship to the Father.  In particular, the need to know Jesus in order to know the Father.  It is that relationship that escaped Philip’s mind.  He saw a miracle-producing Messiah.  According to Peter’s confession in Matthew eighteen, all the disciples agree that Jesus was the Messiah.  What Philip lacked was a deeper understanding of what that meant to him personally.  Knowing Jesus as God meant knowing the Father.  Although we could spend our devotional time speaking of the divinity of Christ, a truth that no one here would doubt, we will spend it on more practical pursuits.  That is, how well do we really know Christ?  Is our knowledge of Jesus commensurate with the length of our salvation?  Or, given how long we have been saved, should we know Jesus better?

There are levels of knowledge one has with another.  A couple that is recently married may think they know their spouse, but as the first year of marriage will show, they really didn’t know the person they married.  They thought they knew their spouse because a favorite food, color, or music was discovered.  Likes and dislikes are often seen as the measure of knowing someone.  Perhaps the newly married couple has learned of habits or patterns of life.  But as they begin their lives together and adjustment to one another is necessary, two people learn more than they already learned to that point.  After a few years, shared trials and blessings, and shared goals, the two people begin to know each other at a deeper level.  They can anticipate what the other would think or feel.  This knowledge goes way beyond likes and dislikes.  Or, even a worldview.  Then there comes the deepest knowledge of all.  We begin to sense and know before there is any manifestation, how our spouse sees life and its circumstances of it.  We can communicate without saying a word.  The more one knows another, the more each heart is in tune with the other.  The more intimate one is with another, the more vulnerable each is to the other.  The more intimate two are, the more they trust one another.  Just because we know things about our spouse does not mean we really know him or her.

If we have been saved for any length of time, we can ask ourselves the same question.  Just how well do we know Jesus Christ?  Do we know Him so well that we know exactly what is on His heart at any given moment?  Do we know Jesus Christ to the point that if we disappoint Him, we immediately feel it?  Or, better yet, do we know what will disappoint Him and choose not to do it?  Do we know Jesus Christ so well that our heart aches because we cannot see Him face-to-face?  Do we know our LORD so well that we are offended each and every time someone dishonors Him?  How well do we really know Him?  Do we know Him simply by the facts of His ministry while here on earth?  Is the familiarity of Him as a person go only so deep that we cannot perceive a real and vibrant being who is far more than the facts which we know?  How well do we know Him?  If He were to appear in His unglorified state and stand among others, could we pick Him out from a crowd?  How well do we really know Him?  It is suggested the greater we know Him, the greater we will know the Father.  And that is the point.  This is the meaning of eternal life.  That we might know the only True God and Jesus Christ whom the Father hath sent!