What a priceless treasure we have in John 17. Jesus prays for himself, his disciples, and all future believers.
A key element of his prayer concerns eternal life for all who believe in him.
In the New Testament in particular, eternal life is contrasted with ordinary physical life. It is a profoundly spiritual experience. This life comes from knowing God and having fellowship with him through his Son Jesus Christ.
Jesus says, “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent”. (John 17:3)
The original Hebrew and Greek words translated “know” mean much more than knowing about something or someone. It’s more than knowing the facts. Knowing God is an intimate and personal experience enabled by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Nicodemus knew lots about God, but Jesus told him that to enter the kingdom of God one must be born again. The new birth is experienced through regeneration by the Holy Spirit who gives us a new spiritual life. It makes possible a personal relationship with God as we respond to the good news of salvation through repenting of sin and trusting only in the sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of Christ.
This way of knowing God changes everything. For believers it is an ongoing transformative, ever-growing experience that will one day bring us into the fulfillment of God’s glorious promises. (Revelation 21 and 22)
Knowing God and receiving his eternal life enables us to experience living hope even when surrounded by chaos and suffering.
As we personally get to know God more deeply, we become unshakeable and able to endure trials when they come.
Paul states boldly that in spite of his suffering for being a herald, an apostle and a teacher of the gospel, that he is not ashamed because, he says, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.” (2 Timothy 1:11-12)
May we like Paul always desire to know Christ deeply, to know the power of his resurrection, to participate in his sufferings, to become like him in his death, and to be raised from the dead on the appointed day.
The spiritual wilderness of this world actually provides a context for us to get to know Christ and be his faithful mission agents. We have his Word to guide and anchor us, the Holy Spirit with us and in us, and the fellowship of believers to encourage us.
God who sent his Holy Spirit to be with us and in us is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. (Ephesians 3:20)
Beautiful songs and hymns have been written over the centuries by men and women who knew God as their Saviour, their companion and friend in life, and their shepherd through the dangerous valleys of the journey. One hymn has been with me since childhood and repeats its reassuring message to me to this day: “And he walks with me and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own. And the joys we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known”.
I spent the last week of August with several hundred EHC leaders at a global conference. Many of them live in the darkest and most dangerous parts of the world. Some serve surrounded by armed conflicts, others live day-to-day at great risks of severe to extreme persecution, and some carry in their body wounds and infirmities inflicted by enemies of the gospel.
A particularly moving moment for me was standing with all of them and singing with all our hearts and no reservation, Great is thy Faithfulness.
The words of this great and beloved hymn were written by Thomas Chisholm in 1923. At the time he was a young Methodist minister with a young family. But, for reason of poor health, he had to leave his congregation. In addition, hospital bills would soon create another crisis. No matter the hardship, he leaned on God’s faithfulness and wrote, “Morning by morning new mercies I see”.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving in a few days, let’s wholeheartedly give thanks to God for the gift of eternal life, for regeneration by the power of the Holy Spirit, for the living Word of God, for the gospel of salvation, and for God’s great faithfulness in all our circumstances.
Let’s also give thanks for the courage and devotions of Christians around the world who risk it all to communicate the message of eternal life.
